If weight loss is calories, what's the point of macros?

mary190136

If weight loss comes down to calories in / calories out, what is the point of macros? Just nutrition info? Or something else?

I know this sounds like an ignorant question, but I really don't know!

thanks

rockmama72

The way I see it... Your calorie deficit is what makes you lose weight. But to be optimally healthy, you want your nutrients to be balanced, and that's where the macros come in. Can you lose weight on 1200 calories of potato chips each day? Yes. Is that healthy? You decide.

Francl27

The way I see it... Your calorie deficit is what makes you lose weight. But to be optimally healthy, you want your nutrients to be balanced, and that's where the macros come in. Can you lose weight on 1200 calories of potato chips each day? Yes. Is that healthy? You decide.

I agree with this.. although personally the only macro I care about is protein, as it helps retaining muscle.

uconnwinsnc

If weight loss comes down to calories in / calories out, what is the point of macros? Just nutrition info? Or something else?

I know this sounds like an ignorant question, but I really don't know!

thanks

You want to lose weight and be healthy too, right?

rockmama72

The way I see it... Your calorie deficit is what makes you lose weight. But to be optimally healthy, you want your nutrients to be balanced, and that's where the macros come in. Can you lose weight on 1200 calories of potato chips each day? Yes. Is that healthy? You decide.

I agree with this.. although personally the only macro I care about is protein, as it helps retaining muscle.

Yep, me too. I've been analyzing the percentages for the past month, and it's pretty clear that I need to up my protein and cut the fat.

Ainar

Depends from your goals...

If you just wanna lose fat then macros does not matter.
If you wanna be healthy and feel good then it is good idea to balance your macros and not ate for example all your calories from chocolate or something.
If you wanna maintain or gain certain amount of muscle then tracking protein is important.
If you wanna not look bloated then tracking carbs might matter to you.
If you have health issues and can not ate too much fat or protein, etc and need to track those.

Not all people who use MFP does it to lose weight. Some does it to gain muscle, some to just stain healthy, some to cut down for bodybuilding show, some to tracks their sugar and carbs cos they are diabetic, etc.

Amandainyaface

If you look at from the angle of just losing weight, then yes, a calorie is a calorie. But if you want to build a lean frame and limit you muscle-loss you will have to eat around 1g of protein/lbs of lean mass. Carbs you'll eat to get you energy for your workouts and fats are needed to make sure things like your hair and skin stay healthy.
Basically you could eat only fat, but eat 1000 calories a day (I'm NOT encouraging this, I'm just saying that technically it could work) and lose weight. But you would tare down your lean mass, and you wouldn't have much energy to exercise.

Hope this helped.