Macro/ Micro Help

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Cedura
Cedura Posts: 184 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I see people talking about Macros and Micros all the time and I know what they are (Macros being proteins carbs etc Micros being Vitamins, Iron Calcium). But I only see people trying to bulk talking about this.

Are they just as important for weight loss?
Does taking a vitamin everyday help to balance out my Micros or should I be doing more/ eating differently?

The reason I am wondering is because I have been gaining about 1lb per week instead of my goal of losing 1lb per week. (I know I have had too many cheat days and a bit too much sodium, so I am confronting an overall diet problem). As I reconsider my diet, and figure out how I can change things for future meals and future grocery lists, how much should macros and micros go into my decision? Do these things matter THAT much, or should I be more concerned with just having a calorie deficit and keep taking my multi-vitamin?

Replies

  • suremeansyes
    suremeansyes Posts: 962 Member
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    I am trying to lose and I pay attention to my macros. When losing weight, you would always try to make sure to hit .8-1g protein for each pound of lean body mass to avoid losing as much muscle as possible when losing weight. You want to lose as much fat as possible, and retain as much muscle as possible.

    To lose weight, you just need to worry about being in a deficit. To lose weight and look good, you worry about a deficit and your macros %. Play around with the %'s to see what works for you. I'm currently at 40% fat, 35% protein and 25% carbs.
  • jennycina93
    jennycina93 Posts: 127 Member
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    I have been paying more attention to my macros lately. It has not made me lose weight any faster but I am lot less tired and more energized, especially since I have been getting more protein in. Having more protein also helps you keep more of the muscle you have (I think). I have also been paying more attention to my fiber. For a while I was barely getting any fiber and I would wake up extremely bloated and therefore not see a scale difference. With all of that said, calories are of course the most important thing. Protein is great, but if you are over calories, you will gain weight. Protein does help me eat less since it is so filling which is good. I think macros are more important when you get to maintenance if you are trying to get a flatter stomach, then its important to look at how much fat you are having. Btw, I am not trying to bulk, just trying to lose. I hope this helps a little :)
  • jayb0ne
    jayb0ne Posts: 644 Member
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    I've posted my philosophy on this on here once or twice before and heard that people have found it useful. It's simply my opinion after a few years of doing this whole nutrition thing, logging, learning, trying things out and figuring out what works and doesn't for me. Hopefully you can take something from it.

    In my opinion, the hierarchy of needs in terms of nutrition are as follows in order of importance:

    Calories in vs calories out - or 'are you eating less than you're expending?'
    If it fits your macros - or 'is your Protein/Fat/Carbs split on point?'
    Sweat the small stuff - or 'Vitamins and minerals = micro nutrients'

    My advice is not to think about the next one down in the pyramid until you've got the one above it sorted out.

    No point having a perfect macro split but going 1000 calories over or under your target.

    No point meeting your RDA of all the vitamins if you're getting 60% daily fat.

    Once you can meet your calorie goal within 100 calories consistently every day, then start thinking about which foods you can switch out to lower your fat or increase your protein etc without upsetting the daily calorie goal. Once you've got your daily calorie goal almost exactly within the macro split you're looking for, focus on your vitamin intake, your fiber levels, sodium, etc.

    Once you've done that, you've pretty much mastered your nutritional intake - but don't forget, you can always take steps back down the ladder. Fancy some ice cream or pizza for a treat and can't fit it in your macros? Can you fit it into your calorie goal? You're good to go! :)

    Hope that helps some!
  • Supergirl9801
    Supergirl9801 Posts: 75
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    That is awesome advice and a good way to approach it IMHO. Is there a way to adjust your macros on here or find out what they should be??
  • Cedura
    Cedura Posts: 184 Member
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    Jayb0ne that is great advice and very usable.

    And it makes total sense to worry about lessening how many cheat days I have before I start worrying about the break down.

    That is a good question also, does anyone know how to adjust macro/micro's on MFP?
  • GertrudeHorse
    GertrudeHorse Posts: 646 Member
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    I've posted my philosophy on this on here once or twice before and heard that people have found it useful. It's simply my opinion after a few years of doing this whole nutrition thing, logging, learning, trying things out and figuring out what works and doesn't for me. Hopefully you can take something from it.

    In my opinion, the hierarchy of needs in terms of nutrition are as follows in order of importance:

    Calories in vs calories out - or 'are you eating less than you're expending?'
    If it fits your macros - or 'is your Protein/Fat/Carbs split on point?'
    Sweat the small stuff - or 'Vitamins and minerals = micro nutrients'

    My advice is not to think about the next one down in the pyramid until you've got the one above it sorted out.

    No point having a perfect macro split but going 1000 calories over or under your target.

    No point meeting your RDA of all the vitamins if you're getting 60% daily fat.

    Once you can meet your calorie goal within 100 calories consistently every day, then start thinking about which foods you can switch out to lower your fat or increase your protein etc without upsetting the daily calorie goal. Once you've got your daily calorie goal almost exactly within the macro split you're looking for, focus on your vitamin intake, your fiber levels, sodium, etc.

    Once you've done that, you've pretty much mastered your nutritional intake - but don't forget, you can always take steps back down the ladder. Fancy some ice cream or pizza for a treat and can't fit it in your macros? Can you fit it into your calorie goal? You're good to go! :)

    Hope that helps some!

    Really good advice. Especially since so many people start out guns blazing and try to make everything perfect from the outset. It's much more sustainable to make gradual changes towards your goal.
  • jayb0ne
    jayb0ne Posts: 644 Member
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    That is awesome advice and a good way to approach it IMHO. Is there a way to adjust your macros on here or find out what they should be??

    To update your calorie and macro targets, hit 'goals' from your homepage, then 'change goals' then 'custom'. MFP makes you set macro's in percentage and in 5% increments, but you can get somewhere in the region.

    In terms of what your calories/macro's should be, it really depends on your goals but there's a few rules of thumb.

    Here's my step by step to calculating your calorie needs.

    1 - Calculate your BMR here http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
    2 - Multiply it by your activity multiplier found here http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/
    2a - Be honest about your exercise level!
    3 - Take off between 500 and 1000 calories. 500 will get you a 1lb a week loss, 1000 a 2lb loss
    3a - The less weight you have to lose the slower it needs to be done so don't go for 2lb a week if you have under 10lb to lose.
    4 - Eat that many calories daily. Don't worry about eating back exercise calories, they're included in the calculations you already did.
    5 - ???
    6 - Profit!

    For macro's (only once you've got your calories in check!) consider the following:

    1 - Start with protein. MFP sets this target too low. Too much protein is never really a bad thing so take any target as a minimum, but as a starting point think about...
    1a - If you lift heavy, shoot for 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass. So if you weigh 200lb and your body fat percentage is 20%, you want approx 160g of protein a day.
    1b - If you don't lift heavy, just go with about 30 or 35% protein, this should be about right.
    2 - Set your fat at about 20%. Within this, split it down into thirds between sat fat, poly and mono.
    3 - Give the rest of your available calories to carbs. Within these carbs, no more than a third should be sugar (most from fruit)

    For micro's, the secret is that if you have the calories and macro's on point then the micro's mostly take care of themselves to the point that a decent daily multivitamin and fish oil will pick up anything missing.

    All of that's possibly a bit too in depth if you're just starting out, so if this reads a bit confusing to you, see my earlier post and ignore this one until you're ready.

    Good luck!

    Jay

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