If your starting macros seem too high, you’ll need to figure out whether this is reality or just a misperception. There are three scenarios...
Your macros are entirely appropriate but seem too high. This can happen for some of the following reasons:
You think that you’ve been eating less food than you really have
If you’re really eating 2,500 calories but believe you’re eating 2000, seeing a starting calorie recommendation of 2,100 for fat loss will seem too high even though it’s not.
- You’re comparing your calorie recommendation with other people’s
You may believe that your calories are too high because you’ve been comparing your recommendation to that of others who eat less. It’s important to remember that no two people are the same and energy needs will differ from person to person.
- You’ve done other diets in the past that recommend fewer calories
It’s easy to perceive your starting calories as being too high when you’ve been bombarded with diet messaging in the past or have tried diets that recommend eating less than 1500, 1200, or even 800 calories. But that doesn’t mean that these calories are optimal for weight loss.
2. Your macros are a little bit high as a result of your dieting history or a special condition, but the system will detect this and adjust after a week or two. Here are a few things that can cause this:
- You’re just coming off a diet or contest prep
If you’re just coming off a diet or contest prep, your metabolic rate has probably dropped as your body has become accustomed to running on less fuel. The system sets your starting calories based on the average energy needs of someone without this dieting history, so it may overestimate your starting calorie needs.
- You’re used to eating fewer calories than the system estimates
If you’ve been dieting or have been consciously attempting to control your calorie intake for a good chunk of your life, your metabolism may be a little bit slower than someone without this dieting history. For this reason, the system may overestimate your starting calorie needs.
- You have a condition that lowers your metabolic rate
If you have a hormonal issue that causes your metabolism to run slower than that of the average, healthy person (think hypothyroidism, PCOS, etc), the system may overestimate your starting calorie needs.
3. You aren’t used to eating a higher-protein diet
percentageIf you’ve been undereating protein leading up to signing up for Avatar, a calorie target that you may have been hitting or exceeding previously will seem like much more food with a higher percercentage coming from protein. Protein is very filling and can make even low-calorie diets quite satiating. If the protein seems like a big increase from what you were eating before Avatar, that could be the reason it feels like more food overall.
If you think your starting calories are way too high and don’t want to wait for the system to adjust them, you can edit your calories in Diet Settings. Only do this if you know exactly where they need to be. Following the app’s recommendations is typically what we recommend as the app will adjust your targets each week to keep you on track. If you need any assistance with adjustments, reach out to the coaching team!