Are my macros ok at 40/30/30 for my personal situaion?

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StephenNazarek
StephenNazarek Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, Im new here and just recently started MFP 2 weeks ago. I am male, 5'9 and 240 lbs. over the last two weeks i lost about 4-5 lbs and i calculated my TDEE to be about 2790. MFP has my caloric goal set at 1790 after setting a 205 weight goal at 2lbs/week weight loss.

I only recently even noticed this cool little graph in my app that shows me the proteins/fats/carbs lol and after reading on here a little bit about macros i am wondering if what im averaging is ok. Granted, this isnt really intentionally, except in my meal planning I try to eat less carbs and more proteins, cuz well I love protein almost as much as i love carbs lol, and i figure if my body doesnt have all the carbs to burn it will burn that fat a lil quicker. So, just in my attempt to reduce my carbs, i have sort of leveled at 40/30/30. (Which is why im conferring with you nice folks)

Long story short...ive been averaging about 40/30/30 (give or take a few % points). In MFP i chose the lightly active option because i never exercise, and when not at work (35hrs a week standing on feet cooking in a kitchen) i am sitting on my butt at home most all the time. Since i started MFP ive been riding a bike 3miles a day 4-5 times a week, gradually building back up to the 10 mile at a time stints i would do 3 years ago when i was 205lbs and the last time i felt "healthy". I am eating back on average 90% of my exercise cals.


Is this 40/30/30 healthy in my situation? Is my caloric goal to low? Because i love eating lol and if im allowed to eat more i wont be complaining. and also i dont want to lose the LBM that i have already!


Please dont preach lol, i may not eat as "clean" as others, but if you knew what i was eating before...this is a pretty drastic change lol.

Replies

  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
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    40/30/30 seems totally reasonable (its what I normally use, in fact), if that gives you enough protein to maintain lean body mass (a general rule is 1g protein for each pound of muscle). However, I am a 5'9" woman who maintains on 2000 a day and needs 120g protein. You may have to tweak depending on your lean mass.

    And yeah, 'clean', whatever. It doesn't matter as long as you hit your calorie goal and macros. This is a good place to start if you are unsure about your goals
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/952996-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
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    Those percentages look fine to me. I try to get 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass per day. So that means I go for about 150g of protein per day. From that I try to make sure I get about half that (75g) in fats. The rest can be whatever I want. I fiddle with the MFP settings to try get close to that.

    Your deficit is probably ok for now. Once you get closer to 200, I'd probably reduce the deficit, though. It sort of depends on how lean you are now.
  • StephenNazarek
    StephenNazarek Posts: 6
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    Oh yeah, im way over on my protein so i definately shouldnt be losing LBM. Im about 35% BF so that leaves about 86g or so of protein. Im above that 15-100% generally. Thanks! Im definately losing the weight, just didnt want to do it unhealthily. Ofcourse that 35% BF is an approximation of course. But its definately low/mid 30's from my past experiences when ive been physically measured at a similar weight i am now
  • MrGonzo05
    MrGonzo05 Posts: 1,120 Member
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    Oh yeah, im way over on my protein so i definately shouldnt be losing LBM. Im about 35% BF so that leaves about 86g or so of protein. Im above that 15-100% generally. Thanks! Im definately losing the weight, just didnt want to do it unhealthily.

    86g? You would need twice that much to minimize muscle loss. At least. Also, lift.
  • StephenNazarek
    StephenNazarek Posts: 6
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    Ok i did that wrong then. If im 240lbs and my BF% is 35 what is my LBM?
  • MrGonzo05
    MrGonzo05 Posts: 1,120 Member
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    156 lbs. Eat extra so you don't need to think about protein quality.
  • nelinelineli
    nelinelineli Posts: 330 Member
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    Few notes:
    1. Basing your TDEE on the weight loss over 2 weeks, when right at the start, might make you overestimate your TDEE a bit. I'd be cautious and reevaluate on the "lower side"
    2. Your macros are just fine - I'd even take it up a notch and make sure you have at least 1g protein per lb of lean body mass, as many other said, and 0.45g of fats per lb of weight. And eat your fiber! 30g/day I think is the recommended dose.
    3. Nothing will make you "preserve your lean mass" at a deficit completely. Eating protein at a deficit will just be converted to energy, like anything else. But lift heavy, use those muscles, and you will retain more than otherwise (while eating your protein, of course).
  • StephenNazarek
    StephenNazarek Posts: 6
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    Ok i found a calculator online. 151 LBM. thats more like it. So why does MFP have my protein goal set at 67g? Im confused. Is tht because they are asuming im eating 15% of my calories in proteins?
  • StephenNazarek
    StephenNazarek Posts: 6
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    Ok thanks! Sorry i posted without reading first. That clears things up
  • nelinelineli
    nelinelineli Posts: 330 Member
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    Ok i found a calculator online. 151 LBM. thats more like it. So why does MFP have my protein goal set at 67g? Im confused. Is tht because they are asuming im eating 15% of my calories in proteins?

