Need help with macros...

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Hi guys,

I know plenty of people ask for this sort of help, but I'm sort of thrown for a loop. I am currently about 103 lbs and 5'0", so my goal isn't to lose weight as much as lose FAT and gain muscle. I have searched threads for people asking for similar help, however we are all unique!

Currently, MFP says I should eat 1200/cal a day, however some days I KNOW this is not enough and I go over (usually in a healthy manner if i can help it!). After reading other threads I saw that people were guided to find out their BMR and TDEE to calculate where about they should be in terms of daily intake. Others have said to just make sure fats and proteins are on point and allow the other numbers to lie where they may. Can someone (or several someone's) give me their opinions based on my current stats:

Age: 25
Weight: 103 lbs
BMR: 1267.55
TDEE: 1955
Net Calories Consumed / Day: 1200
Macros: 35% (105 g) carbs
40% (33 g) protein
25% (120 g) fat

I realize now that I probably need to up my calorie intake, but I'm worried to because I have actually seen some progress with 1200 cal/ day. I don't want to harm myself more than help or create an overeating monster for the future. PLEASE HELP!

Replies

  • samfuturefit
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    By the way... I posted here because I am currently doing ChaLEAN Push Phase :)
  • philosohoe
    philosohoe Posts: 272 Member
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    Hi Sam!

    I wanted to reply to your post because I have had similar questions about what the perfect ratio for me is as well. The first thing I did was just google the question about what the healthy ratio should be. If you are looking in the "primal diet" or "atkins" areas, you will see that they suggest high protein, low carb, moderate fat. If you you look in the vegetarian, whole foods, or organic areas, they will suggest high carbs, low protein, low fat. Most sites that I looked at show the average person should stay in these ranges for optimal heart health:

    Carbs: 45-60%
    Protein: 20-25%
    Fats: 15-20%

    Here's a link to a cardiologist's food blog: http://www.thecookingcardiologist.com/cardiologist-blog/balance-carbs-protein-and-fat-better-health

    He recommends a 50/25/25 ratio for Carbs/Protein/Fats.

    What I have seen is that people can be healthy or unhealthy regardless of the percentages that they set on MFP's food goals. What seems to be most important in terms of overall health isn't just how much of a certain macro you're eating, but more important is what KIND. If you're eating a lot of highly refined carbs like white flour, white sugar, etc, then your carbs are not as healthy as if you were eating lots of non-starchy vegetables and leafy greens.

    I think there are several questions that you can ask yourself as kind of a self assessment, and then find the ratio of macros that works best for you.

    1) Your weight loss goal is very minimal, have you set your goal at "lose half a pound per week" or "maintain current weight'? If you still have your goal set at "lose 2 pounds per week" you are cutting out a lot of calories that you really don't need to.

    2) Are you using a HRM for your Chalean workouts? I used to keep my HRM running for about 30 minutes after I finished a Chalean workout because I was still burning at a really high rate until my heart rate went back to normal. If you are only logging those workouts as weight training, you may be missing a lot of burned calories.

    3) Do you eat back your exercise calories? There's tons of debate on this site about whether or not someone should eat back exercise calories. I am in the "Eat them if you Earned them" camp. You can't expect your body to push so hard and exert so much energy for those workouts and then not replenish it. The key is to make sure that you eat back food that is going to contribute to your health rather than detract from it.

    Bottom line, the numbers are important, but they are only the framework for the big picture. If you're eating something that you know is junk, then it doesn't matter if you eating the right ratio of junk. As far as hunger goes, there are a lot of tips for avoiding overeating and binges. You can start with a glass of water to make sure you're not confusing thirst with hunger. You can use Philosohoe's 20 Minute Rule: if you're craving something, wait 20 minutes before you decide to eat it; if you get distracted, then you didn't really want it, but if you still do, eat a moderate amount.

    You look great. You going to love the Lean Phase when you get there. Keep up the awesome work!:flowerforyou:
  • LisaGirlfriend
    LisaGirlfriend Posts: 493 Member
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    I've read that if you want to gain muscle and lose fat, you need to eat closer to your TDEE and up the protein to 40%.... I'm personally working on losing 20 1bs so I eat at a TDEE deficit of around 17% weekly, and my macros are set at 40% protein, 30% carbs, 30% fat.... what I actually hit though may differ than this, but I aim to hit 1 gram of protein per lean body mass which for me is around 105 g a day.
  • samfuturefit
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    Hi philosohoe,

    Thank you so much for the detailed reply! I have just begun to realize how far off from where I should be in terms of calories and macros.

    1) I have my goals set to lose 1 pound per week, however I am reconsidering this now because I think my weight isn't an issue for me rather than my BF%.

    2) I do use a HRM for ChaLEAN however I stop the monitor immediately after the cool down stretch. I always figured anything beyond that was a bonus burn. I have been logging ChaLEAN as "Calisthenics - vigorous effort", which gets me about 170-180 calories burned not counting my cardio warm up (which I do also log).

    3) In the past I had not eaten my calories burned back, however I have started to read more and more threads stressing the importance of eating the calories back. Since my macros were somewhat out of whack I could not eat my goal calories everyday because it would cause me to go over on carbs and fats.

