trying to get my macros sorted

[Kranky]

Some time ago I posted about 'doing it properly' this time.......

This has not actually happened as I would have liked (yes it is my fault and no one elses)

I have been using calorie counter and attempting to track my macros but
unfortunately I generally fail to track my last meal of the day (which is dinner
for me) as my partner is often the cook and does not like the counting and weighing.

Last week I actually tracked everything I consumed that day (including the four beers that night ...Fri ) and was surprised to see that even then I was still
lower than the overall calories I want to consume,let alone the fact that my
macros were not even close


I am 5'10 @90 kilos and guesstimate 25% bf and am aiming for 2300 cals
per day (protein 200g,carbs 170g and fats 90g).

I can seemingly eat and drink whatever I want and I stay at 90 kilo month
in month out ( I realise weight is not the best way to monitor change,Im
just using that as an example)

which brings me to the point of all this,It seems that I am under eating each day,what effect does this have on weight loss ?

didnt mean to make a long winded post

 

[nazzysmith]

Minimum macros requirements as per Max Brenners posting in nutrition threads...

Minimum requirements at 90kilos body weight...
Protein 1.5 grams per kilo = 135 grams (540 calories)
Fats 0.8 grams per kilo = 72 grams (648 calories)

Note they are your min macro requirements... Once you have met those your pretty much free to use your remaining calories any way you want...

which brings me to the point of all this,It seems that I am under eating each day,what effect does this have on weight loss ?

You are not undereating if your body weight remains at 90kg...

Trial eating at 2000 calories for two weeks and see if you lose any weight... Then you will be undereating...

Its more a matter of calories... If you eat less calories then you use... You will lose weight...

 

[Kranky]

You are not undereating if your body weight remains at 90kg...

Trial eating at 2000 calories for two weeks and see if you lose any weight... Then you will be undereating...

Its more a matter of calories... If you eat less calories then you use... You will lose weight...

thanks Nazzy

sometimes I dont see the forest for the trees........It would appear I am
not under eating as you say more than likely under counting

 

[nazzysmith]

You are not undereating if your body weight remains at 90kg...

thanks Nazzy

sometimes I dont see the forest for the trees........It would appear I am
not under eating as you say more than likely under counting...

Practise counting calories and you get better at it over time...

Regarding calorie intake (dependant on what your goal is... Ill assume you would like to lose some weight)...

Sounds like your eating at maintenance currently... First step is to reduce daily calorie intake by 10% and trial for 2 weeks... If your weight goes down then great continue eating at that level... If your weight remains the same reduce calories by a further 10% and give it another 2 weeks...

Remembering that you metabolism goes up and down as well... Excercise through resistance training would be the obvious step to keeping your metabolism revving...

 

[jzpowahz]

listen to Nazzy

 

[Kranky]

Practise counting calories and you get better at it over time...

Regarding calorie intake (dependant on what your goal is... Ill assume you would like to lose some weight)...

Sounds like your eating at maintenance currently... First step is to reduce daily calorie intake by 10% and trial for 2 weeks... If your weight goes down then great continue eating at that level... If your weight remains the same reduce calories by a further 10% and give it another 2 weeks...

Remembering that you metabolism goes up and down as well... Excercise through resistance training would be the obvious step to keeping your metabolism revving...

you are correct in the fact that I want to lose bf.

how important is reaching your calorie intake for the day ?
ie: I have my macros worked out for a calorie intake of approx 2300
per day,does it matter if for instance I was only to reach 1900 etc
or is it best to try and reach the 2300 ?

 

[nazzysmith]

you are correct in the fact that I want to lose bf.

how important is reaching your calorie intake for the day ?
ie: I have my macros worked out for a calorie intake of approx 2300
per day,does it matter if for instance I was only to reach 1900 etc
or is it best to try and reach the 2300 ?

IMO

From a macros perspective... Provided you hit min protein (to spare lean mass) & min fats (for health)... 1900 cals is fine...

