Lost...Nutrition Goals...

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hhnkhl
hhnkhl Posts: 231 Member
edited August 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been surfing the internet for answers and I'm just lost..I know in the end it's all about calories in and calories out for weight loss....BUT...how many grams carb? protein? How do I go about setting these? What am I supposed to be looking at ?
Some sites go all like 70% protein with 10% fat...20% carb....and some are the other way...and I've also found some sites where fat is the highest...
I'm so lost...How are you guys setting the goals? What do you base it off of?
What happens if I set this to like 45% protein, 45% carbs, and 10% fat? Is this bad?

Replies

  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
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    I set mine at 40 carbs, 30 fat, 30 protein

    Works well for me :)
  • hhnkhl
    hhnkhl Posts: 231 Member
    edited August 2016
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    clambert1273 wrote: »
    I set mine at 40 carbs, 30 fat, 30 protein

    Works well for me :)

    What is that based off of? I was worried I would do something bad to my health if the numbers are geared towards one area. I want to see if it's ok to go really low fat with carbs/protein balanced at 45% or something
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Its based off what works for you. Calorie deficit is what is required for weight loss, macro balance is personal choice. Some people are more happy/satisfied eating larger amounts of protein...some prefer higher fat....some prefer more carbs. No one can tell you what you prefer.
  • hhnkhl
    hhnkhl Posts: 231 Member
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    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    Its based off what works for you. Calorie deficit is what is required for weight loss, macro balance is personal choice. Some people are more happy/satisfied eating larger amounts of protein...some prefer higher fat....some prefer more carbs. No one can tell you what you prefer.


    Ooohhh. That makes it more clear now...So I can just set mine to 45% protein and carbs with 10% fat...
    So there isn't like a health hazard or anything if I unbalance the macros?
  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
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    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    Its based off what works for you. Calorie deficit is what is required for weight loss, macro balance is personal choice. Some people are more happy/satisfied eating larger amounts of protein...some prefer higher fat....some prefer more carbs. No one can tell you what you prefer.

    Absolutely.. Like I said that is my personal based on how it makes me feel versus other percentages and it supports my strength training really well
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    No health danger. I mean if you somehow ate no carbs or no protein or no fat that would be bad but you aren't going to be able to do that and if you somehow managed it your body would start screaming at you. Pick the macro balance that makes you comfortable, whatever that is won't be unhealthy for you. Your body isn't stupid, if it is deprived of something it will let you know. Counting calories is all you need to do to make sure you aren't eating too much.
  • hhnkhl
    hhnkhl Posts: 231 Member
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    Thank you.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Most people (not all) find that protein and fat is more satiating per calorie (makes you feel more full) than carbohydrates while carbohydrates provide more feeling of energy or power for a workout than protein or fat while fat can provide long term energy.

    Basically if you feel tired try more carbs, if you feel hungry try more protein/fats.

    Again its personal preference of how much of each, there is no "answer" to macros.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    10% fat is very low. Your body does need healthy fats, ususlly 20-30% is recommended. Why not use the default MFP macros?
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    10% fat would also be very hard to do with normal foods. Just eat normally, but less, and track your calories. maybe eat a little more protein and a little less carbs or fat. Don't need to do anything drastic.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
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    Why not just log how you like eating at the moment and after a couple of weeks see what your actual eating pattern is like and go from there.

    Eating a reasonable amount of fat is needed for many nutrients to be absorbed. Eating fat does not make you fat.

    Cheers, h.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    0.8g protein per lb of weight, 0.4g of fat per lb of weight and the rest carbs.

    or 40/30/30 is a pretty good starting point.

    or use MFPs set macros, and use protein and fat as minimums.

    work out your calories first so you're losing and then see what macros (lower carb, higher fat etc) works for you.
  • temple_girl
    temple_girl Posts: 17 Member
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    Hi there guys,

    Love reading all your replies an always find it very useful, however I'm still looking for clarity on something.

    I'm always within my daily calories, which I find easy to do now I've got into a routine of making healthy choices and not easy choices. But I'm always over my recommended allowance of suggested protein by at least 10g some days. I do a lot of gym work, from cardio to high impact interval training and weights. Will these over eat on my protein be detrimental to my weight loss goal?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited August 2016
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    temple_girl wrote: »
    Hi there guys,

    Love reading all your replies an always find it very useful, however I'm still looking for clarity on something.

    I'm always within my daily calories, which I find easy to do now I've got into a routine of making healthy choices and not easy choices. But I'm always over my recommended allowance of suggested protein by at least 10g some days. I do a lot of gym work, from cardio to high impact interval training and weights. Will these over eat on my protein be detrimental to my weight loss goal?

    nope as long as its not putting you over your calories
  • sweetilemon
    sweetilemon Posts: 122 Member
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    I try not to eat too may white carbs and high sugar things because I was told my fasting sugars were high in pregnancy which indicates prediabetes but hopefully losing weight will help. Apart from that I try eat a variety of all foods.
  • upoffthemat
    upoffthemat Posts: 679 Member
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    Unless you have a medical condition (like diabetes you want to limit carbs) there really isn't a reason to strictly limit any of your macros. All of them help in there own way. You find carbs in a lot of the foods that have great amounts of micronutrients (vegetables, fruits, some grains), protein is needed to repair and build muscle, fat is needed for quite a few things in our body. It really is essential and as others said eating fat doesn't make you fat, just eating too many calories does that.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    edited August 2016
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    There is not one answer to this. It depends on the person. Feel free to do trial & error to see what works for you.

    Basics: avoid extremes unless you have a medical reason/dietician assistance. Try a goal for a few weeks and assess how you feel. Hungry often? Lethargic? Any other negative side effects? If so make changes. But if you feel good, energetic and are confident you're not cutting any particular macro TOO low - then stick with it.

    The 10% fat does seem like an unsafe/too low goal. It means 10% of your calories come from fat. If you're on 1200 cals a day, that is 120 fat cals or 120/9 only 13 grams of fat. I'm not sure what the safe recommended minimum is, but its higher than 13. 10% on 1500 cals would still be only 16-17 grams.
    hhnkhl wrote: »
    I've been surfing the internet for answers and I'm just lost..I know in the end it's all about calories in and calories out for weight loss....BUT...how many grams carb? protein? How do I go about setting these? What am I supposed to be looking at ?
    Some sites go all like 70% protein with 10% fat...20% carb....and some are the other way...and I've also found some sites where fat is the highest...
    I'm so lost...How are you guys setting the goals? What do you base it off of?
    What happens if I set this to like 45% protein, 45% carbs, and 10% fat? Is this bad?

  • hhnkhl
    hhnkhl Posts: 231 Member
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    TavistockToad wrote: »
    0.8g protein per lb of weight, 0.4g of fat per lb of weight and the rest carbs.

    or 40/30/30 is a pretty good starting point.

    or use MFPs set macros, and use protein and fat as minimums.

    work out your calories first so you're losing and then see what macros (lower carb, higher fat etc) works for you.


    I guess 40/30/30 is a good starting point.
    How would the calculations per lb work with KG? would it be 1.6g protein per kg, 0.8 of fat per kg?
  • hhnkhl
    hhnkhl Posts: 231 Member
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    StaciMarie1974 wrote: »
    There is not one answer to this. It depends on the person. Feel free to do trial & error to see what works for you.

    Basics: avoid extremes unless you have a medical reason/dietician assistance. Try a goal for a few weeks and assess how you feel. Hungry often? Lethargic? Any other negative side effects? If so make changes. But if you feel good, energetic and are confident you're not cutting any particular macro TOO low - then stick with it.

    The 10% fat does seem like an unsafe/too low goal. It means 10% of your calories come from fat. If you're on 1200 cals a day, that is 120 fat cals or 120/9 only 13 grams of fat. I'm not sure what the safe recommended minimum is, but its higher than 13. 10% on 1500 cals would still be only 16-17 grams.
    hhnkhl wrote: »
    I've been surfing the internet for answers and I'm just lost..I know in the end it's all about calories in and calories out for weight loss....BUT...how many grams carb? protein? How do I go about setting these? What am I supposed to be looking at ?
    Some sites go all like 70% protein with 10% fat...20% carb....and some are the other way...and I've also found some sites where fat is the highest...
    I'm so lost...How are you guys setting the goals? What do you base it off of?
    What happens if I set this to like 45% protein, 45% carbs, and 10% fat? Is this bad?

    Yea, I realized 10% fat is a mistake...I switched it to 40/30/30 for right now...but still trying to adjust to a different way.

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