    Yes. The calorie breakdown default in MFP is dreadful, but it's not their fault - it's the "recommended" requirements from the WHO (or some other similar organization).
  • StephenNazarek
    StephenNazarek Posts: 6
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    Few notes:
    1. Basing your TDEE on the weight loss over 2 weeks, when right at the start, might make you overestimate your TDEE a bit. I'd be cautious and reevaluate on the "lower side"
    2. Your macros are just fine - I'd even take it up a notch and make sure you have at least 1g protein per lb of lean body mass, as many other said, and 0.45g of fats per lb of weight. And eat your fiber! 30g/day I think is the recommended dose.
    3. Nothing will make you "preserve your lean mass" at a deficit completely. Eating protein at a deficit will just be converted to energy, like anything else. But lift heavy, use those muscles, and you will retain more than otherwise (while eating your protein, of course).


    Well i think even if i overestimated my TDEE i should be okay right? Because If it was 2790, MFP has me eating 1,000 calories less, which would be >30% deficit, which from some sites ive read isnt really a good thing(is this true?). So if im overestimating then maybe were only talking 25% calorie deficit instead of 33%. Maybe im way off tho lol i dunno. Im just eating less, and raising my activity level atm, and then i can adjust, etc as time progresses
  • fitmusiclifeviola
    fitmusiclifeviola Posts: 99
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    The only thing I would add is that eating X amount of protein is not sufficient to prevent LBM loss. You also need to exercise & specifically do weight training.

    Otherwise, I would concur that getting to 30% protein is excellent! I ate way less protein during my loss and while I may have lost more LBM than I could have otherwise, I was just happy to be losing. I note that in my cursory overview of current weight loss science based recommendations, that eating more meals a day is suggested, specifically trying to get 6 meals a day. Again, I did it on 3 meals a day, with a snack or dessert sometimes, and always eating an early breakfast, so they just recommend another 1-2 meals, ideally with roughly equal amounts of protein in each. Keep up the good work!
  • nelinelineli
    nelinelineli Posts: 330 Member
    Options
    Few notes:
    1. Basing your TDEE on the weight loss over 2 weeks, when right at the start, might make you overestimate your TDEE a bit. I'd be cautious and reevaluate on the "lower side"
    2. Your macros are just fine - I'd even take it up a notch and make sure you have at least 1g protein per lb of lean body mass, as many other said, and 0.45g of fats per lb of weight. And eat your fiber! 30g/day I think is the recommended dose.
    3. Nothing will make you "preserve your lean mass" at a deficit completely. Eating protein at a deficit will just be converted to energy, like anything else. But lift heavy, use those muscles, and you will retain more than otherwise (while eating your protein, of course).


    Well i think even if i overestimated my TDEE i should be okay right? Because If it was 2790, MFP has me eating 1,000 calories less, which would be >30% deficit, which from some sites ive read isnt really a good thing(is this true?). So if im overestimating then maybe were only talking 25% calorie deficit instead of 33%. Maybe im way off tho lol i dunno. Im just eating less, and raising my activity level atm, and then i can adjust, etc as time progresses

    If you are at a significant deficit, then no, it will not be a problem, I was just worried you might be at a small deficit and thus end up eating at maintenance unknowingly. Just reassess in a couple of months :)
    Second - if you're worried about LBM loss, the rate of loss is very important. The higher the deficit, the greater the lbm loss. It's up to you how to balance that, but that's a worry for later on - now you have quite a bit of fat mass to deal with first:D

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