Macros Help - Carbs/Protein/Fat

Mimojo

Hi there.

Wondering if someone can help me. Using myfitnesspal for a couple of week to try to get a better hold on exactly what I am eating & the macro breakdown to a bid to loose fat.

I am female, currently weight 182lbs, 5ft 9lbs. I lost a lot of weight (7 stone) and at the moment am trying to get to reduce my body fat. I have been struggling with the last of the fat loss since xmass, my weight has been in and around 12st 4lbs to 13st for the past few months. I havent been as strict with food all summer so just want to get back on track now & really get rid of the the remaining (and very annoying!) fat.

I currently go to the gym, run, play sports about 6 times a week, do a mix of cardio and strength training and feel like I am improving all the time.

I am just wondering if someone can advise me on the macros I should be aiming for. mfp automatically sets them as Carbs 50% / Protein 20% / Fat 30% - Can someone advise if this is correct? I feel like the protein is very low and I am trying to eat low carb so am not going near the 50% per day.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Alf Veedersane

Mimojo wrote: »

Hi there.

Wondering if someone can help me. Using myfitnesspal for a couple of week to try to get a better hold on exactly what I am eating & the macro breakdown to a bid to loose fat.

I am female, currently weight 182lbs, 5ft 9lbs. I lost a lot of weight (7 stone) and at the moment am trying to get to reduce my body fat. I have been struggling with the last of the fat loss since xmass, my weight has been in and around 12st 4lbs to 13st for the past few months. I havent been as strict with food all summer so just want to get back on track now & really get rid of the the remaining (and very annoying!) fat.

I currently go to the gym, run, play sports about 6 times a week, do a mix of cardio and strength training and feel like I am improving all the time.

I am just wondering if someone can advise me on the macros I should be aiming for. mfp automatically sets them as Carbs 50% / Protein 20% / Fat 30% - Can someone advise if this is correct? I feel like the protein is very low and I am trying to eat low carb so am not going near the 50% per day.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

I'd have said about 20% carb and 50% protein if you're looking to burn fat.

Not a hard and fast rule and you might find you need to tweak it a bit but that's a ball park breakdown.

SaoirseRose

40/30/30 has always worked for me.
Carbs, fats, protein.

Cutting carbs drastically when you're training so much is counter productive IMO and there is just no need. Sure if you stick at it you'll lose weight, but you'll also be tired, hungry and unmotivated and making things harder for yourself than they need to be.

Be clever about it and have them before and after training. Days you train you can up them a bit and when you're not training keep them lower.

Protein general rule of thumb would be 1.5-2g per kg of BW.

Keep it simple and manageable.

sandydan

Mimojo wrote: »

Hi there.

Wondering if someone can help me. Using myfitnesspal for a couple of week to try to get a better hold on exactly what I am eating & the macro breakdown to a bid to loose fat.

I am female, currently weight 182lbs, 5ft 9lbs. I lost a lot of weight (7 stone) and at the moment am trying to get to reduce my body fat. I have been struggling with the last of the fat loss since xmass, my weight has been in and around 12st 4lbs to 13st for the past few months. I havent been as strict with food all summer so just want to get back on track now & really get rid of the the remaining (and very annoying!) fat.

I currently go to the gym, run, play sports about 6 times a week, do a mix of cardio and strength training and feel like I am improving all the time.

I am just wondering if someone can advise me on the macros I should be aiming for. mfp automatically sets them as Carbs 50% / Protein 20% / Fat 30% - Can someone advise if this is correct? I feel like the protein is very low and I am trying to eat low carb so am not going near the 50% per day.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

if you go to gym and do as you say its great,downside of getting fit is fat converts to muscle and muscle is healthy and weighs, i have 2 females in house who are training walking etc so , weight is added slowly and slowly lost to keep it off, i think you are fantastic to do what you have done ,appreciate that and as far as i know to lose weight of muscle, you reduce the weights you train with and also the resistance in gym gear, but stay with same pace, as muscle increases its strength less is required so sheds itself so weight of muscle reduces thats what a weightlifter told me when i asked him how he slimmed,hope that makes sense

SaoirseRose

sandydan wrote: »

s fat converts to muscle

No, it doesn't.

Training will increase muscle mass and reduce fat mass. Fat does not convert to muscle. Nor does muscle convert to fat. See this is where those stupid myths come from.

Tigger99

How could you lose the weight of muscle? That doesn't make sense. Nor does reducing weights to loose weight.

Alf Veedersane

sandydan wrote: »

if you go to gym and do as you say its great,downside of getting fit is fat converts to muscle and muscle is healthy and weighs, i have 2 females in house who are training walking etc so , weight is added slowly and slowly lost to keep it off, i think you are fantastic to do what you have done ,appreciate that and as far as i know to lose weight of muscle, you reduce the weights you train with and also the resistance in gym gear, but stay with same pace, as muscle increases its strength less is required so sheds itself so weight of muscle reduces thats what a weightlifter told me when i asked him how he slimmed,hope that makes sense

Pretty much everything thing here is correct except for the words.

