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Macros & Calories

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Replies

  • Posts: 24,208 Member

    Ahhhhh right okay! I understand that part now. I use a heart rate monitor for my cardio so that bit shouldn't be a problem.

    So im just confused on my macros still. Calculate from TDEE or BMR?

    Neither:

    protein 0.6-1 g per lb body weight, fat at 0.30 - 0.35 g per lb body weight, the rest as you like.
  • Posts: 19 Member
    emmas434 wrote: »
    I have mine set at sedentary, I'm 5ft6 and 186 lbs, mines is set at 1540 cals for one pound weightloss, and I exercise daily and don't eat back my exercise calories. I've had a pretty steady loss, with a few slip ups here and there. I have my carbs set quite low, as I find I enjoy fat/protein food more and they work better for me.

    I have mine at 116g carbs, 154g protein, 51g fat.

    I watch my calories overall, and try to either be just under or slightly over my macros, they're not as important to me. Although if I am over already, I will try to avoid eating foods that will put me further over a certain macro.

    Edited to include macros.

    I only weigh 4lbs less than you but are the same height but when i set mine to sedentary it says 1200. Thanks for this info.....i have been struggling with if i have been doing things correctly or not for a while now, i only like to focus on my macros by a PT at the gym.

  • Posts: 19 Member

    Neither:

    protein 0.6-1 g per lb body weight, fat at 0.30 - 0.35 g per lb body weight, the rest as you like.


    Thank you
  • Posts: 936 Member
    edited February 2016

    I want to loose around 20lbs. Im only 5ft 6 and I weigh 182lbs. 26%body fat and 134lbs is lean body mass. To maintain i have to eat around 1800-1900 calories. Iv tried so many calculations to try work this out and have different answers each time. Its becoming highly frustrating as i don't know which are the correct answers lol. I will have a look at that link - thanks

    Actually your macros look pretty good. I don't think your protein is too high at all. There are significant studies that show when you are in a deficit higher protein of 1 to 1.2 grams per pound will help maintain muscle while you lose fat. You need to be in a strength program though to get that benefit. I would agree that a 20% calorie deficit is all you need to do, so your body may need more fuel not less.

    When I started I did 1.2 grams protein, 1 gram carb and .25 gram fat per pound as a starting point. That was with 4-6 hours of heavy weightlifting a week. I ended up adding a little fat and taking down my carbs a little. I lost 40 pounds of fat and added about 8 pounds of muscle doing this.

    Try reading this and use their calculator.
    https://legionathletics.com/how-many-calories-should-i-eat/


    Good luck on your journey!
  • Posts: 35,719 Member

    I only weigh 4lbs less than you but are the same height but when i set mine to sedentary it says 1200. Thanks for this info.....i have been struggling with if i have been doing things correctly or not for a while now, i only like to focus on my macros by a PT at the gym.

    just out of interest, how much have you lost and in what time frame on the calories/macros you mentioned in your OP? for me doing it right is eating as much as you can while still losing weight...
  • Posts: 19 Member

    just out of interest, how much have you lost and in what time frame on the calories/macros you mentioned in your OP? for me doing it right is eating as much as you can while still losing weight...


    I have been tracking my macros for about a month but these were on a 40 40 20 split not the ones mentioned in my original post. I wasn't seeing much fat loss i was only seeing result on muscle areas with less fat around (such as my shoulders and legs) i want to eat as much as i can while loosing fat too but i have been struggling with my stomach area for months. I only ever see progress from lifting weights on areas that have less fat around despite doing HIIT 4 times a week. As u can imagine I'm a very frustrated lady atm!
  • Posts: 35,719 Member


    I have been tracking my macros for about a month but these were on a 40 40 20 split not the ones mentioned in my original post. I wasn't seeing much fat loss i was only seeing result on muscle areas with less fat around (such as my shoulders and legs) i want to eat as much as i can while loosing fat too but i have been struggling with my stomach area for months. I only ever see progress from lifting weights on areas that have less fat around despite doing HIIT 4 times a week. As u can imagine I'm a very frustrated lady atm!

