Question about macros, total calories, and labels

smn76237
smn76237 Posts: 318 Member
I recently read something in a different thread that has been perplexing me all day, Someone said their macros didn't add up to their calorie amount in their diary because
Carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram.
Fats have 9 calories per gram.
Proteins have 4 calories per gram. And the person's diary's total calories was something like 700 calories less than if you added up the macro calories.

I really have only been paying attention to my total calories, so after I read that I started using that math on packages I have at home. For example, the coconut macaroons I enjoy almost every day as a dessert have 11g fat, 2g protein, and 10g carbohydrates. According to the above numbers, that would equal 147 calories, but the package itself says 130 calories. Should I ignore the package and use 147 calories? Same with the peanut butter I have almost every morning. A 32 g serving of the brand I use has 6g carbs, 8g protein, and 16g fat, which would equal 200 calories using the math above, but the container says 180 calories. That's 37 extra calories from two items alone that the packages don't account for. So should I really be macro counting on my packages instead of calorie counting?