Protein

pmontoto
pmontoto Posts: 15 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I set MFP macros in % for 40 protein/40 carbs/20 fat
Do I really need that much protein??
I’m finding it very difficult.
Im in my late 40s, female with a job that requires a good amt of walking. I don’t really exercise much other than work.

Replies

  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,989 Member
    What was your reasoning in setting your macros this way?
    In absence of a medical condition, the default macros of 20% protein, 30% fat, and 50% carbs are fine for most people.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,753 Member
    If you want a research-based double-check on protein needs, this is a well-respected source:

    https://examine.com/nutrition/protein-intake-calculator/
    https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/

    If you've cut your calories too far, trying to lose weight super fast, maybe 40% protein would be desirable, because it's then 40% of a very small number of calories for your body size. The MFP default shouldn't be terrible for most women who're trying to lose weight at a sensibly moderate rate, or maintaining.

    Personally, I set my protein goal in grams (in MFP premium, but I used the percentages to get close to my desired gram value even when I was using free MFP). Current, as F age 66 mid/high 120s pounds, 5'5", athletically active, maintaining weight, I have a personal protein minimum of 100g daily (and usually exceed it). That usually ends up being near the MFP 20% default (+/- a couple of percent), even though I don't deliberately use the percents. While I was losing weight, on somewhat fewer calories, realistically I was getting more like 80s-90s grams of protein most days on those fewer calories, and considered that adequate. YMMV.
  • JBanx256
    JBanx256 Posts: 1,479 Member
    Like @AnnPT77 , I don't set my macros by percentages. Right now my calories are high enough that even with my protein being set to ~1gr per pound of bodyweight, it's clocking in at a bit shy of 20% of my overall. That said, when I've been cutting hard, in order to maintain adequate protein intake, it's been at or even above 40%.
  • pmontoto
    pmontoto Posts: 15 Member
    I have no idea what I’m doing. I think I read an article on bodybuilding.com and maybe that’s where I got it from. I just want to lose weight. I don’t care what the percentages are. I don’t really know how to
    Figure out what my macros should be but I would like to build muscle and lose fat. Im really not that overweight. I could lose 10-15 lbs and be a healthy bmi. That would be nice. I feel like I’d have more energy.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,753 Member
    pmontoto wrote: »
    I have no idea what I’m doing. I think I read an article on bodybuilding.com and maybe that’s where I got it from. I just want to lose weight. I don’t care what the percentages are. I don’t really know how to
    Figure out what my macros should be but I would like to build muscle and lose fat. Im really not that overweight. I could lose 10-15 lbs and be a healthy bmi. That would be nice. I feel like I’d have more energy.

    Some of the recommendations from bodybuilding sites can be extreme for people who aren't ultra-lean, going for ultra-lean-er, IMO.

    Try setting yourself back to the MFP default percentages. Look at the gram goal for protein that that gives you.

    (Warning: Rough rule of thumb coming . . . !) Take that number of grams, and divide it by a sensible goal weight in pounds, for you. If you're not sure, use the middle of the BMI range. (If you're not sure what that is or how to find it, post your height here.) If the "protein grams divided by goal weight" number is at least 0.6, you're probably OK, but 0.8 could be a bit better.

    A different way of putting that is to consider whether the grams amount to 0.6-0.8g per pound of goal weight. If you usually add exercise calories, and that usual amount gets you to the 0.6-0.8g per pound of goal weight, also likely OK. You don't have to be exact, but that should be a reasonable ballpark. It's fine to go over it, as long as that doesn't drive out other needed nutrition at appropriate calories.

    For most people, that calculation is going to be roughly equivalent to around 0.8-1 gram per pound of lean body mass, but most of us don't have a valid lean body mass estimate. It will also tend to fall somewhere in the range that that Examine.com protein goal calculator suggests, for most people.

    I doubt that 40% protein is remotely necessary, unless you are shooting for (frankly) too-fast weight loss for an average person. (BTW, I'm not saying Banx is losing too fast when she's cutting hard, when she gets around 40% or more of her calories in protein. She has substantially higher muscle mass than average for a woman her/my height, and has different muscularity goals and a different workout regimen than most average women. Those things make a difference.)

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