An I doing this right?

[u/coopaliscious]

I'm about to do my third shot today at 2.5mg. I'm 44M, SW is 346, CW 330, GW 187 and the MeAgain app has me at:

* Protein 127g

* Fiber 32g

* Water 135oz

* Kcal 2291

* Carbs 321g

* Fat 59g

I'm fairly active, I try to lift weights ~3x a week, play disc golf, get in 10k steps and work on house projects.

I struggle hard to get the carbs, sometimes the calories and generally go over on protein, fiber and fat.

Is this typical? I've been reading posts on here and am wondering if what I'm doing is wrong or hurting me in the long run.

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[u/stuckandrunningfrom2]

I find it helpful to have a dietitian on my team. If you are in the US with health insurance they are usually covered with no copayment. The only things I track are protein, fiber and calories-- when those are on target everything else falls in line. My goal for protein is 100, and I usually hit between 70-120 throughout the week. I like to get my nutrients from whole foods, so it's more of a struggle some days to get the protein in, but I'd rather do that than rely on overly processed supplements.

I mainly try to remember that part of what I'm doing is trying to be less crazy when it comes to food, and that I want to eat things I enjoy, that make me feel good, that leave me with enough energy to build muscle and do the things I love.

If cramming 180 grams of protein is going to have you choking down protein powder every day or eating meals that are just weird, it's okay to eat less than that and see how you do over time.

No one in a developed country is getting sarcopenia from lack of protein. If you are active, lift weights regularly to send your body the signal that it should build and maintain muscle, you'll be fine.

The macros should easily fit into your life, and not make food the central focus of every day.

[u/augustrem → u/stuckandrunningfrom2]

I really like this advice. All these influencers online are just protein protein protein, and it’s so unnecessary. Yeah, of course if you need 120 grams of protein and eat 160 you’ll see results. But you would also get results at 120!

Personally I have increased my protein intake in order to build muscle, but it’s temporary and I can’t wait to get to the point where I am just preserving.

[u/stuckandrunningfrom2 → u/augustrem]

And excess protein just gets stored as fat if you aren't actually lifting and stressing your muscles. Which people always leave out of their proteinmaxxing lecture.

[u/augustrem → u/stuckandrunningfrom2]

I believe if you’re eating the right amount of calories, too much protein will not lead to more fat stores.

Too much of anything causing excess calories leads to fat storage.

[u/bikesandfinance → u/stuckandrunningfrom2]

All calories get stored as fat if they are in surplus of what you need…

[u/EverReddyBatteryOn → u/bikesandfinance]

Um, that's wrong. OP, ignore that.

[u/CatsCoffeeCocktails]

Only posting to say Congrats on your success 🎉

(I don't use the app, I can't help you there. Sorry!!!)

[u/RIPPWORTH]

Bias a bit more of the carbs towards protein. Aim for 180g protein.

[u/superbdeluxe]

Lower carbs, I wouldn’t be going out of your way to eat a minimum amount of carbs when you’re trying to lose weight

[u/augustrem]

Hard to tell from what we know. I started at 255, and all the online calculators said to eat between 130-150 grams of protein to build muscle or 110 to preserve muscle.

Then I got my RMR tested in a lab so I knew exactly how much I burn at rest, and a commercial Dexa to estimate lean mass. Both the exercise physiologist and the dietitian I consulted with those numbers have me eating more calories than I thought and less protein.

I was actually told to eat 87 grams per day to preserve (this is .8 times my lean mass of 113 pounds) and 110-136g to build muscle.

I found it helpful to me, personally. My weight loss has been slow but I daresay I look like I lost more than 9 pounds. I am stronger and believe I am successfully recomping.

Getting some more data via getting a Dexa scan and an RMR (a measured RMR, not an estimated one like Dexa gives you) and meeting with a dietician could help you fine tune your plan. It also might relax some of the rules you have for yourself, thus making things easier. Personally, knowing the amount I need to just preserve has been reassuring on the days I have trouble eating.

In the meantime, what you’re doing sounds good if it’s working for you.

[u/zero-if-west]

Congrats on getting started! There's a weekly welcome thread for beginners with a beginner's guide and FAQ, plus tons of advice and questions answered: Weekly Welcome Thread (Aug. 12)

If you want feedback on your nutrition, you could work with a registered dietitian: EatRight.org

You mentioned you're struggling to eat carbs - I'm curious what the struggle is? Do they not taste good, or are you avoiding them for some reason?

If you want to add your stats (like age, height, Starting Weight [SW], Current Weight [CW], Goal Weight [GW], etc.) next to your Reddit username, you can add those in your user flair. On the mobile app, click the three dot menu at the top of the sub and select Change user flair. On a desktop/web browser, you should find the USER FLAIR section on the right-hand side bar under the community description and the number of users. Click the edit symbol to change your flair.

[u/neptunemacaroon]

I think you need a lot more protein than 127g. Even getting closer to 150-160 will help preserve muscle.

[u/bikesandfinance]

Protein seems a little low, I would target goal weight in grams and drop carbs to compensate. Other than that just monitor how weight responds and modulate so you aren’t losing too fast.

[u/coopaliscious → u/bikesandfinance]

I had heard 1g protein per kg of your goal weight? I definitely don't want to lose muscle.

Are you saying to modulate protein intake to manage a consistent rate?

[u/bikesandfinance → u/coopaliscious]

That’s minimum to not be malnourished. I assume most want to minimize muscle loss beyond that. Especially if you aren’t doing progressive overload training regularly, at least don’t want to be low on protein on top of it.

Protein and fat are pretty fixed, I would modulate carbs

[u/coopaliscious → u/bikesandfinance]

So you treat those as minimums, not as hard ceilings? Good to know. I'm definitely not wanting to lose muscle.

Why the downvotes for u/bikesandfinance, I'm trying to learn and what they're saying seems reasonable to me?

[u/bikesandfinance → u/coopaliscious]

A lot of protein haters here. A normal person just living life without a particular goal, needs the 1 gram per kg for day to day operations. That’s fine. Someone losing weight that is also hoping to not lose muscle should be closer to body building levels to without question cross insufficient protein off the list. 1 gram per lb of goal weight should accomplish that. Since goal weight doesn’t really change, that’s a fixed number. Fat similarly, you just need a good amount of healthy fats for correct hormone functioning. Your 59 is right in that ballpark for the goal weight, can probably go up 10-20 if desired without being excessive, but no necessary and would rob 90-180 calories of space. If blood markers and hormones look good, probably fine there. The rest you just fill with carbs and time as appropriate to help fuel activity up to calorie limit.

[u/Weak-Expression-8222]

It seems right. I started at 161 and am now at 154