Calories / macros/ maintenanace
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Samm471
Posts: 432 Member
Okay so I'm trying to eat at maintenanace. I'm not sure what my maintenanace calories are yet but I'm struggling to even hit what I was on for a deficit. When I try and hit calories I'm going over on fat / protein/ carbs/sugar and still under calories by a few hundred. Am I being too strict by what I eat and should I be eating more things like white bread pasta things like that? I'm really struggling to hit macros going way over and still under calories. I've set my calories to 1700 I know this isn't my maintenance goal as my deficit is 1622 but I struggle to even hit that so god knows how I'm gonna hit macros/calories if my maintenance calories are even higher than 1700. Help at all anyone? I can open my diary of need be. Thanks p.s this is so frustrating I'm having to sit days in advance to sort my diary. I though this would be fun/enjoyable and not so tiring and stressing!
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Replies
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You still haven't commented in the other thread you started on macros.
Are you lifting weights?0 -
Sorry and yes I lift weights 5 days a week well this is the plan now that I'm "trying" to maintain the problem is I'm under on calories and over on all my macros Where am I going wrong?0
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Don't eat things you don't like.
It sounds like you may not be using accurate nutritional entries from the database. If you meet your macros, you should be very close to your calories as well. Nutrition labels have a bit of rounding but the macro calorie totals should be within 100 calories or so of the overall calorie total for the day.
As an example:
I'm set at 50% carbs, 30% fat, and 20% protein.
For 1700 calories, that would be 213g of carbs, 57g of fat, and 85g of protein.
Carbs and protein each have 4 calories per gram and fat has 9 calories per gram.
Carbs: 213g x 4 cal/gram = 852 calories from carbs
Fat: 57 x 9 = 513
Protein: 85 x 4 = 340
Add those together (852 + 513 + 340) and you get 1705, which gets the math back to the 1700 calorie goal.0 -
Okay thanks I must be going wrong somewhere on my entries I will need to have a look0
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Don't I need to be eating about 126g protein since I weigh 126lbs though? I always thought protein has to be the same as weight.0
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p.s this is so frustrating I'm having to sit days in advance to sort my diary. I though this would be fun/enjoyable and not so tiring and stressing!
Why not just eat what you like? (Obviously within reason)
I don't find it a problem eating around 2000 cals a day AT ALL! In fact, i wish i could eat more. Lol
I do like my Carbs though and most of my Meals are based around Wholewheat Pasta, Wholemeal Bread, Rice and Potatoes.
Plus i have the occasional piece of Cake or Doughnut.
I have a Take Away once a week and drink alcohol at the weekend, so i don't deprive myself. "Eating Clean" would bore me to tears.
You do quite a lot of exercise, so can easily fit in "treats" too.
Maintenance should certainly not be stressful!0 -
ExRelaySprinter wrote: »p.s this is so frustrating I'm having to sit days in advance to sort my diary. I though this would be fun/enjoyable and not so tiring and stressing!
Why not just eat what you like? (Obviously within reason)
I don't find it a problem eating around 2000 cals a day AT ALL! In fact, i wish i could eat more. Lol
I do like my Carbs though and most of my Meals are based around Wholewheat Pasta, Wholemeal Bread, Rice and Potatoes.
Plus i have the occasional piece of Cake or Doughnut.
I have a Take Away once a week and drink alcohol at the weekend, so i don't deprive myself. "Eating Clean" would bore me to tears.
You do quite a lot of exercise, so can easily fit in "treats" too.
Maintenance should certainly not be stressful!
But what if I'm over in fat and protein all the time and carbs too. Yeah I do a lot of exercise and I'm trying to eat as clean as possible I didn't realise I could eat other things too I thought it had to be clean stuff. Will I not gain weight if I'm constantly over on carbs /fat / sugar though?0 -
ExRelaySprinter wrote: »p.s this is so frustrating I'm having to sit days in advance to sort my diary. I though this would be fun/enjoyable and not so tiring and stressing!
Why not just eat what you like? (Obviously within reason)
I don't find it a problem eating around 2000 cals a day AT ALL! In fact, i wish i could eat more. Lol
I do like my Carbs though and most of my Meals are based around Wholewheat Pasta, Wholemeal Bread, Rice and Potatoes.
