Macronutrient Calculator

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teecee60
teecee60 Posts: 47 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am so confused on how many gross & net calories I should have per day as well as how many grams of protein, carbs, etc. that should be in my diet. What is the best macronutrient calculator online or iPhone app? I really want to do this right! Right now I am on a low but not zero carb diet. Actually, I am carb cycling so I am getting on average 50-75 grams of carbs on the low days and 100-125 grams on the high days. I am also eating between 1200-1300 calories per day and exercising between 200-300 calories per day. But I am losing weight at a snail's pace. I am 5'6" and 53 years old with about 25 lbs to lose. Thanks all.

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  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    As far as macros go, there are a lot of different ways that you can set them and still be successful. That's going to depend a lot on personal preference, exercise routine, and general health and body composition goals. So it's tough to suggest any kind of one-size-fits-all calculator for them.

    I had really good success using this post to set my macros, but you might find that a different way works better for you: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
  • JessaLee0324
    JessaLee0324 Posts: 118 Member
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    You aren't consuming enough calories. Have you figured out your BMR or TDEE numbers yet? You need to make sure you are fueling your body properly or you won't see progress.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    A few thoughts -

    1) There is no "best" calculator. Pick one that's easy for you to understand/use and that works with your goals, understand what it's telling you to do, then do it. Something brought you to MFP - why not use MFP's calculator/recommendations as a starting point?

    2) a "snail's pace" is normal/healthy. Being realistic, no rate of progress would be as fast we we want it to be, so just accept that it's going to be slow and be happy with the progress you are making.
  • freightguy
    freightguy Posts: 5 Member
    edited November 2014
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    This should help. Even if your not lifting weights it applies to your fitness. The link below what I pasted is the whole article. It is a bodybuilding website. I am personally working on gaining muscle mass and this was one of the first things I was instructed to figure out.

    I was using basic macro numbers from myfitness, but needed to change them for what my goals had changed to.

    Hope it helps.

    Basic Terminology
    1/ BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate): The amount of calories you need to consume to maintain your body if you were comatose (base level).
    2/ NEAT (Non-Exercise Associated Thermogenesis): The calorie of daily activity that is NOT exercise (eg: washing, walking, talking, shopping, working). ie: INCIDENTAL EXERCISE! It is something that everyone has a good amount of control over.
    3/ EAT (Exercise Associated Thermogenesis): The calorie requirements associated with planned exercise. Unless someone is doing a whole heap of exercise (eg: two or more hrs training a day) it usually doesn't add a stack of calories to your requirements (30 minutes of 'elliptical training' isn't going to burn 6000 cals)
    4/ TEF (Thermic effect of feeding): The calorie expenditure associated with eating. REGARDLESS of what myths you have been told - this is NOT dependent on MEAL FREQUENCY. It is a % of TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED (and 15% of 3 x 600 cal meals is the same as 15% of 6 x 300 cal meals). It varies according to MACRONUTRIENT content and FIBER content. For most mixed diets, it is something around 15%. Protein is higher (up to 25%), carbs are variable (between 5-25%), and fats are low (usually less than 5%). So more protein and more carbs and more fiber = HIGHER TEF. More FAT = LOWER TEF.
    5/ TEE (Total Energy Expenditure): The total calories you require - and the sum of the above (BMR + NEAT + EAT + TEF).
    To make things simple, NEAT + EAT + TEF is often just calculated through a daily ACTIVITY FACTOR.

  • freightguy
    freightguy Posts: 5 Member
    edited November 2014
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    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=156380183

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