It then becomes a matter of what you can do for the long run that really matters... If you can eat 1900 calories religiously for weeks on end then you will do well... However If it drives you into binge mode or leaves you suffering... Then it will inevitably lead to failure...

One other thing with calories is you can balance the total out over a couple of days or even over the week....

ie if your target is 2300.... You can eat 1900 today and 2700 the following day to balance it out...

But there is nothing wrong with eating 1900cals... Its more a question of how do you feel at the end of the day and how your weight behaves in the following weeks...

 

[Kranky]

IMO

From a macros perspective... Provided you hit min protein (to spare lean mass) & min fats (for health)... 1900 cals is fine...

It then becomes a matter of what you can do for the long run that really matters... If you can eat 1900 calories religiously for weeks on end then you will do well... However If it drives you into binge mode or leaves you suffering... Then it will inevitably lead to failure...

One other thing with calories is you can balance the total out over a couple of days or even over the week....

ie if your target is 2300.... You can eat 1900 today and 2700 the following day to balance it out...

But there is nothing wrong with eating 1900cals... Its more a question of how do you feel at the end of the day and how your weight behaves in the following weeks...

thanks again Nazzy
this is all getting clearer to me now

last night I calculated the majority of my main meal (except the parsley,chilli and thyme) and added it to yesterdays totals

total calories: 2009


Fat(g) Carbs(g) Prot(g) Cals
103.10 143.75 109.59 2009

as you can see I'm a little off of from my goals of F 90,C 170,P200
with a Total of 2300

Is this just a matter of a few adjustments at the end of the day ?

 

[Semillon]

I find that having some WPC/WPI on hand makes it easy to bump up my calories after dinner if required. Cant go wrong with adding a bit more protein.

Recently I have started logging what I think I will have for lunch and dinner ahead of time so I can make adjustments through the day, eg: choosing a protein heavy lunch if I am going to miss my macros for the day.

I wish I had your problem of finding it hard to hit 2300 calories, its a real battle for me to keep it under 2500 (my target is 1900-2000 currently).

 

[nazzysmith]

thanks again Nazzy
this is all getting clearer to me now

last night I calculated the majority of my main meal (except the parsley,chilli and thyme) and added it to yesterdays totals

total calories: 2009


Fat(g) Carbs(g) Prot(g) Cals
103.10 143.75 109.59 2009

as you can see I'm a little off of from my goals of F 90,C 170,P200
with a Total of 2300

Is this just a matter of a few adjustments at the end of the day ?

For the purpose of weight lose don't get to caught up in hitting exact macros... More important to be at or under calorie target... And hit min protein and fat intake...

Minimum requirements at 90kilos body weight...
Protein 1.5 grams per kilo = 135 grams (540 calories)
Fats 0.8 grams per kilo = 72 grams (648 calories)

If your goal is weight loss... And you can eat at 2000 cals a day comfortably.... Then eat at 2000 cals a day...

As per the above protein intake is a bit low in your case...

In my instance I had a dexa scan showing 25% body fat at 114kg...

They gave me a daily intake of 2650cals... Which I find comfortable and my weight is going down...

I eat 2400 calories daily and save myself 1800 calories extra for the weekend so I can splurge...

 

[Kranky]

I find that having some WPC/WPI on hand makes it easy to bump up my calories after dinner if required. Cant go wrong with adding a bit more protein.

Recently I have started logging what I think I will have for lunch and dinner ahead of time so I can make adjustments through the day, eg: choosing a protein heavy lunch if I am going to miss my macros for the day.

I wish I had your problem of finding it hard to hit 2300 calories, its a real battle for me to keep it under 2500 (my target is 1900-2000 currently).

Thanks Semillon
good idea about pre-logging,I do usually have protein powder but just
recently ran out due to spending too much money in the garden but
that's another story
Actually I dont have trouble reaching 2300 cals as it seems I am already eating over that just underestimating my calorie intact

For the purpose of weight lose don't get to caught up in hitting exact macros... More important to be at or under calorie target... And hit min protein and fat intake...


