Macros on point?

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daniellerusbult2
daniellerusbult2 Posts: 102 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Ive been on a good gym schedule for 4 solid weeks and I'm ready to get my eating habits honed in for maximum results. I'm looking to lose fat and build muscle!

Here are my TDEE results:
BMR: 1,650 calories per day
Sedentary: 1,980 calories per day
Light Exercise: 2,269 calories per day
Moderate Exercise:2,558 cals per day
Heavy Exercise: 2,847 cals per day
Athlete: 3,136 calories per day

I lift 4-5 days/week and cardio 3-4 of those days.

Here is where I have set my macros, after reading about it a bit. For the first month, I thought hitting fat loss would be my goal (high protein, moderate fat, low carb):

Calories: 1850
Carbs: 109g (25%)
Protein: 195g (45%)
Fat: 58g (30%)

Keep in mind, this is only going to be for the first month-1.5 months for initial fat loss!

Any input is greatly appreciated! If I'm severely wrong in my methods here, please advise, but if you think my macros are on point, then great!
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Replies

  • daniellerusbult2
    daniellerusbult2 Posts: 102 Member
    edited January 2016
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    I forgot to add:

    Female
    5'8"
    190lbs
    34% body fat

    I was at a good weight just a few years ago at 152lbs. Healthy and strong.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    edited January 2016
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    Protein is unnecessarily high. It's not going to hurt you or anything - but protein tends to be the most 'expensive' macro, so you could knock that back a bit (generally about 0.8 grams per pound of body weight is all that's necessary).

    I'd probably knock protein down to around 150 g or so. Could stand a little more fat - maybe 70 grams...that would put carbs at around 155 to make 1850 calories.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
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    Too many calories. Wrong Macros. You'll gain weight/fat if you go over about 1600 cals. Macros better at carbs 22%, Protein 23%, Fat 55%. Your high protein will just convert to sugar, and then fat.
  • daniellerusbult2
    daniellerusbult2 Posts: 102 Member
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    What do you mean by "expensive," exactly?

    That sounds great, considering it was pretty difficult to hit that protein goal (possible, but it took me awhile to figure it out), but I want to make sure my macros aren't just falling back to "average" levels. (Not arguing in the slightest, just very curious!!)
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    daniellerusbult2 wrote: »
    What do you mean by "expensive," exactly?
    Literally, expensive...
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    daniellerusbult2 wrote: »
    What do you mean by "expensive," exactly?

    That sounds great, considering it was pretty difficult to hit that protein goal (possible, but it took me awhile to figure it out), but I want to make sure my macros aren't just falling back to "average" levels. (Not arguing in the slightest, just very curious!!)

    Like - it costs the most money. Meats, protein supplements, etc tend to be a lot pricier per calorie than just filling your calories out with a slice of bread and peanut butter or something.
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
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    If your goal weight is 150 pounds, I'd shoot for:

    100-150 grams protein
    75 grams fat
    Fill the rest in with carbs
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    edited January 2016
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    Your numbers are fine and it looks like you put some work into it so go with it. This is a Macro question not a Finance one..

    Your fat and protein levels are above minimum (good thing) so who cares its about the calories to lose the weight I say Go for it....
  • daniellerusbult2
    daniellerusbult2 Posts: 102 Member
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    So I shouldn't go with high protein? Goodness, I get so confused!!

    I suppose this is why people pay professionals to figure it out for them lol.


    And yes, it is not a finance one ;) but I appreciate the feedback anyway! I have stockpiles of frozen salmon, frozen shrimp, frozen chicken breasts, etc... So I guess I don't think about the financial aspect.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
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    daniellerusbult2 wrote: »
    So I shouldn't go with high protein? Goodness, I get so confused!!

    I suppose this is why people pay professionals to figure it out for them lol.


    And yes, it is not a finance one ;) but I appreciate the feedback anyway! I have stockpiles of frozen salmon, frozen shrimp, frozen chicken breasts, etc... So I guess I don't think about the financial aspect.

