macros for the missus

so with new years comes another request from the missus to help her out with her diet, all she needs to do really is drop her calories a little and start lifting a bit to see some results. 1500 cals should be a good start as her lifestyle is quite sedentary (desk job). im not sure whether i should bother much with her macros for the first few weeks other than get a decent amount of protein and wait for the water weight to come off then start adjusting fat/carb ratios

I work my macros out by 2g of protein per body weight in kgs (1g per pound of body weight roughly), stick to under 40g of fat, and the rest of my calories from good Carb sources (no bread, pasta, sugar etc you know the deal).
If she is sedentry I'd even work towards dropping under 1500 calories IMO, I am active and have stuck to 1200 calories the whole way through dieting. However its not easy to start off on 1200 a day and every body works different.
Just my 2c worth....

yeah she would probably struggle to eat 1500 cals unless it was chocolate but cos i dont actually know her weight right now i just thought i'd state it as a benchmark.

If she's sedentary and unlikely to change that aspect, then her protein need will be a lot lower, probably only about 1g/kg/day. If you mean her job is sedentary, but she does (or will) do some regular exercise before/after work, then bump that up to 1.5-2g/kg/day. Other than that, normal rules: 1g/kg/day in fat consumption, and whatever's left over can come from whatever - protein, fat or carbs.

You're probably better off overestimating her starting calories than underestimating. If she starts out eating too much to lose weight at a decent rate, you can just step her calories back by 200 until the weight starts coming off.

Obviously, without knowing your wife's medical history/injuries/interests/etc, I'm gonna be inclined to recommend that she include training in her plan. I expect that I don't have to tell you why.

Start her off easy just increase her protein intake over carb intake and make sure she is not scared of fat. Nothing to complex so you don't scare her off or piss her off. Just easy meal changes and worry about macros and calories later when she is more into it. Most people get scared off by the numbers and counting what they eat and as she is not overweight and doesn't overeat she can be eased into it. Get her training and it will all start from there.

thanks for the tips. she wont really know her macros i'll keep a rough idea of what she is taking in but i'll mainly focus on eliminating crap from her diet and lowering her cals. she doesnt like dieting and training so it probably wont last long again lol