What should my macros be for Atkins?

Options
I am thinking about doing an Atkins style diet for a few weeks to see how my body reacts. But, I'm not sure what I should set my macros to? I generally keep my calories around 1300 a day.

Replies

  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,932 Member
    Options
    At 1300 calories a day you probably won't have a lot of room for carbs so high protein and high fat relative to your overall diet makes sense. How did you arrive at 1300 calories? Are you strictly following 1300 and, if so, how has your weight loss been? What exercise program(s) are you following?
  • nyla2120
    nyla2120 Posts: 370 Member
    Options
    At 1300 calories a day you probably won't have a lot of room for carbs so high protein and high fat relative to your overall diet makes sense. How did you arrive at 1300 calories? Are you strictly following 1300 and, if so, how has your weight loss been? What exercise program(s) are you following?

    I have done higher & lower calories & 1300 works for me. I'm not hungry & I don't feel like I'm over eating either. As far as workouts I do 30 mins fasted cardio first thing in the morning & then do weight lifting after breakfast. I can't tell you how weight loss has been so far because over the last few months I haven't been strict on my diet at all, which is why I need to get this extra weight off. The last week I've been following 1300 calories with my my Macros set at 30% carbs 30% fat & 40% protein.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,932 Member
    Options
    At 1300 calories a day you probably won't have a lot of room for carbs so high protein and high fat relative to your overall diet makes sense. How did you arrive at 1300 calories? Are you strictly following 1300 and, if so, how has your weight loss been? What exercise program(s) are you following?

    I have done higher & lower calories & 1300 works for me. I'm not hungry & I don't feel like I'm over eating either. As far as workouts I do 30 mins fasted cardio first thing in the morning & then do weight lifting after breakfast. I can't tell you how weight loss has been so far because over the last few months I haven't been strict on my diet at all, which is why I need to get this extra weight off. The last week I've been following 1300 calories with my my Macros set at 30% carbs 30% fat & 40% protein.

    1300 is generally pretty low but it might or might not be right for you depending on your height and current weight. It also depends on whether you're using MFP's method and you're eating 1300 plus exercise calories or just eating 1300 flat. If it is too low for you then it is going to be difficult to stick with it (which is what appears to be the case). That is why I was asking how you arrived at that number.

    If you are weight lifting then the general recommendation is to get 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass that you have. You should also be getting 0.35 grams of fat per pound of overall body weight. These 30/30/40, etc. guides are nice and fit neatly with MFP's presentation but the above is what you should base your own numbers off of. My guess is that those percentages will then change to more protein and more fat than what you're currently doing, but again it depends on your numbers.

    Let's run those numbers through the MFP, find something you can stick with day in and day out, and then you should start tracking your weight loss over several weeks. If you are losing a reasonable amount of weight (say 1 pound a week) then your numbers are fine. If you're losing faster or slower than that, then adjust your numbers. If that's you in your picture then you don't have much to lose and you certainly don't need to rush.
  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
    Options
    http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/

    This is a good calculator that will help you figure out your ratios for low carb. Typically it's around 60-70% fat, 20-30% protein, and 5-10% carbs.
  • nyla2120
    nyla2120 Posts: 370 Member
    Options
    At 1300 calories a day you probably won't have a lot of room for carbs so high protein and high fat relative to your overall diet makes sense. How did you arrive at 1300 calories? Are you strictly following 1300 and, if so, how has your weight loss been? What exercise program(s) are you following?

    I have done higher & lower calories & 1300 works for me. I'm not hungry & I don't feel like I'm over eating either. As far as workouts I do 30 mins fasted cardio first thing in the morning & then do weight lifting after breakfast. I can't tell you how weight loss has been so far because over the last few months I haven't been strict on my diet at all, which is why I need to get this extra weight off. The last week I've been following 1300 calories with my my Macros set at 30% carbs 30% fat & 40% protein.

