Help me count macros more effectively

[MattchewPichu]

Hey guys, my name's Matt!!! I'm glad to be a part of this new forum to help me with the changes my body needs. Now, I've recently learned how to count my macros, but for the past two days, I seem to be lacking in one of my macronutrients by a fair amount. A good example, is I was 20 g short of my fats today. I'm currently 182 pounds, 14% body fat, and am cutting down to 8% body fat while maintaining my lean mass of 156 pounds. I eat 261.3 g of carbs, 78 g of fat, and 156 g of protein which adds up to 2371.2 calories a day. I was wondering if any of my fellow gym buddies out there could help me think of an effective schedule for my diet so that I can balance my macronutrients right. Keep in mind I am a college student on a low budget! Thank you all so much for helping me on my journey to transform my body!

[Hammertiime]

I was 20 g short of my fats today.
I'm currently 182 pounds, 14% body fat, and am cutting down to 8% body fat while maintaining my lean mass of 156 pounds.
I eat 261.3 g of carbs, 78 g of fat, and 156 g of protein which adds up to 2371.2 calories a day.
I was wondering if any of my fellow gym buddies out there could help me think of an effective schedule for my diet so that I can balance my macronutrients right. Keep in mind I am a college student on a low budget!

How do you mean an effective schedule? Like assistance with constructing a daily meal planner? Like what to eat and when?

[cumminslifter]

write down what you eat. make sure to hit macros by end of day

[MattchewPichu]

write down what you eat. make sure to hit macros by end of day

I already do that in a training log book I have, but by the end of the day, I'm still short.

How do you mean an effective schedule? Like assistance with constructing a daily meal planner? Like what to eat and when?

No so much when to eat it, but what to eat would be nice, since I always wind up short in one of my macronutrients.

[Hammertiime]

No so much when to eat it, but what to eat would be nice, since I always wind up short in one of my macronutrients.

Read some of the stickies for ideas.

But in the meantime:

Protein
- Whey
- Beef
- Chicken
- Fish (Salmon, Tuna, Tilapia etc)
- Cottage Cheese
- Egg Whites

Carbs
- Oats (complex/low GI carb)
- Brown Rice (complex/low GI carb)
- Basmati/White Rice (simple/high GI carb)
- Wholemeal Bread (complex/low GI carb)
- Wholemeal Pasta (complex/low GI carb)
- Normal Pasta (simple/high GI carb)
- Sweet Potato (complex/low GI carb)
- White Potato (simple/high GI carb)
- Broccoli
- Tomato
- Leafy Greens (Lettuce/Kale/Spinach etc)

Fats
- Egg Yolks
- Almonds
- Peanuts & Peanut Butter
- Olive Oil
- Avocado
- Fish oil supps

As cumminslifter said, write down what you eat or make a solid plan you can stick to and calculate your macros and calories.
Easy way to do it is just combine certain foods that go well together and make sure the total volume of your daily intake hits your macro/calorie requirements.

It's actually as simple as that.

[cmsgtamn]

Hey guys, my name's Matt!!! I'm glad to be a part of this new forum to help me with the changes my body needs. Now, I've recently learned how to count my macros, but for the past two days, I seem to be lacking in one of my macronutrients by a fair amount. A good example, is I was 20 g short of my fats today. I'm currently 182 pounds, 14% body fat, and am cutting down to 8% body fat while maintaining my lean mass of 156 pounds. I eat 261.3 g of carbs, 78 g of fat, and 156 g of protein which adds up to 2371.2 calories a day. I was wondering if any of my fellow gym buddies out there could help me think of an effective schedule for my diet so that I can balance my macronutrients right. Keep in mind I am a college student on a low budget! Thank you all so much for helping me on my journey to transform my body!

I just learned how to count macros as well. I don't consider myself and expert on it, but I've been doing it for about 3 weeks, and I've still been managing to drop 1lb/week. I started weighing just about everything to a "T", and using myfitnesspal to log everything I've eaten. I'd say that everything I log is dang close to what that macros are (I created my own foods using the labels I have on the foods - I don't trust the foods already in the data base). I pretty much experiment on MFP with my meals that I might eat to see how it adds up at the end of the day. For instance, here's what my day of meals might look like:

Prework out - 2 scoops On Whey Protein
Post work out - 1 Grapefruit,
Meal 3 - 6 oz chicken breast, 2 cups baby spinach, 1 serving peanut butter
Meal 3 - 6 oz chicken breast, 2 cups baby spinach, 1 cup brown rice, 1 serving peanut butter
Meal 4 - 6 oz chicken breast, 2 cups baby spinach, 1 serving peanut butter

This all adds up to me hitting my Calories, Fat, and Protein macros. My carbs are still under because I'm trying to keep those down. Before I discovered macros and counting, I was way under my fat macros, and decided to use the 3 servings of peanut butter to hit it. Now I've started incorporating "treats" into my macros by cutting out some other foods. Like today, I cut out the rice, and 2 servings of peanut butter so that I could have some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and the macros still fit perfectly.

