Why macros matter
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muscleandbeard wrote: »Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »
I should have considered that.Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »Often times I forget that not everyone here is trying to be toned or built or shredded...whatever. So yes, in that case CICA is the most important if you want to drop weight. I came over from bodybuilding.com forums and if you ever said that "macros aren't important" or "eat whatever you want" you would be bashed till the end of time and probably banned for stupidity.
And in a forum dedicated to building strong, muscular physiques, rightfully so.
Here though, you've got everything from powerlifters training for their next meet to little grandmas who just want to lose 30 pounds because the doctor said so and everyone in between.
And btw, welcome aboard. Glad to have you here.
Thank you kind Sir. Good luck with your goals
Thanks, you too!
I think there are a few others who post on here and on bb.com (it's infrequent but I go over there some).
If you know MrM27 from over there he used to be a frequent poster here before he got the boot.0 -
Thanks for that article. It was a great read.0
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I can definitely see why someone from BB would get the boot here. You really have to be open minded on terms of everyone's goals. BB community has only one goal.Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »
I should have considered that.Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »Often times I forget that not everyone here is trying to be toned or built or shredded...whatever. So yes, in that case CICA is the most important if you want to drop weight. I came over from bodybuilding.com forums and if you ever said that "macros aren't important" or "eat whatever you want" you would be bashed till the end of time and probably banned for stupidity.
And in a forum dedicated to building strong, muscular physiques, rightfully so.
Here though, you've got everything from powerlifters training for their next meet to little grandmas who just want to lose 30 pounds because the doctor said so and everyone in between.
And btw, welcome aboard. Glad to have you here.
Thank you kind Sir. Good luck with your goals
Thanks, you too!
I think there are a few others who post on here and on bb.com (it's infrequent but I go over there some).
If you know MrM27 from over there he used to be a frequent poster here before he got the boot.
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muscleandbeard wrote: »
I can definitely see why someone from BB would get the boot here. You really have to be open minded on terms of everyone's goals. BB community has only one goal.Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »
I should have considered that.Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »Often times I forget that not everyone here is trying to be toned or built or shredded...whatever. So yes, in that case CICA is the most important if you want to drop weight. I came over from bodybuilding.com forums and if you ever said that "macros aren't important" or "eat whatever you want" you would be bashed till the end of time and probably banned for stupidity.
And in a forum dedicated to building strong, muscular physiques, rightfully so.
Here though, you've got everything from powerlifters training for their next meet to little grandmas who just want to lose 30 pounds because the doctor said so and everyone in between.
And btw, welcome aboard. Glad to have you here.
Thank you kind Sir. Good luck with your goals
Thanks, you too!
I think there are a few others who post on here and on bb.com (it's infrequent but I go over there some).
If you know MrM27 from over there he used to be a frequent poster here before he got the boot.
Think of it as walking into Planet Fitness vs. walking into an old-school Gold's Gym.
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Good article. Anything that pokes at Taubes is fine in my book.0
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cwolfman13 wrote: »I think macros are important, but for a lot of people, they just need to focus on calories first...worry about macros late once they get the hang of just hitting their calorie targets...I think that's where that particular advise comes from.
I also think macros are important to a certain degree...a lot of people do a lot of unnecessary hand wringing over them though.
I agree with this. Also, optimal macros are going to vary. Someone who is sedentary and has IR probably does not have the same macro goals as someone who is healthy and training to complete a marathon in under 3 hours. And a bodybuilder preparing for a competition may have entirely different goals from either.
I often tell people not to overstress about macros, especially when they are first starting out and scared to eat if they go over one macro (and so undereating). I also always add that it's good to focus on meeting the protein macro, as it can be satiating and help preserve muscle, and follow that by saying that .65-.85 g/lb of healthy body weight has been found to have benefits, including preservation of muscle mass at a deficit.