Edit: just to clarify, it's 100% guff

sandydan

Tigger99 wrote: »

How could you lose the weight of muscle? That doesn't make sense. Nor does reducing weights to loose weight.

according as muscle gets fitter less muscle is required for training, its mass reduces therefore weight of muscle decreases,does that make sense?in same way as someone who gives up training will lose weight initially provided they watch their diet.
best ask some body building studio that question, i know they will explain it properly as retiring boxers, bodybuilders , rugby players need to get rid of muscle in proper way in order to look right, using correct targeted lighter exercise and diet plans, or so i have been told.hope that explanation didn't confuse more.

SaoirseRose

sandydan wrote: »

according as muscle gets fitter less muscle is required for training, its mass reduces therefore weight of muscle decreases,does that make sense?in same way as someone who gives up training will lose weight initially provided they watch their diet.
best ask some body building studio that question, i know they will explain it properly as retiring boxers, bodybuilders , rugby players need to get rid of muscle in proper way in order to look right, using correct targeted lighter exercise and diet plans, or so i have been told.hope that explanation didn't confuse more.

I'd let this one go if I were you...

The jist is,you're incorrect. Whoever told you that ****e was incorrect, and you're now relaying this incorrect information again. Do you see how the cycle goes?

sandydan

SaoirseRose wrote: »

I'd let this one go if I were you...

The jist is,you're incorrect. Whoever told you that ****e was incorrect, and you're now relaying this incorrect information again. Do you see how the cycle goes?

well then you got several chances to correct my s**,as far i can see i did not imply in any way that diet re cabs etc you were following is incorrect,in fact id say it as good a diet mix as ive seen,re its effect on energy levels of person following same. i referred only to final few lbs loss effort required and gave my opinion on same and congratulated on weight loss achieved to date.
so sarcasm is order of day and "words" cannot be politely used to disprove my point even if its badly worded imo. good, i can see pointless point of asking for explanation of where i made an error as you obviously are unable to politely do so ,goodnight

ford2600

sandydan wrote: »

well then you got several chances to correct my s**,as far i can see i did not imply in any way that diet re cabs etc you were following is incorrect,in fact id say it as good a diet mix as ive seen,re its effect on energy levels of person following same. i referred only to final few lbs loss effort required and gave my opinion on same and congratulated on weight loss achieved to date.
so sarcasm is order of day and "words" cannot be politely used to disprove my point even if its badly worded imo. good, i can see pointless point of asking for explanation of where i made an error as you obviously are unable to politely do so ,goodnight

Sandydan this is paragraph, paragraph this is sandydan; I don't believe ye have met?

SaoirseRose

sandydan wrote: »

well then you got several chances to correct my s**,

I believe I did. You can thank me later.

sandydan wrote:

as far i can see i did not imply in any way that diet re cabs etc you were following is incorrect,

Probably because it's not. Good call.

sandydan wrote: »

i referred only to final few lbs loss effort required and gave my opinion on same and congratulated on weight loss achieved to date.

Which is commendable, however misinforming the OP is not.

sandydan wrote: »

so sarcasm is order of day and "words" cannot be politely used to disprove my point even if its badly worded imo. good, i can see pointless point of asking for explanation of where i made an error as you obviously are unable to politely do so ,goodnight

There has been no impoliteness or sarcasm here. I was simply being factual and to the point. You, have not been factual - and that is the point. I realise you're coming from a good place and trying to help the OP, but you're doing more harm than good by spouting out regurgitated crap that was already crap in the first place. That doesn't help anyone. I can say that, because I've been guilty of it myself when starting out. The 'such and such said it, so it must be true' mentality. Do your own research, form your own opinion based on that and your own actual experience - then offer advice.

Mimojo

SaoirseRose wrote: »

40/30/30 has always worked for me.
Carbs, fats, protein.

Cutting carbs drastically when you're training so much is counter productive IMO and there is just no need. Sure if you stick at it you'll lose weight, but you'll also be tired, hungry and unmotivated and making things harder for yourself than they need to be.

Be clever about it and have them before and after training. Days you train you can up them a bit and when you're not training keep them lower.

Protein general rule of thumb would be 1.5-2g per kg of BW.

Keep it simple and manageable.

Many thanks for the info, very informative. I have changed the macros on mfp and will see how I get on. I have tired to cut carbs before but like you said it just doesnt work and its not worth it. When I am going to the gym regularly I need a certain amount of carbs, and I find if I cut them down then I am just miserable. I am just trying to be sensible about when I eat them, and which ones I am choosing to eat.

Looking at myp I dont think I am taking in enough protein so going to make changes to this. I have never considered whey protein but it might be an option to get more protein into my diet, what are you thoughts on this?

Typer Monkey

Whey is a very handy way to get your protein in as you can drink down 20 or so grammes in a matter of seconds. I was having a shake after training for a couple of month but tbh it was giving me unmerciful diarrhoea (sorry TMI!) so I stopped.

I'm getting my protein just from food now..chicken,salmon, nuts etc with the odd Quest bar as a proteiny treat.