    Oh don't worry, 150 grams per day for a 5' 8" female is still high protein.

    A lot of recommendations will specify .8-1.2 grams per pound of "lean" bodyweight.
    So at 34% body fat, your lean mass would be around 125 lbs.
    125 x 1.2 grams = 150 grams
  • daniellerusbult2
    daniellerusbult2 Posts: 102 Member
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    That definitely makes more sense now! I read that somewhere a long time ago, but I forgot all about the "lean" part of it. I'll readjust my macros tomorrow!

    Thank you all!
  • Jenfit03
    Jenfit03 Posts: 4 Member
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    You should also be able to do a body scan at the gym for your body composition and get an instructor to print out your macros. I just got that done at Steve Nash Fitness World, then put that info into MFP to adjust my goals. Now I have to make the adjustments. (The not so easy part)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Jenfit03 wrote: »
    You should also be able to do a body scan at the gym for your body composition and get an instructor to print out your macros. I just got that done at Steve Nash Fitness World, then put that info into MFP to adjust my goals. Now I have to make the adjustments. (The not so easy part)

    How will a body scan tell you what macros you should shoot for?
  • FussFreeFitness
    FussFreeFitness Posts: 12 Member
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    I would agree that the protein looks a bit high. Carbs and fats can be interchanged based on your preferences that day as long as they stay within your caloric intake goals. Personally, I like more carbs on the days I lift weights, and higher fat on sedentary days, but always get a minimum of 60g fat. Lower carb doesn't necessarily mean faster fat loss. Weight (water) loss, sure. At the end of the day it's calories in vs calories out plus adequate protein to maintain as much muscle as possible.
  • FussFreeFitness
    FussFreeFitness Posts: 12 Member
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    juggernaut1974 wrote: »
    Protein is unnecessarily high. It's not going to hurt you or anything - but protein tends to be the most 'expensive' macro, so you could knock that back a bit (generally about 0.8 grams per pound of body weight is all that's necessary).

    I'd probably knock protein down to around 150 g or so. Could stand a little more fat - maybe 70 grams...that would put carbs at around 155 to make 1850 calories.

    Smart and simple!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    daniellerusbult2 wrote: »
    So I shouldn't go with high protein? Goodness, I get so confused!!

    I suppose this is why people pay professionals to figure it out for them lol.


    And yes, it is not a finance one ;) but I appreciate the feedback anyway! I have stockpiles of frozen salmon, frozen shrimp, frozen chicken breasts, etc... So I guess I don't think about the financial aspect.

    There's not a whole lot of benefit to protein in excess of 1 gram per Lb of LBM...as others have stated, it's basically going to turn into really expensive glucose. I basically hit a range of 0.6 - 0.8 grams per Lb of my body weight and that has been more than sufficient...that's 111 grams on the low end and 148 grams on the high end..I'd wager that I'm usually 130-140 grams or so which is still slightly less than 1g per Lb of LBM...but I'm doing just fine.

    There's high protein and then there's excessively high protein.
  • withoutasaddle
    withoutasaddle Posts: 191 Member
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    Athletes are actually one of te groups that need the most carbs. While protein is important for muscle building, I would suggust making carbs % larger
  • withoutasaddle
    withoutasaddle Posts: 191 Member
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    And it's actually .8g/protein per KILO not pound to whoever said that ^
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
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    withoutasaddle wrote: »
    And it's actually .8g/protein per KILO not pound to whoever said that ^

    .8g per kg may be acceptable for an entirely sedentary individual not engaging in weight loss but it is far from optimal for muscle retention in a deficit or for muscle building/workout recovery when engaging in progressive resistance training.
  • frantzcr
    frantzcr Posts: 129 Member
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    Hi I follow something really similar to you (30%fat, 40%protein, 30%carbs). I've been following it for a month and the results are great! My percent body fat is down, muscle weight is up, overall weight down, and bone density is up! I'm a believer

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