Plus i have the occasional piece of Cake or Doughnut.
I have a Take Away once a week and drink alcohol at the weekend, so i don't deprive myself. "Eating Clean" would bore me to tears.
You do quite a lot of exercise, so can easily fit in "treats" too.
Maintenance should certainly not be stressful!
But what if I'm over in fat and protein all the time and carbs too. Yeah I do a lot of exercise and I'm trying to eat as clean as possible I didn't realise I could eat other things too I thought it had to be clean stuff. Will I not gain weight if I'm constantly over on carbs /fat / sugar though?
No no no.
You should go back and read the stickies in the getting started sub forum.
The amount of calories determine if you gain weight, not where those calories come from.
The numbers I gave you in the other thread are minimums.
Furthermore, fat does not make you gain fat! Other than watching out for trans fat, it is no issue to have a high fat diet. How else would low carb eaters manage?
Also, how can you be over in carbs if you "fill the other calories with carbs".
Also, eating clean is good for your health because of the nutrients (vitamins, etc). However, if you eat enough to fill your nutrients, who cares if you eat cookies, ice dream or chips.0 -
Okay so I'm trying to eat at maintenanace. I'm not sure what my maintenanace calories are yet but I'm struggling to even hit what I was on for a deficit. When I try and hit calories I'm going over on fat / protein/ carbs/sugar and still under calories by a few hundred. Am I being too strict by what I eat and should I be eating more things like white bread pasta things like that? I'm really struggling to hit macros going way over and still under calories. I've set my calories to 1700 I know this isn't my maintenance goal as my deficit is 1622 but I struggle to even hit that so god knows how I'm gonna hit macros/calories if my maintenance calories are even higher than 1700. Help at all anyone? I can open my diary of need be. Thanks p.s this is so frustrating I'm having to sit days in advance to sort my diary. I though this would be fun/enjoyable and not so tiring and stressing!
how can you hit all your macros but not your calorie goal? I'd look at what you're logging, something's wrong somewhere.0 -
ExRelaySprinter wrote: »p.s this is so frustrating I'm having to sit days in advance to sort my diary. I though this would be fun/enjoyable and not so tiring and stressing!
Why not just eat what you like? (Obviously within reason)
I don't find it a problem eating around 2000 cals a day AT ALL! In fact, i wish i could eat more. Lol
I do like my Carbs though and most of my Meals are based around Wholewheat Pasta, Wholemeal Bread, Rice and Potatoes.
Plus i have the occasional piece of Cake or Doughnut.
I have a Take Away once a week and drink alcohol at the weekend, so i don't deprive myself. "Eating Clean" would bore me to tears.
You do quite a lot of exercise, so can easily fit in "treats" too.
Maintenance should certainly not be stressful!
But what if I'm over in fat and protein all the time and carbs too. Yeah I do a lot of exercise and I'm trying to eat as clean as possible I didn't realise I could eat other things too I thought it had to be clean stuff. Will I not gain weight if I'm constantly over on carbs /fat / sugar though?
No no no.
You should go back and read the stickies in the getting started sub forum.
The amount of calories determine if you gain weight, not where those calories come from.
The numbers I gave you in the other thread are minimums.
Furthermore, fat does not make you gain fat! Other than watching out for trans fat, it is no issue to have a high fat diet. How else would low carb eaters manage?
Also, how can you be over in carbs if you "fill the other calories with carbs".
Also, eating clean is good for your health because of the nutrients (vitamins, etc). However, if you eat enough to fill your nutrients, who cares if you eat cookies, ice dream or chips.
Okay thanks for this I'm gonna go back over and read it. I just thought I don't know why that I had to 1 maintain my calories. Which I'm struggling to do because I'm going wayyy over my macros but if your saying that it's okay as long as I'm sticking to my calorie goal and it doesn't matter where the source comes from but obviously healthier food/nutrients is better for you0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »Okay so I'm trying to eat at maintenanace. I'm not sure what my maintenanace calories are yet but I'm struggling to even hit what I was on for a deficit. When I try and hit calories I'm going over on fat / protein/ carbs/sugar and still under calories by a few hundred. Am I being too strict by what I eat and should I be eating more things like white bread pasta things like that? I'm really struggling to hit macros going way over and still under calories. I've set my calories to 1700 I know this isn't my maintenance goal as my deficit is 1622 but I struggle to even hit that so god knows how I'm gonna hit macros/calories if my maintenance calories are even higher than 1700. Help at all anyone? I can open my diary of need be. Thanks p.s this is so frustrating I'm having to sit days in advance to sort my diary. I though this would be fun/enjoyable and not so tiring and stressing!
how can you hit all your macros but not your calorie goal? I'd look at what you're logging, something's wrong somewhere.
