Hi, guys, first time user, here

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valentinogr1
valentinogr1 Posts: 3 Member
in Introduce Yourself
New to MyFitnessPal! I like it and I don't like it at the same time, haha. Some of the values seem to be a bit off for common food items like top round beef where there are multiple entries all with different values. Even the checkmark verified one is not accurate in terms of calories, protein, and fat per ounce. Anyway, just a minor complaint, all-in-all.

But this is somewhat related to my use for this app which is to keep a very precise log of my calorie and macro nutrients. One concern I have is weight loss using a 1500 calories diet while also lifting progressively heavier weight at the same time using a 5x5 weightlifting regimen. The suggested macro nutrients for my gender (male), age (29), height (5'6), and weight (185) suggest that I should be aiming for 203g of carbs and only 83g of protein per day. Is that...right? Should I tinker around with that? I'm pretty sure that I should be getting a much larger amount of protein, somewhere close to 0.7 to 1.0g per pound of body weight.

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  • MaltedTea
    MaltedTea Posts: 6,286 Member
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    Welcome! You can readjust your macros within your calorie limit as you see fit. My protein target is currently 40%, for example (although I don't hit it every day)

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    edited January 2021
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    Yeah, food entries are entered by users, and can be inaccurate. Sometimes the best thing to do is make your own entry.

    5x5 is a great program. That’s where I started. Like @MaltedTea said, you can adjust your macro percentages. 40/30/30 P/C/F is a popular set-up, especially for people who are lifting weights.
  • valentinogr1
    valentinogr1 Posts: 3 Member
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    Thanks very much, guys! I'll look into adjusting my macros. Figuring out what my food weighs has been another trouble since I don't tend to eat things that come out of a package too often, these days. Sounds like investing in a kitchen scale is a worthwhile venture, too.
  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
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    +1 suggestion to get a kitchen scale, definitely. And always check the MFP entries against the actual nutrition label or the USDA website when possible - MFP has the largest food database of all the apps like it out there, but the flipside of that is that it's largely built by users contributing over the years, so there's a lot of "my ____" type of entries that are useless to anyone else. I believe now you can make your foods and recipes that you enter private, but that wasn't always the case, and lots of people have just added foods to the database rather than build recipes or meals, private or otherwise.

    Also, IIRC the protein recommendation is actually 0.7-1g per kilogram of lean mass, not pound of total bodyweight, so that should make your protein goal less daunting right away.
  • valentinogr1
    valentinogr1 Posts: 3 Member
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    Big help there, Goal, thanks. Yea I noticed that there were a lot of entries for Spinach or Swiss Chard, for example, but not the way I do my Spinach or Swiss Chard which involves boiling them, then tossing with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and red pepper flakes, so I had to figure out what all of that amounts to and add that in there; but, as you said, that will probably only be useful for me and not anyone else.

    Also, that helps a lot that the recommendation for protein is for lean mass, not total body weight. I won't have to chug 4 or 5 protein shakes a day with that, especially seeing as I am not that lean, yet. lol.

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