Weight-Loss Macronutrient Targets?

[allyphoe]

So I'm getting close to goal, and trying to figure out what I want my macronutrients to look like when I'm there.

I anticipate ending up somewhere in the 125-130 pound range. At this point, I'd guesstimate maintenance calories around 2,000-2,200.

For the last 5 months, I've been doing 1/3-1/3-1/3, and that's worked really well for me. I don't know that there's benefit to upping my protein to 150-200g to keep within those ratios, though. Getting up to 130g (so 1g per pound of body weight) should be easy - I'm pretty close to that now.

As far as fats go, I do a decent job getting my Omega-3s from flax and nuts. I need to keep my saturated fat low (ideally under 7% of calories, so ~15g) for cholesterol reasons. It may be that I'll just set a saturated fat target for now, and let the rest fall as it may.

Which leaves me with a heck of a lot of carbs. Like 220+ net carbs a day - and I'm used to about half that much. And I associate refined carbs with gaining weight - I've lost nearly 70 pounds primarily by avoiding them. So I need to focus not on "I get to eat a lot of carbs" but "I can add more whole grains, legumes, and starchy vegetables."

Hmmm. Anyone's thoughts welcomed and appreciated, if you'd care to share.

 

[Steve]

You don't need to up your protein intake. If you are able to get in 1 gram per pound of body weight, that's likely more than enough... especially if you're plan is to maintain.

Also, have you ever thought about adding fish oils caps into the mix to supplement your good fat intake?

It's always a touch and feel process deteremining how to fill the rest of the calorie gap once protein and baeline fats are accounted for. Personally, I load up on carbs. I tend not to hold as much water as most when eating lots of carbs and my insulin sensitivity is good.

Many people are insulin resistant though, and therefore don't handle carbs as well.

Protein, shoot for 1 gram for each pound of either LBM or TBW. (lean body mass or total body weight)

Fats, shoot for 50-100 grams.

Toy around with carbs until you find a happy medium with eating enough to satsify you as well as fill in some of the calorie gap without experiencing any of the side effects. You might have to bump up some pro/fat if you find your body isn't handling the increased carbs well.

 

[allyphoe]

Ah, I was hoping you'd chime in.

I have thought about fish oil. Wasn't sure if it would be overkill - the tablespoon or so of flax I have almost every day has 1.3g of omega-3s, and I like flax but am bad about remembering to take capsules. I see that you use Udo's oil, which looks like I could either sub out for flax in smoothies and oatmeal or just add along with.

Water retention from upping my carbs doesn't bother me - the increased potential for making decisions I later regret does. Right now, I can take sweet stuff or leave it, but I habituate to sweet stuff really quickly (so I end up having more, and more, and more) and find it hard to break that cycle. Whole grains, legumes, fruits and veggies don't bother me, so I shouldn't have any trouble getting enough carbs in without adding a lot of refined carbs. But having a fairly low carb "allowance" was an excellent excuse for limiting refined carbs, whereas "this will make me feel more happy, then less happy, leaving me wanting more and more and more, which in the long run is going to make it hard for me to stick to my plan, and which will not bring any true happiness" is more emotionally complex.

Thanks!

 

[gummybear]

I agree with Steve, you don't need that much protein. I would recommend fish for a good source of protein and nutrients though. The Japanese eat much more fish and they are very healthy.

I'm not sure what kind of sweets you like but you can just eat fruits. I prefer natural fruits over processed food with chemical/fake sugars. A lot of sweet foods are just sugar and fat with an added drop of the "sweet" flavor. The flavor industry can make anything taste like anything!

 

[Steve]

Ah, I was hoping you'd chime in.

I have thought about fish oil. Wasn't sure if it would be overkill - the tablespoon or so of flax I have almost every day has 1.3g of omega-3s, and I like flax but am bad about remembering to take capsules.

Yea, flax is healthy and all. The problem is, it's not just about the essential fats (omega 3 & 6). The real health benefits you hear thrown around a lot technically come from the longer chain derivatives, and these are converted from flax very inefficiently.

Put simply, the fish have done the hard yards of making the EPA and DHA for us, whereas with flax, we are depending on our body to make such conversion - because our lifestyles, environment and genes are less than perfect such conversion is often compromised.

To boot, nothing is overkill unless it doesn't fit your macro breakdown of your diet.

I see that you use Udo's oil, which looks like I could either sub out for flax in smoothies and oatmeal or just add along with.

Sure you can.

Or you can just stick with your flax.

Personally, I'm more a fan of fish oil and extra virgin olive oil than anything else.

Water retention from upping my carbs doesn't bother me - the increased potential for making decisions I later regret does. Right now, I can take sweet stuff or leave it, but I habituate to sweet stuff really quickly (so I end up having more, and more, and more) and find it hard to break that cycle. Whole grains, legumes, fruits and veggies don't bother me, so I shouldn't have any trouble getting enough carbs in without adding a lot of refined carbs. But having a fairly low carb "allowance" was an excellent excuse for limiting refined carbs, whereas "this will make me feel more happy, then less happy, leaving me wanting more and more and more, which in the long run is going to make it hard for me to stick to my plan, and which will not bring any true happiness" is more emotionally complex.

I hear that.

I would first see how the addition of more carbs go. If you find yourself not being able to control your urges, I'd tweak the diet a bit bumping up fats and protein to minimize your intake of carbs.

 

[Caterpillar1]

Do you really need a gram of protein per pound of body weight?! That seems like an awful lot to me... I aim for 60g a day and I thought that was more than adequate?

Also, why does eating carbs make you retain water? I suffer pretty badly from water retention so maybe this is something I should watch out for? I keep my sodium intake down, but I didn't realise that about carbs.

 

[Steve]

Do you really need a gram of protein per pound of body weight?! That seems like an awful lot to me... I aim for 60g a day and I thought that was more than adequate?

There's really not a concise answer to this question.

It depends on lifestyle/exercise habits, goals, current energetic state (caloric surplus, maintenance, deficit), body fat, etc.

For instance, if you're carrying a lot of body fat, I wouldn't base the grams per pound on total body weight. Instead I'd base it on lean body mass.

Another example is, when you diet, in theory, protein requirements go up. Increasing your protein consumption raises the pool of amino acids in your blood which your body will preferentially pull from instead of your existing stores (muscle).

Put it this way, there are really only 3 macro nutrients out there.

Protein, carbs, fats.

Most people have at least a maintenance calorie intake of 1500. Most have much higher of a maintenance.

If you are only consuming 60 grams of protein, that totals 240 calories. You still have approx. 1250 calories to fulfill. That means you're eating a lot of fat and carbs.