For me, though, I don't think it makes that much difference whether I eat the rest of my calories in a particular percentage of fat vs. carb so long as I mostly get both fat and carbs from nutrient dense options that meet my various needs. There's a huge range of healthy macro ratios, and too many people think that if they don't meet MFP's percentage-based numbers they won't lose (or if they don't do low carb they won't lose or sometimes if they don't do low fat or meet an absurdly high protein goal they won't lose).0 -
muscleandbeard wrote: »
I can definitely see why someone from BB would get the boot here. You really have to be open minded on terms of everyone's goals. BB community has only one goal.Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »
I should have considered that.Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »Often times I forget that not everyone here is trying to be toned or built or shredded...whatever. So yes, in that case CICA is the most important if you want to drop weight. I came over from bodybuilding.com forums and if you ever said that "macros aren't important" or "eat whatever you want" you would be bashed till the end of time and probably banned for stupidity.
And in a forum dedicated to building strong, muscular physiques, rightfully so.
Here though, you've got everything from powerlifters training for their next meet to little grandmas who just want to lose 30 pounds because the doctor said so and everyone in between.
And btw, welcome aboard. Glad to have you here.
Thank you kind Sir. Good luck with your goals
Thanks, you too!
I think there are a few others who post on here and on bb.com (it's infrequent but I go over there some).
If you know MrM27 from over there he used to be a frequent poster here before he got the boot.
Think of it as walking into Planet Fitness vs. walking into an old-school Gold's Gym.
Haha are we about to have a pizza party and sound the alarm for a sleeveless shirt?0 -
muscleandbeard wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »
I can definitely see why someone from BB would get the boot here. You really have to be open minded on terms of everyone's goals. BB community has only one goal.Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »
I should have considered that.Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »Often times I forget that not everyone here is trying to be toned or built or shredded...whatever. So yes, in that case CICA is the most important if you want to drop weight. I came over from bodybuilding.com forums and if you ever said that "macros aren't important" or "eat whatever you want" you would be bashed till the end of time and probably banned for stupidity.
And in a forum dedicated to building strong, muscular physiques, rightfully so.
Here though, you've got everything from powerlifters training for their next meet to little grandmas who just want to lose 30 pounds because the doctor said so and everyone in between.
And btw, welcome aboard. Glad to have you here.
Thank you kind Sir. Good luck with your goals
Thanks, you too!
I think there are a few others who post on here and on bb.com (it's infrequent but I go over there some).
If you know MrM27 from over there he used to be a frequent poster here before he got the boot.
Think of it as walking into Planet Fitness vs. walking into an old-school Gold's Gym.
Haha are we about to have a pizza party and sound the alarm for a sleeveless shirt?
Actually, there is a sub-group for celebrating pizza...lol0 -
muscleandbeard wrote: »
I can definitely see why someone from BB would get the boot here. You really have to be open minded on terms of everyone's goals. BB community has only one goal.Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »
I should have considered that.Carlos_421 wrote: »muscleandbeard wrote: »Often times I forget that not everyone here is trying to be toned or built or shredded...whatever. So yes, in that case CICA is the most important if you want to drop weight. I came over from bodybuilding.com forums and if you ever said that "macros aren't important" or "eat whatever you want" you would be bashed till the end of time and probably banned for stupidity.
And in a forum dedicated to building strong, muscular physiques, rightfully so.
Here though, you've got everything from powerlifters training for their next meet to little grandmas who just want to lose 30 pounds because the doctor said so and everyone in between.
And btw, welcome aboard. Glad to have you here.
Thank you kind Sir. Good luck with your goals
Thanks, you too!
I think there are a few others who post on here and on bb.com (it's infrequent but I go over there some).
If you know MrM27 from over there he used to be a frequent poster here before he got the boot.
Haha yeah. Well he gets called out for being overly frank towards the derp crowd even over there so...0 -
I believe that macros are still important even if all you want to do is drop weight- Because different macros can give an individual more satisfaction and energy, helping to keep you within your calorie goal.
