going over on macros...

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rachylouise87
rachylouise87 Posts: 367 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
i always go over on protein, i eat a lot of eggs, fish and meat and i am on 1100 calories per day. is it better to go over say on protein rather than carbs my fat is set at 37g per day carbs at 120 and protein at around 80. my day to day diet varies but adding protein shakes in has really helped my energy seeing as im at a low calorie. i never go over on calories just the protein . how can i deal with this without lowering the others too much?
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Replies

  • moto450
    moto450 Posts: 334 Member
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    Ultimately is your
  • Cc215
    Cc215 Posts: 228 Member
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    1100 calaries a day is too few, and you say you never go over - how far under this target are you? Minimum calories recommended for a woman is 1200 - MFP will never set your calories as less than this, and most women will lose weight eating considerably more than this.

    The reason you are struggling to meet your macro requirements is that you aren't eating enough to meet them. I'd look at uping your calories to a healthy target first - then worry about the macros.
  • moto450
    moto450 Posts: 334 Member
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    Oops. Ultimately it's your calorie intake that matters most. However I personally would rather go over on protein than carbs because the body burns more calories processing them.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    why do you have a calorie goal of 1100?
  • rachylouise87
    rachylouise87 Posts: 367 Member
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    i am 5ft 1 ... my NEAT is 1700. i previously had a deficit of 500 but it wasnt working so this week i shook up my workout routine and lowered my calories. my diet is good and varied.i always meet the 1100 target on non exercise days and on exercise days i net 1200 possibly 1300 some days. so i am not always eating 1100. i have started at the maximum which was 1300 and worked down. i managed to lose 20lbs at 1200 and then it stalled after christmas. i didnt allow myself to fall off the wagon and kept pushing on and only lost 3lbs with a stomach virus last week in december. since then i havnt lost anything i was struggling before the stomach virus too so i probably would say i have not lost anything with diet and exercise since beginning of december.
  • rachylouise87
    rachylouise87 Posts: 367 Member
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    oh and i am pretty sedentary apart from t25 every day ... desk job kinda kills it
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    I look at protein as a minimum. You need to eat at least 1200 calories.
  • dfranch
    dfranch Posts: 207 Member
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    I wouldn't worry about a 2-3 week stall. It happens especially as we get closer to our goals. Just stick with it and you will start to lose again.
  • Cc215
    Cc215 Posts: 228 Member
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    dfranch wrote: »
    I wouldn't worry about a 2-3 week stall. It happens especially as we get closer to our goals. Just stick with it and you will start to lose again.

    Ignore this - don't stick with what you are doing. You aren't eating enough.

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I, too, look at protein as a minimum. I watch it and calories and everything else falls wherever it falls, though I am also never low on fat (and don't care if I'm over.)
  • rachylouise87
    rachylouise87 Posts: 367 Member
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    i think people really shouldnt be telling people their macros calories etc are too low when they dont know the details. but i appreciate the advice. i think i have been stalling for 7 weeks now and only lost when i had a tummy bug... couldnt keep anything down for 5 days then the weight loss stopped then i was on 1200 so i saw dr, he said 1100 absolute lowest and see how i get on.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
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    rachylouise87 wrote: »
    i think people really shouldnt be telling people their macros calories etc are too low when they dont know the details.

    ...then why are you looking for people to advise you on your macros?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Branstin wrote: »
    rachylouise87 wrote: »
    i think people really shouldnt be telling people their macros calories etc are too low when they dont know the details.

    ...then why are you looking for people to advise you on your macros?

    Good question!
  • Cc215
    Cc215 Posts: 228 Member
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    Branstin wrote: »
    rachylouise87 wrote: »
    i think people really shouldnt be telling people their macros calories etc are too low when they dont know the details.

    ...then why are you looking for people to advise you on your macros?

    It was a dig at me - noone else. I'm backing out of this thread now!
  • RaspberryTickleChicken
    RaspberryTickleChicken Posts: 629 Member
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    I'm 4'10" and even to me 1100 seems a bit low.

    And if you have hit a plateau ... reducing calories is not the answer. Increasing activity is - no way to get around that one.

    But onto OP orig question, personally I always would rather go over in protein than carbs and carbs over fats.

    But it really just depends on what will work best for you.

    Good luck!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    MFP's default protein setting is pretty much bare minimum for a sedentary person. I wouldn't worry at all about going over and in fact generally recommend more protein for people who are trying to lose weight in order to mitigate muscle loss. If you're active at all, you definitely need more.

    Beyond that, people stress out way too much about macros...most people would be better served to just focus on hitting there calorie goals and stop obsessing about things that are ultimately not all that important outside of your fitness goals and potentially some body composition goals....people need to get their calories straight first and then worry about all that other *kitten* later...and really, trying to hit them bang on is a bit OCD IMO.
  • rachylouise87
    rachylouise87 Posts: 367 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    MFP's default protein setting is pretty much bare minimum for a sedentary person. I wouldn't worry at all about going over and in fact generally recommend more protein for people who are trying to lose weight in order to mitigate muscle loss. If you're active at all, you definitely need more.

    Beyond that, people stress out way too much about macros...most people would be better served to just focus on hitting there calorie goals and stop obsessing about things that are ultimately not all that important outside of your fitness goals and potentially some body composition goals....people need to get their calories straight first and then worry about all that other *kitten* later...and really, trying to hit them bang on is a bit OCD IMO.

    thanks. i try to get close sometimes i am sometimes at 1100 sometimes 1200 and 1300 depends on my activity. lots of crazy nut jobs on here i see

  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    rachylouise87 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    MFP's default protein setting is pretty much bare minimum for a sedentary person. I wouldn't worry at all about going over and in fact generally recommend more protein for people who are trying to lose weight in order to mitigate muscle loss. If you're active at all, you definitely need more.

    Beyond that, people stress out way too much about macros...most people would be better served to just focus on hitting there calorie goals and stop obsessing about things that are ultimately not all that important outside of your fitness goals and potentially some body composition goals....people need to get their calories straight first and then worry about all that other *kitten* later...and really, trying to hit them bang on is a bit OCD IMO.

    thanks. i try to get close sometimes i am sometimes at 1100 sometimes 1200 and 1300 depends on my activity. lots of crazy nut jobs on here i see
    They are not crazy nut jobs. Ultimately your calorie goal IS too low for pretty much almost everyone. And macros are definitely worth monitoring or at least being aware of even if you don't have body composition or specific exercise (lifting or lots of endurance) goals. If you're diabetic you need to monitor carbs. If you are finding that you are constantly hungry then you may need to monitor macros to see if there are any trends -- does high carb make you hungry? Or maybe high fat due to not having enough volume? Poor memory or mood? etc.

    what are your stats? Current weight, body composition goals (do you have any?), do you exercise regularly or just randomly, any medical conditions that would affect your ability to eat certain things/macros, body fat % if known, do you lift weights, etc.
  • kabrown6868
    kabrown6868 Posts: 4
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    If you want a way to get over your plateau, you should try carb cycling. There are many levels and you can try to see what your body responds to best. http://chrispowell.com/carb-cycling-101/
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
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    I focus on at least meeting the protein and fat macros, and letting the carbs fall where they may within my daily calorie intake - 40% protein 30% carb 30%fat

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