MFP macro ratio

kakaovanilya
kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Don't you think the protein ratio is too low and the carbs are high on MFP default macros? Isn't protein healthier than carbs? Doesn't it make us feel fuller than carbs? So why MFP leads us to low protein & high carbs?

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    Don't you think the protein ratio is too low and the carbs are high on MFP default macros?
    Not really. I increased protein a little, and fat a lot, and reduced carbs while losing weight, but I'm actually following the default pretty spot on now, in maintenance.
    Isn't protein healthier than carbs?
    No. A balanced and varied diet is healthy. We need a range of nutrients every day. While there are no essential carbs, there are so many nutritious carby foods that are also delicious, that cutting out carbs just to be trendy (or whatever) is just silly. Obsessing over "eating right" can turn into unhealthy relationship with food, and ironically, lead you to a poor diet.
    Doesn't it make us feel fuller than carbs?
    Not necessarily. Hunger and satiety is subjective, individual, habitual, and situational. Feeling hungry is normal and not to be feared, as long as you're properly nourished. A balanced and varied diet provides us with the nutrition we need. But we also need to like the food we eat; we can do extreme diets for a while, as long as it feels meaningful, but sooner or later, we have to feel like normal human beings and that means eating like a normal human being, too.
    So why MFP leads us to low protein & high carbs?
    It's the default setting, an average based on national nutitional recommendations, meant as a starting point. You can change the settings. Athletes would need more carbs, dieters less carbs, bodybuilders more protein.
  • kakaovanilya
    kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
    If there are no essential carbs, why should a balanced diet contain carbs if we are not athletes or something?
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    If there are no essential carbs, why should a balanced diet contain carbs if we are not athletes or something?
    Because there are carby foods that contain essential nutrients, and eating good food is good for your mental wellbeing.
  • kakaovanilya
    kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    If there are no essential carbs, why should a balanced diet contain carbs if we are not athletes or something?
    Because there are carby foods that contain essential nutrients, and eating good food is good for your mental wellbeing.

    I don't mean the carbs in vegetables or something. I mean carbs like bread or peanut butter.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    If there are no essential carbs, why should a balanced diet contain carbs if we are not athletes or something?
    Because there are carby foods that contain essential nutrients, and eating good food is good for your mental wellbeing.

    I don't mean the carbs in vegetables or something. I mean carbs like bread or peanut butter.

    Since when was peanut butter a carb?! :huh:
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    PB is fat and a little protein. Mostly fat.

    Bread is one of the things I really cut back on when I want to lose weight because it's calorie-dense and doesn't help me satiety-wise.

    You can set your carbs wherever you want. Grains are cheap and a good way for the masses to get calories - same with beans (high carb). I eat all of it now in maintenance, but when I was eating 1400 calories a day I didn't eat wheat hardly at all.
  • kakaovanilya
    kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    If there are no essential carbs, why should a balanced diet contain carbs if we are not athletes or something?
    Because there are carby foods that contain essential nutrients, and eating good food is good for your mental wellbeing.

    I don't mean the carbs in vegetables or something. I mean carbs like bread or peanut butter.

    Since when was peanut butter a carb?! :huh:

    I thought it contained high amount of carbs
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    If there are no essential carbs, why should a balanced diet contain carbs if we are not athletes or something?
    Because there are carby foods that contain essential nutrients, and eating good food is good for your mental wellbeing.

    I don't mean the carbs in vegetables or something. I mean carbs like bread or peanut butter.

    Since when was peanut butter a carb?! :huh:

    I thought it contained high amount of carbs

    It's mashed up peanuts...
  • kakaovanilya
    kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
    I couldn't exactly ask what I want to ask because of my english level. What I'm trying to understand is wouldn't we be just fine eating vegetables and protein only?
  • kakaovanilya
    kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    If there are no essential carbs, why should a balanced diet contain carbs if we are not athletes or something?
    Because there are carby foods that contain essential nutrients, and eating good food is good for your mental wellbeing.

    I don't mean the carbs in vegetables or something. I mean carbs like bread or peanut butter.

