MACROS vs. WW POINTS: THE VERDICT

 If you want to lose weight and don't have the $$ to pay WW for whatever reason, here is the take on Macros after a few weeks. 

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

  1.  I EXERCISE LIKE MAD. I am a perimenopausal woman in my mid-to-late 40s. I do endurance athletics. 
  2. I DO NOT EAT MOST OF MY "FREE" WEEKLIES. See above. It is beside the point that I exercise like a crazy person. I have tried to lose weight before with WW and it did not work using their "freebies"--one of the reasons I am trying again, and also because of the new Points structure
  3. I EARN UP TO 40-50 MORE WEEKLIES WITH EXERCISE. Again--see above. I hardly touch them. I might have a tiny piece of Dove chocolate as a treat on Sunday (the end of my week) and I don't count it, or if I do, it is about 4 points of the 70+ I have accumulated. The only other thing I don't really accurately track is my coffee with real half and half and sugar. Sorry: Manna from the gods is no place for the fake, fat free shit. 
THE LOWDOWN

  • CALORIES: Between 1200-1500/day. Sometimes it is more than this, but rarely, even on days I exercise 3+ hours. The only thing I never count is Gu/exercise gels or real maple syrup I ingest while exercising, which is the quick-burning carbs required to KEEP exercising at a higher intensity--that may add up to 400 calories/day. I do not use those things on low-intensity days
  • CALORIES BURNED: This is hard to *truly* calculate, but I burn 300-500 on lower intensity days, and well over 1,200 on high intensity days--up to 2,000+
  • MACROS: It fluctuates a little, but the general breakdown is:
    • About 35-45% Protein
    • About 30-35% Carbs
    • About 30% Fats
This is different from the 40-30-30 [carb-protein-fat] that is touted so highly in Nutrition circles. HOWEVER, you have to bear in mind that I eat a SHITTON of Greek yogurt, eggs, and fat free cottage cheese. The exercise I do means that I need to rebuild protein stores so I do not degrade muscle. 

This is where I feel all other plans fell flat, in the past. So far: 50 days in, and about 8.5 pounds down. That may not seem like a lot. But when you consider how fucked up my body is/was from disordered eating and 35+ years of athletics, this is actually pretty decent. If I can lose 25, that would be great. If I can lose 40 (or even 50???) I would be over the fucking moon. 

At that point, it would be interesting to see what my maintenance levels are in calories etc. 

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