Is my macros correct ? They have me eating Lot of carbs and not alit of protein

Kimh717 wrote: »

I joined so my macros would be right. So do I just go with what they are telling me ? First day at this app

The default macros usually aren't a bad starting point for most people, as long as they don't cut calories silly-far in pursuit of aggressively fast weight loss. There's no getting adequate nutrition on too-few calories, no matter how the macro percents are set. We need certain actual minimum amounts of protein and fats, and too-few calories means we won't get them.

What are those certain actual minimums? Welllll . . . that depends. Like I said, the defaults aren't bad, if calories aren't silly-low.

After that, things matter like what type and how much exercise a person does, whether they're getting more or less of their protein from plants, whether they have certain diseases and health conditions, whether they're getting up there in age, and more. Good news: Pretty close on average is good enough.

Eventually, it's a good idea to figure out one's own personal protein and fats minimums in grams. There are some rules of thumb for protein, but potentially a better source for that is this research-based calculator and guide:

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

That site is science-based, and generally regarded as neutral. (For example, they don't sell protein supplements. ) If a person is quite overweight, it's fine to put a lower weight - maybe a healthy goal weight - into the calculator. We don't need bunches of extra protein to maintain our fat mass; it's for maintaining lean mass. The guide portion goes into some of the nuances for special cases that may range beyond the calculator values.

Fat, all I've got is a rule of thumb: I'd go for 0.35-0.45 grams minimum daily per pound of body weight, again possibly goal weight, though it's a little iffier in the fats case. Men might get away with a bit less than that, maybe 0.3 grams per pound?

Don't let it vex you at the start: Malnutrition doesn't set in instantly for anyone eating even remotely reasonably, therefore you can take some time learning more and maybe adjusting based on that learning. If your main goal is weight loss, that's directly about the calories, not the nutrition. There can be some indirect effects from nutrition, but pretty much only to the extent that sub-ideal nutrition may cause fatigue so we burn fewer calories than expected, or spike appetite so we have difficulty sticking with even a reasonable calorie goal.

Obviously, nutrition is important for health, energy level, and that sort of thing, but averaging around reasonable macro levels should be fine, no need to be exactly exact every single day.

My opinions throughout, of course - if you want more here than opinions from other MFP users who've been learning about this for their own benefit, that would mean consulting someone professional, ideally a registered dietitian.

Best wishes!