Macros and calories

Why don't they make sense? What are your goals?

Samanthayogi614 wrote: »

So my fitness pal recommended I up my calories to 1800 a day to reach my goal weight as I am trying to gain muscle. When I did my macros it averaged it out to me eating 158g protein.....which I have been reading up trying to understand macros more and it sounds like that may be too much protein. It also recommended 158g of carbs....fat was the lowest. I am just hoping I could get an idea of what a fit individual my age and height would need for protein and all.

For gaining muscle, there are three key goals: 1) lift regularly to stimulate muscle growth, 2) eat enough protein so your body can build new muscle, and 3) maintain a caloric surplus so your body has leftover protein to build new muscle and doesn't burn all your protein to keep you alive.

It sounds like you're crushing 1). For 2), most of the reading I've done suggests 0.8-1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day is a good benchmark for building muscle. For someone who's 120 lbs, 158g isn't unheard of, but it is a lot, and it wouldn't hurt to bring that number down to somewhere around 96-120g. For 3), a good, lean caloric surplus is 250 calories over your TDEE (i.e., gain 0.5 lbs/week), but going a bit higher than this is fine. Hitting the surplus is the important thing. Being patient is equally important. 2 pounds per month is slow progress, but it adds up and keeps fat gains to a minimum. The human body can only grow muscle so quickly.

My strategy is to make sure I eat enough protein to land in that 0.8-1 gram range each day, and then eat enough high-quality carbs and fats to hit my caloric surplus. Then, as long as I'm going to the gym regularly , I think I'm good to go.

Also, strength training 5x a week for 60+min. each will consume a decent chunk of calories throughout the week. Make sure to "eat those calories back" or you might miss your caloric surplus goals.

Something to keep in mind in addition to the above is that MFP's default "percentage" system for macros isn't really the best for people who actually have a specific need to track macros. I think it's generally intended to encourage people losing weight to stick to a balanced diet, which is a good intention, but seems to create a lot of confusion. I have an option to set mine by grams rather than percentage, but that might be a feature of the paid accounts (I forget which is which).

AnvilHead wrote: »

MegaMooseEsq wrote: »

Something to keep in mind in addition to the above is that MFP's default "percentage" system for macros isn't really the best for people who actually have a specific need to track macros. I think it's generally intended to encourage people losing weight to stick to a balanced diet, which is a good intention, but seems to create a lot of confusion. I have an option to set mine by grams rather than percentage, but that might be a feature of the paid accounts (I forget which is which).

Setting your macros by grams is a Premium (paid) feature, can't do it on the free version. But with a little math you can work them out and round to the closest 5% and be in the ballpark (which is exactly what I do).

Great article on setting your macros: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1

Yup, that's what I do as well.