Hitting your macros...what does it mean?

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lporter229
lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I know what it means, or at least what it is supposed to mean. But how many people actually get the exact balance of carbs/ fat/ protein that they are trying to achieve? I know there seems to be a huge emphasis on protein here...is that the most important thing to focus on? Get adequate amounts of protein and hope the other stuff falls into place. Or is it more important to focus on getting each of those numbers as close to target as possible? I guess the reason I ask is that I see all kinds of people on the forum promoting "IIFYM", but when you look at most of their food diaries, they are usually well over in one category and under in another almost every day. It's all a little confusing.

Replies

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    40P/30C/30F is what I have mine set to and is pretty standard...
  • silverinc13
    silverinc13 Posts: 216 Member
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    Protein and fat goals are usually seen as minimum requirements and carbs more of a max for most people who do IIFYM. So if you go over in protein or fat - it's usuall seen as a good thing. :)

    You know - for the muscles.
  • marathonmom72
    marathonmom72 Posts: 191 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/817188-iifym
    and
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/925464-fitting-it-in-giggity
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    Protein and fat goals are usually seen as minimum requirements and carbs more of a max for most people who do IIFYM. So if you go over in protein or fat - it's usuall seen as a good thing. :)

    You know - for the muscles.

    Thanks. I think that is what I was looking for. Secondary question...I am in maintenance at around 1900 calories. A 40/30/30 diet would put me at 190 grams of protein per day. I always hear to shoot for at least 1g per lb of lean body mass. I weigh 102 lbs, so I assume I have around 80 lbs LBM. That is almost 2.5g/lb LBM. Should I really shoot for that much protein? Is it necessary?
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Really depends on goals, if you are training for a marathon carbs should be your #1 source of energy, if gaining or retaining muscle protein would be.

    In general aim for somewhere between 0.8 and 1.5 grams of protein per lb of lean body mass (LBM), aim for somewhere between 0.35 and 0.45 grams of fat per lb of goal weight if overweight, or of your current weight if normal or under weight, let the rest fall where they may. Usually people put them as carbs and if that is the case use the fat and protein as minimums and carbs as a maximum.

    As an example say you are 150 lbs, with 20%BF, so you have 120 lbs of LBM, so set your protein to any number between 96 (120*0.8) and 180 (120*1.5), which would be 25% and 45% (rounded) protein, lets assume that 150 is in the normal weight range but want to lose a few more lbs, so for fat you would eat between 52.5 (150*.35) and 67.5 (.45*150) grams of fat or 30% to 40%, with the remainder being carbs.

    Now lets assume you are cutting with a caloric intake of 1600 cals. That means you would set protein in the 25-45% range, and fat in the 30-40% range, with the remaining cals allocated to carbs. Now if your intake was 2000 cals your % fat and protein would be lower, if your cals were only 1400 the % would be higher.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Protein and fat goals are usually seen as minimum requirements and carbs more of a max for most people who do IIFYM. So if you go over in protein or fat - it's usuall seen as a good thing. :)

    You know - for the muscles.

    Thanks. I think that is what I was looking for. Secondary question...I am in maintenance at around 1900 calories. A 40/30/30 diet would put me at 190 grams of protein per day. I always hear to shoot for at least 1g per lb of lean body mass. I weigh 102 lbs, so I assume I have around 80 lbs LBM. That is almost 2.5g/lb LBM. Should I really shoot for that much protein? Is it necessary?

    30% protein at 1900 cals is 142.5 not 190 (1900*0.3/4). I am surprised that with only 80lbs of LBM that you maintain at 1900, you must burn a lot of cals from exercise, or have a very active job.
  • subsonicbassist
    subsonicbassist Posts: 117 Member
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    Some people tracks macro with a ratio, I do the method on iifym.com and used the calculator. In essence, it has you set protein and fat minimums and fill the rest of your calories with carbs based on your age, weight, activity level and other factors. Ratios are easier to start with but lack the accuracy and specificity that certain bodybuilders may need (the average person probably won't notice much difference). With MFP, if you use the mobile version you can only adjust your ratios in 5% increments which is not as accurate as some like to be, so it apears that they are over on some macros and under on others. Or they might be zeroing everything out by putting 0 cals as a goal so their daily numbers appear in red, making it easier it you have your macros memorized (if you track macros, you don't need to track cals because they are composed of macros and many calorie counts for foods are inaccurate). Hope that helps!
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    Protein and fat goals are usually seen as minimum requirements and carbs more of a max for most people who do IIFYM. So if you go over in protein or fat - it's usuall seen as a good thing. :)

    You know - for the muscles.

