Counting Macros
YoullFindMeFit
Posts: 24 Member
Who else counts macros? Do you use a formula or an online calculator? The online calculators don't seem accurate to me, they all give different results and never go under 1200 calories. I use a formula I learned from my coaches, based on my weight, body fat percentage, and my CrossFit band level. I've lost weight but I've hit a plateau since I started doing 2-3 classes per session 5 days a week last week, so I actually just raised my macros by 10% today. Even though I feel fine I think maybe I am not eating enough. My band level hasn't changed (not lifting heavier) but I am doing 2-3 hours of CrossFit 5 days a week now instead of 1-2 hours 4 days a week. I really only want to lose 5lbs or less but its frustrating to weigh the same (or close to the same) for over a week.
P.S. If you're a CrossFitter with a public food diary, friend me!
P.S. If you're a CrossFitter with a public food diary, friend me!
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What do you mean by counting macros? Are you trying to eat certain percentages, or are you trying to stick to minimums or maximums? A good indicator of whether or not you're eating enough is how well you perform in the WODs. A week is not a very large sample size for determining if a change is effective.0
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YoullFindMeFit wrote: »Who else counts macros? Do you use a formula or an online calculator? The online calculators don't seem accurate to me, they all give different results and never go under 1200 calories. I use a formula I learned from my coaches, based on my weight, body fat percentage, and my CrossFit band level. I've lost weight but I've hit a plateau since I started doing 2-3 classes per session 5 days a week last week, so I actually just raised my macros by 10% today. Even though I feel fine I think maybe I am not eating enough. My band level hasn't changed (not lifting heavier) but I am doing 2-3 hours of CrossFit 5 days a week now instead of 1-2 hours 4 days a week. I really only want to lose 5lbs or less but its frustrating to weigh the same (or close to the same) for over a week.
P.S. If you're a CrossFitter with a public food diary, friend me!
Can I just ask why you would want to eat under 1200 cals?0 -
So to clarify, you're doing between 10 and 15 CF workouts/Wods per week? That would be excessive for almost anyone short of a high-level Games competitor.
Throw away the scale. Doing that volume of work it's unlikely you're going to lose weight. You'll lose body fat, but you're probably adding muscle.0 -
Working out that much, I'd guess (not know anything about you physically) that you are burning at least 600-900 calories per day. If you are eating less than 1200 calories total, your net is calories (after exercise) are way way too low. I'm surprised you can do so much and recover properly. My guess is you should be eating well over 2,000 calories a day.
Find a TDEE calculator and plug your attributes in, including amount of exercise and it will tell you what you should be eating. You can adjust it down a bit (10-20%) if you want to try to lose that last bit of weight, but with that much exercise, if you start eating properly you're going to add more muscle at the same time you burn fat so you may not see the scale go down. To improve your performance you really should worry more about adding muscle, and for that you need to eat a bit above TDEE. Here's the Calc I use -
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
As for macros, yes I focus on them, especially protein. Here is how I have them set -
Protein - 1. 3 grams per lb of bodyweight (minimum is 1 gram)
Fat - . 58 grams per lb of bodyweight (minimum is 0.50 grams)
Carbs - whatever is left to use up calories0 -
Mummyadams wrote: »YoullFindMeFit wrote: »Who else counts macros? Do you use a formula or an online calculator? The online calculators don't seem accurate to me, they all give different results and never go under 1200 calories. I use a formula I learned from my coaches, based on my weight, body fat percentage, and my CrossFit band level. I've lost weight but I've hit a plateau since I started doing 2-3 classes per session 5 days a week last week, so I actually just raised my macros by 10% today. Even though I feel fine I think maybe I am not eating enough. My band level hasn't changed (not lifting heavier) but I am doing 2-3 hours of CrossFit 5 days a week now instead of 1-2 hours 4 days a week. I really only want to lose 5lbs or less but its frustrating to weigh the same (or close to the same) for over a week.
P.S. If you're a CrossFitter with a public food diary, friend me!
Can I just ask why you would want to eat under 1200 cals?
