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Iā€™m 38 years old and recently became very active in the gym. Iā€™m not looking to loose weight but get toned and build muscle. Knowing what to eat and Macros confuses me. Can anyone help me understand what percentage of things I need to eat to be a success at the gym? Iā€™m 5ā€™4 and 133 lbs for reference. Thank you!

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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,620 Member
    Answer āœ“
    The MFP default macro percents aren't a bad place to start. We need a certain amount of protein and fats. (Those contain "essential nutrients" that our bodies can't manufacture out of any other intake, so we need to eat some.) Personally, I treat my protein and fats goals as minimums: I'm fine with being over on either, as long as the other isn't persistently low, and I'm reasonably close to calorie goal.

    Depending on your calorie budget, for your goals you may need to increase protein. This is a research based protein needs estimator from a general well-regarded neutral source:

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

    Carb intake is more flexible, because our bodies can manufacture their own carbs. Some people find that low carb helps them manage their appetite. Some people find that they need more carbs in order to feel energetic. That's something we can figure out by paying attention to how we feel with different eating patterns, because people vary. Low carb athletes may time some carbs around their workouts, for better performance, if they find that helps them.

    As an aside: It's not vital to be exactly exact on your macros every single day. Pretty close, on average over a few days to a week - that should be fine. Given your gym goals, it would be smart to hit close or over your protein minimum when you can.

    FWIW, I'm about your size (5'5", low 130s). I target a minimum of 100g protein daily, usually exceed it by around 20%. That 100g is 1 gram per pound of my estimated lean body mass, or about 0.8g per pound of goal weight (which is around 125, I'm up a bit over the holidays). I get a minimum of 50g fats daily, which is in the 0.35-0.45g per pound per day range.

    I don't care how many carbs I eat, but it's usually 225g+.

    While I think of my macros as gram goals (which I think is more useful), when I look back at my MFP nutrition information, most of the time I'm averaging fairly close to the MFP default macro percents without explicitly targeting them.

    As an observation, getting reasonable micronutrients and fiber is also a good plan for performance. It's not essential to perfect everything all at once; improvements can be worked on gradually, aiming at new and easy-to-sustain routine habits. I find that if I eat really large amounts of veggies and fruits (which I love), fiber and most micros fall into place quite nicely without detailed attention.

    Best wishes!

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