Macros or Calorie counting

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CassieR6
CassieR6 Posts: 280 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello, so I have about 55lbs I need to loose. I have done calorie counting before and it does work. I looked into Macros and I am still a little unclear about it. I got my numbers and adjusted my goals but I dunno, its not clicking. I know I don't log my food daily and that is going to change and I know it will help. But I wanted to get y'all s opinions on this. Which do you think is a better way to loose weight, macros or calorie counting? Thanks

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  • Luna3386
    Luna3386 Posts: 888 Member
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    Depends on your goals, for one. And depends on your personal preference. Do you normally consume enough protein? Based on my connections, most people don't eat enough protein. Macros helps create a balanced diet.

    Do you choose foods solely based off of their calories? Again, avoiding fats because of the density of calories? Choosing macros can help ensure you get enough fats etc.

    It doesn't have to be one or the other. I started with calorie counting and moved into macros once I got into lifting. I use them together now.

  • CassieR6
    CassieR6 Posts: 280 Member
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    I have always done portion control and keeping my food intake under a certain calorie intake and fat and what not. I just want to get healthy. I plan on incorporating my circuit training cardio videos to help. Along with the diet.
  • Ruatine
    Ruatine Posts: 3,424 Member
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    CassieP16 wrote: »
    Hello, so I have about 55lbs I need to loose. I have done calorie counting before and it does work. I looked into Macros and I am still a little unclear about it. I got my numbers and adjusted my goals but I dunno, its not clicking. I know I don't log my food daily and that is going to change and I know it will help. But I wanted to get y'all s opinions on this. Which do you think is a better way to loose weight, macros or calorie counting? Thanks

    Generally it's not one or the other. Macros are protein, carbohydrates and fats.

    Protein = 4 calories per gram
    Carbohydrates = 4 calories per gram
    Fats = 9 calories per gram

    Calories are king when it comes to weight loss. Track your intake accurately and meet your calorie goal consistently, and you will see weight loss over time. The ratio of your macros is very personal. Many people try to hit a specific number of grams on protein, because keeping protein levels high while losing weight will help minimize muscle loss. Many people will also increase their protein and fat ratios because those are the two macros that keep them full for the longest amount of time. In the end, macro ratio is less important than making sure you hit your calorie goal, but the two are not unrelated. Personally, my macro goals are 50% carbohydrates, 25% fats & 25% protein, which ends up being 920 calories from carbs (230 g), 460 from protein (115 g) & 460 from fat (51 g). I don't hit that every day but it's my goalpost for a balanced day of eating.
  • Ruatine
    Ruatine Posts: 3,424 Member
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    CassieP16 wrote: »
    I have always done portion control and keeping my food intake under a certain calorie intake and fat and what not. I just want to get healthy. I plan on incorporating my circuit training cardio videos to help. Along with the diet.

    I just want to point out that fat is not bad. In fact, a lot of people find that fat helps keep them full. Fat does not make us fat - eating too many calories for our body's needs does that. It's good to experiment with different ratios on your macros to see what keeps you full and mentally satisfied. I will often choose low-fat or fat-free foods simply because I like to eat a good volume of food and fat has the highest density of calories at 9 calories per gram. It's an easy way for me to increase the volume of food I can eat, and I don't find fat particularly satiating.

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