I am very petite and online calculators do not take this into account. When I started counting macros using the formula the coaches gave in a nutrition seminar, my macros added up to 1,171 calories. ALL online calculators won't go under 1200 calories. It's not that I WANT to eat under 1200, all I was saying is that with the formula that's what I calculated and with online calculators I'm always just told 1200 because that's as low as it goes.0 -
What do you mean by counting macros? Are you trying to eat certain percentages, or are you trying to stick to minimums or maximums? A good indicator of whether or not you're eating enough is how well you perform in the WODs. A week is not a very large sample size for determining if a change is effective.
I mean having daily macro goals. Like right now my goals are set at 95g protein, 122g carbs, and 47g fat. Not trying to get less or more than that, trying to eat exactly this amount. I've been doing this for weeks based on the formula and have seen amazing results, only the past couple weeks have I not seen change since I started working out more, so I was curious as to how other people calculate thier macros0 -
bostonwolf wrote: »So to clarify, you're doing between 10 and 15 CF workouts/Wods per week? That would be excessive for almost anyone short of a high-level Games competitor.
Throw away the scale. Doing that volume of work it's unlikely you're going to lose weight. You'll lose body fat, but you're probably adding muscle.
This is true, I often focus too much on the scale and not enough on the mirror. I weigh myself daily even though I know that weight naturally fluctuates a bit. Thanks, maybe I'll cut down to weighing myself only once or twice a week.0 -
bostonwolf wrote: »So to clarify, you're doing between 10 a0
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YoullFindMeFit wrote: »bostonwolf wrote: »So to clarify, you're doing between 10 and 15 CF workouts/Wods per week? That would be excessive for almost anyone short of a high-level Games competitor.
Throw away the scale. Doing that volume of work it's unlikely you're going to lose weight. You'll lose body fat, but you're probably adding muscle.
This is true, I often focus too much on the scale and not enough on the mirror. I weigh myself daily even though I know that weight naturally fluctuates a bit. Thanks, maybe I'll cut down to weighing myself only once or twice a week.
Regardless of how petite you are, if you are doing hours of exercise a day you should be well over 1200 calories even to lose.
If you were sedentary, trying to lose weight, and petite, *maybe* you might have to go below 1200, but that is not your case at all.0 -
YoullFindMeFit wrote: »What do you mean by counting macros? Are you trying to eat certain percentages, or are you trying to stick to minimums or maximums? A good indicator of whether or not you're eating enough is how well you perform in the WODs. A week is not a very large sample size for determining if a change is effective.
I mean having daily macro goals. Like right now my goals are set at 95g protein, 122g carbs, and 47g fat. Not trying to get less or more than that, trying to eat exactly this amount. I've been doing this for weeks based on the formula and have seen amazing results, only the past couple weeks have I not seen change since I started working out more, so I was curious as to how other people calculate thier macros
@YoullFindMeFit How are you performing? Are you doing Rx in the WODs? Are you competitive with the leaders? I count 1291 calories based on the numbers you provided. Even if you are shooting for 1171, those 29 calories should have a negligible impact (one pound over 123 days). While I do not know your total situation, I tend to agree with @3dogsrunning. If, by chance, you are 95lbs and 4'10", your BMR is like 1400. In a typical 20 minute crossfit WOD like 16.1, you'll prolly burn at least 120 calories.
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Upstate_Dunadan wrote: »Working out that much, I'd guess (not know anything about you physically) that you are burning at least 600-900 calories per day. If you are eating less than 1200 calories total, your net is calories (after exercise) are way way too low. I'm surprised you can do so much and recover properly. My guess is you should be eating well over 2,000 calories a day.
