Calories vs. Macros

jordan_bowden

First off I want to apologize as I'm sure this question has been debated many times before, however I am at the stage of my fitness journey where I'm willing to test the waters.
I'm a vegan and I do not use mock meats (tvp) unless I absolutely have to- so my macros are higher carb. I've been HCLF for over a year now and I'm curious how my body would handle a macro adjustment to a slightly higher protein intake.
My biggest problem is calories, and I can never really hit my macros accurately without having a calorie deficit or surplus.
So in conclusion, which should be my main focus ? Calories or macros

janejellyroll

What are your specific goals? For many people, calories would be the key focus because they determine if you are going to lose, gain, or maintain. But for certain fitness goals, macros are more important. And, of course, you need a certain amount of protein and fat to be healthy.

I personally focus on the calorie goal and getting sufficient protein and fat. Other than that, I don't worry about macros too much.

VintageFeline

For weight management it's always going to be calories. You may have to see if there are ways to get more protein bang for your calorie buck. Are you lacking in protein at the moment or just feel you need a bit more?

if you tell us your current protein sources then you could get more specific advice about where you could make adjustments.

deannalfisher

jordan_bowden wrote: »

First off I want to apologize as I'm sure this question has been debated many times before, however I am at the stage of my fitness journey where I'm willing to test the waters.
I'm a vegan and I do not use mock meats (tvp) unless I absolutely have to- so my macros are higher carb. I've been HCLF for over a year now and I'm curious how my body would handle a macro adjustment to a slightly higher protein intake.
My biggest problem is calories, and I can never really hit my macros accurately without having a calorie deficit or surplus.
So in conclusion, which should be my main focus ? Calories or macros

macros should equal your calories - if there is a difference, you could have a bad entry or rounding issues, but they should be fairly close

SezxyStef

macros are for body composition and health.
calories for weight loss...

what is your primary goal?

deannalfisher wrote: »

jordan_bowden wrote: »

First off I want to apologize as I'm sure this question has been debated many times before, however I am at the stage of my fitness journey where I'm willing to test the waters.
I'm a vegan and I do not use mock meats (tvp) unless I absolutely have to- so my macros are higher carb. I've been HCLF for over a year now and I'm curious how my body would handle a macro adjustment to a slightly higher protein intake.
My biggest problem is calories, and I can never really hit my macros accurately without having a calorie deficit or surplus.
So in conclusion, which should be my main focus ? Calories or macros

macros should equal your calories - if there is a difference, you could have a bad entry or rounding issues, but they should be fairly close

and this too...

nvmomketo

I too think macros are important for health but calories are responsible for weight regulation. I do think that macros affect how easily someone regulates their weight though. Many find certain macros increase satiety.

I do think one does not need to hit a certain calorie or macro goal each day as long as they go with an average. My calories can vary by hundreds from day to day. Sometimes there is even a variation of a thousand calories. As long as it averages out to where I want it, my weight seems to follow suit. If I eat 2000 C one day, 1000 C the next and 1500 C, that is a 1500 kcal per day diet and I still would lose. KWIM?

jordan_bowden

My protein sources are beans, greens, legumes, peas, broccoli and grains like oats or millet.
I never ate added protein before and I've been eating high carb for so long that it is very automatic. Even though I'm trying to eat more protein, those all come with a high carb content too, thus throwing my macros off.

What I've been wondering is, would it be better to make sure I'm getting in say, a set number of protein every day- regardless of the calories or to get less than what I might need from protein as long as I stay under my calorie allowance ?
I'm not really fat, I would however like to lean out as I am still slightly soft in areas I would like to be more toned

nvmomketo

I'd say getting protein should be a priority over getting in carbs. Carbs will partially take care of them selves if you get your protein in, then top them up as you wish.

sardelsa

Macros are important for body composition (especially protein). However calories are at the top and will determine whether you lose, maintain or gain.

What are your stats? I ask because you already look pretty lean in your photo (if that is recent)

Rosemary7391

Are you going over on carbs then? You could try nuts for more protein and less carb.

lemurcat12

deannalfisher wrote: »

jordan_bowden wrote: »

First off I want to apologize as I'm sure this question has been debated many times before, however I am at the stage of my fitness journey where I'm willing to test the waters.
I'm a vegan and I do not use mock meats (tvp) unless I absolutely have to- so my macros are higher carb. I've been HCLF for over a year now and I'm curious how my body would handle a macro adjustment to a slightly higher protein intake.
My biggest problem is calories, and I can never really hit my macros accurately without having a calorie deficit or surplus.
So in conclusion, which should be my main focus ? Calories or macros

macros should equal your calories - if there is a difference, you could have a bad entry or rounding issues, but they should be fairly close

Yes, this is a good point.

OP, if you are focusing on macros as percentages, I wouldn't. What matters is getting adequate fat (really, adequate sources of essential fatty acids and whatever makes you feel good beyond that) and protein (which depends on your goals). Those will be gram numbers -- for example, a 80-10-10 ratio is very different for someone like a Kenyan marathoner who burns huge calories and thus consumes huge calories than for someone at 1200, for whom it's likely a really bad idea. Those are extremes, but you get the point. I wouldn't focus on percentage of carbs assuming you aren't having an issue with hunger, but whether you are hitting a reasonable amount of fat and protein in grams. I do think that adequate protein is important if trying to build muscle or if one is cutting (I'd say .65-.85 g per lb of a healthy goal weight -- I aim toward the higher end, but if vegan that would be tough and the lower end is fine from what I've read). Beyond that, most diets are find macro-wise if they are nutritionally-dense, balanced, and one is not unduly afraid of fat. I know fat is less common in vegan sources to some extent, but if you include nuts and seeds and olives and avocado and so on, it's not that tough to get.

