Counting macros

marisajensen98

I still have no idea how to count macros! I’ve watched videos on how to and I’m still so confused! HELP?!

MegansueBSN

I'm learning too! I recently met with a nutritionist. She helped me realize that even though I am eating more calories than I should be, I am actually deficient in several areas. Together we developed the first steps of my nutrition plan. I am focusing on counting my macros (totally new concept for me. I focus on 3 areas: Fats, Carbs, Protein. I look at the labels and add the grams in each of those areas. With the grams in mind, I am working on choosing foods with more proteins. This inadvertently helps me to choose foods with less carbs.

lynn_glenmont

Unless you've changed the defaults, MFP displays your macro counts in your diary (and even if you have changed the defaults, you can still see your macros under nutrition). Can you be more specific about what the difficulty is?

cmriverside

Yeah, the default macros that are set by myfitnesspal are 50% Carbs, 30% Fat, 20% Protein.

As you add foods to your FOOD diary it will calculate for you and will add them at the bottom under Carbs, Fat, Protein. There is also a pie graph on the web version that gives a good visual, not sure what the apps look like.

The default macros are fine for a start, they're set using well established guidelines (probably the WHO, I would guess.) You're going to want to use them as a Goal to hit, not stay under. Protein and fat is good to hit or exceed, if you're going to be under on anything, it should be carbs.

Here's a longer myfitnesspal blog post about macros: https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/ask-the-dietitian-whats-the-best-carb-protein-and-fat-breakdown-for-weight-loss/


...and How the Goals are calculated: https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals