Increasing Calories Without Increasing Macros?
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You may be confusing terms - TDEE means you factor in exercise.
If what you're doing is working: your milk supply is good, you are losing weight, you feel energetic and satiated - then you are overthinking things perhaps.
It it ins't broken, there is nothing to fix. Keep going as you are. If at some point one of those factors becomes a problem (you feel lethargic, or a 4-6 weeks goes by without a weight loss) then look into the possibility of change.
Keep in mind that you will NOT see a weight loss every time you step on the scale. Water weight can come from many sources. In my opinion it is helpful to look at the trend over time. If you weigh less now than you weighed 30 days ago: you are on the right path. If ever 4-6 weeks go by without a loss, that is when you can look to changing your calorie intake goal and/or improve logging accuracy.StaciMarie1974 if a 500 calorie deficit is what I'm looking at, and I don't count exercise into my daily calorie requirements (that TDEE was for the first step up from sedentary), I have been at 1900 many days. Just some days I'm at 1500 and don't even notice. Most days I'm 1800-1900.
I usually weigh in on Fridays and decided to weigh in today since ion having conniptions about this. I did lose 2 lbs from Friday- 184 to 182. So maybe the plateau is over and I need to stick around 1800-1900 a day.
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I think you're right in that I was mixing up whatever MFP counts as my base calories and TDEE.
Yes, yes and yes. Coming off a 3 week plateau is making me feel better. I've been steadily losing about 1.5 lb a week for six months and feeling fabulous. My daughter has good language skills and there have been times she has informed me there's not enough milk, and that hasn't happened in quite a while. You are right.
Thanks so muchStaciMarie1974 wrote: »You may be confusing terms - TDEE means you factor in exercise.
If what you're doing is working: your milk supply is good, you are losing weight, you feel energetic and satiated - then you are overthinking things perhaps. It it ins't broken, there is nothing to fix. Keep going as you are. If at some point one of those factors becomes a problem (you feel lethargic, or a 4-6 weeks goes by without a weight loss) then look into the possibility of change.
Keep in mind that you will NOT see a weight loss every time you step on the scale. Water weight can come from many sources. In my opinion it is helpful to look at the trend over time. If you weigh less now than you weighed 30 days ago: you are on the right path. If ever 4-6 weeks go by without a loss, that is when you can look to changing your calorie intake goal and/or improve logging accuracy.StaciMarie1974 if a 500 calorie deficit is what I'm looking at, and I don't count exercise into my daily calorie requirements (that TDEE was for the first step up from sedentary), I have been at 1900 many days. Just some days I'm at 1500 and don't even notice. Most days I'm 1800-1900.
I usually weigh in on Fridays and decided to weigh in today since ion having conniptions about this. I did lose 2 lbs from Friday- 184 to 182. So maybe the plateau is over and I need to stick around 1800-1900 a day.
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You can NOT increase calories without increasing macros. Macros are macronutrients measured in grams, calories are macronutrients measured in calories. They are basically the same thing. 1 carbohydrate "macro" is a gram of carbohydrate, which is equal to 4 calories. 1 protein "macro" is a gram of protein, which is equal to 4 calories. 1 fat "macro" is a gram of fat, which is equal to 9 calories.
Your coach either meant to increase calories but don't change your macronutrient RATIOS or don't change one of your macros like protein but do increase the others like fat and/or carbohydrates to increase calories.
But there is no way to increase your calories without increasing the amount of grams of macronutrients that you consume.
If your coach insists it is possible you need to fire them and get a new one.0 -
You can't increase calories without changing your macros...your macros are what make up your calories...fat 9 calories per gram; carbs 4 calories per gram; protein 4 calories per gram...your macros are your calories.0
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So I've been really happy with my weight loss coach. She's been super encouraging and great. I have lost 39# and am in awesome shape at this point but I have plateaued around 183-4 lb for a month.
I switched from the Beachbody container system (which worked well- Ioved all the fresh fruits and veggies), to tracking macros and calories. My TDEE is somewhere around 2200 and *on top of the TDEE* I'm nursing my toddler and doing daily workouts: vinyasa flow, hilly hiking, and mountain biking/bike commuting. So I think with the deficit I should be in the mid/high 2000 calorie range most days. Once I started tracking my calories I was coming up with 1500-1900 calories a day, rarely breaking 2000. Honestly, I'm not very strict with what I eat and I'll have a glass of wine every night, pizza once a week etc so my carbs can be high. But I wasn't feeling hungry on those days so I just didn't eat. My coach gave me macro goals of 100 carbs, 100 protein and 60 fat.
When I started looking back at my intake this past month I was shocked at how I only topped 2000 about once a week. I started to wonder if I need to work on eating more. It's hard to even want more most days... i mean, put a plate of nachos in front of me and I'll top 3000 calories in a day no problem! But it's harder with healthier foods. My coach recommended adding 1-200 calories a day BUT NOT INCREASING MY MACROS. I'm like.. I guess? You can do that?
She says certain foods have higher macros vs calories and to avoid those, and that way I'll have more calories and the same macro goals. I really don't get how to do this. I've given it a shot and it simply doesn't seem to work well. That, and I can't find anyone whose nutrition advice is evidence-based recommending this. Or anyone at all. I'm 100% not a dummy about what Beachbody is and what it takes to become a coach so I get that she might not be right, though she does have legit experience. I wanted to ask other people who might have an idea of what the research says. Thanks!
Not following exactly what your coach is saying.....Macros operate in a percentage (always equaling 100% between fat/carb/protein). So you can increase and decrease calories while keeping your macro %'s the same. Or you can change up your macro %'s while keeping your calroies the same. So you can indeed add 1-200 calories without changing your marcos %'s. But if you are given a specific gram for each macro then you would have to increase those.
Now what your coach my be trying to convey....it to not eat certain foods due to their macro content. Ie - pizza and wine aren't helping you lose weight. Sorry, but that's the truth. As you get closer to goal weight you have to be even more careful about your food choices.0 -
Thanks everyone for your insight! I really appreciate everyone, especially StaciMarie and Sud0nim! I'm going to keep plugging away!2
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I've been reading and am wondering if she's talking about food BULK and mistaking that for calories? Like, 100g of cauliflower has few grams of macros. But it's also low calorie.0
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I just wrote and told her I don't think it's possible... eep! Hopefully it was all a misunderstanding.0
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I just wrote and told her I don't think it's possible... eep! Hopefully it was all a misunderstanding.
please let us know what she says.
You might want to mention..
"Can you please clarify? carbs have 4 calories per gram, protein has 4 calories per gram, and fat has 9 calories per gram. Macros are inseparable from calories."
I can only hope and pray this person is not out there giving such ill-informed nutrition advice.1 -
The macro goals she gave you would equal 1340. No way around increasing macros without increasing calories. Her macro ratio is 30% carbs, 30% protein and 40% fat if you want to follow the %s
That's my thought as well, that the "coach" was thinking about ratios rather than numbers or else they are a total ignoramus, which given what it is wouldn't be surprising.
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Hm. Wondering if it would be worthwhile to see a nutritionist. I'm not uncomfortable at my current calorie deficit but it's probably way too low long term.
I'm average height and about 183 now, would be comfortable staying in the low 170s for years to come because I have a sturdy build. But wouldn't complain if I could go lower and maintain. I'm so much more comfortable now and I imagine a few more pounds would make me feel better.
You could certainly go much lower than 170, in fact, you probably should and once you do you'll be surprised at how you got adapted psychologically to being heavier set. For a 30 year old woman at 5'6" the ideal weight range is about 120 to 155.0 -
Wheelhouse15 wrote: »Hm. Wondering if it would be worthwhile to see a nutritionist. I'm not uncomfortable at my current calorie deficit but it's probably way too low long term.
I'm average height and about 183 now, would be comfortable staying in the low 170s for years to come because I have a sturdy build. But wouldn't complain if I could go lower and maintain. I'm so much more comfortable now and I imagine a few more pounds would make me feel better.
You could certainly go much lower than 170, in fact, you probably should and once you do you'll be surprised at how you got adapted psychologically to being heavier set. For a 30 year old woman at 5'6" the ideal weight range is about 120 to 155.
yep, absolutely this.0 -
I'm going to ask that no one else jumps on this bandwagon. Let me get to 170 and see how it goes. I am trying to maintain a healthy mentality towards weight loss so I would really appreciate it if you guys respect my goal to get to 170 and don't point out that I "should" go lower... thanks!Wheelhouse15 wrote: »Hm. Wondering if it would be worthwhile to see a nutritionist. I'm not uncomfortable at my current calorie deficit but it's probably way too low long term.
I'm average height and about 183 now, would be comfortable staying in the low 170s for years to come because I have a sturdy build. But wouldn't complain if I could go lower and maintain. I'm so much more comfortable now and I imagine a few more pounds would make me feel better.
You could certainly go much lower than 170, in fact, you probably should and once you do you'll be surprised at how you got adapted psychologically to being heavier set. For a 30 year old woman at 5'6" the ideal weight range is about 120 to 155.
