Macros - how close is "close enough"

deluxmary2000

After switching over to counting Macros (rather than just total calorie count), I've struggled with how close is "close enough" for macro goals. For instance, with my food weighed and pre-logged, here's my total for today:

Totals 1,759 127 73 144 26 26
Your Daily Goal 1,686 105 75 148 42 48
Remaining -73 -22 1 3 15 22
Calories Carbs Fat Protein Fiber Sugar
(Sorry, I couldn't get the table to line up exactly)

Obviously I went a little over on my carbs and calories, and as such I'm planning on maybe picking some of the dried cranberries out of my salad at lunch But I'm super close with my fat and protein goals, and most days you're not going to be able to hit every target EXACTLY. Is there a rule of thumb for what you consider to be close enough?

CaitlinBaer

Your Macros are fine..but what split (%) are you using? Rec sugar intake is around 25 g although in this day and age, it's nearly impossible to meet that. If you're eating "healthy" and not just eating what fits in your macros, don't worry about fiber. Veggies are loaded

deluxmary2000

I'm using the recommendations from IIFYM.com - based on grams not percentages. Honestly, the sugar is in there as a leftover from what MFP put in, but I don't really track it and haven't gotten around to removing it. It's not something I'm particularly concerned about (same with fiber).

juggernaut1974

deluxmary2000 wrote: »

After switching over to counting Macros (rather than just total calorie count), I've struggled with how close is "close enough" for macro goals. For instance, with my food weighed and pre-logged, here's my total for today:

Totals 1,759 127 73 144 26 26
Your Daily Goal 1,686 105 75 148 42 48
Remaining -73 -22 1 3 15 22
Calories Carbs Fat Protein Fiber Sugar
(Sorry, I couldn't get the table to line up exactly)

Obviously I went a little over on my carbs and calories, and as such I'm planning on maybe picking some of the dried cranberries out of my salad at lunch But I'm super close with my fat and protein goals, and most days you're not going to be able to hit every target EXACTLY. Is there a rule of thumb for what you consider to be close enough?

Speaking for myself personally, I don't overly obsess about hitting each number perfectly. There is definitely a hierarchy I use though.

1. Hit calorie goal (first and foremost)
2. Hit minimums for protein and dietary fat
3. Let everything else fall where it may

bellaa_x0

if you follow IIFYM you should be +5/-5 of your carbs, fats, protein every day.

BarbieAS

ceoverturf wrote: »

deluxmary2000 wrote: »

After switching over to counting Macros (rather than just total calorie count), I've struggled with how close is "close enough" for macro goals. For instance, with my food weighed and pre-logged, here's my total for today:

Totals 1,759 127 73 144 26 26
Your Daily Goal 1,686 105 75 148 42 48
Remaining -73 -22 1 3 15 22
Calories Carbs Fat Protein Fiber Sugar
(Sorry, I couldn't get the table to line up exactly)

Obviously I went a little over on my carbs and calories, and as such I'm planning on maybe picking some of the dried cranberries out of my salad at lunch But I'm super close with my fat and protein goals, and most days you're not going to be able to hit every target EXACTLY. Is there a rule of thumb for what you consider to be close enough?

Speaking for myself personally, I don't overly obsess about hitting each number perfectly. There is definitely a hierarchy I use though.

1. Hit calorie goal (first and foremost)
2. Hit minimums for protein and dietary fat
3. Let everything else fall where it may

Yep, I agree with this hierarchy 100%, personally. If you used the IIFYM site to set up your goals on MFP, though, that's basically what you've got - it gave you minimums for protein and fat and it gave you a calorie goal, and the rest goes to carbs.

In terms of what's "close enough," though...I mean, just use your best judgment. Within 50 calories one way or the other and I think you're spot on perfect. Same with maybe 5g of fat or 10g of carbs or protein on either side. If you're consistently pushing one edge of the boundary on something (say you're ALWAYS 50 calories over or you're ALWAYS 10g of protein short) you might consider trying to correct that, but for the most part it evens out. This isn't an exact science and if you get too caught up in hitting calories and macros perfectly every day you're going to go crazy.

deluxmary2000

BarbieAS wrote: »

ceoverturf wrote: »

deluxmary2000 wrote: »

After switching over to counting Macros (rather than just total calorie count), I've struggled with how close is "close enough" for macro goals. For instance, with my food weighed and pre-logged, here's my total for today:

Totals 1,759 127 73 144 26 26
Your Daily Goal 1,686 105 75 148 42 48
Remaining -73 -22 1 3 15 22
Calories Carbs Fat Protein Fiber Sugar
(Sorry, I couldn't get the table to line up exactly)

Obviously I went a little over on my carbs and calories, and as such I'm planning on maybe picking some of the dried cranberries out of my salad at lunch But I'm super close with my fat and protein goals, and most days you're not going to be able to hit every target EXACTLY. Is there a rule of thumb for what you consider to be close enough?

Speaking for myself personally, I don't overly obsess about hitting each number perfectly. There is definitely a hierarchy I use though.

1. Hit calorie goal (first and foremost)
2. Hit minimums for protein and dietary fat
3. Let everything else fall where it may

Yep, I agree with this hierarchy 100%, personally. If you used the IIFYM site to set up your goals on MFP, though, that's basically what you've got - it gave you minimums for protein and fat and it gave you a calorie goal, and the rest goes to carbs.

In terms of what's "close enough," though...I mean, just use your best judgment. Within 50 calories one way or the other and I think you're spot on perfect. Same with maybe 5g of fat or 10g of carbs or protein on either side. If you're consistently pushing one edge of the boundary on something (say you're ALWAYS 50 calories over or you're ALWAYS 10g of protein short) you might consider trying to correct that, but for the most part it evens out. This isn't an exact science and if you get too caught up in hitting calories and macros perfectly every day you're going to go crazy.

This sounds like a good philosophy - thanks! I realized that the protein was probably a minimum target, but not the fat. I'll take that into account moving forward.