I used Mike Matthews numbers to calculate my macros. For cutting he recommends (for someone who is under 30% body fat) 1.2 protein/lb, 1 carb/lb and 0.2 fat/lb. I am 160lbs (5"9), so my numbers are 192 p, 160 c and 32 f. I (along with probably a lot of other women) are worried my carb intake is too high. I haven't lost any weight yet (its been 3 weeks), but I've lost about half an inch on my waist, hips and right thigh each. Is that a better indicator?
@lizzier That's a lot of protein. Personally I go with .7g protein /lb ideal bodyweight. (I'm probably around 30% bodyfat) Carb / fat split doesn't really matter. Depending on your body fat and activity levels, 1700 calories may not be a very steep cut. When you have a small deficit its easy to erase with a small amount of cheating / tracking inaccuracy. You could have also gained 1 lb or so of water weight which would erase your fat loss (again, assuming you aren't doing much cardio)
@lizzier Ahhhh, I'm doing this program too. I would wait at least a few more weeks before adjusting your macros. See if you see any results around week six and edit them accordingly after that.
@lizzier I'm on week three, I didn't record the first week though just wanted to get acclimated. So I'm considering it week two. I love it. I really have been wanting to maximize my lifts for a while and have a great interest in powerlifting in the future so I was super excited about the program and the strength I would build during. I have dropped in weight a little because I may have gone a little too far over the holidays. I'm trying to cut back down to where I was and then bulk it up.
@lizzier In my experience trying to stick to very high protein has been difficult because I would end up needing more carbs than allowed. This would push up my total calories for the day.
My $0.02 is to go with something more sustainable, perhaps 1g/lb protein. This would free up some calories for carbs/fat. As for the carb:fat ratio, it really doesn't matter what that ratio is as long as you get at least ~30g good fats/day. As you get better at sticking to your macros adding in more protein is easier (if you need to) because it's usually a few tweaks here and there.
@howardmup I've been doing this for 3 weeks now and I've never gone over my macros yet. I've always been able to get right under or right on, using protein powder.
@lizzier There is not a hard and fast rule about carb/protein split, it's more to do with a) how you prefer to eat and b) how it makes you feel. I keep my carbs pretty high because I feel I have more energy this way. The only thing about fats is, per the RP female diet book, you shouldn't keep your fats at less than .3g/lb of bodyweight for longer than a couple of months, it'll start affecting your leptin levels and health.
As for protein, you should be getting at least .8g/lb bw, but beyond that is also both personal preference and what you need to see results. I see a lot of women on here who can get away with .8, but I metabolize protein pretty poorly so I need to hit close to 1g/lb bw. Slightly higher protein counts can work for cutting because protein is the hardest macro for your body to digest, meaning it will probably both help you stay fuller longer and produce slightly more of a thermogenic effect. So, in sum, none of these numbers are wrong in the absolute, but they may not work the best they could. The right numbers are probably somewhere in the middle, and you just have to play around a little and find what works for you. Whatever you choose, stick with it for at least a few weeks and watch what happens before you change course.
@spiritjoe Do you recommend that I stick to my current numbers (192 p, 160 c and 32 f) for a few weeks and then maybe change it? Or lower my protein and up my fat?
@lizzier try them and see if you like them for like, a few days. if you don't like the style of eating (you probably won't), it would be fine to lower the protein and raise the fat. probably the only hard rule is don't cut your protein below .8g/lb bodyweight. after you find a style of eating that's compatible with you, stick with THAT for a few weeks, but pay attention to how it affects you. are you tired often? do you always feel hungry? are you losing steam in the gym? and then modulate your numbers based on that.
@lizzier I always heard it was closed to 1g of protein /lb of lean body mass. So I would stick closers to the second, as it's more attainable as well. What sort of a calorie deficit are you on? Usually I'd calculate protein and then fat, and then leave the leftover calories for carbs, though you could switch fat and carbs.
The first way you've divided it up is about 1696 calories, whereas the second is 1655 calories. Honestly, they probably won't lead to super different results but the second one will be easier to acheive in my opinion.
Since your weight hasn't changed but you've lost inches that would say you are losing fat/gaining muscle (essentially a recomp), but depending on your goals you can focus on one of the two and make faster progress.
@lizzier I just wanted to add that since it'll be 10days/lb and it's been 3 weeks but you haven't seen any numbers change- that would only end up being 2lbs and since weight fluctuates that much in a day that could be why the numbers aren't changing that much. So keep it up and I'm sure you'll see some number progress too!
@lizzier With a 350 deficit you should lose 1lb in 10 days, so about 4lbs for 10 weeks- that won't change depending on macros obviously. If a higher protein diet is sustainable and you aren't adding carbs with it too like another redditor said, all the power to you! A higher amount of fats might help you feel fuller if you have a problem with that but that's about it.
If you're having trouble keeping with the plan you could stick to it maybe for a month (6 weeks seems long IMO if it starts to be awful) first but if you like it and it works then by all means keep it up!