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I'm going to ask that no one else jumps on this bandwagon. Let me get to 170 and see how it goes. I am trying to maintain a healthy mentality towards weight loss so I would really appreciate it if you guys respect my goal to get to 170 and don't point out that I "should" go lower... thanks!Wheelhouse15 wrote: »Hm. Wondering if it would be worthwhile to see a nutritionist. I'm not uncomfortable at my current calorie deficit but it's probably way too low long term.
I'm average height and about 183 now, would be comfortable staying in the low 170s for years to come because I have a sturdy build. But wouldn't complain if I could go lower and maintain. I'm so much more comfortable now and I imagine a few more pounds would make me feel better.
You could certainly go much lower than 170, in fact, you probably should and once you do you'll be surprised at how you got adapted psychologically to being heavier set. For a 30 year old woman at 5'6" the ideal weight range is about 120 to 155.
I respect your goals and good luck.1 -
Thank you!
Wheelhouse15 wrote: »I'm going to ask that no one else jumps on this bandwagon. Let me get to 170 and see how it goes. I am trying to maintain a healthy mentality towards weight loss so I would really appreciate it if you guys respect my goal to get to 170 and don't point out that I "should" go lower... thanks!Wheelhouse15 wrote: »Hm. Wondering if it would be worthwhile to see a nutritionist. I'm not uncomfortable at my current calorie deficit but it's probably way too low long term.
I'm average height and about 183 now, would be comfortable staying in the low 170s for years to come because I have a sturdy build. But wouldn't complain if I could go lower and maintain. I'm so much more comfortable now and I imagine a few more pounds would make me feel better.
You could certainly go much lower than 170, in fact, you probably should and once you do you'll be surprised at how you got adapted psychologically to being heavier set. For a 30 year old woman at 5'6" the ideal weight range is about 120 to 155.
I respect your goals and good luck.
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I'm going to ask that no one else jumps on this bandwagon. Let me get to 170 and see how it goes. I am trying to maintain a healthy mentality towards weight loss so I would really appreciate it if you guys respect my goal to get to 170 and don't point out that I "should" go lower... thanks!Wheelhouse15 wrote: »Hm. Wondering if it would be worthwhile to see a nutritionist. I'm not uncomfortable at my current calorie deficit but it's probably way too low long term.
I'm average height and about 183 now, would be comfortable staying in the low 170s for years to come because I have a sturdy build. But wouldn't complain if I could go lower and maintain. I'm so much more comfortable now and I imagine a few more pounds would make me feel better.
You could certainly go much lower than 170, in fact, you probably should and once you do you'll be surprised at how you got adapted psychologically to being heavier set. For a 30 year old woman at 5'6" the ideal weight range is about 120 to 155.
I'm right there with you. For now, 170 seems amazing and a happy weight for me. Once I get there, I reserve the right to change my mind. But I haven't been 120 since I was 11, and much shorter. 150 probably left the building around age 13. If I settle at 170, it's a far cry better than the 250 I was at. Or my highest of 265. If I feel like going lower, yay. If not, oh well.2 -
I just want to add to this thread how exciting it is when I read something and I know the right answer. I need to branch out to other forums where I'm the big fish in a small pond and am the local expert. I think that is what happened to your "coach".
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I maintained in the 170s most of my 20s. Ran, biked, played capoeira, really enjoyed life and felt great. So that's my point of reference. I've lost a significant amount of weight one other time in my life and spent maybe a week being a very muscular (was weightlifting) 155. I was 16.
Granted, I was diagnosed with a metabolic disorder right before I got pregnant and am now taking proper vitamins for my condition, and I may have an easier time maintaining at a lower weight this time around. Yet to be seen.I'm going to ask that no one else jumps on this bandwagon. Let me get to 170 and see how it goes. I am trying to maintain a healthy mentality towards weight loss so I would really appreciate it if you guys respect my goal to get to 170 and don't point out that I "should" go lower... thanks!Wheelhouse15 wrote: »Hm. Wondering if it would be worthwhile to see a nutritionist. I'm not uncomfortable at my current calorie deficit but it's probably way too low long term.
I'm average height and about 183 now, would be comfortable staying in the low 170s for years to come because I have a sturdy build. But wouldn't complain if I could go lower and maintain. I'm so much more comfortable now and I imagine a few more pounds would make me feel better.
You could certainly go much lower than 170, in fact, you probably should and once you do you'll be surprised at how you got adapted psychologically to being heavier set. For a 30 year old woman at 5'6" the ideal weight range is about 120 to 155.
I'm right there with you. For now, 170 seems amazing and a happy weight for me. Once I get there, I reserve the right to change my mind. But I haven't been 120 since I was 11, and much shorter. 150 probably left the building around age 13. If I settle at 170, it's a far cry better than the 250 I was at. Or my highest of 265. If I feel like going lower, yay. If not, oh well.
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