Question?? Calories or everthing else???

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For me, macros are more important. If I go over my calories slightly, it really isn't a problem because I already have a large margin of error on most days.

Do you guys focus more on staying under your calories or do you try to stay under carbs, fat and protein as well???

Since I am trying to lose weight, I focus on calories first. I aim for a minimum of 72g protein and a minimum of 45g of fat, and carbs are about 50% of my calories. I do try to fit my diet into the macro-nutrient ratios that I set up. I am getting pretty good at that too. But calories are what's important for weight loss.

I am primarily tracking protein, sugars and fibre. It's a lot easier not to go over on macros like fat if you only eat them in their whole form - nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, coconut, oily fish and so on. Also much easier not to take in too many carbs if you base your diet around nine portions of fruits and vegetables then adding in protein and carbs, not deciding you want pasta for supper and then using protein and veggies as condiments.

Today is my first day of tracking my foods and I was like WAIT!!! I'm ver on my carbs!! But I'm still within my calories. Thanks for the advice...I will tweek in tomm

When I first started, it was just calories I worried about. I lost a lot of weight that way.

Now that I"m more focusing on bodybuilding and going from "fit" to "athletic" I am more focused on having enough protein to build muscle.

Just calories. I don't pay any attention at all to going over on fats or carbs (although there are certain high-carb foods that I avoid most of the time - rice, pasta, sugary things, white potatoes). For protein, I just try to get in as much as I can. I take a glance at how I did on carbs, fats, and protein at the end of the day but staying under calories is my goal.

I try to stay within what MFP says.. but have a hard time with the sodium and fat, since I am trying to include the good fats in my diet!

IMHO calories are the weight loss bit, the macros are about making sure you eat healthy.

Eat a rounded diet that is in your calorie limit and the weight will come off.

When I started losing weight I was only concerned about calories, then I realized my sodium intake was through the roof. So I finally got a grip on my sodium. Then realized I didn't eat enough fiber, so I also got that to where I like it now too. Now I try to get my protein at a nice spot.

At the beginning of my weight loss I was concerned about my carb intake because it was quite high, but I still managed to lose weight every week without any problems. However, now looking at my food diary I realize that I eat far less carbs now than I used to. I never consciously aimed to eat less carbs, it just happened!
Your eating habits will change quite a bit once you realize what fills you up and satisfies you for a couple hours, and what fills you up is typically on the healthier side full of fiber, complex carbs, etc.

Don't let all the macros stress you out or overwhelm you, you can focus on getting one down at a time, or even just focus on calories for the first little while you are on here.

I focus on calories and fat but keep a close eye on the rest of it.....a perfect day? when I see all green at the end of the day!

Edit: oh yea and soduim...I'm no longer Hypertensive thanks to watching that! !