Macros

Lildarlinz

Hey guys
So I know you have to pay attention to the macros mainly protein,carbs and fat.

Now underneath my nutrition it’s given me a figure of 225 carbs
Does it matter if you go over that?

As some times you end up with like 300 calories left but you have eaten mainly carbs all day (or maybe it’s just me) 🤣🤣

Am I supposed to be just calorie counting? Or looking at that aswell?
I’m still struggling to understand 🙈🙈

RickyValentine

I try to shoot for a 40/30/30 ratio. Counting calories is all you need to worry about if your only concern is weightloss, but you should be concerned with putting on lean muscle mass as well, and that's where the importance of protein comes in. The best way to do this is by taking in 40% protein (my personal goal) and 30% fat/carbs. Carbs will quickly overtake you if you're not careful, so clean green carbs are best. Hope that helps VH!

nutmegoreo

Calories are king for weight control, but macros and micros are important for nutrition and for some people, satiety.

Lildarlinz

Thank you Ricky xx

I wasn’t sure whether you just do one or the other or both

I’m glad cos I have 309 calories left so I can have a bit of chocolate 😛😛😛 I’m trying my hardest not to eat carbs but the chocolate is just too good

For example there is a bag of marks and spencer crisps that are 90 calories but have 18g of carbs

So if you ate 16 bags that would be 1500 calories for the day but that’s 288 carbs for the day get what I mean xx

RickyValentine wrote: »

I try to shoot for a 40/30/30 ratio. Counting calories is all you need to worry about if your only concern is weightloss, but you should be concerned with putting on lean muscle mass as well, and that's where the importance of protein comes in. The best way to do this is by taking in 40% protein (my personal goal) and 30% fat/carbs. Carbs will quickly overtake you if you're not careful, so clean green carbs are best. Hope that helps VH!

nutmegoreo

vhopkins1988 wrote: »

Thank you Ricky xx

I wasn’t sure whether you just do one or the other or both

I’m glad cos I have 309 calories left so I can have a bit of chocolate 😛😛😛 I’m trying my hardest not to eat carbs but the chocolate is just too good

For example there is a bag of marks and spencer crisps that are 90 calories but have 18g of carbs

So if you ate 16 bags that would be 1500 calories for the day but that’s 288 carbs for the day get what I mean xx

RickyValentine wrote: »

I try to shoot for a 40/30/30 ratio. Counting calories is all you need to worry about if your only concern is weightloss, but you should be concerned with putting on lean muscle mass as well, and that's where the importance of protein comes in. The best way to do this is by taking in 40% protein (my personal goal) and 30% fat/carbs. Carbs will quickly overtake you if you're not careful, so clean green carbs are best. Hope that helps VH!

I'd be more concerned about the lack of protein and nutritional variety of eating nothing but potato chips. Although, if it's just for the one day, it's probably fine. Nothing wrong with carbs (outside of specific medical conditions), they are the demon of the day. Like fat was years ago. I'm not a fan of just flat percentages for macros, because that protein goal on a 2000 calorie diet is going to look considerably different from a 1200 calorie diet.

If you are really interested in looking at macros, I found this set up to be really effective:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1

lemurcat2

nutmegoreo wrote: »

vhopkins1988 wrote: »

Thank you Ricky xx

I wasn’t sure whether you just do one or the other or both

I’m glad cos I have 309 calories left so I can have a bit of chocolate 😛😛😛 I’m trying my hardest not to eat carbs but the chocolate is just too good

For example there is a bag of marks and spencer crisps that are 90 calories but have 18g of carbs

So if you ate 16 bags that would be 1500 calories for the day but that’s 288 carbs for the day get what I mean xx

RickyValentine wrote: »

I try to shoot for a 40/30/30 ratio. Counting calories is all you need to worry about if your only concern is weightloss, but you should be concerned with putting on lean muscle mass as well, and that's where the importance of protein comes in. The best way to do this is by taking in 40% protein (my personal goal) and 30% fat/carbs. Carbs will quickly overtake you if you're not careful, so clean green carbs are best. Hope that helps VH!

I'd be more concerned about the lack of protein and nutritional variety of eating nothing but potato chips. Although, if it's just for the one day, it's probably fine. Nothing wrong with carbs (outside of specific medical conditions), they are the demon of the day. Like fat was years ago. I'm not a fan of just flat percentages for macros, because that protein goal on a 2000 calorie diet is going to look considerably different from a 1200 calorie diet.

If you are really interested in looking at macros, I found this set up to be really effective:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1

This.

Nothing wrong with carbs, but I'd focus on hitting nutritional needs (for health, not weight loss), rather than limiting things. Sufficient protein, healthy fats, and fiber might be hard to reach if you eat a lot of lower fiber carbs (not saying you are, just a possible issue).