Find a TDEE calculator and plug your attributes in, including amount of exercise and it will tell you what you should be eating. You can adjust it down a bit (10-20%) if you want to try to lose that last bit of weight, but with that much exercise, if you start eating properly you're going to add more muscle at the same time you burn fat so you may not see the scale go down. To improve your performance you really should worry more about adding muscle, and for that you need to eat a bit above TDEE. Here's the Calc I use -
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
As for macros, yes I focus on them, especially protein. Here is how I have them set -
Protein - 1. 3 grams per lb of bodyweight (minimum is 1 gram)
Fat - . 58 grams per lb of bodyweight (minimum is 0.50 grams)
Carbs - whatever is left to use up calories
Thank you!0 -
TDEE for a female who is 4' 10" and 95 lbs exercising 5 times a week intensely (that's 45+ minutes with elevated HR) , which actually sounds like less than you do would be as follows (based on age, which I don't know) -
23 - 1,763
33 - 1,681
Bumping your exercise to Daily Intense or twice daily -
23 - 1,857
33 - 1,771
Again, that assume you are only 4'10" and weigh 95 pounds.
I think you have your steps backwards. I think you need to calculate your calorie needs first, then based on those, back into your macros.0 -
With the TDEE calculator that @Upstate_Dunadan suggested:
Maintenance 1,938
Fat Loss 1,551
Extreme Fat Loss 1,163
So I'm going to up my macros 20% on days that I am working out which puts me at 1,523 calories with 113g protein, 144g carbs, and 55g fat. Does that sound healthier? And yes I perform at Rx or Rx+ the majority of the time. And I no longer wear a HRM but on days that I did double sessions in the past I was burning 700-900 calories yea and now I'm doing doubles and triples. I have a meeting with one of my coaches to discuss a lot of this next week, just wanted other people's opinions as well. Thanks for the responses!
@Upstate_Dunadan
@3dogsrunning
@moe0303
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That's pretty awesome. I think the best advice on the thread is to throw away the scale. Someone at your level may never lose those 5 pounds, but it won't matter. You'll still be getting leaner and meaner. Good luck!0
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You're still backwards. You're not upping your macros, you are increasing your calories and then based on those setting your macros. Instead of asking your coaches how many macros you need, ask what % your macros should be. Since many CrossFit places recommend The Zone, if you use that break down, and forget the nutrient timing you'd get 40-30-30 (C/P/F), which happens to be exactly what I'm using.
As for setting calorie goal, with TDEE the calculation averages your calorie needs across the entire week based on the exercise you entered. That means you don't eat differently on days you exercise vs. don't exercise. If you do that, you're second guessing the formula. Eat the same way every day and think of it as fueling your workout or fueling your recovery.
If I were you, with only 5 pounds to lose, I'd go with the maintenance number every day (1,938) and see what happens after a month. CrossFit burns so many calories, and the lifting and muscle repair continues to burn, I think you'll be surprised with the results. At first you may see an uptick in your weight since you have more food in your system and your muscles retain some water, but then over the weeks your metabolism will adapt and you're going to be on fire.0 -
Upstate_Dunadan wrote: »You're still backwards. You're not upping your macros, you are increasing your calories and then based on those setting your macros. Instead of asking your coaches how many macros you need, ask what % your macros should be. Since many CrossFit places recommend The Zone, if you use that break down, and forget the nutrient timing you'd get 40-30-30 (C/P/F), which happens to be exactly what I'm using.
As for setting calorie goal, with TDEE the calculation averages your calorie needs across the entire week based on the exercise you entered. That means you don't eat differently on days you exercise vs. don't exercise. If you do that, you're second guessing the formula. Eat the same way every day and think of it as fueling your workout or fueling your recovery.
If I were you, with only 5 pounds to lose, I'd go with the maintenance number every day (1,938) and see what happens after a month. CrossFit burns so many calories, and the lifting and muscle repair continues to burn, I think you'll be surprised with the results. At first you may see an uptick in your weight since you have more food in your system and your muscles retain some water, but then over the weeks your metabolism will adapt and you're going to be on fire.
