Do you Watch your Macros?

blthulhu

I've been doing a lot of reading and there seems to be a lot of disagreeing between whether Macros are truly important or whether a calorie is just a calorie.

In your experience what have you found works best for you? I'm going to try both and see which works best for me but I was curious about others experiences. Thanks in advance for replies.

Francl27

Well you need protein to maintain as much muscle mass as possible while losing, and protein and fat typically keep you full more than carbs.

So yes, I watch my macros. I went with 40% carb 30% fat 30% protein while losing, now I do 45% carb 30% fat 25% protein (aiming for 80% of weight in protein, so 110g or so). I consider protein and fat a minimum, and I also track fiber as it helps keeping me full.

HerkMeOff2

No, and I probably won't until I get another 100lbs off my current weight

I don't even have them displayed in my food diary

rushfive

I check them, but I mainly look at calories.
I watch the protein and fiber and just think... hummm I need more of those, better check my food choices. But mainly calories.
I think it depends more on how much you exercise also... weight lifting usually want more protein.

Pawsforme

Ummm . . . kind of yes and no.

I eat lower carb due to digestive issues and a very strong family history of diabetes, so I get more protein and fat than carbs. But I don't watch it obsessively or anything near that. It's just how I eat, and as long as I'm not eating too many carbs I don't worry that the protein and fat are higher. I pay little to no attention to the preset ratios here, and haven't even bothered with fiddling with them to adjust them to my eating style.

skinnyinnotime

Yes especially my protein as want to build muscle.and more recently carbs as trying to keep it a bit lower as have noticed they bloat my tummy alot

DeguelloTex

A calorie is a calorie in terms of weight loss. A calorie isn't necessarily a calori when it comes to all around nutrition. The two statements aren't incompatible and I doubt you'll see many people saying that macros aren't important.

I watch my macros, but I probably don't have to at this point. I've always eaten a lot of protein because I like it. Now I eat a lot of protein because I like it, it keeps me satiated, and it helps me preserve muscle.

Kalikel

I keep my fat pretty low on purpose. Carbs go really high because I eat a lot of fruits and veggies. Protein...if left to my own devices, it would always fall short. Sometimes I work hard to keep it up, but I always get sick of protein foods and then give up and it goes down again.

I just don't like protein foods and meeting the protein goal (the normal one, not an inflated one!) seems like such a chore, eating all that food I don't want. Blech.

High-carb, low-fat, protein bounces around.

Ironmaiden4life

Calories determine what you weigh on the scale, macros determine how heavy you look. So yes I structure my diet regardless of my goal around my macros.