Confused about Marcos ...What am I doing wrong ?

anastasias30

Hey guys,
My Marcos is showing 7% above "goal" for carbs for the day. I'm very confused. Only had one meal today which consisted of 4 oz of chicken Parmesan, half a cup of cooked green beans and a slice of avocado. Also, I had coffee in the morning with Coffeemate creamer. Please help

kommodevaran

You have to view your whole day as a whole, not just one meal. Context is lacking. What is your calorie goal and your carbs goal?

anastasias30

Thank you for your reply. My calorie goal is 1200 .. I've been staying within the limit since i started ...today is Day 4. Trying to figure out where so many carbs came in in this meal . Will I still lose weight as long as I stay within my calorie limits ? Sorry , I'm new to this and somewhat confused.

anastasias30

My carb goal....according to the app is 50%

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt

anastasias30 wrote: »

Thank you for your reply. My calorie goal is 1200 .. I've been staying within the limit since i started ...today is Day 4. Trying to figure out where so many carbs came in in this meal . Will I still lose weight as long as I stay within my calorie limits ? Sorry , I'm new to this and somewhat confused.

Yes, you will lose weight as long as you are within your calorie goal.

You are way overthinking it. Just try to meet your calorie goals, get some protein, and eat vegetables. If you go over your carbs, meh. It's fine. It will not hurt your weight loss efforts.

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt

OP - read this thread, it's a great place to start: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

kommodevaran

Yes, calories is what makes you lose, gain or maintain weight.

Are you using correct entries? Maybe open your diary (make it public).

anastasias30

Thank you Alyssa !

anastasias30

How do I make my diary public ?

anastasias30

Got it ! I believe it's public now.

Debmal77

I would also suggest using a food scale and weigh in grams. Cups and teaspoons are not very accurate.

anastasias30

Thank you

peaceout_aly

anastasias30 wrote: »

Thank you for your reply. My calorie goal is 1200 .. I've been staying within the limit since i started ...today is Day 4. Trying to figure out where so many carbs came in in this meal . Will I still lose weight as long as I stay within my calorie limits ? Sorry , I'm new to this and somewhat confused.

Yup! As long as you are within the calorie deficit, you'll lose weight (as long as you weigh and log everything properly). Macros really only matter for health or bodybuilding reasons.

kommodevaran

That Generic - Homemade Chicken Breast is useless - if you cook your own meals, use the recipe builder and log each ingredient. Any "Homemade" entries will be wrong, because you have no idea what's in them, neither amounts or proportions.

anastasias30

Wow !

CafeRacer808

Wait, now I'm confused. According to your diary, you've consumed 33g of carbs today, which means you're 80% under your carb goal for the day. Where are you seeing that you're 7% above?

diannethegeek

CafeRacer808 wrote: »

Wait, now I'm confused. According to your diary, you've consumed 33g of carbs today, which means you're 80% under your carb goal for the day. Where are you seeing that you're 7% above?

I assume the OP is referring to the pie chart breakdown for what they've eaten so far today. We see a lot of confusion about it. Even though their meals so far are below the carb gram limit, they were carb heavy, so the pie chart shows a high carb percentage so far. Of course, if they eat more fat & protein with their later meals, the pie chart balances back out.

CafeRacer808

diannethegeek wrote: »

CafeRacer808 wrote: »

Wait, now I'm confused. According to your diary, you've consumed 33g of carbs today, which means you're 80% under your carb goal for the day. Where are you seeing that you're 7% above?

I assume the OP is referring to the pie chart breakdown for what they've eaten so far today. We see a lot of confusion about it. Even though their meals so far are below the carb gram limit, they were carb heavy, so the pie chart shows a high carb percentage so far. Of course, if they eat more fat & protein with their later meals, the pie chart balances back out.

Ah, good call. Bold = Why I never look at the pie charts.

diannethegeek

Think of your macros (carbs, fat, & protein) as a three-sided see saw. If one goes up (carbs) the rest go down. If you eat a lot of carbs early in the day, your percentage of carbs so far for the day goes up. If you eat more protein and fat later in the day, then the carb percentage goes back down. I would pay more attention to the goals set by gram rather than the percentage pie chart.

anastasias30

The numbers keep changing through out the day .... that was the confusing part

anastasias30

Yes Dianne the grams are way less confusing

poppysierra

Just read this thread and it's so cool how people are helping anastasias30 through the macro minefield. Yay

Sumiblue

anastasias30 wrote: »

The numbers keep changing through out the day .... that was the confusing part

They are going to change each time you log food. When you add a new meal you are changing the macro & calorie tally.

falica

anastasias30

Thank you everyone .... you guys are really helpful and a huge support system