Question about calculating macros + calorie intake

[flanagan38]

Hi all
So let's say one was aiming for a 2300 calorie intake pr. day and the macro split was looking like this:
35% carb, 35% protein and 30% fat.

1.How do you actually make sure, by the time you go to sleep at night and call it a day, that within the 2300 calories you've been eating and drinking through a post-workout protein shake, it all added up to "exactly" 35% protein, 35% etc.?

Like an egg might have x-amounts of grams of protein, and x-amount of grams of fat and is a total of x-amount of calories. Then you have something else that has the same amount of protein and fat, but double the calories.

How do people just calculate that as they go, as if it didn't take hours to plan out 1 single day worth of meals that has to end with exactly 2300 calories, split into a 35,35,30 macro combination.
And then do it again, day after day - surely I'm missing something here, because it seems like i would spend an hour minimum pr day to plan out the food for next day.

Hope you understood my question, and thanks in advance!

[faithbrah]

this is exactly why you shouldn't use macro splits

instead, do a minimum of 0.7g of protein & 0.4g of fat per pound of bodyweight, then fill the rest with whatever

[ANAS1233]

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[Tommy W.]

You're overthinking things. % ratios are not really useable as proteins and good fats shouldn't really change much as you weight decreases and calories decrease. use a certain amount of grams of P and F and vary the carbs to hit your target calories for the day.

Some days will vary so the most important number is your weekly calories. Add 7 days of calories and divide by 7 and this number is your daily average and you want this number to be your daily target.

[Vpac]

Download Myfitnesspal and use that to track your calories like everyone else? lol

Maybe i'm not understanding the question. Any good coach would tell you if you're out by 5g at the end of the day on protein/carbs/fats then it not's a big deal.

For example the macros you posted are:
204 carbs
204 protein
78 fat.

For simplicity sake I would just round this to 200 carbs, 200 protein, 80 fat. Then make sure you're within 5g of each at the end of the day so if you're on the low side on a particular day it would be 195 carbs and protein and 75 fat. Try not to overthink and stress, the main thing is being consistent week in week out, getting good sleep, progressing in the gym (no matter how small), and getting in your cardio (if you're trying to lose weight).

[flanagan38]

I downloaded MyfitnessPal the day after posting this and it was never an issue again. Awesome app, just what i needed.

[MG5]

First, don't go by %.

Go by grams of each protein, carbs, and fats.

I'm not quite sure what you're confused about, but tracking should take a total of about 10 minutes of your day.

Here's how I do it, but I don't track any macros, just calories.

EXAMPLE: I have a goal of 3,500 calories right now.


I eat a meal, it's 500 calories, I enter my calories for it (takes about 1 minute)

I eat another meal, it's 450 calories, I enter my calories for it (takes about 1 minute)

I eat my third meal, it's 400 calories, I enter my calories for it (takes about 1 minute)

I eat my fourth meal, it's 600 calories, I enter my calories for it (takes about 1 minute)

I eat my fifth meal, it's 550 calories, I enter my calories for it (takes about 1 minute)

I have one meal left, I see I have 1,000 calories left, so I eat a 1,000 calories meal, enter it, done.


OR


Start at your calorie goal, and substract calories from your calorie goal for the day so after each meal you see how much is remaining.

Don't worry about being so exact. There's going to be some error when measuring anyways and with food labels. If you're within 10 grams, you're good.

You're not going to miss out on gains because you ate 85 grams of fat instead of 95 or 260 grams of carbs instead of 270.

[Tommy W.]

When in Fatloss mode, at the end of the day if you haven’t hit your calorie target just stop and don’t feel you need to. Put that extra deficit amount in the bank for later. When the weekend comes you may end up at a social event and want to eat a bit more while staying in your weekly calorie target

[flanagan38]

First, don't go by %.

Go by grams of each protein, carbs, and fats.

I'm not quite sure what you're confused about, but tracking should take a total of about 10 minutes of your day.

Here's how I do it, but I don't track any macros, just calories.

EXAMPLE: I have a goal of 3,500 calories right now.


I eat a meal, it's 500 calories, I enter my calories for it (takes about 1 minute)

I eat another meal, it's 450 calories, I enter my calories for it (takes about 1 minute)

I eat my third meal, it's 400 calories, I enter my calories for it (takes about 1 minute)

I eat my fourth meal, it's 600 calories, I enter my calories for it (takes about 1 minute)

I eat my fifth meal, it's 550 calories, I enter my calories for it (takes about 1 minute)

I have one meal left, I see I have 1,000 calories left, so I eat a 1,000 calories meal, enter it, done.


OR


Start at your calorie goal, and substract calories from your calorie goal for the day so after each meal you see how much is remaining.

Don't worry about being so exact. There's going to be some error when measuring anyways and with food labels. If you're within 10 grams, you're good.

You're not going to miss out on gains because you ate 85 grams of fat instead of 95 or 260 grams of carbs instead of 270.

I've got 2 follow up questions if that's OK.

1. At the moment I'm trying to lose weight - I'm too fat, but nothing extreme (sry, I use Metric system: 187 cm tall and went from 108,5 kg to 104.5 kg, since original post ^^).

I only eat 1900 calories a day, because I have a 100% sedentary job, i work from home etc. so only getting movement from my exercise in the evening where i lift for about 1 hr a day, and when I have rest days I do cardio in the evening instead.

At the same time, I actually wanna get bigger muscle and I'm not quite sure if I'm doing it right at the moment.

