Iifym: the goal?

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resistsweets
resistsweets Posts: 21
in Food and Nutrition
Is the general idea to get AT LEAST the daily protein and fats, no more than the limit, or getting the ratio as close as possible? For weight loss hearing mixed info

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  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    The goal is to meet your macros as you see fit while eating foods you enjoy. Whether you choose to meet all three of your macros as close as possible or just choose to focus on one or two is up to you. I only focus on meeting protein and will naturally get close or easily above my fat goals.
  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
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    For weight loss, the only thing that matters at the end of the day is calories. The makeup of those calories (macro-nutrients) are what drives the composition (muscle, fat, etc...) of ones body while losing, maintaining, or gaining weight. So as a simplistic and far reaching example, if you need 1500 calories a day to lose weight and you ate 1500 calories of Twinkies, you would lose weight. Would you lose muscle? Probably, as you are not getting adequate protein from Twinkies to main what you have. Weight loss does not mean fat loss. While that's what most people strive for, the proper macro-nutrient composition of the calorie balance you create for yourself (along with proper training) will help structure more of that loss come from fat.
  • activgrl
    activgrl Posts: 13 Member
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    The goal is to get as close to the ratio as possible. A diet with higher carbs and less protein and fat is going to yield very different results than one with higher protein. For weight loss you want to aim for a ratio of about 50% protein, 10-20% Carbs, and remaining fat.
  • foursirius
    foursirius Posts: 321 Member
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    The goal is to meet the macros listed and not go over.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    wrong, there is no magic ratio. Your aim is to meet at least the minimum requirements for proteins and fats then fill in the rest as you please
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    There is no magical ratio of macros for weight loss. The whole concept of managing your macros was born out of the fitness industry and more specifically the body building industry where manipulating your macros can have an impact on your athletic/fitness performance, muscle development, etc.

    Watching your macros can help you balance out your diet and help you achieve better nutritional goals, but where weight loss is concerned, it's really about calories, not so much your macro ratios.

    It's good to get plenty of protein, especially when you're dieting to help preserve lean mass...and dietary fat is a very essential macro-nutrient. I basically try to be in the rough neighborhood of 115 - 145 grams of protein per day, 60 - 70 grams of fat per day and then fill in the rest with carbs.

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