Are macros important during weight loss?

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DivineChoices
DivineChoices Posts: 193 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm just getting into logging my food (only been doing this for 16 days!). My goal is to stay under the calorie goal (or at, but not over). I notice that there are macros that I exceed often and others that I don't meet.

My question is, at this point in my journey (morbidly obese, looking to drop 180 lbs total), how important is it to meet those macros? I figured it's CICO, so I've only been paying attention to the calories.

And which ones should be under only and which ones can be over? I've heard some people say it's ok to be over on protein and fat, but not on carbs.

Sincerely,
A genuinely confused newbie

Replies

  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    I'm just getting into logging my food (only been doing this for 16 days!). My goal is to stay under the calorie goal (or at, but not over). I notice that there are macros that I exceed often and others that I don't meet.

    My question is, at this point in my journey (morbidly obese, looking to drop 180 lbs total), how important is it to meet those macros? I figured it's CICO, so I've only been paying attention to the calories.

    And which ones should be under only and which ones can be over? I've heard some people say it's ok to be over on protein and fat, but not on carbs.

    Sincerely,
    A genuinely confused newbie

    Macro balance and micronutrients are important for health but not for weight loss directly. Weight loss is just calories in versus calories out.
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
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    I'm just getting into logging my food (only been doing this for 16 days!). My goal is to stay under the calorie goal (or at, but not over). I notice that there are macros that I exceed often and others that I don't meet.

    My question is, at this point in my journey (morbidly obese, looking to drop 180 lbs total), how important is it to meet those macros? I figured it's CICO, so I've only been paying attention to the calories.

    And which ones should be under only and which ones can be over? I've heard some people say it's ok to be over on protein and fat, but not on carbs.

    Sincerely,
    A genuinely confused newbie
    Some will preach it, and some like myself will dismiss it.
    Simply eat at a deficit and get some exercise in. Use the KISS method..keep it simple, stupid. At times it can be all overwhelming with counting this, counting that, macros this, macros that.

    At first keep it simple. Eat a deficit and do the right things and then when you get the hang of things maybe try more. I know I never pay attention to those things because the more one frets over all the details is the time it gets too restrictive and you fall off the wagon
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
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    IMO the only marcro you really need to pay attention to is protein. you want to get enough of it, and if your NOT active then you don't want to get too much of it. how much is enough depends on what kind of exercise you do and is really open for debate, but getting 'enough' will help you hang onto the lean body mass you have which in the long run will help you burn fat.

    I'd say you don't want to over do it on fat either, but if you were under your calorie goals and you happend to eat more then 60% of your calories from fat, you should still be just fine... in terms of weight loss
  • DivineChoices
    DivineChoices Posts: 193 Member
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    IMO the only marcro you really need to pay attention to is protein. you want to get enough of it, and if your NOT active then you don't want to get too much of it. how much is enough depends on what kind of exercise you do and is really open for debate, but getting 'enough' will help you hang onto the lean body mass you have which in the long run will help you burn fat.

    I'd say you don't want to over do it on fat either, but if you were under your calorie goals and you happend to eat more then 60% of your calories from fat, you should still be just fine... in terms of weight loss

    How do I figure how much protein I need?

    I am thinking about going and getting that bod pod thing-a-ma-jig done to calculate my BF% which should help me figure out my LBM (%?). Which should help me set a reasonable protein goal.

    As for exercise - I'm walking. And not that much, tbh. I push myself though. I go for as fast and as long and as far as I can go.
  • HazeyBlue69
    HazeyBlue69 Posts: 22
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    Im glad you asked this, as I have been wondering too, thank you!
  • smanning1982
    smanning1982 Posts: 210 Member
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    I think you should start getting used to counting just calories and maybe grams of fat with staying at or below both. (That's all I ever do and as long as I stay at or below my calories I lose weight)

    Once you do that for a while if you are concerned about the rest of the macros take one at a time and focus on it as to not get too overwhelmed by doing all at once
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    For weight loss you just need to watch your calories. Finally I started to pay attention to my macros and discovered that it really helps with body tone--less wrinkling and loose skin down the road. Combined with exercise, they do alot. So I recommend following them as soon as you can handle it. Good Luck. :smile:
  • ottermotorcycle
    ottermotorcycle Posts: 654 Member
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    Protein is important to prevent the loss of lean muscle mass. In a caloric deficit, your body does not only utilize fat stores for energy (if only!) but it also breaks down lean body mass which is what leads to so many people being "skinny fat" or reaching their "goal weight" without having their goal body. You want to make it so that you're losing a much higher proportion of fat, because your goal is really /fat loss/ not weight loss, which is also why drastic deficits are not recommended.