    Thanks. I think that is what I was looking for. Secondary question...I am in maintenance at around 1900 calories. A 40/30/30 diet would put me at 190 grams of protein per day. I always hear to shoot for at least 1g per lb of lean body mass. I weigh 102 lbs, so I assume I have around 80 lbs LBM. That is almost 2.5g/lb LBM. Should I really shoot for that much protein? Is it necessary?

    30% protein at 1900 cals is 142.5 not 190 (1900*0.3/4). I am surprised that with only 80lbs of LBM that you maintain at 1900, you must burn a lot of cals from exercise, or have a very active job.

    To clarify, I was going off of the example above of 40P/30F/30C and calculating 40% protein.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Protein and fat goals are usually seen as minimum requirements and carbs more of a max for most people who do IIFYM. So if you go over in protein or fat - it's usuall seen as a good thing. :)

    You know - for the muscles.

    Thanks. I think that is what I was looking for. Secondary question...I am in maintenance at around 1900 calories. A 40/30/30 diet would put me at 190 grams of protein per day. I always hear to shoot for at least 1g per lb of lean body mass. I weigh 102 lbs, so I assume I have around 80 lbs LBM. That is almost 2.5g/lb LBM. Should I really shoot for that much protein? Is it necessary?

    30% protein at 1900 cals is 142.5 not 190 (1900*0.3/4). I am surprised that with only 80lbs of LBM that you maintain at 1900, you must burn a lot of cals from exercise, or have a very active job.

    To clarify, I was going off of the example above of 40P/30F/30C and calculating 40% protein.

    Okay my bad, usually it is Carbs first when someone states ratio: 40/30/30 - C/F/P, but I see the responder did state 40P first, which I don't think is very standard, 40C/30P/30F, is much more common
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    Options
    Protein and fat goals are usually seen as minimum requirements and carbs more of a max for most people who do IIFYM. So if you go over in protein or fat - it's usuall seen as a good thing. :)

    You know - for the muscles.

    Thanks. I think that is what I was looking for. Secondary question...I am in maintenance at around 1900 calories. A 40/30/30 diet would put me at 190 grams of protein per day. I always hear to shoot for at least 1g per lb of lean body mass. I weigh 102 lbs, so I assume I have around 80 lbs LBM. That is almost 2.5g/lb LBM. Should I really shoot for that much protein? Is it necessary?

    30% protein at 1900 cals is 142.5 not 190 (1900*0.3/4). I am surprised that with only 80lbs of LBM that you maintain at 1900, you must burn a lot of cals from exercise, or have a very active job.

    To clarify, I was going off of the example above of 40P/30F/30C and calculating 40% protein.

    Okay my bad, usually it is Carbs first when someone states ratio: 40/30/30 - C/F/P, but I see the responder did state 40P first, which I don't think is very standard, 40C/30P/30F, is much more common

    Thanks. Just switched to 40C/30P/30F to see how it goes. I do exercise regularly including strength training (currently doing NROLFW) and running. I have a slightly active job, but keep a fairly active lifestyle. That is to say, I generally do not sit down at home until after 9 PM. I also have Crohn's disease, which may impact my calorie adsorption, although I am currently in remission, so I am not sure if there is any residual impact. I have been maintaining at 1900 for quite a while.
  • tinabell153
    tinabell153 Posts: 298 Member
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    I aim for 40% Carbs, 30% Fat, 30% Protein, buuuuutttt I usually hit 45% carbs, 35% Fat, and 20% protein. I'm usually getting 65-80g protein and 140-150g carbs and 50-60g fat. I don't aim for perfect, just as long as I get my protein higher than 50 and my carbs no higher than 150. If I'm doing strenuous exercise I up these numbers though. Right now I'm not exercising much besides walking.

    I should also add that I'm 5'0", 106lbs and I've maintained my weight pretty good over the holiday binging lol
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    Ratios are fairly useless, you are much better off using fixed numbers.

    Ratio needs will vary hugely depending on what you are doing; cutting hard, easy cutting, maintaining, bulking, etc..., but absolute values remain relatively constant. Protein and minimum fat needs are absolute values, not a ratio.

    Unless you are at either extreme of the spectrum, the carb to fat ratio of your diet will have little impact.

    I strive to get about 200g protein a day, and hit my calorie target, and don't really worry about anything else. Minimum fat is only really relevant if you eat an unusually low fat diet or are cutting hard for an extended period of time.

    The only time I really look at other things is when refeeding, where I try to hit at least 300-350g carbs in a 4 hour window, with less than 50g fat that day. But that isn't something I regularly do, only when cutting for a longer time and already lean.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    Ok, so basically what I am getting from this thread is that how and what you determine your macros to be varies greatly from person to person depending on goals, but the common theme seems to be to hit a minimum protein requirement and a maximum calorie requirement and let the rest fall into place.

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