Like I said, I'm still new to this, but for the past three weeks this is what I've been doing and I've lost 3 pounds in those three weeks. It's all just going to be a little experimentation until you figure out what you can eat for the day. Hope this helps.

[WonderPug]

For instance, here's what my day of meals might look like:

Prework out - 2 scoops On Whey Protein
Post work out - 1 Grapefruit,
Meal 3 - 6 oz chicken breast, 2 cups baby spinach, 1 serving peanut butter
Meal 3 - 6 oz chicken breast, 2 cups baby spinach, 1 cup brown rice, 1 serving peanut butter
Meal 4 - 6 oz chicken breast, 2 cups baby spinach, 1 serving peanut butter

That's so sad.

[cmsgtamn]

That's so sad.

Why do you say that?

[MattchewPichu]

Read some of the stickies for ideas.

But in the meantime:

Protein
- Whey
- Beef
- Chicken
- Fish (Salmon, Tuna, Tilapia etc)
- Cottage Cheese
- Egg Whites

Carbs
- Oats (complex/low GI carb)
- Brown Rice (complex/low GI carb)
- Basmati/White Rice (simple/high GI carb)
- Wholemeal Bread (complex/low GI carb)
- Wholemeal Pasta (complex/low GI carb)
- Normal Pasta (simple/high GI carb)
- Sweet Potato (complex/low GI carb)
- White Potato (simple/high GI carb)
- Broccoli
- Tomato
- Leafy Greens (Lettuce/Kale/Spinach etc)

Fats
- Egg Yolks
- Almonds
- Peanuts & Peanut Butter
- Olive Oil
- Avocado
- Fish oil supps

As cumminslifter said, write down what you eat or make a solid plan you can stick to and calculate your macros and calories.
Easy way to do it is just combine certain foods that go well together and make sure the total volume of your daily intake hits your macro/calorie requirements.

It's actually as simple as that.

Thanks!!!

[cumminslifter]

Why do you say that?

very boring

[cmsgtamn]

very boring

Yeah. I agree with that, but I know the macros for all that, and other than the chicken, everything else is easy to prepare. It works for me, and when I get to the weight I want, I'll definitely change it up.

[MattchewPichu]

I just learned how to count macros as well. I don't consider myself and expert on it, but I've been doing it for about 3 weeks, and I've still been managing to drop 1lb/week. I started weighing just about everything to a "T", and using myfitnesspal to log everything I've eaten. I'd say that everything I log is dang close to what that macros are (I created my own foods using the labels I have on the foods - I don't trust the foods already in the data base). I pretty much experiment on MFP with my meals that I might eat to see how it adds up at the end of the day. For instance, here's what my day of meals might look like:

Prework out - 2 scoops On Whey Protein
Post work out - 1 Grapefruit,
Meal 3 - 6 oz chicken breast, 2 cups baby spinach, 1 serving peanut butter
Meal 3 - 6 oz chicken breast, 2 cups baby spinach, 1 cup brown rice, 1 serving peanut butter
Meal 4 - 6 oz chicken breast, 2 cups baby spinach, 1 serving peanut butter

This all adds up to me hitting my Calories, Fat, and Protein macros. My carbs are still under because I'm trying to keep those down. Before I discovered macros and counting, I was way under my fat macros, and decided to use the 3 servings of peanut butter to hit it. Now I've started incorporating "treats" into my macros by cutting out some other foods. Like today, I cut out the rice, and 2 servings of peanut butter so that I could have some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and the macros still fit perfectly.

Like I said, I'm still new to this, but for the past three weeks this is what I've been doing and I've lost 3 pounds in those three weeks. It's all just going to be a little experimentation until you figure out what you can eat for the day. Hope this helps.

Thanks, friend!

[Justfapping]

Hey guys, my name's Matt!!! I'm glad to be a part of this new forum to help me with the changes my body needs. Now, I've recently learned how to count my macros, but for the past two days, I seem to be lacking in one of my macronutrients by a fair amount. A good example, is I was 20 g short of my fats today. I'm currently 182 pounds, 14% body fat, and am cutting down to 8% body fat while maintaining my lean mass of 156 pounds. I eat 261.3 g of carbs, 78 g of fat, and 156 g of protein which adds up to 2371.2 calories a day. I was wondering if any of my fellow gym buddies out there could help me think of an effective schedule for my diet so that I can balance my macronutrients right. Keep in mind I am a college student on a low budget! Thank you all so much for helping me on my journey to transform my body!

If you have a smart phone, the best thing to do is download MyFitnessPal. It's probably the best calorie/macronutrient tracker you can get.

Also, if you're struggling on not getting enough protein, that's what protein shakes are for. Just down one or two servings before bed if you're a little off.
For fats, i'd recommend peanut butter, just spoon in a tablespoon or two before bed (obviously dependent on how much you have had that day).

Once you've been using it for a while you can pretty much estimate how much macros and calories you're getting