First Day Macro Help

MrsDowFire
MrsDowFire Posts: 4 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
In the past I've started to track macros and always quit. Come the end of the day I don't know how to finish so that I actually hit the macros. I've been reading here and have a few questions. First I did the IIFYM Calculator to establish mine based on my weight, age, activity, etc.
1603 Calories per day (Protein 124g/Fat 45g/Carb 177g). I'm back to using MFP and so today I have 2 more meals left; macros remaining Protein 70g/Fat 0g/Carbs 95g. Obviously I didn't plan enough to allow some fats towards the end of the day.....I'm already finding this tough today. How do you all handle the end of your days using this method? How should I complete my day? I may have to post every day for a few weeks to get food ideas how I actually hit the macros at the end of the day.

Replies

  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    Not answering your question, but how long have you been tracking calories? Generally, until you get the calorie tracking down pretty pat you don't want the additional confusion of tracking macros too.
  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,280 Member
    To hit that low a fat goal, you should start eating pretty lean, low fat proteins (beans and low fat fish). I generally just stay under my calorie goal, eat lean meats, vegetables and a little bit of fruit and my macros work themselves out for the most part. You might want to just make a diet plan for the week that fits within your macros instead of doing it one day at a time.
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
    The protein and fat goals are minimums (usually), so if you go over them a bit you're ok.

    You'll want to choose lean proteins:
    chicken breasts
    turkey breasts
    lean ground beef
    lean beef (like lean steaks)
    tofu (you can make awesome stirfry with tofu)
    fish
  • acheben
    acheben Posts: 476 Member
    The only way that I have success with hitting my macros is by pre-planning my meals and snacks. After a while, you kind of know what you need to be eating to make it all balance out.

    For example, if I want oatmeal for breakfast, I'll plan to have more protein heavy snacks and lunch/dinner to make up for it. I know I'm not always going to hit my macros exactly, but if I can average it out over the week, I'll take it.
  • MrsDowFire
    MrsDowFire Posts: 4 Member
    Thank you. I've used MFP and Lose It in the past to track calories. Just starting back up again but changing things up a bit. I decided on having chicken breast/salad/small amt rice for dinner. Then I'm having a protein shake and 4 peppercorn & poppy water crisps which only have 1g fat. Hopefully that will come close....thanks again.
  • JimFsfitnesspal
    JimFsfitnesspal Posts: 313 Member
    Assuming your goal is weight loss, I would be more worried about carbs & sugars than fats. There is plenty of good reliable information out there on the subject if you want to verify. Im not into the ultra-low carb diets. I go with a goal of 100 carbs max per day and try to limit my sugars and then I eat as much protein as I can and supplement with fats. An important point is you want quality fats and carbs. It is better to ingest nuts or the like for the fat calories than to eat / drink alot of the protein bars / shakes out there. I only eat / drink them on the days I do heavy weight training. They have much more carbs, sugars, and crap than they are worth the protein. Good Luck. You are looking good. You must be doing something right.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    FWIW, I pick the macro I care about the most (in my case, protein), and make sure my snacks have a very high protein-to-calorie ratio. Then I do my best to hit my calorie target. The other two macros tend to average out OK over the week, but I dont worry about them on a day to day basis. Feel free to look at my diary.
  • MrsDowFire
    MrsDowFire Posts: 4 Member
    @JimFsfitnesspal‌ So your saying that I could eat nuts (instead of protein shake) to reach my daily protein allowance even though it will take my fat grams over my daily allowance? I was looking at the raw pumpkin seeds sitting on my counter and see that 1/4 cup is 23g of protein/4g carb and 18g of fat.
  • JoJo__Fit
    JoJo__Fit Posts: 258 Member
    I plan my meals the day before so I won't have that problem.

    With those macros, your fats should come from oils, nuts or fish. The protein should be 3 to 4 oz 4 x's a day you should hit your target for protein. As far as the carbs clean source carbs will give you more food!!!! Veggies, oats, rice & fruit. 1 serving of fruit 5 servings of veggies and a serving of rice or oats should help you hit your macros & you won't be starving!!!

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    MrsDowFire wrote: »
    @JimFsfitnesspal‌ So your saying that I could eat nuts (instead of protein shake) to reach my daily protein allowance even though it will take my fat grams over my daily allowance? I was looking at the raw pumpkin seeds sitting on my counter and see that 1/4 cup is 23g of protein/4g carb and 18g of fat.
    Yes, the macro thing is mostly a distraction.
    Fats are good.

  • MrsDowFire
    MrsDowFire Posts: 4 Member
    :D thanks
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    Biggest issue with using nuts (or nut butters) to reach your protein numbers is the high calorie content of nuts relative to the amount of protein. If you've got plenty of scoosh in your allotted calories, then have at.
  • RunningForDonuts
    RunningForDonuts Posts: 21 Member
    Today was my first day tracking macros. So far so good! There is some great info here, thanks to all. If anyone wants to add me, please do :)
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