    1300 is generally pretty low but it might or might not be right for you depending on your height and current weight. It also depends on whether you're using MFP's method and you're eating 1300 plus exercise calories or just eating 1300 flat. If it is too low for you then it is going to be difficult to stick with it (which is what appears to be the case). That is why I was asking how you arrived at that number.

    If you are weight lifting then the general recommendation is to get 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass that you have. You should also be getting 0.35 grams of fat per pound of overall body weight. These 30/30/40, etc. guides are nice and fit neatly with MFP's presentation but the above is what you should base your own numbers off of. My guess is that those percentages will then change to more protein and more fat than what you're currently doing, but again it depends on your numbers.

    Let's run those numbers through the MFP, find something you can stick with day in and day out, and then you should start tracking your weight loss over several weeks. If you are losing a reasonable amount of weight (say 1 pound a week) then your numbers are fine. If you're losing faster or slower than that, then adjust your numbers. If that's you in your picture then you don't have much to lose and you certainly don't need to rush.

    Thank you for taking the time to help me it with this. I really appreciate it & yes that's me in the pic. I am 5'4 & weight around 130. I don't have a goal weight since fat weighs more than muscle & that whole thing. But I want to be very lean & get my body fat % down. I have to figure out all those numbers which might take me a while because I'm awful with things like that lol! Also I don't track or eat back my exersice calories.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,932 Member
    Options
    At 1300 calories a day you probably won't have a lot of room for carbs so high protein and high fat relative to your overall diet makes sense. How did you arrive at 1300 calories? Are you strictly following 1300 and, if so, how has your weight loss been? What exercise program(s) are you following?

    I have done higher & lower calories & 1300 works for me. I'm not hungry & I don't feel like I'm over eating either. As far as workouts I do 30 mins fasted cardio first thing in the morning & then do weight lifting after breakfast. I can't tell you how weight loss has been so far because over the last few months I haven't been strict on my diet at all, which is why I need to get this extra weight off. The last week I've been following 1300 calories with my my Macros set at 30% carbs 30% fat & 40% protein.

    1300 is generally pretty low but it might or might not be right for you depending on your height and current weight. It also depends on whether you're using MFP's method and you're eating 1300 plus exercise calories or just eating 1300 flat. If it is too low for you then it is going to be difficult to stick with it (which is what appears to be the case). That is why I was asking how you arrived at that number.

    If you are weight lifting then the general recommendation is to get 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass that you have. You should also be getting 0.35 grams of fat per pound of overall body weight. These 30/30/40, etc. guides are nice and fit neatly with MFP's presentation but the above is what you should base your own numbers off of. My guess is that those percentages will then change to more protein and more fat than what you're currently doing, but again it depends on your numbers.

    Let's run those numbers through the MFP, find something you can stick with day in and day out, and then you should start tracking your weight loss over several weeks. If you are losing a reasonable amount of weight (say 1 pound a week) then your numbers are fine. If you're losing faster or slower than that, then adjust your numbers. If that's you in your picture then you don't have much to lose and you certainly don't need to rush.

    Thank you for taking the time to help me it with this. I really appreciate it & yes that's me in the pic. I am 5'4 & weight around 130. I don't have a goal weight since fat weighs more than muscle & that whole thing. But I want to be very lean & get my body fat % down. I have to figure out all those numbers which might take me a while because I'm awful with things like that lol! Also I don't track or eat back my exersice calories.

    No worries at all. It sounds like you're generally doing the right things to hit your goals but need to get your calories keyed in correctly. It's a bit of a game of hit and miss because all of these calculators are estimates for the general population, so don't be afraid to adjust slowly as I said before.

    MFP's calculator assumes that you are eating back your exercise calories. The estimates of calorie burns are probably high on here but if you're not eating back ANY of your exercise calories while using the MFP calculator then you are, by definition, under-eating. Please check out this website for a good TDEE calculator (i.e. it is designed such that you need not estimate, record and eat back your exercise calories) and I use it myself, as do many of my friends: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    There is also a group called "Eat, Train, Progress" that SideSteel and Sara run and it is an excellent resource for advice, and the two of them go out of their way to research for good information and then help others apply it.

