Can someone explain this for me? Calories vs. Macros

ChrisRile
ChrisRile Posts: 8 Member
in Getting Started
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I'm just curious how I can make my macro goals perfectly and have calories left?

Best Answer

  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,345 Member
    edited January 2024 Answer ✓
    If the entries you used are all correct, it is likely because of rounding the amounts. Some will round up for fractional amounts. Some will round down. The other possibility is that the macro numbers are not correct due to error when entering them.

    Also, you are expecting an amount of precision that is simply not the case with food. Unless something is ultra-processed, natural foods will vary in their nutritional breakdown due to numerous factors. The numbers used are averages, and are plenty accurate enough for tracking.

Answers

  • ChrisRile
    ChrisRile Posts: 8 Member
    edited January 2024
    Thanks for taking the time to reply. It must be the rounding errors then. I didn't think of that. I made no mention of expectation. What, you don't have a precision calorimeter in your kitchen? I thought everyone had one of those laying around.
  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 4,104 Member
    That's cool. I've never been close. Even my calories aren't that close.
  • ChrisRile
    ChrisRile Posts: 8 Member
    Sometimes I plan stuff out for "tommorow" or the next day(s) on the diary. I was planning my quantities to hit my nutrient goals for each meal and day. I've seen it a lot but I never actual tried to dial in a "perfect" day just to see. I don't think I actually made that goal exactly after updating it throughout the day.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    There will be a LOT of errors in the database entries. 99% of them are added into the database by users like yourself. Some people don't care about anything other than calories, so macros are often wrong.

    I try to carefully vet each food I use. Once you use a food it will appear in your "Frequent" and/or "Recent" food choices so it pays to check it the first time against a label or a trusted source like USDA's food/nutrition database.

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