    The 20 minute rule is a great tip! Thank you so very much for your response and valuable tips! :)

    Hi Sam!

    I wanted to reply to your post because I have had similar questions about what the perfect ratio for me is as well. The first thing I did was just google the question about what the healthy ratio should be. If you are looking in the "primal diet" or "atkins" areas, you will see that they suggest high protein, low carb, moderate fat. If you you look in the vegetarian, whole foods, or organic areas, they will suggest high carbs, low protein, low fat. Most sites that I looked at show the average person should stay in these ranges for optimal heart health:

    Carbs: 45-60%
    Protein: 20-25%
    Fats: 15-20%

    Here's a link to a cardiologist's food blog: http://www.thecookingcardiologist.com/cardiologist-blog/balance-carbs-protein-and-fat-better-health

    He recommends a 50/25/25 ratio for Carbs/Protein/Fats.

    What I have seen is that people can be healthy or unhealthy regardless of the percentages that they set on MFP's food goals. What seems to be most important in terms of overall health isn't just how much of a certain macro you're eating, but more important is what KIND. If you're eating a lot of highly refined carbs like white flour, white sugar, etc, then your carbs are not as healthy as if you were eating lots of non-starchy vegetables and leafy greens.

    I think there are several questions that you can ask yourself as kind of a self assessment, and then find the ratio of macros that works best for you.

    1) Your weight loss goal is very minimal, have you set your goal at "lose half a pound per week" or "maintain current weight'? If you still have your goal set at "lose 2 pounds per week" you are cutting out a lot of calories that you really don't need to.

    2) Are you using a HRM for your Chalean workouts? I used to keep my HRM running for about 30 minutes after I finished a Chalean workout because I was still burning at a really high rate until my heart rate went back to normal. If you are only logging those workouts as weight training, you may be missing a lot of burned calories.

    3) Do you eat back your exercise calories? There's tons of debate on this site about whether or not someone should eat back exercise calories. I am in the "Eat them if you Earned them" camp. You can't expect your body to push so hard and exert so much energy for those workouts and then not replenish it. The key is to make sure that you eat back food that is going to contribute to your health rather than detract from it.

    Bottom line, the numbers are important, but they are only the framework for the big picture. If you're eating something that you know is junk, then it doesn't matter if you eating the right ratio of junk. As far as hunger goes, there are a lot of tips for avoiding overeating and binges. You can start with a glass of water to make sure you're not confusing thirst with hunger. You can use Philosohoe's 20 Minute Rule: if you're craving something, wait 20 minutes before you decide to eat it; if you get distracted, then you didn't really want it, but if you still do, eat a moderate amount.

    You look great. You going to love the Lean Phase when you get there. Keep up the awesome work!:flowerforyou:
  • samfuturefit
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    Lisa,

    Thank you for opening my eyes to these numbers... I am very fact-based in my thinking and I love numbers! I had never calculated by TDEE (1955) or my BMR (1268) before this and it REALLY shows me how much more I should be putting into my body. NO WONDER I'm starving!!!

    Thank you again.... Tips and help like this is what is going to help me change my lifestyle forever, not just until I get sick of starving. :laugh:

    I've read that if you want to gain muscle and lose fat, you need to eat closer to your TDEE and up the protein to 40%.... I'm personally working on losing 20 1bs so I eat at a TDEE deficit of around 17% weekly, and my macros are set at 40% protein, 30% carbs, 30% fat.... what I actually hit though may differ than this, but I aim to hit 1 gram of protein per lean body mass which for me is around 105 g a day.
  • LisaGirlfriend
    LisaGirlfriend Posts: 493 Member
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    no problem. There's a ton to read on here which is where I have figured out what works for me. Give it time before trying something new though. At least 4 weeks...sometimes it takes a while to kick in.
  • philosohoe
    philosohoe Posts: 272 Member
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    I agree with Lisa--it takes time to see the effects of small changes in diet or routine. I think your focus on body fat is better than weight in your situation. When you get to the Lean phase, the focus is all about tone and making sure your diet is on point. Enjoy!
  • Tanya0927
    Tanya0927 Posts: 23 Member
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    Ladies- The EM2WL (Eat More 2 Weigh Less) group here on MFP has a ton of great info on making sure you're eating enough to properly fuel your body especially with strength programs such as chalean extreme. You should definitely never go under BMR as its dangerously low espeically with muscles trying to repair themselves. TDEE -15% is often suggested as a good "cut" number to slowly and healthily lose body fat.
  • samfuturefit
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    Thank you Tanya... I have since raised my daily calorie goal to 1350 and plan to move it up to 1600 within the next few weeks. I wanted to move straight to 1600 (my TDEE - 20%), however I find it difficult to have the appetite to support that amount of calories, especially with 40% protein as my daily goal. I am going to look into the EM2WL group right now!

    THank you!!!
    Ladies- The EM2WL (Eat More 2 Weigh Less) group here on MFP has a ton of great info on making sure you're eating enough to properly fuel your body especially with strength programs such as chalean extreme. You should definitely never go under BMR as its dangerously low espeically with muscles trying to repair themselves. TDEE -15% is often suggested as a good "cut" number to slowly and healthily lose body fat.