How can I go over my calories but not yet meet all of my macros?

aelamin1
aelamin1 Posts: 2 Member
in MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions
I still have a few macros left for the day but it says I am over my calories by 139. How can this be? Thank you!
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Answers

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,892 Member
    Well, there are a few options:
    - incorrect database entries (the database is crowdsourced)
    - alcohol (contains calories that aren't carbs, fat or protein)
  • knottyceltic
    knottyceltic Posts: 25 Member
    Isn't it all down to the food choices you make?
  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,366 Member
    knottyceltic wrote: »
    Isn't it all down to the food choices you make?

    Not necessarily. Other than maybe a calorie or two of differences due to rounding, macros have calories and the macro distribution will correlate to the number of allotted calories. A gram of carbohydrates has 4 calories, whether you're choosing broccoli or cotton candy. Fat has 9 calories per gram whether it's lard or an avocado. Given that, calories and macros go hand in hand. If your macro breakout is 100 grams each of carbs, fat, and protein (for easy math) then your calories will always total 1700 ((100*4)+(100*9)+(100*4)). I'd say that overall you might see +/- 10 calories or so for rounding differences.

    The confounding factor where things get messy is that the MFP database is nearly entirely crowdsourced, so the entries being chosen may not always be accurate or complete. If you aren't consistently verifying diary entries against a validated source like the product label, manufacturer's website, or a database like the USDA, then it's pretty likely that at the end of the day, you'll end up with a gap between your macros and your calories.
  • aelamin1
    aelamin1 Posts: 2 Member
    It makes sense that my entries might be off based on crowdsourcing but even if it says an apple is 100 carbs (very off) that should still take away 400 calories taking my 100 carbs/400 calorie allowance for the day down to 0. And if I do the same with fat and protein it seems I should get the same result. Does that make sense?
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,892 Member
    aelamin1 wrote: »
    It makes sense that my entries might be off based on crowdsourcing but even if it says an apple is 100 carbs (very off) that should still take away 400 calories taking my 100 carbs/400 calorie allowance for the day down to 0. And if I do the same with fat and protein it seems I should get the same result. Does that make sense?

    That's not how it works. Each number only counts for that type. MFP adds up all the numbers for calories to get total calories, adds up all the numbers for carbs to get total carbs etc. MFP doesn't calculate calories based on macro composition.

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