Am i setting up my Macros properly?

kippapeterson
kippapeterson Posts: 7 Member
edited September 14 in Getting Started
For some starter information I am approx. 5'6", 41 years old, and currently 198 ilbs. I am down from 230 lbs approx. 7 months ago but my weight loss has plateaued so I have decided to join myfitnesspal to start tracking my foods, previously my progress was made by just eating smarter and healthier and adding moderate exercise. I am currently trying to lose weight and build muscle at the same time.

So now i'm trying to build my Macros for my daily goals which was set at 1,680 calories, which i'm still unsure of but I can always adjust that based on my progress I would assume. My focus is currently leaning towards weight loss but still want to build muscle in the process. I will be starting the gym this week so I want to make sure I'm getting the most benefit from my diet.

Using the idea of 2g of protein per kg (which i read off google) to determine protein I came to 88kg x 2g = 176g of protein. Which puts my protein very close to the 40%, and also read that you want at least 20% from fat. Which I assume leaves the remaining 40% to carbs.

So my ratio is currently set at 40-20-40 coming to 168g carbs 37g fat and 168g protein.

I guess im looking for some input on if im setting this up appropriately or if i'm utilizing any common misinformation in my setup. Do these numbers look appropriate?

Does 40-20-40
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Best Answer

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,596 Member
    Answer ✓
    I don't think there's a need to worry much about sugar being a minimum or maximum, honestly. There are fatter fish to fry.

    Get enough protein. Get enough fat. Set a reasonable gram goal for those, and treat it those goals as minimums. As long as you're not intentionally doing carnivore, keto, or other very low carb, get plenty of varied, colorful veggies and fruit for fiber and micronutrients. Hit your calorie goal. IMO, those are the basics.

    You can set your protein goal based on some rational goal weight. The 2g per kg sounds OK. Fats, maybe .3-.45g per pound per day (women more like 0.35-0.45). Lynn's idea of 50g is probably fine.

    If you're not diabetic or insulin resistant (and don't have some other carb or sugar related health condition), and you get the majority of your calories from things like meat, fish, dairy, veggies, fruits, whole grains, I don't think there's any big reason to worry about the inherent sugars in those kinds of foods. The major health authorities (NHS, USDA, WHO and that sort of thing) caution against eating lots of added sugar, but that's mainly because it's tough to both keep calories reasonable and get solid nutrition with lots of added sugar in the picture.

Answers

  • kippapeterson
    kippapeterson Posts: 7 Member
    edited September 14
    I guess one additional question I had was the "Sugar" goal of 62g. Should that be interpreted as a goal to reach or stay under? If I only have 10g of sugar in a day should that be considered ok or does that imply I should add some sugar to my diet?
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    Personally, I believe in setting macro goals by grams, not %. And at 198 lbs and 5 foot 6, you don't need 2 g of protein per kg body weight -- you don't need protein to maintain fst, especailly excess fat.you're trying to get rid of.

    37 g of fat seems pretty minimal to me -- it's difficult to track essential fatty acids, so I think shooting for 50 g as a minimum would give you more of a safety cushion. You could cut your protein and/or carbs by 29 grams to account for that.

    As for sugar, in general I would say don't worry about if you don't have diabetes or some other medical issue for which a doctor has advised you to watch your sugar intake, or you feel you have overall poor nutrition and sugary foods are part of the problem.

    With only 10 g of sugar a day, however, I'd wonder if you're getting enough plant foods in your diet (vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes). If you've made a conscious choice to consume a carnivore diet, I'm not going to argue with you, but if not, 10 g of sugar suggests you're not getting a balanced diet or you're choosing bad database entries.
  • kippapeterson
    kippapeterson Posts: 7 Member
    edited September 15
    @lynn_glenmont

    Are there any macro calculators or formulas that are best practice... as I read different articles and use these "macro calculators" i get such different numbers from each the whole thing is really confusing for a beginner.

    No diabetes or medical issues and 10g was a fabricated number I pulled out of a hat... I guess my point was am I reaching for the 62g a day of sugar or is that more of a maximum number.

