Calorie and carb intake how do you determine what yours should be?

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I am really struggling to find the right level of carbs that I should be consuming I am getting frustrated with it may I am over thinking things a bit.
Anyone have any suggestions on how to determine that?
I currently have my calories set at 1510 and my carbs at 20% about 76g Protein at 30% about 113g and Fat set at 50% about 84g. I am wondering if my calories are even set right.

Replies

  • Ryandecheney314
    Ryandecheney314 Posts: 139 Member
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    Its all about personal preference. There are millions of macro ratios out there and the majority of them work. When eating really clean, which currently i am, I go with 40% protein 40% carbs and 20% fats.

    I think the macros that you have are fine, as long as you can stay within those ranges and your feeling satisfied. If your not losing weight then you need to either lower your calories or up your workouts. its all about calories in vs calories out.

    To get a accurate idea of your calories there are many calculators out there that will do this for you. My personal favorite is this one http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm It will calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure based on your daily activity level and will tell you how many calories you need to eat to lose weight.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,732 Member
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    For calories, I use a fitness tracker, but its average is very close to my TDEE as given by various online calculators, so I would suggest starting with a TDEE calculator like this one:

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    That will tell you about how many calories you burn each day. Then you subtract either a percentage (20% is the usual) or a set number (500 per day will net you 3500 per week, which equals one pound). The questionable part will be your activity level. You may have to go back and adjust if you track correctly and you're either losing faster or slower than you should be. That means your activity level is incorrect.

    As far as carbs, I don't worry about that. I lift heavy, so I worry about protein. I set my protein at 30% of my total calories (some people go by 1 gram per pound of current bodyweight, or 1 gram per pound of goal bodyweight, or 1 gram per pound of lean bodyweight if you know it.) I then set my carbs at 45% and my fat at 25%, but I don't pay attention to them. I just try to reach my protein goal every day.


  • 4daluvof_candice
    4daluvof_candice Posts: 483 Member
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    I just do 40/30/30. If you think you feel better with less carbs change the percentages...
  • ksy1969
    ksy1969 Posts: 700 Member
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    My question for you, are you losing weight?

    If so, /end thread

    If not, head on over to the thread below.

    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/833026/important-posts-to-read/p1
  • yunvmsbutter
    yunvmsbutter Posts: 4 Member
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    Well I just restarted my healthy journey on Sunday but I guess I am letting everyone else get in my ear about the carbs. I only do my weigh ins once a week so I am not sure if I am losing yet or not. I am eating cleaning an working out 4 to 5 days weekly and on some of those days twice a day in the mornings and evenings so I get a solid 2 hours in.

    I went to a place that weighed me on a special scale that determined my BMR which was 1574. When I set my calories at 1510 I don't eat more than that even tho MFP tells me I can I only consume the 1510 no matter how much I'm working out is that correct? I just want to make sure I am doing things right. I need to buy some books in this stuff so I can understand it better.

    Thank you for all of your comments suggestions and help.