    Feel free to PM me if you need more help.
  • nyla2120
    nyla2120 Posts: 370 Member
    Options
    http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/

    This is a good calculator that will help you figure out your ratios for low carb. Typically it's around 60-70% fat, 20-30% protein, and 5-10% carbs.

    Thank you!
  • nyla2120
    nyla2120 Posts: 370 Member
    Options
    At 1300 calories a day you probably won't have a lot of room for carbs so high protein and high fat relative to your overall diet makes sense. How did you arrive at 1300 calories? Are you strictly following 1300 and, if so, how has your weight loss been? What exercise program(s) are you following?

    I have done higher & lower calories & 1300 works for me. I'm not hungry & I don't feel like I'm over eating either. As far as workouts I do 30 mins fasted cardio first thing in the morning & then do weight lifting after breakfast. I can't tell you how weight loss has been so far because over the last few months I haven't been strict on my diet at all, which is why I need to get this extra weight off. The last week I've been following 1300 calories with my my Macros set at 30% carbs 30% fat & 40% protein.

    1300 is generally pretty low but it might or might not be right for you depending on your height and current weight. It also depends on whether you're using MFP's method and you're eating 1300 plus exercise calories or just eating 1300 flat. If it is too low for you then it is going to be difficult to stick with it (which is what appears to be the case). That is why I was asking how you arrived at that number.

    If you are weight lifting then the general recommendation is to get 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass that you have. You should also be getting 0.35 grams of fat per pound of overall body weight. These 30/30/40, etc. guides are nice and fit neatly with MFP's presentation but the above is what you should base your own numbers off of. My guess is that those percentages will then change to more protein and more fat than what you're currently doing, but again it depends on your numbers.

    Let's run those numbers through the MFP, find something you can stick with day in and day out, and then you should start tracking your weight loss over several weeks. If you are losing a reasonable amount of weight (say 1 pound a week) then your numbers are fine. If you're losing faster or slower than that, then adjust your numbers. If that's you in your picture then you don't have much to lose and you certainly don't need to rush.

    Thank you for taking the time to help me it with this. I really appreciate it & yes that's me in the pic. I am 5'4 & weight around 130. I don't have a goal weight since fat weighs more than muscle & that whole thing. But I want to be very lean & get my body fat % down. I have to figure out all those numbers which might take me a while because I'm awful with things like that lol! Also I don't track or eat back my exersice calories.

    No worries at all. It sounds like you're generally doing the right things to hit your goals but need to get your calories keyed in correctly. It's a bit of a game of hit and miss because all of these calculators are estimates for the general population, so don't be afraid to adjust slowly as I said before.

    MFP's calculator assumes that you are eating back your exercise calories. The estimates of calorie burns are probably high on here but if you're not eating back ANY of your exercise calories while using the MFP calculator then you are, by definition, under-eating. Please check out this website for a good TDEE calculator (i.e. it is designed such that you need not estimate, record and eat back your exercise calories) and I use it myself, as do many of my friends: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    There is also a group called "Eat, Train, Progress" that SideSteel and Sara run and it is an excellent resource for advice, and the two of them go out of their way to research for good information and then help others apply it.

    Feel free to PM me if you need more help.

    Thank you again!
  • JusticejamesbMBA
    JusticejamesbMBA Posts: 25 Member
    Options
    Keto diets are not high protein diets, they are high fat diets. You macros should look something like 75% - 80% from healthy fats, (Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Pure Butter, etc.). 15% - 20% from proteins, (again, beef, fish, chicken, etc.). Then only ~5% carbs.

    This will put you into ketosis, and you will drop weight really fast!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Options
    Keto diets are not high protein diets, they are high fat diets. You macros should look something like 75% - 80% from healthy fats, (Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Pure Butter, etc.). 15% - 20% from proteins, (again, beef, fish, chicken, etc.). Then only ~5% carbs.

    This will put you into ketosis, and you will drop weight really fast!

    Holy necro post.