Meeting macros but not daily calorie goal

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Debrina_2000
Debrina_2000 Posts: 4 Member
in Food and Nutrition
:smile: Hello, I have met all of my macros but for some reason I am still lacking some calories. I'm a little confused. If I consumed all of my macros shouldn't my calories meet my calorie goal. Right now my calorie total is 1469 when it should be 1546. Does this mean I need to consume the calories that are lacking? I don't want to go over my macro ratio of 50/30/20. I just joined less than a week ago and trying to get into the swing of things. Any help with this matter would be appreciated.

Thank you!
Cynthia

Replies

  • snooj
    snooj Posts: 69 Member
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    Your body doesn't care what percent of calories are protein, carbs, or fats. It cares about amounts. Seems like you're looking at 190g protein, 115g carb, and 35g fat -ish? If you meet that and still have calories left over, eat more of whatever. Add more protein, add more fat, or add more carb.

    Personally, I view my macros as a minimum. So I have a minimum amount of protein and fats I need to get in a day, and there's no max on anything so long as I'm in my calorie limit.
  • Debrina_2000
    Debrina_2000 Posts: 4 Member
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    Finally someone answered my post :) Thank you! Your explanation makes perfect sense. I didn't think of it that way. Okay, I need to go eat the rest of those calories. I'm going to take your advice. I've been trying to get my metabolism under control. I go to the gym at least 5 times a wk and eating healthy, but I can't seem to lose one pound. I recently increased my calorie intake because I think my daily calorie deficit was too low and my metabolism slowed down. Basically, I'm scared to do anything that will set me back even further.
  • ChloeRoseLejeune
    ChloeRoseLejeune Posts: 488
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    I recently increased my calorie intake because I think my daily calorie deficit was too low and my metabolism slowed down.

    your metabolism doesn't 'slow down' in a day, not even a few weeks. it would take months of eating considerably less calories than you need to sustain daily functions to notice any detrimental effects
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    Personally, I view my macros as a minimum. So I have a minimum amount of protein and fats I need to get in a day, and there's no max on anything so long as I'm in my calorie limit.

    This is what I do. I set my protein goal to 1 gram per pound body weight (some people argue per pound lean body weight, but total body weight works better for me) and I set my fat goal to 0.35 grams per pound body weight. Those are minimums I make sure I get the minimum in those, and then I don't care what else I eat as long as I get to within 50 calories of my total goal. Fat keeps my body healthy, protein helps repair and retain muscle...so those mins. must be met. The other calories are just for what tastes good, lol.

    I am constantly "over" in my fat and protein goals, but that's technically a good thing. I dislike how MFP makes it appear bad when it is really not.
  • Iknewyouweretrouble
    Iknewyouweretrouble Posts: 561 Member
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    I recently increased my calorie intake because I think my daily calorie deficit was too low and my metabolism slowed down.

    your metabolism doesn't 'slow down' in a day, not even a few weeks. it would take months of eating considerably less calories than you need to sustain daily functions to notice any detrimental effects
    nope
    OP, glad you increased calories.
    And your problem is due to rounding and inaccuracy. use everything as a guideline nothing is perfect on here. good luck and I wish you success.
  • Debrina_2000
    Debrina_2000 Posts: 4 Member
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    Thanks for your input :) I will make sure to meet my daily macros. As long as I am close to my calorie goal I should be fine. You're right, the MFP makes exceeding your macros appear bad.
  • Debrina_2000
    Debrina_2000 Posts: 4 Member
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    I recently increased my calorie intake because I think my daily calorie deficit was too low and my metabolism slowed down.

    your metabolism doesn't 'slow down' in a day, not even a few weeks. it would take months of eating considerably less calories than you need to sustain daily functions to notice any detrimental effects
    nope
    OP, glad you increased calories.
    And your problem is due to rounding and inaccuracy. use everything as a guideline nothing is perfect on here. good luck and I wish you success.

    I'm no expert and I may be wrong, but I read that drastically decreasing your calorie intake can cause your metabolism to slow down. Anyway, I chose to increase my calories and hope to see results soon. I will definitely take a look at my rounding and accuracy. I'll also be sure to use the calorie counter as a guide. Thanks for the advice and support :)
  • Chrissysftns
    Chrissysftns Posts: 113 Member
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    Your body doesn't care what percent of calories are protein, carbs, or fats. It cares about amounts. Seems like you're looking at 190g protein, 115g carb, and 35g fat -ish? If you meet that and still have calories left over, eat more of whatever. Add more protein, add more fat, or add more carb.

    Personally, I view my macros as a minimum. So I have a minimum amount of protein and fats I need to get in a day, and there's no max on anything so long as I'm in my calorie limit.

    so it's okay to go over on your fats and Carbs each day????
    Wow..I feel so much better now! :)
  • ClementineGeorg
    ClementineGeorg Posts: 505 Member
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    I noticed that some foods/recipies around MFP are not so accurate at some macros. I have seen meat based foods with no fat or protein or fatty foods with nothing added but the fat. Or veggies with only the carbs added. And I have seen foods around the database with only the calories entered, no macros at all.

    So strange things can occur... meeting macros but low on calories, meeting calories but not meeting macros...
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
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    I noticed that some foods/recipies around MFP are not so accurate at some macros. I have seen meat based foods with no fat or protein or fatty foods with nothing added but the fat. Or veggies with only the carbs added. And I have seen foods around the database with only the calories entered, no macros at all.

    So strange things can occur... meeting macros but low on calories, meeting calories but not meeting macros...

    This is the issue. Certain food of the database will not accurately add up from the math of calories to the macro breakdown. Just try and pick something the most accurate. USDA entries, scanned in entries, will provide the best results. Don't stress over it though.... just try to get as close as possible.
  • Derpinaaa
    Derpinaaa Posts: 70 Member
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    A lot of companies won't include calories from fiber in their total calorie counts. So if you're hitting macros and eating a good amount of fiber, that might have something to do with your calorie counts appearing low.
  • snooj
    snooj Posts: 69 Member
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    Your body doesn't care what percent of calories are protein, carbs, or fats. It cares about amounts. Seems like you're looking at 190g protein, 115g carb, and 35g fat -ish? If you meet that and still have calories left over, eat more of whatever. Add more protein, add more fat, or add more carb.

    Personally, I view my macros as a minimum. So I have a minimum amount of protein and fats I need to get in a day, and there's no max on anything so long as I'm in my calorie limit.

    so it's okay to go over on your fats and Carbs each day????
    Wow..I feel so much better now! :)

    Sure, so long as you get enough protein for the day and hit your calorie goal!

    Maybe an example will help? Maybe someone's minimum is 100g protein, 100g carb, and 50g fat, at 1600 calories. If you add up those macros, it's only 1250 calories, so there's still 350 calories of literally whatever you want. It can be carbs and fat. if you want. :)
  • kconforti
    kconforti Posts: 14
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    Thanks for posting this as I am having the same problem. I meet my macros and go over in my protien....and am hungry and haven't met my calories. I don't want to eat fatty foods to increase calories, and then be eating too much fat.... Lol. I will definitely look at it as a minimum from now on. I only am having 1200 calories a day, so don't want to be lower than that. I have seen great results so far....so will stress about it less. :D

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