I think the link above is a good approach to macros. Personally I just aimed for 0.8xmy healthy goal weight for protein, ate sources of healthy fat (fatty fish, olives, avocado, nuts and seeds, as well as olive oil and eggs -- I'm never low on fat so don't really need to think about it), and lots of vegetables, some fruit, and some beans/legumes for some of my protein, and I was over fiber and didn't really need to think about carbs or fat.

Lildarlinz

Thank you nutmeg xx
I wouldn’t sit there and eat 16 bags of wotsits as I know there is no nutrition in them for me.

But i was just getting confused do I just eat 1500 calories and day and not look at the carb/fat content

Or do I eat 1500 calories a day and still watch out for carbs
As it says on google if you want faster results on losing weight then reduce carbs to 50-150 a day

Thank you so much for your support x I appreciate it and I found your post very helpful xx

[/quote]

I'd be more concerned about the lack of protein and nutritional variety of eating nothing but potato chips. Although, if it's just for the one day, it's probably fine. Nothing wrong with carbs (outside of specific medical conditions), they are the demon of the day. Like fat was years ago. I'm not a fan of just flat percentages for macros, because that protein goal on a 2000 calorie diet is going to look considerably different from a 1200 calorie diet.

If you are really interested in looking at macros, I found this set up to be really effective:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1[/quote]

nutmegoreo

The thing with dropping carbs is that there will be an initial water weight drop, so it looks like you're losing more. In the long run, studies show there is no advantage for actual weight loss. Some people find low carb more filling and therefore easier to stick with, which is an advantage for those people. Others find carbs filling and that they provide better energy for their workouts. It's very much individual.

(I didn't think you were going to go on the all crisp diet. Every 8 year olds dream though )

PAV8888

Unless you want to (and you don't seem to) there is no reason for you to continue being concerned about your carbs.

They won't, on their own, either help or hinder your weight loss which will be primarily driven by your caloric intake vs expenditure.

However, what most people have suggested, is that for health you might prefer to make sure you're at least meeting certain nutritional macro targets while still meeting your primary caloric goal.

Suggested targets to at least meet (and I guess my own thoughts and biases will come in here) is 0.8g of protein per lb of bodyweight you're aiming for (or weight you would be at BMI 25 if your target is a higher weight). This should probably be viewed as a minimum even though it is about 2x RDA. Also 0.35g of fat per lb of body weight as above, preferably "healthy fats as I would keep saturated fats below 15g a day by preference and trans fats to zero. Fiber minimum I believe is around 26g for females.

You sound like you're in the UK or Australia, so both countries suggest 5 a day as minimum servings of vegetables and fruits. Be aware that health benefits have been observed with increased consumption of vegetables and fruits beyond that--up to 8 or even 10 a day!

When I look at my own diary, if I've met all that and I'm not needing to eat "tactically" to achieve satiation or some other goal, that's when I break out the chips/crisps and chocolate (who am I kidding? Of course I screw up more often than not and eat chips/crisps and chocolate even before meeting my other goals; but if I were wearing my big boy pants I would first eat all the good nutrients I need and only then party!!)

However none of this is necessary to lose weightother than your caloric balance target which just may be easier to adhere to if you eat food that is filling for you.

As alluded to by others when you lose weight you lose both fat and lean mass.

While the ratio of fat to lean mass lost is primarily driven by how much fat one had available to lose, the ratio is also heavily influenced by the size of the deficit relative to fat available to lose, and by the amount of protein consumed (hence the 0.8 to 1g per lb of target bodyweight). It is also influenced by exercise and strength training. And I note that generally speaking carbs are considered to be protective of lean mass.

Personally I've used MFP defaults for targets and guidance and other than mentally setting protein and fiber minimums in grams and trying to keep sodium under a semblance of control I only worried about calories and satiation during weight loss.

Lildarlinz

Thank u pav x I found your post inspiring
I would put myself in the middle.Im slim (ish) but I have a fat belly lol! Which I suppose all women have.i don’t want abs I just think I eat too much chocolate as chocolate is nice but obviously no good for me.
So where I would snack on a chocolate or a bag of crisps I’ve now replaced with a piece of fruit or a vegetable soup
Xx

mmapags

I agree completely with pav8888. Honestly, I never give carbs a thought. My priorities are in this hierarchy: 1. Calories 2. Protein 3. Adequate fat 4. Fiber. If I follow that hierarchy within reason, carbs take care of themselves within a reasonable range. A side benefit of this approach, for me and sometimes others, is a high degree of satiety and very little hunger. Best wishes!