    sadly if you're genetically predisposed to carry weigh on your stomach then its going to be sloooooooooooow going to lose it.

    sounds like you were going the right way in that you could see a loss, but as you cannot spot reduce you may have to decide between losing 'too much' on your shoulders/legs to finally get the loss on your stomach, or carry a little more fat round your stomach than you ultimately would like.
  • Posts: 19 Member

    sadly if you're genetically predisposed to carry weigh on your stomach then its going to be sloooooooooooow going to lose it.

    sounds like you were going the right way in that you could see a loss, but as you cannot spot reduce you may have to decide between losing 'too much' on your shoulders/legs to finally get the loss on your stomach, or carry a little more fat round your stomach than you ultimately would like.


    :-( its a hard life!! Im going to have to lose too much fat on my legs and shoulders and then build these through heavy lifting. I would much rather do that. I've always been chubby even as a child so id like to see what its like to have a flat stomach haha. Thanks for all your help :-)
  • Posts: 17,456 Member

    Actually your macros look pretty good. I don't think your protein is too high at all. There are significant studies that show when you are in a deficit higher protein of 1 to 1.2 grams per pound will help maintain muscle while you lose fat. You need to be in a strength program though to get that benefit. I would agree that a 20% calorie deficit is all you need to do, so your body may need more fuel not less.

    When I started I did 1.2 grams protein, 1 gram carb and .25 gram fat per pound as a starting point. That was with 4-6 hours of heavy weightlifting a week. I ended up adding a little fat and taking down my carbs a little. I lost 40 pounds of fat and added about 8 pounds of muscle doing this.

    Try reading this and use their calculator.
    https://legionathletics.com/how-many-calories-should-i-eat/


    Good luck on your journey!

    On the contrary there are significant studies showing that greater than 0.8g per lb of bodyweight brings no appreciable benefit to even the most elite body builders

    This gives a good digestible summary and provides the source studies

    http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/
  • Posts: 936 Member
    In general I agree Rabbitjb but when you are in a calorie deficit increased protein has shown in numerous studies to help reduce or stop muscle loss. One sited here.

    https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257350851_A_Systematic_Review_of_Dietary_Protein_During_Caloric_Restriction_in_Resistance_Trained_Lean_Athletes_A_Case_for_Higher_Intakes
  • Posts: 489 Member
    Eating high protein is very beneficial for fat loss not sure why everyone seems to think you should eat less of it. The increase in metabolic rate will speed fat loss. The fat intake is low but still with in the minimum of healthy range.

    Good luck OP
  • Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited February 2016
    In general I agree Rabbitjb but when you are in a calorie deficit increased protein has shown in numerous studies to help reduce or stop muscle loss. One sited here.

    https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257350851_A_Systematic_Review_of_Dietary_Protein_During_Caloric_Restriction_in_Resistance_Trained_Lean_Athletes_A_Case_for_Higher_Intakes

    Agreed, in association with progressive resistance ( well not with the stop muscle loss but certainly with minimise) but I always understood that to mean increased over RDA and the numbers quoted above are well above RDA

    I'd like to read that study but for some reason my crapPad is playing up and won't let me access it
  • Posts: 236 Member
    I count my macros. I am 5'4", 121 lbs., and I eat macros of 145P, 31F and 90C. I am still cutting fat while building/maintaining muscle. I work out 5x a week lifting weights. I've gone from 138 down to 121 doing this, and added a lot of muscle. 1.25 Grams of Protein per lb. of body weight, 1 Gram of carbs and .25 Grams of fat. I have my carbs cut out more since I am leaning out even closer to my goal. Hope this helps.
  • Posts: 2,018 Member
    Does anyone on here track their macros as well as there calories?!

    My maintenance calories are 1800 so on a 500 calorie deficit im only allowed to eat 1300 calories. On days that i train im allowed to eat a little more.....but im struggling to match my calories with my macros.

    Protein 170g Carbs 103g Fats 21g-36g

    Does anyone else struggle with this?! Im either over on my macros or under with my calories!!

    I basically just track protein and cals.
This discussion has been closed.