Macros, is this a problem?

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bethcox16
bethcox16 Posts: 229 Member
in Food and Nutrition
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So this is my standard macro at the end of the day, this is what nearly every single day looks like when I’m trying to eat well. It’s from healthy sources (eggs, chicken, vegetables) but there’s loads of things about macros but none of them look like mine!

And help or guidance? Will this cause problems for me?

Replies

  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    For weight management, macros are not directly relevant.

    For health, you need enough protein. The RDA for protein is 0.8 g/kg bodyweight, but many people prefer to eat more than that. Depending on your weight, you probably should be trying to get more protein in your diet.
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
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    Well first off, it looks like you are not eating enough. I did a rough calculation and that is under 1100 calories. You should be eating a minimum of 1200, more depending on your stats and how much you have to lose. That 8sbassuming you don't have any entries missing macros.

    Second, you do not appear to be getting enough protein. That, combined with a low calorie intake, will accelerate muscle loss during weight loss. You should probably be raising your protein percentage from 20%, as on a 1200 calorie diet that is pretty low. I'd a for more like 25-30%. Certainly not 16%. If you are eating eggs and chicken though I am curious how your protein is that low. It doesn't take much chicken to get to 44 grams on its own, and most foods have at least a bit of protein
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,944 Member
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    I agree with MikePTY.

    Here is a good thread to explain in detail how to set your macro goals. At 1100 calories, 16% protein is a problem.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1
  • bethcox16
    bethcox16 Posts: 229 Member
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    I eat ~1600 calories a day! Always between 1500-1700, that particular day I ate 1630! I feel like I eat a lot of protein but obviously somethings going wrong because I’m not, I always thought eggs and things were high protein but I guess I’m wrong!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    edited November 2019
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    bethcox16 wrote: »
    I eat ~1600 calories a day! Always between 1500-1700, that particular day I ate 1630! I feel like I eat a lot of protein but obviously somethings going wrong because I’m not, I always thought eggs and things were high protein but I guess I’m wrong!

    Then something is wrong...like numerous bad entries from the database or something because if you add up your macros, they're nowhere near ~1600 calories...they're around 1100. 1G Carb=4 calories, 1G Protein = 4 calories, 1G Fat = 9 calories. Your math isn't adding up.

    Or, was this at the end of the day? The pie chart only gives you a snapshot of that particular moment...looking at your time stamp it looks to be early afternoon...if that is the case, your pie chart is only giving you the snapshot of that moment. You should look at your grams and look at your pie chart at the end of the day when you're done eating.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited November 2019
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    bethcox16 wrote: »
    I eat ~1600 calories a day! Always between 1500-1700, that particular day I ate 1630! I feel like I eat a lot of protein but obviously somethings going wrong because I’m not, I always thought eggs and things were high protein but I guess I’m wrong!

    Something is badly wrong with your logging as your calories and calories calculated from the number of grams of your macros are very different. Could be bad database entries but you don't seem to be tracking fat in your diary?
    Wonder is that is messing up MFP's somewhat delicate software? (Speculation!)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,944 Member
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    bethcox16 wrote: »
    I eat ~1600 calories a day! Always between 1500-1700, that particular day I ate 1630! I feel like I eat a lot of protein but obviously somethings going wrong because I’m not, I always thought eggs and things were high protein but I guess I’m wrong!

    I took a peek at your FOOD page...

    I think your main problem may be that the food items you are logging don't appear to have the right macros entered. You may need to enter your own nutrition data for the foods you eat regularly if you're concerned at all about the logging accuracy or hitting macros. For example, the chicken corn soup has "0" for protein, the Folgers mashed potatoes you had yesterdy have 14g protein listed (which you would think is too high for mashed potatoes, they are generally lower protein) and the shepherds pie you had on Thursday has "0" protein. I'm sure it has quite a bit of protein.

    I personally think you're fine on protein considering the logging errors. If I could make a couple suggestions they would be first of all eat enough. Don't leave several hundred calories uneaten at the end of the day. Also try to get a more varied diet with more fruits and vegetable. You need those vegetables and they would help you get your calories up and make this whole thing much easier and healthier for you.