If your goal is weight loss... And you can eat at 2000 cals a day comfortably.... Then eat at 2000 cals a day...

As per the above protein intake is a bit low in your case...

In my instance I had a dexa scan showing 25% body fat at 114kg...

They gave me a daily intake of 2650cals... Which I find comfortable and my weight is going down...

I eat 2400 calories daily and save myself 1800 calories extra for the weekend so I can splurge...

heh,I like the idea of "calorie banking"........saving some for later

thanks again for the replies

 

[nazzysmith]

I wish I had your problem of finding it hard to hit 2300 calories, its a real battle for me to keep it under 2500 (my target is 1900-2000 currently).

Yeah I use to struggle with this too... Even on Keto I probably ate too much...

However add in IF and staying under 2000 calories becomes a walk in the park IMO...

The other unexpected aspect of IF is that Ive learned to control and supress my hunger... I don't struggle like I use too... I use to be hungary 10 times a day....

eg: choosing a protein heavy lunch if I am going to miss my macros for the day.

I pretty much eat a whole chicken every day... So I don't worry too much about counting protein anymore... I just worry about calories... Occasionally I ll add protein powder on my low cal days...

Although in saying the above.... Its more about finding what suits your individual needs...

LOL - Yep I know you already know this!

 

[jzpowahz]

As you get used to the cal intake then you can start playing around with carb/fat ratios to see what works best for you for performance. Some people tend to perform better with more fat than carbs. I've found myself that going lower on the fat and higher on carbs is best for me. I go down to about .25g/lb of bw fat now on average.

 

[nazzysmith]

As you get used to the cal intake then you can start playing around with carb/fat ratios to see what works best for you for performance. Some people tend to perform better with more fat than carbs. I've found myself that going lower on the fat and higher on carbs is best for me. I go down to about .25g/lb of bw fat now on average.

When you say "best for me"....

In what way?

You feel better? Or lose weight eaiser? Train better? Or find you stick to cals easier?

Or does it just make more room for carbs... And your a high carb type of person?

Cheers...

 

[Kranky]

so.......tonight is schnitzel night at the pub,Im guessing maybe a 200 gram piece
of chicken breast with chips and salad
No way can I work out this out in cals,do I just take a rough guess ?
Off the top of my head Im guessing the 200g of chicken and maybe 100g chips,no idea about the coating the chicken

 

[Bazza20]

so.......tonight is schnitzel night at the pub,Im guessing maybe a 200 gram piece
of chicken breast with chips and salad
No way can I work out this out in cals,do I just take a rough guess ?
Off the top of my head Im guessing the 200g of chicken and maybe 100g chips,no idea about the coating the chicken

If you have an iPhone just use myfitnesspal and search chicken schnitzel and see what they come up and pick one that is about average. Take a guess as the amount of chips and add them in.
This is how I always do it.

 

[nazzysmith]

Yeah my finess pal is good...

As a suggestion... Use red rooster chip sizes as a guide... Was it a large or small....you will find the macros for these easily...

 

[Sydking]

Carry scales? when i get takeaway from the fish n chip shop,

I get the flat head and salad or chips, I tell them to weight the fish before they cook it.

I know its not always possible, Sometimes you just cant help it.

I do so much better just not ever eating out, That way im 100% on taget and i dont fall of the rails over the weekend.


Then just add in one unlogged cheat meal per week.

 

[Semillon]

Its almost counter intuitive, but when eating out from a calorie counting perspective its better to go to a big fast food chain - they have details of all offerings on their websites.

 

[nazzysmith]

Its almost counter intuitive, but when eating out from a calorie counting perspective its better to go to a big fast food chain - they have details of all offerings on their websites.

Yup...

Macros for maccas, opporto, red rooster et. al are easy to find...