Over on Protein and Fiber

To answer the Topic part - I wouldn't worry about going over in Protein as the MFP set goal is low.

To answer the first post - ^ See hamasehfallah's post above.

Sorry, I was assuming her Macros were set to the MFP Default, the default is 55% carbs, 15% protein, and 30% Fat.
What I meant was if it's at the default it's low, 40/30/30 is great.

1) How tall are you?
2) Male? Female? Age?
3) do you know your BMR? Do you know your TDEE? If so, what are they?
4) Exactly how long have you been at 1500 calories?
5) How often do you workout? And what type of workouts? (strengh or cardio or both?)
6) Do you eat back your workout calories ?


need to know all of this before i can help

Girl, you ask a lot of questions.

1) 5'4"
2) female
3) according to F2F radio my BMR is 1562, I'm pretty sedentary , work in an office.
4) I've been doing 1500 calories for a couple of months, when I hit a plateau after eating at 1200 calories, lost 4lbs fairly quickly, then just 1lb since.
5) workout everyday for about an hour, combo of cardio (on week 17 of 20 week Turbo Fire program) and strength 3 days a week. A rest day just means I'm doing yoga/stretching.
6) I do not eat back exercise calories, though I have been trying to on the weekend since I know what they will be, but for some reason I never seem to make it.

Also I'm 189lbs, but according to the F2F calculators that go by body measurements, my BF% is between 25-29%. Hip to Waist ratio and Height to Waist ratio are both normal.

haha sorry it just helps to know as much info as possible

So right now, you are losing 1lb per week? If so that isn't a plateau at all! that is a healthy steady weight loss. That means you are effectively eliminating 3,500 calories a week. I know it sucks because it feels like such slow loss, but that's the way it goes.

Also, i have a very strong suspicion that your calculations are off. 5'4 and 189lbs should have a much higher BF%, unless you have a RIDICULOUS amount of muscle (like super buff girl status). What scale are you going by? The only accurate way to tell your true bf% is through a DEXA scan. I got one and TRUST me, you will be surprised by the results. However if you know your true lean body mass and BF%, you can much more accurately get your BMR and TDEE. I really really suggest getting one. Call your doctor and ask or just google local imaging centers near you that offer DEXA scans. Online calculators are extremely inaccurate.

But let's say that your BMR really is 1,562. You should be eating a little OVER your BMR. Because that is how many calories you would burn if you were laying in bed all day doing literally nothing. Just the action of going to work (even an office job) will put you over 1,562 calories. You need to eat between your BMR and your TDEE. (for example, my BMR is ~1400 and my TDEE is ~1800....i eat 1500 calories a day and work out, not eating back my workout calories).


Also, do you have a food scale? I would suggest buying a food scale and measuring your food in ounces and grams just to double check that the amount of calories you THINK you are eating is accurate. I know people who swore they measured everything they ate (using measure cups) but once they bought a food scale realized they were eating literally HUNDREDS of calories over. So that could be the problem. OR you could even be UNDER eating. Food scales would solve so many peoples weight loss problems if they just invested in them and learned how to track their macros lol


Lastly, are you taking measurements and taking pictures? Your body composition could be changing if you are lifting weights. If the scale is moving very slowly but your body measurements are going down and you look slimmer in pictures, don't worry about the number on the scale too much.

so yeah...

1) Get an ACCURATE reading of your true lean body mass and BF% through a DEXA scan so you can get your true BMR and TDEE to figure out how much calories you REALLY need
2) Start weighing your food to more accurately gauge your calories
3) take measurements

--- > if you do all of this and keep it consistent for 2 weeks and your scale STILL has not budged at all then you can try some of the following

1) eat at maintenance calories (meaning closer to your TDEE and eat back your workout calories) for one whole week, then go back to being in a caloric deficit
or
2) have one relaxed meal a week. once a week after a workout go out and have some fun go to your favorite restaurant and order your favorite meal and dessert. but do not BINGE. there is a difference lol

@hamasehfallah, I've lost 1lb over the last 2 months, measurements haven't moved either. Very frustrating.

As for the bf%, I have always weighed more than I looked, though I do have some muscle tone (my arms are very impressive), not sure if its muscle mass or some weird genetic thing or I'm just "big boned" . Anyway, I don't have an extra $150 to do a DEXA scan, that's how much it costs in my area. We're having our health fair at work next month, I'll have my bf% tested then, it'll be free.

Also I measure my food religiously, I have a food scale, several sets of measuring cups and spoons, I don't eat anything I don't know the calorie count for.

Thanks for your help, I'll try to eat more, I may have to change up my workouts also, maybe I've been doing Turbo Fire too long and my body has become adjusted to it.

is turbo fire the only workouts you do? If so i would try incorporating weight lifting at a gym. Weight lifting is so amazing for weight loss and body composition. And also maybe try adding in some cardio 2-3 times a week. Either an easy paced jog for 30-40 minutes or 1 hour of walking (those are best for fat loss and would minimize muscle loss...extremely long vigorous bouts of cardio just lead to muscle loss)

maybe your calorie calculations are off. go to this site: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

by far the best online calorie calculator. It lets you choose how much of a calorie reduction you want (i set mine to 20% - which is healthy and i suggest that for you too) and tells you exactly how much your maintenance calories are (TDEE) and how much you should eat to be at a 20% reduction. So eat at that and try not to eat back your workout cals. good luck!

To answer the Topic part - I wouldn't worry about going over in Protein as the MFP set goal is low.

To answer the first post - ^ See hamasehfallah's post above.

Actually I wouldn't necessarily say that the MFP is low in protein. At least it wasn't for me. I had a DEXA scan and showed up as 99lbs of LEAN body mass - my MFP is set at 1500 cals with 40C/30P/30F - targeting me at 113g of protein. That is well over 1g of protein per pound of LBM, which is good if you are in a caloric deficit and are lifting weights and want to maintain LBM while losing fat. But weight loss comes down to calories in vs calories out, so just try and stay in a caloric deficit and try and hit your macros as close as possible - but don't stress if you go over protein or carbs as long as you are still in a deficit

40/30/30 is a good ratio and what I use...but it isn't the default macro setting MFP gives you...which is why the other poster said the protein MFP gives you is low. It is low on default settings.

OP...get around 1 gram of protein per Lb of LBM...get around 30-35 grams of fiber. You're fine.