how important is 100% accuracy in hitting macros?
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CeleryStalker
Posts: 665 Member
I've been given a nutrition plan that calls for 25g of protein, 25g carbs, 10g fat at each meal. I'm finding it very difficult to hit these numbers spot on, but the OCD devil in my head insists that I need to make it happen. I do weigh everything I eat, so at times, it gets to the point of having to split an almond in half, or shave off a couple extra shreds from my banana. Even then, when I get to the computer to log my meal, the macros here on MFP don't always align with the google search I did on my phone in the kitchen so what was a perfectly macro'd meal turns into something closer to, say, 28g/24g/9g. Is it vital to hit the macros dead on, or is a few grams of wiggle room ok?
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I personally aim to hit my macros over the whole day, rather than each meal. I can't see that it would make THAT much difference, assuming you hit them all (within a couple grams) by the end of the day.
Is there a reason that you were told to be so specific with each meal? I would have thought that it wouldn't necessarily work the best that way anyway given that a lot of people find it works better to have a more carb-loaded breakfast but more protein at dinner, and then more carbs pre-workout and more protein post-workout... Also this assumes you'd be eating similar sized meals for snacks and main meals, which most people don't...
If you do want to be as specific as possible though, why don't you use the MFP phone app to log as you go? That's what I do, so there's no discrepancy between what google says and what MFP says...0 -
I'll ask him why he set it out this way tomorrow. I'm sure there's a reason behind it, but didn't think to ask at the time. LOL My mind was more set around 'oh god, i'm used to tracking my macros for the day, not per meal, how the hell am I going to pull this off??' It's not so bad, and I actually look forward to my late night snack of rice and salmon or whatever. Reason behind using google in the kitchen is because the MFP app behaves a little wonky on my phone which makes for difficult calculations on the fly.0
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They are probably want you to have balance during the meal to try to not shoot off the insulin, since that's decently high protein to carb.
Do you have a problem with elevated insulin?
Problem with that, what if you ate the carbs first? Just ruined the desired effect.
How many 290 calorie meals are you supposed to eat?
That seems mighty low. I wa going to comment you could eat a decent sized meal of almost all protein, and you'll still shoot off the insulin response, but not that small amount.
You also need to find out why the difference - not all entries on MFP are correct, not by a long shot sometimes.0 -
I eat 6 meals a day. Greens are considered 'freebies', so if I'm feeling like I'd like a larger meal, I can fortify with a nice big salad. I've found that my little chunks of protein paired with small servings of carbs and fat keep me satiated until right up to the time I need to be warming my next meal. I'm really enjoying the program. I find it interesting that when I was starving myself, I was never really hungry. Now that I'm eating more (it ends up being around 1800 calories a day, up from 1000, maybe 1200), I do find myself actually hungry by the time I need to be eating again- which I feel is like a success factor. My metabolism is finally revving to the point that it's like, hey, thanks for the food, gimme more!
As far as insulin issues, I am predisposed to diabetes, but I'm not diabetic.
As far as the differences....ya, lol, i noticed that a lot of times, the MFP user-entered stuff is WAY off from what I find elsewhere. So typically what I'll do is check at least two other sources before I log what I've found in MFP.
Regarding calories, he's slowly ramping me up. I came to him after upping my calories on my own to about 1500 calories. Weeks 1-4, I'm eating 6 meals of 25/25/10, lifting heavy 4x/week, and HIIT 2x/week. After week 4, I'm sure the calories will be upped again, not sure what he'll be doing with my workout routine. Probably lifting heavier as I'll be stronger by then
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I was wondering about this as well. I am vegetarian (vegan most of the time although I occasionally eat dairy), and I am having a huge problem meeting my protein and fat macros, while my carbs are always way over (usually by ~100 grams/day!). Any thoughts on how to up protein and fat whilst lowering carbs on a vegetarian (no meat...not even seafood) diet? I've always been vegetarian, so that's not going to change, but I would consider adding more dairy into my diet...
For example, today I was 90 grams over my carbs, 44 grams under my protein, and 14 grams under my fat macros. I'm concerned this deviation will impede my weight loss efforts. Help!
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I was wondering about this as well. I am vegetarian (vegan most of the time although I occasionally eat dairy), and I am having a huge problem meeting my protein and fat macros, while my carbs are always way over (usually by ~100 grams/day!). Any thoughts on how to up protein and fat whilst lowering carbs on a vegetarian (no meat...not even seafood) diet? I've always been vegetarian, so that's not going to change, but I would consider adding more dairy into my diet...
For example, today I was 90 grams over my carbs, 44 grams under my protein, and 14 grams under my fat macros. I'm concerned this deviation will impede my weight loss efforts. Help!
A reasonable deficit for amount to lose - so 1/2 lb weekly in your case, can help with the fact that otherwise you are going to lose some muscle mass.
Because the default protein goals are already under recommended for in a diet.
And I'm betting your protein isn't complete protein either for all the grams you do hit. If not complete, not useful as protein.
It may impede weight loss, more likely it'll be weight you really don't want to lose - because if you can't eat enough protein now, you'll never eat enough to build muscle mass back that you lose now.
You eat enough of your super grains that have complete protein? How you feel about whey protein powder?0 -
Thanks for the advice, Heybales. I am trying to follow the 40/30/30 macro percentages outlined on the EM2WL website, so that already sets my protein and fat higher than it was before (default MFP setting).
I currently make smoothies with Garden of Life raw protein powder, which is supposedly a complete protein source, as well as eating lots of beans/legumes, quinoa, soymilk, and sometimes eggs. I haven't considered Whey protein powder, but I will definitely look into it and see if it is a better substitute for the Garden of Life vegan stuff.
Thanks! 0 -
Thanks for the advice, Heybales. I am trying to follow the 40/30/30 macro percentages outlined on the EM2WL website, so that already sets my protein and fat higher than it was before (default MFP setting).
I currently make smoothies with Garden of Life raw protein powder, which is supposedly a complete protein source, as well as eating lots of beans/legumes, quinoa, soymilk, and sometimes eggs. I haven't considered Whey protein powder, but I will definitely look into it and see if it is a better substitute for the Garden of Life vegan stuff.
Thanks!
Ok, that may be an unrealistic goal then.
Studies have shown even for weight lifters to prevent muscle loss in a diet, only needed 0.82 grams per lb of body weight.
Anything extra provides no benefit, but it doesn't cause any harm if your body is fine with it.
So you may be hitting a high enough level already, just not the inflated value of straight % block.0