Are you cutting, bulking? What are your stats?

janejellyroll

Rosemary7391 wrote: »

Are you going over on carbs then? You could try nuts for more protein and less carb.

Nuts aren't a great protein source for vegans (or anyone) watching their calories because the amount you would have to get to get significant protein will be a lot of calories. Nuts are a great source of fat and the protein boost is nice, but it's hard to use them as a major protein source.

janejellyroll

lemurcat12 wrote: »

deannalfisher wrote: »

jordan_bowden wrote: »

First off I want to apologize as I'm sure this question has been debated many times before, however I am at the stage of my fitness journey where I'm willing to test the waters.
I'm a vegan and I do not use mock meats (tvp) unless I absolutely have to- so my macros are higher carb. I've been HCLF for over a year now and I'm curious how my body would handle a macro adjustment to a slightly higher protein intake.
My biggest problem is calories, and I can never really hit my macros accurately without having a calorie deficit or surplus.
So in conclusion, which should be my main focus ? Calories or macros

macros should equal your calories - if there is a difference, you could have a bad entry or rounding issues, but they should be fairly close

OP, if you are focusing on macros as percentages, I wouldn't.

This is really good advice. OP, I'm a vegan and I focus on the grams of protein and fat that I need. I ignore the percentages. Some days 60% of my calories are coming from carbohydrates, but I'm still getting the protein and fat that I need (it helps that I'm fairly active, so my calorie goals are adjusted accordingly). Doing percentages as a vegan can be confusing because the carbohydrates will often look too high -- but it's the grams that will tell you if you are getting what you need.

SezxyStef

jordan_bowden wrote: »

My protein sources are beans, greens, legumes, peas, broccoli and grains like oats or millet.
I never ate added protein before and I've been eating high carb for so long that it is very automatic. Even though I'm trying to eat more protein, those all come with a high carb content too, thus throwing my macros off.

What I've been wondering is, would it be better to make sure I'm getting in say, a set number of protein every day- regardless of the calories or to get less than what I might need from protein as long as I stay under my calorie allowance ?
I'm not really fat, I would however like to lean out as I am still slightly soft in areas I would like to be more toned

you could try a vegan protein powder.

Choward33

Great question. I had the same concern about high sodium, vs. Low calorie. I assumed the sodium would cause weight gain, but my weight calculator does not reflect my assumption.

SezxyStef

Choward33 wrote: »

Great question. I had the same concern about high sodium, vs. Low calorie. I assumed the sodium would cause weight gain, but my weight calculator does not reflect my assumption.

sodium will cause water retention for a day or two if you eat a lot.

But it's not "real" weight aka fat.

cwolfman13

jordan_bowden wrote: »

My protein sources are beans, greens, legumes, peas, broccoli and grains like oats or millet.
I never ate added protein before and I've been eating high carb for so long that it is very automatic. Even though I'm trying to eat more protein, those all come with a high carb content too, thus throwing my macros off.

What I've been wondering is, would it be better to make sure I'm getting in say, a set number of protein every day- regardless of the calories or to get less than what I might need from protein as long as I stay under my calorie allowance ?
I'm not really fat, I would however like to lean out as I am still slightly soft in areas I would like to be more toned

Are you pushing and pulling heavy things?

jordan_bowden

@cwolfman13 I only do body weight exercises, occasionally I use dumbells. I will however be starting gym again, as of Monday- hopefully.

Sarah_Shapes_Up

Everyone's different in how they feel the best. If what you're doing is working for you, keep doing it! If you want to try changing it up, change it up. The worst that will happen is that you'll go back to your old way because it works better for your body. If you're trying to build muscle or retain muscle in a calorie deficit, that's when protein can make a bigger difference. From you're picture, you look relatively lean, so I'm guessing you're either trying to build or maintain? Unless you are trying to build, I think the protein ranges for women are about 40-80g per day for the average women. But if you do want more protein, what about things like tofu, edamame, textured soy protein, seitan, nutritional yeast, powdered peanut butter, and tempe?

jordan_bowden

Sarah_Shapes_Up wrote: »

Everyone's different in how they feel the best. If what you're doing is working for you, keep doing it! If you want to try changing it up, change it up. The worst that will happen is that you'll go back to your old way because it works better for your body. If you're trying to build muscle or retain muscle in a calorie deficit, that's when protein can make a bigger difference. From you're picture, you look relatively lean, so I'm guessing you're either trying to build or maintain? Unless you are trying to build, I think the protein ranges for women are about 40-80g per day for the average women. But if you do want more protein, what about things like tofu, edamame, textured soy protein, seitan, nutritional yeast, powdered peanut butter, and tempe?

I'm not really trying to gain, more just to lean out. I looove tofu, however where I live it's rather difficult to get (small town) and just my luck is that I'm gluten intolerant so that takes seitan off the list too. Thank you all for the advice! It is definitely super helpful!