A Question

penguinchick8478

I've been trying to eat healthier lately, and even though it's hard (I really miss my muffins) I'm determined to really stick with it. However, I noticed something that's more than a little frustrating. MFP encourages having a 55% carb, 30% fat and 15% protein diet. 'm finding that every day I have a choice. Either I try and stay within my macro guidelines, or I try and stay within the percentage guidlines. For instance yesterday I was near perfect in percentages, but I only had 800 calories and was way low on carbs. So, wanting to try and get that up, I got something to eat. This comepletely messed up my percentages, putting it at 49%C, 35%F, and 16%P. Not terrible, but not where I would want it either. It really confused me because I was so close to all my macros and I didn't really understand why there were so messed up. Already long story short, what I wanted to know was what mattered more- keeping within the percentages or staying within my macros.

Sorry it's so long. I guess I got slightly carried away.

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

MFP's Protein macro guideline is a minimum. You can manually change your settings. Under "My Home," go to "Goals" then click "change goals."

Do a little research on how much protein suits your goals (I aim for between 130 and 160 grams protein a day, and that's a whole lot more than 15%). Your goals may be different than mine, but the guidelines that MFP sets is really not anything you have to follow with respect to macros.

penguinchick8478

Thanks for answering my question. If I'm correct, this mean I should try to meet my percentages over macros, right?

jimithegreek

If trying to lose weight, staying under your calorie goal is most important. From there, try to hit your macros as best you can, setting them up however you feel is best for you.

HerbertNenenger

I am carb intolerant so I am doing the Paleo diet. I always go over the protein and fat suggestions but with half the carbs and under my calories. It works very well for me and am seeing steady losses. If you are losing weight steadily don't worry so much about it. If you stall out, the you can reevaluate.

debaloo

If trying to lose weight, staying under your calorie goal is most important. From there, try to hit your macros as best you can, setting them up however you feel is best for you.

^^^ What he said:happy:

penguinchick8478

I'm not looking to lose a lot of weight. I'm 5'5, 5'6 and 123 pounds, so at the very most I would want to lose maybe one or two. What I'm really looking at is how to eat healthier because of how terrible me diet is. So my questions was, is it healthier and better to try and match up percentages or macros? Thanks for all the help you guys are giving me. I really appreciate it.

debaloo

Ohhhhh, now I get it!! Just focus on filling half your plate with vegetables, 1/4 of your plate with protein (or a palm size) 1/4 of your plate with a healthy carb such as sweet potato or brown rice and somewhere in there 1tbs of fat (like oil, 100 calories of cheese, something like that). Go to myplate.gov and there is a whole planner there. It helps to know what is considered a "serving" and how many grams or micrograms you need of each macro and micro nutrient.

penguinchick8478

Oh, thanks! Myplate seems really cool and handy. I'll be sure to use this to help me figure stuff out.

debaloo

Cool- so glad I could help!