Do you care about macros the same as calories?

Kales97

I have carbohydrate, protein, sodium, etc “goals”, but I never stick to them. For example, my carb goal is 125g a day or under but I ALWAYS go over & typically eat around 180-200g. Honestly, I don’t care about my macros as long as I’m in a caloric deficit. Should I care about macros as long as I’m not exceeding my calories???

zeejane4

For weight loss the thing to focus on is your calorie intake and then eating in a way that makes you happy, has you feeling full and is also complimentary with your schedule/lifestyle. Macros can come into play along the way, but I didn't start paying attention to them until recently and I'm over 6 years into maintenance. So for me personally, I lost weight/maintained fine without paying attention to macros.

If what you're doing now is working for you then there's no reason to change things up. Down the road you may want to mix things up/try something new, but don't force it-you'll gravitate towards it naturally

MikePTY

It's generally recommended to hit your protein goals, to aid with muscle preservation during weight loss. After that, you can pretty much let it fall where it may.

Now that I have my calorie goal under control, I do pay more attention to my macros, because I find that when I get around 25% of my calories from protein and at least 40% from carbs I tend to feel the best and have the best athletic performance.

NovusDies

Not really. At least not at the beginning. You will eventually want to make sure that carbs are not crowding out protein or fat but you will lose weight regardless of your macros.

Teabythesea_

I make an effort to meet my calorie, protein, and fat goals. Carbs and everything else I dont care about. Different macro ratios dont do anything to aid in weight loss, its typically a preference based on individual goals and satiety.

whmscll

I track protein and fiber macros closely in addition to calories, and always look at fat but I ignore the rest of them, especially carbs.

Danp

Never paid more than a glance at my macro split. It's just not important to me in the overall scheme of things. I'm losing weight. I'm feeling good, my health markers and test results are the bet they've ever been.

I tend to just let them fall where they fall but looking back they seem to naturally fall into 'normal' ranges naturally. Whether that comes from some kind of self regulating thing where if I need a particular macro I'll crave foods of that type more or if it just so happens that the food I eat on a regular basis tends to cause my macros to fall that way I couldn't say.

The only time I pay any mind is if I'm on a cycling kick and planning an extended (+2hr) ride then I might make a conscious effort to increase my carbs in the few days before and the morning of to 'fuel up'.

PAV8888

whmscll wrote: »

I track protein and fiber macros closely in addition to calories, and always look at fat but I ignore the rest of them, especially carbs.

Me too!

tinkerbellang83

I firstly focused on calories for weight loss, this was all I looked at for the first 10 months or so.

Then started making sure I was getting adequate protein to maintain muscle and help with recovery and then began ensuring adequate fat for satiety/vitamin absorption and fibre for satiety/digestive health. I've always kept an eye on my vitamin/mineral intake too as if I am down on Vitamin D/Magnesium/Potassium it affects my sleep and overall energy levels.

I think as time goes on and we adjust to eating the right amount of food for weight loss/maintenance then the natural next step for a lot of people is to ensure you're getting adequate nutrition for good health.

cheryldumais

Some folks have issues with carbs when they get too high. I happen to be one of those people. I do best if my carbs are around 40% or less. For some bizarre reason if my carbs get too high I can't stop eating. That's just me and I would lose weight no matter what the macro split if I maintained my calorie level. I just feel better if I keep them lower. I don't worry about them really but I check my split if I'm having a "hungry" day.

Panini911

I don't really no.

over most days i try to get AT LEAST 80gram of protein and hit my fat goal (as i tend to be low on fat). but i just quickly scan those numbers here and there i don't make a big deal of them.

WholeFoods4Lyfe

My goal is to meet my macros, calories is secondary for me.

sardelsa

My macros are very important to me. I don't track calories but sometimes I do track my protein where I log my protein only (main sources).

In the end calories will drive weight loss or gain so you want to be mindful of that first and foremost.

Sunshine_And_Sand

I don't really care about macros at all. Sometimes I look back on them out of curiosity, and I tend to hit pretty close to MFPs default macro goals with just the way I like to eat, without even trying to hit a certain goal. For now this is working for me so I'm not changing it. If it stops working, I'll look at adjusting it.
I think some people worry about macros more than necessary...

mmapags

PAV8888 wrote: »

whmscll wrote: »

I track protein and fiber macros closely in addition to calories, and always look at fat but I ignore the rest of them, especially carbs.

Me too!

Same with me.

luckywizard

I pay attention to them simply because I have a much easier time keeping to my calorie goal with a higher fat and protein intake and a lower carb intake than is recommended. But that is me and my body, certainly from other responses that isn't true for everyone.

Sharon_C

I make sure to hit calories and protein and let the rest fall where it may

_faedreamer

The only macros I really pay attention to are carbs and sugar. As a Type 2 diabetic, I need to keep those under a certain level to keep my blood glucose stable. Otherwise I pay much more attention to CICO as it pertains to losing weight.

sammidelvecchio

The things I focus on in order are:
1. Calories
2. Protein
3. Carbs and Fiber
4. Exercise

Most days I am focused on calories and protein and the rest fall into place.

dbanks80

I do in particular Protein when i am lifting heavy. If I am not working out or rest days I focus on calories.

kgirlhart

Mostly I just look at calories. I do try to hit my protein goal and then just let fats and carbs fall where they fall. I also try to hit my fiber goal and I've been paying more attention to iron lately.