how should I measure..

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alessandragiu1
alessandragiu1 Posts: 48 Member
in Food and Nutrition
how much protein I should have a day? Also, carbs, fat, etc? MFP has me at 1200 calories a day, 60g of protein, 150g carbs, and 40g of fat. I feel this is low especially since I work out 4-5 days a week. Any input would help.

Thanks,
Alessandra

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    How tall are you, your age, and how much do you want to lose?
  • alessandragiu1
    alessandragiu1 Posts: 48 Member
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    I am 5'3, 26 years old, and want to lose 25 pounds. CW: 154lbs.
  • djprice_69
    djprice_69 Posts: 115 Member
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    A goal of 25 pounds basically means a caloric deficit of 87500 calories. Your current stats show you have a Basal Metabolic rate of roughly 1619 k/cal from the old Harris-Benedict model, or 1723 k/cal from the updated Roza-Shizgal model. Lets round it to 1700, so your current 1200 k/cal model will allow you to lose roughly 1 lb/week due to a 500 k/cal day (3500/week) deficit.

    In my opinion, 1200 calories really isn't much, especially if you exercise. Its tough to eat what you enjoy on such a restricted diet, so it might help to think about eating for fuel. Upping your fat & protein a little bit while lowering your carbs might help you to feel fuller longer, too. I'd definitely steer clear from highly processed foods, particularly grains (cheap breads, cereals, sweets, etc), but that's just my two cents.

    Also, depending on your workouts, your body composition may begin to change but the scale might not move very much. While the scale may be misleading, your clothes will tell you the truth - you'll notice things fit better, or you will likely look better just by eating healthy & working out.

    Best of luck to you in your weight loss journey :-)
  • sheldonklein
    sheldonklein Posts: 854 Member
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    IMO, unless you re a performance athlete, macros while dieting are more a matter of what satiates you than "health" reasons. That is largely an individual matter. Obviously that assumes some reasonable range -- not an all twinkie diet. But I wouldn't agonize over whether you should eat 20% or 30% fat calories.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    You only have 25 pounds to lose so your logging will have to be accurate. I lost my last 20 pounds and it was slow going. 1200 is low but if you exercise MFP will give you more calories to eat. I calculated your TDEE and it is 2100. Shave off 15-20% off that number and you will lose. Make sure you eat your protein and that will keep you fuller.
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
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    Your rate of loss that you desired when programming it into MFP was too high. At only 25lbs to lose, your weight loss rate should be much lower and it will give you a higher caloric count. Your rate should be 0.5-1lb per week (even the 1 lb per week is debatable) though. You will find that starving yourself won't be sustainable and you will be miserable,

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