Counting macros vs. calorie counting

martinicee

My husband and I decided to “diet and get fit”. I’m going the more relaxed mode of just counting calories and eating fruits and “healthy snacks” like portioned out nuts and fruit chews etc.... however my husband is going the rigid route of macro counting.
Does anyone see my route as “bad”?! I’m torn between the two. Ultimately I know calories in vs calories out is what Drs usually say lol. Anyways any discussion or opinion is appreciated thanks!

LyndaBSS

Weight loss occurs when you are in a calorie deficit.

Some people are structured with their macros, for a myriad of reasons. Personally, I don’t pay much attention to them. I eat a well balanced diet so if I do glance at them, all appears well.

Does your husband understand that he’ll still have to stay under his assigned calories?

rheddmobile

There’s not a thing wrong with your way. You don’t need to count macros to lose weight. It’s all calories. However, knowing roughly what your macros are may help you in other ways - some people feel more satiated on a certain combination of food, some people need to count carbs because of health conditions, and it’s always a good idea to make sure you’re getting plenty of protein while eating at a deficit. If your husband is having fun there’s nothing wrong with his way either.

Not that you asked, but there’s nothing healthy about a fruit chew. It’s basically candy by the time it becomes a chew with concentrated sugar, negligible vitamins and none of the fiber found in whole fruits. There’s nothing wrong with eating some candy if it fits in your calorie goal, just don’t imagine that fruit chews are different from other candy because they are made from fruit.

NorthCascades

Calories are what controls weight.

lorrpb

Counting calories is perfectly fine. MFP also gives your macro breakdown, so you can keep an eye on your macros if that’s of curiosity to you.

Womona

If CICO works for you, great! If counting macros works for your husband, great! Some people lose weight with intermittent fasting, others Keto or some other eating plan. I think what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for someone else. Just do what works for you!

Personally I’m losing weight with Calorie counting, but the game changer for me was buying a food scale and measuring my food. Also, I have a good heart rate monitor that tells me how many calories I burned. It’s just math at that point.

whmscll

A food scale is really important for calorie-dense foods like peanut butter, avocado, nuts, etc. It’s shocking how small the portions are for the calories, and how fast you can overeat these foods. Especially nuts.

AnnPT77

I'd add that if someone is trying (and mostly succeeding) at hitting close to macro targets, that's pretty much automatically hitting a calorie goal, because a gram of carbs or protein averages 4 calories, a gram of fats averages 9 calories, and a gram of alcohol about 7 calories. Near-precise macro goals total up to near-consistent calorie intake.

It's the calories as such that determine weight results, especially in the short run. Macros are about nutrition, which helps determine satiation, energy level, body composition and health . . . important things. For the nutritional benefits, you don't need to hit exact macro targets, but do need to be in the general neighborhood of good balance on average, especially when it comes to protein and fats (and probably veggie/fruit servings for micros).

To the extent that nutrition can affect energy level or satiation in the long run, macros can have a secondary effect on weight loss success: If energy drops, fatigue reduces our daily-life calorie expenditure and possibly our exercise performance, reducing calories out, which is counterproductive for weight loss. If satiation isn't happening, compliance with calorie goal becomes difficult, and people are more likely to slip off course so fail to lose weight.

If your approach is getting you within a reasonable range of good, balanced nutrition, you should lose weight fine, and maintain health as well, no problem. Slavish detail in macro counting isn't essential; close is good enough.

sijomial

There's a common misconception that all overweight people must have a poor diet in term of nutrition.
Personally the only diet issue I needed to fix was the size of my diet (noun) not the composition of my diet.
I got fat eating almost 100% good home cooked and nutritious food.

Having said that as my exercise routine ramped up and up I found a benefit in ensuring I hit or exceeded an appropriate protein goal. For me my fat intake didn't require any intervention or monitoring and precision over carb intake was only required to properly fuel very long bike rides. So guess I'm somewhere in the wide spectrum from watching calories only to chasing macro precision.

If it's working for you both I'm not seeing a problem. If it ain't broke - don't fix it.

missysippy930

Eating less calories than your body burns is the only way to lose weight. How you get there is personal preference. Ensuring you are getting proper macros is fine, as long as you are at a calorie deficit. The only thing I’m concerned with is protein, so I only pay attention to that number. For me, ensuring that I would be getting proper macros would add an extra step because it would involve making sure not going over calories too.