    In my opinion, the other macros don't really matter as long as you're getting enough of them. There is no reason to fear fat or carbs, but it's important to reach your protein goal.
  • ottermotorcycle
    ottermotorcycle Posts: 654 Member
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    IMO the only marcro you really need to pay attention to is protein. you want to get enough of it, and if your NOT active then you don't want to get too much of it. how much is enough depends on what kind of exercise you do and is really open for debate, but getting 'enough' will help you hang onto the lean body mass you have which in the long run will help you burn fat.

    I'd say you don't want to over do it on fat either, but if you were under your calorie goals and you happend to eat more then 60% of your calories from fat, you should still be just fine... in terms of weight loss

    How do I figure how much protein I need?

    I am thinking about going and getting that bod pod thing-a-ma-jig done to calculate my BF% which should help me figure out my LBM (%?). Which should help me set a reasonable protein goal.

    As for exercise - I'm walking. And not that much, tbh. I push myself though. I go for as fast and as long and as far as I can go.

    Yes, you should set your protein goal at at least 1g per lb of lean body mass. It's better to overshoot than undershoot, when possible.
  • _Calypso_
    _Calypso_ Posts: 1,074 Member
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    For the most part.... no. But it really depends on how much weight you have to lose and your goals. Also, as you start to lose weight you'll notice how your body reacts to certain macros and you'll adjust accordingly.

    Protein you want to get up over 100g per day esp if you are lifting weights. They say 1g per LBM. But that can be difficult for some and isn't necessary (again depending on goals). Sodium you want to watch because it causes water retention. Keep it under 2500mg per day and you'll notice a difference.

    Its a science and what works for one person may not be ideal for you. One step at a time. Learn to get your calories under and then work on the macros. Its a marathon... not a sprint.
  • DivineChoices
    DivineChoices Posts: 193 Member
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    I'll be looking at getting more protein in. I'm still in the experiment stage, trying to find what works best for my body in terms of meals, how big, how often, etc.

    For those of us looking to add more protein, I found this link...

    http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/foods-highest-in-protein.php

    I have a hard time eating copious amount of meat, so I'll see about incorporating different options into my food. :)
  • weird_me2
    weird_me2 Posts: 716 Member
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    IMO the only marcro you really need to pay attention to is protein. you want to get enough of it, and if your NOT active then you don't want to get too much of it. how much is enough depends on what kind of exercise you do and is really open for debate, but getting 'enough' will help you hang onto the lean body mass you have which in the long run will help you burn fat.

    I'd say you don't want to over do it on fat either, but if you were under your calorie goals and you happend to eat more then 60% of your calories from fat, you should still be just fine... in terms of weight loss

    How do I figure how much protein I need?

    I am thinking about going and getting that bod pod thing-a-ma-jig done to calculate my BF% which should help me figure out my LBM (%?). Which should help me set a reasonable protein goal.

    As for exercise - I'm walking. And not that much, tbh. I push myself though. I go for as fast and as long and as far as I can go.

    To keep it simple, I just set my protein goal to be the same as my goal weight. Some people will say up to 1 pound per pound of body weight, but that's a bit more than I care to intake at this time. I eat about 170-200 grams protein most days.

    I say that if you are satisfied and not getting hungry eating the way you are, then stick with it. If you find that you are getting hungrier more often, maybe try upping your fat and/or protein. If you find that you are lacking energy, try upping carbs. I don't personally recommend going under the MFP recommendation for fat or protein because you need both and the MFP recommendations seem a bit low, but I think going under in carbs is fine.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Weight loss and fat loss are two different things. For weight loss, all you need is a calorie deficit, and macros do not matter at all to WEIGHT LOSS. When most people say they are shooting for weight loss, what they really want is FAT LOSS. The best way to lose fat and to retain as much muscle as possible is to have a moderate calorie deficit that is not too large(generally 20% below TDEE is the max recommended for a moderate deficit), to adopt a resistance training program with progressive overload, and to make sure you get enough protein so that you don't lose muscle. If you do those 3 things, you will lose mostly fat while you lose weight. If you do not lift heavy weights and you don't eat enough protein, you'll lose much more muscle than you want to during your weight loss. You should get a minimum of 1g of protein per lb of Lean Body Mass, but this is just a minimum, there's no harm in exceeding this amount. It's also important to get enough dietary fat since it's responsible for hormone production, nutrient absorption, brain and organ function, as well as skin and hair health. It's generally recommended to get a minimum of 0.4g of fat per lb of body weight, but in the obese, this may be more than you need, so just play around with it.

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