    I would imagine the 1/2 cup of blueberries I have with my breakfast could account for 10g all on there own, so maybe a more realistic idea would be if I had 30g of sugar or even 40g and my "goals" showing me 22g short of my 'goal' is that really how I should be looking at the sugar... as a "goal" to reach or a perhaps its just a limit not to exceed and being well below it is perfectly fine.
  • kippapeterson
    kippapeterson Posts: 7 Member
    edited September 15
    Why do so many "Macro Calculators" you find online have such high protein numbers in comparison to so many others opinions? Is there some kind of debate over protein intake in the nutrition space? How is someone just getting started supposed to know what numbers to use to get started? Or do you just roll with this and then adjust based on results?

    Is there any need for a protein adjustment to be made if i'm not just looking to lose weight but also looking to build muscle at the same time? Such as beginning a resistance training routine at the gym.
  • kippapeterson
    kippapeterson Posts: 7 Member
    edited September 15
    @Ann__777

    "You can set your protein goal based on some rational goal weight."

    So if I had a goal weight of lets say 165lbs... I should lower my protein to 149g.. as opposed to the 176 i got basing it off my current weight and I could toss those grams into fat bringing my fat upto the .3-.45g per pound per day.

    Putting it through the "Daily Nutrition Goals" after switching it to grams instead of % and keeping it at the 1680 calories for the calorie deficiency for the weight loss it works out as 149g Carbs 54g fat 149g protein.

    Populating some of my typical foods im realizing i need to research some better sources of fats because that's lacking in my ideas for daily meals.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,454 Member
    edited September 15
    There is a group here that was run by a personal trainer years ago, here's their take:
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1

    ...and what the myfitnesspal dietician blog says:
    https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/ask-the-dietitian-whats-the-best-carb-protein-and-fat-breakdown-for-weight-loss/

    AnnPT will probably recommend this, she likes the Protein calculator on Examine:
    https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,596 Member
    kippapeterson wrote: »
    @Ann__777

    "You can set your protein goal based on some rational goal weight."

    So if I had a goal weight of lets say 165lbs... I should lower my protein to 149g.. as opposed to the 176 i got basing it off my current weight and I could toss those grams into fat bringing my fat upto the .3-.45g per pound per day.

    Putting it through the "Daily Nutrition Goals" after switching it to grams instead of % and keeping it at the 1680 calories for the calorie deficiency for the weight loss it works out as 149g Carbs 54g fat 149g protein.

    Populating some of my typical foods im realizing i need to research some better sources of fats because that's lacking in my ideas for daily meals.

    Good advice above from Riverside, as usual.

    Your suggested breakdown doesn't sound unreasonable to me as a starting point. You may find that you want to adjust it as you learn more, and see how your body responds to it on a multi-week basis. Please note that you don't need to be exactly exact on every macro every single day. Pretty close on average over a few days: That should be fine. Also, as long as you're not starting with a diagnosed deficiency or relevant health condition, you can take a bit of time to tune in your goals via your routine eating habits. It doesn't have to be perfect day 1. Evolving in a positive direction is OK. Humans are adaptive omnivores!

    Fats? Consider nuts, nut butters, seeds, avocados, olive oil, and that sort of thing. Fatty cold water fish (high in Omega-3 fats) are also a good source of fats. Most of us get enough saturated fats and Omega-6 fats, so for most people, increasing on the mono- and poly-unsaturated fats and Omega-3 fats will lead to better balance.

    Best wishes!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,596 Member
    kippapeterson wrote: »
    Why do so many "Macro Calculators" you find online have such high protein numbers in comparison to so many others opinions? Is there some kind of debate over protein intake in the nutrition space? How is someone just getting started supposed to know what numbers to use to get started? Or do you just roll with this and then adjust based on results?

    Is there any need for a protein adjustment to be made if i'm not just looking to lose weight but also looking to build muscle at the same time? Such as beginning a resistance training routine at the gym.

    I didn't answer this explicitly, but yes, I think there is debate over protein intake in the nutrition space, but mostly in the sense that it's easy to confuse generic suggestions for typical people/lifestyles versus specialized suggestions more tailored to individual goals.

    Riverside linked this source for its protein calculator:

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

    . . . but the guide at that link (after the calculator itself) has an excellent run-down of the kinds of situations where additional protein might be helpful, and how to think about things like the US RDA in context of some recent research and these more detailed contexts. There are a few disease states where protein needs to be limited, but that doesn't apply to others. For healthy people eating a generally balanced and nutritious diet, there's not much practical risk of dangerous levels of protein intake.

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