Macro help!

SabMarsh
SabMarsh Posts: 5 Member
edited December 24 in Food and Nutrition
Hi all I have just gone premium to start planning meals around my macros however I have logged my lunch for the day and my carbs is already saying I'm over my %? 44% rather than my 25% goal. I made WW cottage pie with 5% less fat so shocked to see it is over already. I used 125g of Maris piper potatoes. Or is the macros % goal per meal rather than per day?? If it is per day does that mean I cant have any more carbs for the day? So strange if I have eaten over my carb allowance on one part of my meal?

Replies

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    It is just looking at what you have logged so far, so your carbs are currently 44%. If you logged your whole day and roughly hit your macros it will change to something closer to the % you have them set at.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    Looking at the percentages is going to be confusing. Better to see what the total gram goals are and just look at those. That will help you plan meals more easily too, as you can think about the overall grams of carbs you have for the whole day.

    Some people like having all meals about the same macros, but I don't see the point of that and I actually much prefer varying them. For example, when I was losing I usually ate a pretty low carb breakfast (vegetable omelet, maybe with cottage cheese or smoked salmon on the side), and found it very satisfying. I'd eat more carbs at lunch and dinner, although it would vary by day.
  • mtamashiro
    mtamashiro Posts: 14 Member
    I'm not sure how you have your individual meals set up (also not sure if your asking about your diary for Wed), but if your goal is to get 79g of carbs a day, then yes, you have basically used up your carbs mostly due to the banana and potato. Assuming you want to stick to these macro goals, you should probably eat more meats and for the most part only get carbs from vegetables and maybe a smaller portion of potatoes or rice. Also low carb fruit like berries.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited February 2020
    SabMarsh wrote: »
    Hi all I have just gone premium to start planning meals around my macros however I have logged my lunch for the day and my carbs is already saying I'm over my %? 44% rather than my 25% goal. I made WW cottage pie with 5% less fat so shocked to see it is over already. I used 125g of Maris piper potatoes. Or is the macros % goal per meal rather than per day?? If it is per day does that mean I cant have any more carbs for the day? So strange if I have eaten over my carb allowance on one part of my meal?

    It's far easier to look at your grams than to look at the % pie chart, as your % of each macro will go up OR down as you log each food.

    With your carbs at 25%, your carb goal is only 79g. If you want to eat that low carb, you're probably not going to be able to eat bananas and potatoes every day. You'd need to be limiting fruit and higher sugar or starch vegetables, along with sugar and grains. That's why I could never do low carb - those foods make me feel good and are the most enjoyable way for me personally to get the nutrients they provide. Low carb is not necessary to lose weight, so if those foods are important to you, and you don't have any other reasons to do lower carb, you might want to consider more balanced macros.

    Your calorie goal is also pretty low. Make sure that's appropriate - if you don't have much to lose, 0.5-1 lb per week is probably the best case, and make sure you're eating at least some of your exercise calories.

    Just keep playing around with it until you find your comfort zone :drinker:
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