tracking proteins confuses me [macro]

Gertie011
Gertie011 Posts: 12 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi I just started mfp last week, I set my goal at 1.5 lb a week, and haven't eaten the recommended 1200 calories on any day, I know this sounds crazy, but I dont often feel hungry,Im not very active, but I was eating a lot of bad stuff, and thats how over time Ive ended up 220 lb.
I've kept seeing mention of 'macro' eating so thought Id have a look at it,and it turns out from the calculator I followed a link to, I should eat 1g protein for every 1lb body weight,to stop any muscle wastage,so thats 200g protein, but the tracker on the food diary is different, its about 80g. Should I just not worry about all this for now and concentrate on keeping the calories correct? [I've changed my goal to 2lb a week just now]

Replies

  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    Weightlifting sites keep trying to out-protein each other.

    The RDI for non-pregnant, non-nursing women is 46 grams of protein per day. Eating a bit more than is fine but you don't need to go crazy with it.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    There's definitely an order of importance when it comes to weight loss and body composition. The most important thing is calories, the second most important thing is macros. You definitely don't need 1g per lb of body weight, nobody needs that. The recommended amount of protein to preserve as much muscle as possible is 1g per lb of LEAN BODY WEIGHT.
  • Gertie011
    Gertie011 Posts: 12 Member
    Ah, thank you! well Im no bodybuilder, so Im glad I dont have to try for 200g lol. thank you very much. It was a TDEE calculator I followed a link to from a thread on here.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Gertie011 wrote: »
    Ah, thank you! well Im no bodybuilder, so Im glad I dont have to try for 200g lol. thank you very much. It was a TDEE calculator I followed a link to from a thread on here.

    @Gertie011 - the recomendation is 1g per 1lb of LBM (lean body mass) not per lb of bodyweight.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1
    seska422 wrote: »
    Weightlifting sites keep trying to out-protein each other.

    The RDI for non-pregnant, non-nursing women is 46 grams of protein per day. Eating a bit more than is fine but you don't need to go crazy with it.

    That is minimum for someone who is not active and not trying to lose weight. It is recommended to up protein while losing. I do agree 1 g per 1lb of bodyweight is too high.
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