My % is 38C/29P/33F. I got this % and the calories I need to lose weight from my coaches formula as I said, which is based on my weight, body fat percentage, and crossfit band level. This does not take into account the extreme of exercise I do, that's why I wanted to find out how other people calculate their macros. I could put in 1,551 and then separate by percent but I have premium myfitnesspal so I just did it the opposite and added 20% grams across the board. My coaches told us to adjust macros by 10 percentages. It's just easier numbers. I get what you're saying but it doesn't really matter, it's essentially the same end result. Thanks again for your help!0 -
Upstate_Dunadan wrote: »You're still backwards. You're not upping your macros, you are increasing your calories and then based on those setting your macros. Instead of asking your coaches how many macros you need, ask what % your macros should be. Since many CrossFit places recommend The Zone, if you use that break down, and forget the nutrient timing you'd get 40-30-30 (C/P/F), which happens to be exactly what I'm using.
As for setting calorie goal, with TDEE the calculation averages your calorie needs across the entire week based on the exercise you entered. That means you don't eat differently on days you exercise vs. don't exercise. If you do that, you're second guessing the formula. Eat the same way every day and think of it as fueling your workout or fueling your recovery.
If I were you, with only 5 pounds to lose, I'd go with the maintenance number every day (1,938) and see what happens after a month. CrossFit burns so many calories, and the lifting and muscle repair continues to burn, I think you'll be surprised with the results. At first you may see an uptick in your weight since you have more food in your system and your muscles retain some water, but then over the weeks your metabolism will adapt and you're going to be on fire.
Oh and I probably will increase even more, I just don't want to increase my calories by that much, that quickly. Thank you 0 -
Losing weight and toning up by lifting weights/crossfitting takes time - longer than if you were slogging it out on a treadmill or stair master. This is from personal experience. I lost many kilo's runnniinnnnnggggg day after day on that never ending machine.
I'm no coach / nutritionist but I am a average female who carries weight easily.
I crossfit 5 x week and eat sensibly but pretty much everything. I like my food. I am crap at math so I don't count my macros.
Chuck the scales away, find a pair jeans you want to rock and measure yourself against those. Give it time.
Update us in a month, we'll be interested in the results.0 -
YoullFindMeFit wrote: »Upstate_Dunadan wrote: »You're still backwards. You're not upping your macros, you are increasing your calories and then based on those setting your macros. Instead of asking your coaches how many macros you need, ask what % your macros should be. Since many CrossFit places recommend The Zone, if you use that break down, and forget the nutrient timing you'd get 40-30-30 (C/P/F), which happens to be exactly what I'm using.
As for setting calorie goal, with TDEE the calculation averages your calorie needs across the entire week based on the exercise you entered. That means you don't eat differently on days you exercise vs. don't exercise. If you do that, you're second guessing the formula. Eat the same way every day and think of it as fueling your workout or fueling your recovery.
If I were you, with only 5 pounds to lose, I'd go with the maintenance number every day (1,938) and see what happens after a month. CrossFit burns so many calories, and the lifting and muscle repair continues to burn, I think you'll be surprised with the results. At first you may see an uptick in your weight since you have more food in your system and your muscles retain some water, but then over the weeks your metabolism will adapt and you're going to be on fire.
Oh and I probably will increase even more, I just don't want to increase my calories by that much, that quickly. Thank you
I think you're right at the point where you just need to play around a bit. Do what you're doing for a month and see what happens, then keep doing it until you get where you need to be.0 -
I do Crossfit and competitive powerlifting. I use Eat to Perform. I eat lower carb and at a 10%-15% deficit on my rest days. I have found that I cannot easily lose fat while never resting. The additional exercise requires more fuel to have good workouts. I eat to fuel my workouts. I get my fat loss on my rest days.
The first year I did Crossfit, I recomped 10% on ETP while staying the same weight. I used 30C/30P/40F. I had a major injury, switched to Isagenix, gained 13 pounds and finally went back to ETP. Going to a Zone type ratio this go-around (40C/30P/30F), even though the higher carbs are more triggering to me since I am in recovery for Binge Eating Disorder. My maintenance calories are about 2650-2750 on my workout days.
I can also tell you from experience that I went to doubles and triples without increasing my food and what did it do? Stalled my metabolism and my gains.
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^ I am having trouble convincing myself I need to eat more, but I know it's true. You eat more than I do and I outweigh you by more than 100lbs and not all of it is fat! 0
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