Questions: Am i eating in such a calorie deficit that I'm practically wasting my time lifting weights, because I'm not eating enough to grow - so I might aswell just do cardio everyday and no weights? If yes - if i increase my calorie intake to X so I can continue lifting and actually build muscle, won't it cause me to not lose the weight/fat I wanted as well, which was the original goal after all?

I mean where's the balance. How do one lose go about a proper weight loss, at the same time as building a proper physique? Or am i actually doing it exactly right at the moment?

[flanagan38]

First, don't go by %.

Go by grams of each protein, carbs, and fats.

I'm not quite sure what you're confused about, but tracking should take a total of about 10 minutes of your day.

Here's how I do it, but I don't track any macros, just calories.

EXAMPLE: I have a goal of 3,500 calories right now.


I eat a meal, it's 500 calories, I enter my calories for it (takes about 1 minute)

I eat another meal, it's 450 calories, I enter my calories for it (takes about 1 minute)

I eat my third meal, it's 400 calories, I enter my calories for it (takes about 1 minute)

I eat my fourth meal, it's 600 calories, I enter my calories for it (takes about 1 minute)

I eat my fifth meal, it's 550 calories, I enter my calories for it (takes about 1 minute)

I have one meal left, I see I have 1,000 calories left, so I eat a 1,000 calories meal, enter it, done.


OR


Start at your calorie goal, and substract calories from your calorie goal for the day so after each meal you see how much is remaining.

Don't worry about being so exact. There's going to be some error when measuring anyways and with food labels. If you're within 10 grams, you're good.

You're not going to miss out on gains because you ate 85 grams of fat instead of 95 or 260 grams of carbs instead of 270.

I've got 2 follow up questions if that's OK.

1. At the moment I'm trying to lose weight - I'm too fat, but nothing extreme (sry, I use Metric system: 187 cm tall and went from 108,5 kg to 104.5 kg, since original post ^^).

I only eat 1900 calories a day, because I have a 100% sedentary job, i work from home etc. so only getting movement from my exercise in the evening where i lift for about 1 hr a day, and when I have rest days I do cardio in the evening instead.

At the same time, I actually wanna get bigger muscle and I'm not quite sure if I'm doing it right at the moment.

Questions: Am i eating in such a calorie deficit that I'm practically wasting my time lifting weights, because I'm not eating enough to grow - so I might aswell just do cardio everyday and no weights? If yes - if i increase my calorie intake to X so I can continue lifting and actually build muscle, won't it cause me to not lose the weight/fat I wanted as well, which was the original goal after all?

I mean where's the balance. How do one lose go about a proper weight loss, at the same time as building a proper physique? Or am i actually doing it exactly right at the moment?

[MG5]

I've got 2 follow up questions if that's OK.

1. At the moment I'm trying to lose weight - I'm too fat, but nothing extreme (sry, I use Metric system: 187 cm tall and went from 108,5 kg to 104.5 kg, since original post ^^).

I only eat 1900 calories a day, because I have a 100% sedentary job, i work from home etc. so only getting movement from my exercise in the evening where i lift for about 1 hr a day, and when I have rest days I do cardio in the evening instead.

At the same time, I actually wanna get bigger muscle and I'm not quite sure if I'm doing it right at the moment.

Questions: Am i eating in such a calorie deficit that I'm practically wasting my time lifting weights, because I'm not eating enough to grow - so I might aswell just do cardio everyday and no weights? If yes - if i increase my calorie intake to X so I can continue lifting and actually build muscle, won't it cause me to not lose the weight/fat I wanted as well, which was the original goal after all?

I mean where's the balance. How do one lose go about a proper weight loss, at the same time as building a proper physique? Or am i actually doing it exactly right at the moment?

Sounds like you're new to lifting and eating well. So you'll be able to build muscle and lose fat at the same time if training and nutrition is in order.

So no, it's not a waste of time at all to lift weights now.

You won't grow as much as if you're in a surplus, but even if you didn't gain any muscle, but kept all of the muscle you have, and lost a lot of body fat, that's still great.

Think long-term. This is a long process. Keep lifting, stay in a calorie deficit, you'll probably put on some muscle, and you'll get leaner. Once you get to a level of leanness you're satisfied with, start increasing calories and gradually gain weight to then put more muscle on. You'll then repeat and go back and forth between phases of being in a surplus to gain muscle, and then phases where you are in a calorie deficit to get rid of the body fat you gained while in a surplus putting on muscle. You should always be lifting. Either to gain muscle, or keep as much of it as you can. Nutrition is the main driver for fat loss. Don't try to train and exercise your way to fat loss.

[flanagan38]

Sounds like you're new to lifting and eating well. So you'll be able to build muscle and lose fat at the same time if training and nutrition is in order.

So no, it's not a waste of time at all to lift weights now.

You won't grow as much as if you're in a surplus, but even if you didn't gain any muscle, but kept all of the muscle you have, and lost a lot of body fat, that's still great.

Think long-term. This is a long process. Keep lifting, stay in a calorie deficit, you'll probably put on some muscle, and you'll get leaner. Once you get to a level of leanness you're satisfied with, start increasing calories and gradually gain weight to then put more muscle on. You'll then repeat and go back and forth between phases of being in a surplus to gain muscle, and then phases where you are in a calorie deficit to get rid of the body fat you gained while in a surplus putting on muscle. You should always be lifting. Either to gain muscle, or keep as much of it as you can. Nutrition is the main driver for fat loss. Don't try to train and exercise your way to fat loss.

Thanks for the reply - I am very new indeed, and being able to spar like this, makes it seem much more doable. I'm in no rush at all, the thought of actually hitting 90kg bodyweight and then switching to a surplus seems scary at the moment, but when the time comes it probably won't be.