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,944 Member
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    ..and I found a scrambled eggs entry a week ago with "0" protein. Eggs should have 6-8 grams of protein each.

    Here's a guide to how to log food:
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

    Here's a guide for finding accurate foods in this site's database. It uses the USDA web search, but you could apply the same logic to whatever your country's nutrition guide says:
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10621050/how-to-use-the-usda-food-database-mfp-food-database-for-accurate-logging/p1

    Foods are entered by us. People make mistakes or leave out info depending on their particular focus. Lots of bad food data in the database.

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited November 2019
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    Could you do another screen grab from your phone for Thursday 21st as this is what is showing online and the grams don't match....

    2z8nwzh0be4u.png


    PS - if you consistently aren't actually hitting or exceeding your protein goal - try harder as it's very important in a deficit.
  • PrismaticPhoenix
    PrismaticPhoenix Posts: 65 Member
    edited November 2019
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    Yeah, it's important to look at the recipes and the ingredients in the recipes and either A) confirm with the ingredients that you use OR B ) At least ask "Does this make sense?"

    The other day I made a recipe with something that has 1/4 cup feta cheese and the database entry had the calories for the feta cheese as zero which was obviously wrong.
  • bethcox16
    bethcox16 Posts: 229 Member
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    cmriverside wrote: »
    bethcox16 wrote: »
    I eat ~1600 calories a day! Always between 1500-1700, that particular day I ate 1630! I feel like I eat a lot of protein but obviously somethings going wrong because I’m not, I always thought eggs and things were high protein but I guess I’m wrong!

    I took a peek at your FOOD page...

    I think your main problem may be that the food items you are logging don't appear to have the right macros entered. You may need to enter your own nutrition data for the foods you eat regularly if you're concerned at all about the logging accuracy or hitting macros. For example, the chicken corn soup has "0" for protein, the Folgers mashed potatoes you had yesterdy have 14g protein listed (which you would think is too high for mashed potatoes, they are generally lower protein) and the shepherds pie you had on Thursday has "0" protein. I'm sure it has quite a bit of protein.

    I personally think you're fine on protein considering the logging errors. If I could make a couple suggestions they would be first of all eat enough. Don't leave several hundred calories uneaten at the end of the day. Also try to get a more varied diet with more fruits and vegetable. You need those vegetables and they would help you get your calories up and make this whole thing much easier and healthier for you.


    I actually didn’t think to look on macros, I look at the packets and do the calories and pick the items that match the calories! I’m trying to keep my calories down, I’m actually pregnant so mainly have been eating whatever I can stomach! I’ve been told by the doctors not to gain very much weight during the pregnancy so I’m trying to keep my calories down!

    I do eat a lot of veg, I tend to hide my veg in all my meals (in my soups, spaghetti Bolognese, shepherds pie etc) and I always try to fill 1/3 of my plate with veg maybe I’ve just had a bad few weeks without realising!
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,964 Member
    edited November 2019
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    bethcox16 wrote: »
    I eat ~1600 calories a day! Always between 1500-1700, that particular day I ate 1630! I feel like I eat a lot of protein but obviously somethings going wrong because I’m not, I always thought eggs and things were high protein but I guess I’m wrong!

    Then something is wrong...like numerous bad entries from the database or something because if you add up your macros, they're nowhere near ~1600 calories...they're around 1100. 1G Carb=4 calories, 1G Protein = 4 calories, 1G Fat = 9 calories. Your math isn't adding up.

    Or, was this at the end of the day? The pie chart only gives you a snapshot of that particular moment...looking at your time stamp it looks to be early afternoon...if that is the case, your pie chart is only giving you the snapshot of that moment. You should look at your grams and look at your pie chart at the end of the day when you're done eating.

    The other option is OP consumed about 500 kcal of alcohol (roughly 1/3 of the day's calories.

    Never mind - I see later posters looked at OP's diary and found lots of entries with obvious errors on macros.

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