Flipping the Carb/Protein Goal.....

You can low carb like that if you want to but over the course of time you may have gym performance issues. I'm not saying low carb is bad, it's personal preference. What you're really getting at here though is that MFP's settings for PRO are really low and in that regard yes, you'll want to increase intake.

A better solution would be to go into your goals tab and hit the "custom" radial button, which will allow you to customize your intake values. Then you can just raise protein to an appropriate amount (1g/lb lean is a good starting point), then set fats to an appropriate amount (.35g-.5g/lb bodyweight is a good starting place), and let carbs end up wherever they do.

You can also set total calories on this page as well.

Your current intake is pretty high in PRO and very low in carbs. There's nothing wrong with this, you just might find better lifting performance if you customize it and get your carbs in a better spot. You also might be a touch low on fat intake but I've seen worse.

. 65 carbs isn't exactly considered ketogenic, but it SHOULD result in quicker weight loss.

Unless you have an insulin related medical condition the above is incorrect. Energy balance will dictate weight loss.

Macronutrient composition will only influence your ability to maintain muscle mass while dieting and this will be covered provided you're getting adequate protein intake.

I changed my to 35% carb, 30% protein and 35% fat. I found if I have much more than 200g of protein, my back hurts (stress on the kidney). This site does tend to over estimate the carb %.

Right. But If I do take in 1g protein per lb of body weight (240) then that means I can only take in the 58 Fat/ 65 Carbs. And I am trying to lose weight and maintain my muscle. I mean, I would like to increase my carbs and keep my calories the same, but it means sacrificing the other macro's. That's where I am struggling a bit.

1g/lb lean mass should be sufficient. This should be far lower than 240 unless you're jacked as all hell.

Don't know your stats but you could probably eat more....by your #'s your eating around 17-1800 calories. When I was cutting from 204 down to 190 i was consuming 2600 calories and losing about 5 lbs a month and I'm 6'. Just a thought. Keep in mind that carbs are protein protective and getting a few more when cutting would be my recommendation....equal amounts of protein/carbs is pretty standard.

Don't know your stats but you could probably eat more....by your #'s your eating around 17-1800 calories. When I was cutting from 204 down to 190 i was consuming 2600 calories and losing about 5 lbs a month and I'm 6'. Just a thought.

For what it's worth, I agree. My last cut was from 190 to 177 at 2250-2450/week at 5'11" -- just giving stats as a reference point.

I'm just starting a bulking phase beginning at 182 and hoping to see some decent muscle gain over the next 3 months.....just in time for short sleeves and summertime, hopefully I can keep the fat to a minimum and get to 190.

Okay I understand, so I need to calculate fat free mass and go by that. Probably looking around 150-160 including bone..

Yes! I'm 135 but only eat about 105-110g of protien per day (feel free to correct me if I'm off & need to change my goals). Even though I'm a woman, I'm also trying to gain more lean muscle to be ripped for summer. Upping my protien & lowering my carbs has helped alot in this aspect!

Good Luck!

I'm just starting a bulking phase beginning at 182 and hoping to see some decent muscle gain over the next 3 months.....just in time for short sleeves and summertime, hopefully I can keep the fat to a minimum and get to 190.

^ Nice. MFP bulkers unite! I'm at 180 and also bulking. Sitting at 3k currently and hoping to land between .5-1lb per week. Stopping when I get too fat or when the snow melts.

I posted my stats/background, so maybe that helps. I lift around 3-4 days a week, and have a pretty physically demanding job. I work at a local Park as an athletic supervisor, constantly walking, and fixing things, lifting, etc.

I would recommend taking the time to read this thread:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981

You can then use various methods for estimating your TDEE and then subtract 20% from it. You could probably go a little more agressive if you wanted to but I wouldn't go too crazy with the deficit for the sake of your long term success.

If you have a handle on your bodyfat % I would use Katsch-McArdle but you should probably use a few different methods and compare results.

The thread is somewhat long but there's very solid information here that should give you a good starting place for both caloric intake and macronutrients.