    Since when was peanut butter a carb?! :huh:

    I thought it contained high amount of carbs

    It's mashed up peanuts...

    I just googled peanut butter, i thought it was something else :D
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    I couldn't exactly ask what I want to ask because of my english level. What I'm trying to understand is wouldn't we be just fine eating vegetables and protein only?

    The number of calories you eat matter for weight loss.

    Getting the minimum amount of protein and fat your body needs plus things like fiber and micronutrients matter for good health.

    If you can do that on an all protein & veggies diet, that's fine but it's not required.

    You can adjust the MFP macro ratios to fit your lifestyle but it sounds like maybe you should start with logging your foods so you can see what's in the food you're eating now. Then you can adjust from there.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    I couldn't exactly ask what I want to ask because of my english level. What I'm trying to understand is wouldn't we be just fine eating vegetables and protein only?

    But why would you want to?

    Eat a varied diet in a deficit to lose weight.
  • kakaovanilya
    kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    I couldn't exactly ask what I want to ask because of my english level. What I'm trying to understand is wouldn't we be just fine eating vegetables and protein only?

    But why would you want to?

    Eat a varied diet in a deficit to lose weight.

    I am just curious. I don't have problem with eating carbs, I eat lots of carbs every day :D
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,907 Member
    I never meet my carb goal, so I lowered it a little. I just feel better with lower carbs. I eat the cheap 55cal bread just as a vehicle to put something on but I do eat variety diet
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  • kakaovanilya
    kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
    edited December 2017
    Evamutt wrote: »
    I never meet my carb goal, so I lowered it a little. I just feel better with lower carbs. I eat the cheap 55cal bread just as a vehicle to put something on but I do eat variety diet

    I've been reading the forum for a while and i saw a lot of people who are against low carbs so i was wondering what is wrong with consuming low carbs
  • kakaovanilya
    kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
    suzannesimmons3 wrote: »
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    I couldn't exactly ask what I want to ask because of my english level. What I'm trying to understand is wouldn't we be just fine eating vegetables and protein only?

    Because that would be very very boring for the vast majority of us.

    It would be boring for me, too. I eat carbs, sometimes more than I should. So i guess the reason most people are against low carbs is because we all love carbs but it is fine not to eat carbs.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Nothing is inherently "wrong" with low carb, but it's hard to get all your nutrients. Eat the way you like to eat, protein and vegetables is fine.



    Except . . .cookies.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    I couldn't exactly ask what I want to ask because of my english level. What I'm trying to understand is wouldn't we be just fine eating vegetables and protein only?
    We would be missing out on fat and some micronutrients, but what I think you're not thinking about, is that food is a lot more than just nutrition. Food and eating is culture, tradition, moral values, ethics, politics, personal prefererence, individuality, emotions, social glue. Even the most nutritionally perfect diet would make you feel miserable if it didn't taste good, or was too much work, or if you felt that you couldn't choose what to eat, unless for a really good reason, like an allergy or illness or competition prep. "Want to lose weight and be fit" is not that kind of good reason.
  • kakaovanilya
    kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    kakaovanilya wrote: »
    I couldn't exactly ask what I want to ask because of my english level. What I'm trying to understand is wouldn't we be just fine eating vegetables and protein only?
    We would be missing out on fat and some micronutrients, but what I think you're not thinking about, is that food is a lot more than just nutrition. Food and eating is culture, tradition, moral values, ethics, politics, personal prefererence, individuality, emotions, social glue. Even the most nutritionally perfect diet would make you feel miserable if it didn't taste good, or was too much work, or if you felt that you couldn't choose what to eat, unless for a really good reason, like an allergy or illness or competition prep. "Want to lose weight and be fit" is not that kind of good reason.

    You are so right.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Some people are against low carb because their idea of low carb is an unhealthy diet; in my opinion, there's nothing wrong with low carb as long as you 1) get in the nutrition you need and 2) like that way of eating. It's just that it can be difficult to get in the nutrition you need, and many people go low carb even though they hate it. The same goes for any diet.

    Saying that low carb is okay, is not the same as saying that eating moderate carbs is not okay.
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