help with macros please

bleweydgrl
bleweydgrl Posts: 55
in Health and Weight Loss
Hiya, I am trying to set up my macros to increase my protein and fat and am not sure of something. I have put in the 40% protein 30% carb and 30% fat with my calories per day at 1400 so I can lose 1.5 a week but that works out to 140g of protein per day. Is that too much? I have an initial goal weight of 180 but will likely want to go down to 140 once that goal is met. It just seems like quite a lot of protein? I am not sure if I should lower my protein and up my carb slightly to take it down to 115-120g? I do work out with weights about 3-4 times a week and do at least 30min of cardio every day but my goal really is to not lose the muscle I already have and I am aware I cannot build muscle while in a deficit. When I am done losing I would like to do more lifting and build some muscles. I am not really sure how important it is at this stage with so much to lose still but I am trying to make changes that I can keep for life now. Any advice would be helpful

Replies

  • pennyllayne
    pennyllayne Posts: 265
    Protein amount depends on your current weight. Up to 2g per kg of bodyweight is said to be safe if you are active, so 140g would be fine for someone weighing 70kgs 0r 154lbs. It really depends on you. You should get at LEAST 0.8g of protein per kg of bodyweight and aim for a max of 2g so a good number would be around 1.5g to preserve muscle. If you don't want to eat a lot of protein then you don't need to. Protein tends to be the most satiating and is the most thermogenic so it's great for weight loss. It's really up to you to play with your macros and see what works best for you. If you are carb sensitive and have a lot of fat to lose then a higher protein to carb ratio would be of great help to you.
  • bleweydgrl
    bleweydgrl Posts: 55
    Oh right, I thought we were supposed to base our protein intake closer to what our goal weight was?
  • ejdp254
    ejdp254 Posts: 342 Member
    I thought it was based on LBM - lean body mass, range from 0.9-1.5g of protein per kg. But I'm not 100% sure, sorry I realise that's not much help!:flowerforyou:
  • bleweydgrl
    bleweydgrl Posts: 55
    Oh right, I have no idea what my lean body mass is! Sounds like a shopping trip for a good bathroom scale :happy: thanks for the help ladies
  • ejdp254
    ejdp254 Posts: 342 Member
    There are online calculators which will give you a reasonable estimate, essentially its what your ideal body weight is. Hope this helps. X
  • pennyllayne
    pennyllayne Posts: 265
    It's pretty hard to figure out exact LBM unless you use one of those high tech pods, but even those aren't 100% accurate. Standard government guidelines are a minimum of 0.8g per kg of bodyweight and up to 2g per kg is considered safe for active people. Those are official guidelines to keep you within known safe levels of protein intake. It's really not going to matter if you base it on LBM, goal weight, current weight etc as long as it's within those numbers. Obviously the higher within that range, the best chance you have of retaining muscle. Protein requirements increase with activity, so if you only eat 0.8g per kg of body weight and you're working out a lot you'll be losing more muscle. I am not sure what your current weight is, but what I'm trying to say is that as long as you're at least 70kgs, 140g of protein is absolutely safe and will probably help more with weight loss goals.
  • SpicesOfLife
    SpicesOfLife Posts: 290 Member
    this is how i sorted out mine: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=156380183

    hope it helps :)
  • Snow3y
    Snow3y Posts: 1,412 Member
    Find which quantities work for you, keep fiddling around with them until you find what benefits you most. I personally have 2g per 1kg of body mass, because I am highly active (training 6 times a week) and into strength training.

    You could eat 1.5g per kg and still be fine :) just fiddle around!

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