MFP Food Loggers - questions

BrettWithPKU

To those who log what they eat on MFP:

I never have--or at least I never have for an extended period of time. But recently I've been curious if I've been getting a balance of macronutrients conducive to continued weight loss. Particularly, I'm concerned I may not be getting enough protein.

While recently I've been keeping track of calories on paper, it becomes burdensome to track calories, carbs, protein and fat, all on paper. It's just a lot of math; that's all.

My questions to those of you who log:
- Do you seriously consider macronutrients?
- If so, do you use MFP's default 50/30/20 macro ratio? 50% carbs seems very high to me for fat loss purposes.

I'm starting to question the "ends justify means" approach of eating whatever I want as long as I meet that calorie goal!

scrapbookingtm

Yes I do.
I have just used the MFP default percents. Most of my "carbs" are vegetables and fruits. I don't purposely try to avoid bread but I don't eat it often. I do try to avoid white sugar and white flour but that doesn't mean I never partake. I lost on average of 6 lbs a month right up until I met my goal.

I track nutrients because of certain medications I take. I don't always hit them 100% but it helps me to know what food have certain things in them.

LadyScorpio67

I do log and I do use the default 50/30/20. I do try to keep my carbs a little lower than the 50% and my Proteins above the 20%. And like scrapbooking, I have been losing on average 6 lbs./month.

I do keep an eye on my sodium intake as I retain water easily and the fats I tend to watch, but they don't to seem have much affect on me if they are a little high or low. Otherwise, I take daily supplements to help meet other nutrients.

You could start with the default and see what it does for you and adjust it accordingly if need be.

BrettWithPKU

Thanks for the responses.

Hawk-ishly tracking all of the macros would seem to require too much thought. I'll start with a focus on protein, see where I'm at, and tweak.
I don't plan to change my calorie goal, so increasing protein will decrease the others automatically.

barbecuesauce

40/30/30 here. The only micros I care about are fiber and potassium. -63 to date.

50% carbs isn't bad for "fat loss purposes", it's just that I think you need more than 20% protein to preserve muscle. I aim for .8 gram/pound and at 137 pounds, that's 110, which is about 30% with my calorie goal.

playmadcats

Also 40/30/30. I did a fitness course at gym and that was guideline. Turned out before I was doing about 70/15/15. Although I'm not super strict. I do try to keep the carbs under 50. Generally the other two do seem to stay about equal unless I have a slightly lax day.