A few people have said this so I'm gonna go through my diary and make sure I'm logging things properly cos clearly I must be going wrong somewhere0 -
ExRelaySprinter wrote: »p.s this is so frustrating I'm having to sit days in advance to sort my diary. I though this would be fun/enjoyable and not so tiring and stressing!
Why not just eat what you like? (Obviously within reason)
I don't find it a problem eating around 2000 cals a day AT ALL! In fact, i wish i could eat more. Lol
I do like my Carbs though and most of my Meals are based around Wholewheat Pasta, Wholemeal Bread, Rice and Potatoes.
Plus i have the occasional piece of Cake or Doughnut.
I have a Take Away once a week and drink alcohol at the weekend, so i don't deprive myself. "Eating Clean" would bore me to tears.
You do quite a lot of exercise, so can easily fit in "treats" too.
Maintenance should certainly not be stressful!
But what if I'm over in fat and protein all the time and carbs too. Yeah I do a lot of exercise and I'm trying to eat as clean as possible I didn't realise I could eat other things too I thought it had to be clean stuff. Will I not gain weight if I'm constantly over on carbs /fat / sugar though?
No no no.
You should go back and read the stickies in the getting started sub forum.
The amount of calories determine if you gain weight, not where those calories come from.
The numbers I gave you in the other thread are minimums.
Furthermore, fat does not make you gain fat! Other than watching out for trans fat, it is no issue to have a high fat diet. How else would low carb eaters manage?
Also, how can you be over in carbs if you "fill the other calories with carbs".
Also, eating clean is good for your health because of the nutrients (vitamins, etc). However, if you eat enough to fill your nutrients, who cares if you eat cookies, ice dream or chips.
that it's okay as long as I'm sticking to my calorie goal and it doesn't matter where the source comes from but obviously healthier food/nutrients is better for you
Yes, this is correct^^.
Don't obsess too much if you "go over" with your macro's, as it doesn't matter. It's the amount of calories you eat that matter.
I have to also say that i should've said eating clean "constantly" would bore me to tears.
I do eat homecooked healthy meals, but i do eat Chocolate, Cake, Crisps & Take Aways etc. as well.
Nothing wrong with eating those Foods in moderation.0 -
I had this issue when I wasn't logging correctly. By that I wasn't entering all the small stuff all the time...olive oil I used to cook some chicken, veggies added to my salad, measured dressings,butter,jelly,cottage cheese, nuts etc. all those things were eye opening when I actually weighed them out and got portions accurate. I hit my macros pretty dang close every day now and consume all my 1880 calories. Feel free to add me, my diary is open.0
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I eat a healthy, balanced diet and ignore the macros, they just aren't that important.0
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beemerphile1 wrote: »I eat a healthy, balanced diet and ignore the macros, they just aren't that important.
Depends on your goals...0 -
Don't I need to be eating about 126g protein since I weigh 126lbs though? I always thought protein has to be the same as weight.
No, you don't need 126 g protein. The numbers I've seen are .8-1 gram per KG, not pound. Check this calculator
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/caltp.htm
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Don't I need to be eating about 126g protein since I weigh 126lbs though? I always thought protein has to be the same as weight.
No, you don't need 126 g protein. The numbers I've seen are .8-1 gram per KG, not pound. Check this calculator
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/caltp.htm
That is the numbers for a sedentary person eating maintenance intake. In a deficit you should be eating more. the rule of thumb is 0.8-1.0 grams/lb of lean body mass, but if you don't know your BF% you could aim for 0.7-0.8 grams per lb of goal weight.
OP, so if you are at goal weight that would be an intake of 88 to 101, and can be viewed as minimums. the 126 would not be harmful either, just not necessary.
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