Finding the macro balance that makes you happiest is key!0 -
love the article thank you.0
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Thank you for posting this article. I found it helpful as someone who had previously only been looking calories for years. Now that I'm getting into cycling and runner, I am entering the world of macros scrutiny. It hasn't been easy either!
Suddenly, all I can think about is protein and how to get more of it in my body. Then its, "I want to go for a run tomorrow so I need to fuel myself with more carbs.. but carbs are 'evil'... but I want to run really far". It's such an internal struggle with all alternative dieting views out there.
Since I've picked up my training over the past two months, I haven't lost any weight, but I have been able to perform better and better. Hopefully the weight loss will come next.0 -
I believe that macros are still important even if all you want to do is drop weight- Because different macros can give an individual more satisfaction and energy, helping to keep you within your calorie goal.
Finding the macro balance that makes you happiest is key!
I totally agree!!0 -
muscleandbeard wrote: »Glad you enjoyed it. I see posts in which people constantly ask about macros and don't understand the importance of them. Too many times I see comments like "eat whatever you want, just stay in deficit" and it's such horrible advice.
I find those comments annoying as well. If you were to press those people, I'm sure they'd agree that what you eat is important for satiety, health, etc., but unfortunately sometimes they just stop with "eat whatever you want, just stay in deficit", which is confusing for new posters.0 -
The Macro Experiment Interviews: Dr. Layne Norton
http://www.themacroexperiment.com/blog/the-macro-experiment-interviews-dr-layne-norton
Cait: I enjoy the IIFYM lifestyle because it allows me to maintain sanity and not feel guilty about eating “unclean” foods. There are just so many theories floating around out there about the long term effects of eating highly “processed” foods that it’s hard to know what is truth and what is bogus. Is there any valid scientific evidence regarding the long-term effects of eating organic/unprocessed/”clean” vs a diet that allows for some artificial sweeteners and ”processed” food?
Dr. Norton: When consumed in moderation, there is zero scientific evidence that I'm aware of demonstrating that 'processed' foods or artificial sweeteners cause any negative health outcomes. Any research I've seen is either correlation and can be explained by many other factors OR is using massive doses of the compounds that are in question. Way more than someone would ever get through a normal diet.
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Re @ksharma's post:
I always say more than that, but part of the problem is that the right choice for me is not the right choice for others. For example, I find it frustrating when people say you must cut carbs or eat more fat. I don't find fat satiating, and right now I want to eat increase my carbs (because of marathon training) and struggle to do so -- needing to cut carbs once I cut calories was never an issue. And it's important to understand that there are no magic macros and the MFP macros in particular have nothing to do with weight loss. You need to figure out what works for you, so often just logging, seeing what percentages you tend to hit, if anything is way high or low, or if you are hungry or not (I personally never had a problem with hungry when cutting calories, so I don't assume people will). Once you do that, you can start to adjust and find what works for you.
More than macros I think it's good to eat a nutritious diet (if someone cares to), but I can't imagine people really don't know what a nutritious diet is. When they ask I tend to think they think there's a magic way to eat that will take the weight off faster or that you have to eat in a special way to lose (as they've been trained to do from much of the weight loss media and gurus).
What really helped me was realizing that I should not eat as if "on a diet" -- by which I mean boring tasteless food, extremely restrictive. Instead, I could just eat normal, delicious, balanced meals, much like we did when I was a kid (my parents being all into the meat, starch, potato model), but also with my own personal tastes and creativity added. When I realized dieting didn't mean I had to feel deprived the whole time and not enjoy normal meals is when doing it for long enough to get the weight off started to make sense.
So eat what you like, but cut calories, kind of works with that. When people say "how do I cut calories" one approach is to look at what you are eating and it probably will jump out to you. It did to me.0 -
Nice article by James Fell
http://ca.askmen.com/sports/foodcourt/macronutrient-tracking-2.html
And like the example Eric Helms gave me to drive home his point, I know that, comparatively speaking, nuts are not a “good” source of protein. Helms explained that people may chow down on a lot of nuts in the belief that it helps them add protein to their diet, but the reality is that nuts are primarily made up of fat, which can result in the person adding to their total caloric intake — which is the bane of weight loss.