Lots of people have no ill effects at all from whey but some people have mentioned to me that they had similar 'digestive issues' so maybe just bare it on mind!

Mimojo

Typer Monkey wrote: »

Whey is a very handy way to get your protein in as you can drink down 20 or so grammes in a matter of seconds. I was having a shake after training for a couple of month but tbh it was giving me unmerciful diarrhoea (sorry TMI!) so I stopped.

I'm getting my protein just from food now..chicken,salmon, nuts etc with the odd Quest bar as a proteiny treat.

Lots of people have no ill effects at all from whey but some people have mentioned to me that they had similar 'digestive issues' so maybe just bare it on mind!

Thanks for the advice lol!! Never tried whey so no idea what kind of "reaction" I will have to it! I would prefer to steer clear of it to be honest, but like you said a very handy way of getting protein in, and at the moment I can see I am def not eating enough. This week going to concentrate on getting more protein into my diet.

I have started to extend out my runs, did a 27km run yesterday so longest yet, but found I was absolutely STARVING after it. what is the best thing to eat after, carbs??? I ate porridge pancakes made with cottage cheese, eggs and porridge, served with natural yogurt and berries and seemed to hit the spot, is this the correct thing to be going for?

SaoirseRose

Mimojo wrote: »

Thanks for the advice lol!! Never tried whey so no idea what kind of "reaction" I will have to it! I would prefer to steer clear of it to be honest, but like you said a very handy way of getting protein in, and at the moment I can see I am def not eating enough. This week going to concentrate on getting more protein into my diet.

I have started to extend out my runs, did a 27km run yesterday so longest yet, but found I was absolutely STARVING after it. what is the best thing to eat after, carbs??? I ate porridge pancakes made with cottage cheese, eggs and porridge, served with natural yogurt and berries and seemed to hit the spot, is this the correct thing to be going for?

Whey protein is just protein in powder form, that's it, no reason to steer clear of it! I think it's a great way of getting more protein in if you're not hitting it with your current diet. I'm a vegan so protein shakes are basically compulsory for me, I go with rice protein. Sunwarrior have a good range of yummy dairy free protein if you have any issues with whey. They have a complete protein mix called 'warrior blend' but I go with their vanilla classic rice protein because it's just nicer! When it's combined with the beans etc. in my daily diet it makes up a complete protein anyway. It's really nice mixed with almond milk.

With regards to after training, just go for a mix of protein and carbs. What you're eating is grand.

Mellor

sandydan wrote: »

if you go to gym and do as you say its great,downside of getting fit is fat converts to muscle and muscle is healthy and weighs, i have 2 females in house who are training walking etc so , weight is added slowly and slowly lost to keep it off, i think you are fantastic to do what you have done ,appreciate that and as far as i know to lose weight of muscle, you reduce the weights you train with and also the resistance in gym gear, but stay with same pace, as muscle increases its strength less is required so sheds itself so weight of muscle reduces thats what a weightlifter told me when i asked him how he slimmed,hope that makes sense

sandydan wrote: »

according as muscle gets fitter less muscle is required for training, its mass reduces therefore weight of muscle decreases,does that make sense?in same way as someone who gives up training will lose weight initially provided they watch their diet.
best ask some body building studio that question, i know they will explain it properly as retiring boxers, bodybuilders , rugby players need to get rid of muscle in proper way in order to look right, using correct targeted lighter exercise and diet plans, or so i have been told.hope that explanation didn't confuse more.

• Fat never converts to muscle. Ever. Biologically impossible.
• You can't reduce resistance and maintain pace to reduce muscle.
• Muscle won't shed its weight as you get stronger - thus maintaining total strength - instead it will simply get stronger.
• You misunderstood what the weightlifter told you - form of high reps mid-load routine he did when getting leaner.
• It doesn't make sense.
  
• Muscle won't reduce as you get fitter. A product of getting fitter is doing more work, using more muscle, not less.
• No it doesn't make sense.
• Somebody who gives up training is the total opposite of what you describe.
• Retired bodybuilders, boxers, rugby players don't need to do anything to lose muscle, its will be shed when its not used to the same degree and when its not being fed to the same degree. If doing nothing kept the muscle, they would certainly choose that option.
• I've no idea why you are talking about targeting muscle. The OP obviously ants to lose fat, Why would any normal person want to target healthy muscle.
• What you were told, or thoguht you were told, was wrong.
• You post was so of the wall it was unlikely to confuse.

I think that covers it. I'm not trying to be smart, you asked somebody to politely point out where you were wrong. Literally, from the opening sentence it was all wrong.

sandydan

thank you for politely and thoroughly pointing out the flaws in my post it makes sense the way you explain the issue , as you pointed out OP wanted to reach a certain target and has a lot lost and will in my opinion reach target loss . btw, a diet called "turn fat to muscle" (or some title similar) was reviewed a few month or so back priced at £7.99 stg in a health magazine that i didn't buy,

i apologize to OP if i have added to any confusion on subject.