So, yes, at least having an understanding of the macros and being able to eyeball various foods for their macronutrient breakdown IS valuable. I do it all the time without even realizing it. As Eric says, “People need to at least be aware of macros. This doesn’t mean they need to track them 24/7 for the rest of their life and live with a food scale.
Nutrition expert Alan Aragon doesn’t meticulously count his own macros, but he too sees the value in at least having some macronutrient awareness. “People take things to the extreme,” he said. “I think it’s ridiculous when people track and say, ‘Oh, I have 17 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fat and 2 grams of protein left for today so that means I can eat half a Pop-Tart.’” He said it’s better if they assess if they’re actually hungry instead.
Remember, you don’t want to get too obsessive over what you eat, because it could take you down the path to an eating disorder.
“You can track every single macronutrient and bring your food scale everywhere you go, and that’s okay for a week or two,” Aragon told me, “but the goal is to graduate as far away from that *kitten* neurotic micromanagement of food intake as possible.”0 -
Wetcoaster wrote: »The Macro Experiment Interviews: Dr. Layne Norton
http://www.themacroexperiment.com/blog/the-macro-experiment-interviews-dr-layne-norton
Cait: I enjoy the IIFYM lifestyle because it allows me to maintain sanity and not feel guilty about eating “unclean” foods. There are just so many theories floating around out there about the long term effects of eating highly “processed” foods that it’s hard to know what is truth and what is bogus. Is there any valid scientific evidence regarding the long-term effects of eating organic/unprocessed/”clean” vs a diet that allows for some artificial sweeteners and ”processed” food?
Dr. Norton: When consumed in moderation, there is zero scientific evidence that I'm aware of demonstrating that 'processed' foods or artificial sweeteners cause any negative health outcomes. Any research I've seen is either correlation and can be explained by many other factors OR is using massive doses of the compounds that are in question. Way more than someone would ever get through a normal diet.
This post isn't about eating "clean". This post is about importance of protein and nutritional balance to achieve your results. I don't care if you cook up your protein in a meth lab, as long as you're consuming enough protein. I can tell you didn't read the original article I posted and just wanted to throw in your Dr. Norton propaganda at us. In fact, I don't eat organic, most of my supplements are made in a chemistry lab and it doesn't bother me one bit. Ask Dr. Norton if he got all that muscle eating rice cakes and cookies?0 -
The TEF is tripping me up...0
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muscleandbeard wrote: »Wetcoaster wrote: »The Macro Experiment Interviews: Dr. Layne Norton
http://www.themacroexperiment.com/blog/the-macro-experiment-interviews-dr-layne-norton
Cait: I enjoy the IIFYM lifestyle because it allows me to maintain sanity and not feel guilty about eating “unclean” foods. There are just so many theories floating around out there about the long term effects of eating highly “processed” foods that it’s hard to know what is truth and what is bogus. Is there any valid scientific evidence regarding the long-term effects of eating organic/unprocessed/”clean” vs a diet that allows for some artificial sweeteners and ”processed” food?
Dr. Norton: When consumed in moderation, there is zero scientific evidence that I'm aware of demonstrating that 'processed' foods or artificial sweeteners cause any negative health outcomes. Any research I've seen is either correlation and can be explained by many other factors OR is using massive doses of the compounds that are in question. Way more than someone would ever get through a normal diet.
This post isn't about eating "clean". This post is about importance of protein and nutritional balance to achieve your results. I don't care if you cook up your protein in a meth lab, as long as you're consuming enough protein. I can tell you didn't read the original article I posted and just wanted to throw in your Dr. Norton propaganda at us. In fact, I don't eat organic, most of my supplements are made in a chemistry lab and it doesn't bother me one bit. Ask Dr. Norton if he got all that muscle eating rice cakes and cookies?
Propaganda lol0
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