I thought "macros" was an economics class in college....

1 - Macro-nutrients are Carbs/Protein/Fat...everything else are micro-nutrients

2 - there is no universally optimal macro ratio...so you can adjust them however you please. My macros are adjusted to give me a fair bit of protein while still allowing for plenty of carbs to fuel my racing and cycling. I have a pretty balanced macro intake which also makes for pretty balanced nutrition.

3 - You don't have to be bang on...if you're not an elite athlete or something is isn't going to make a whole lot of difference...being in the general vicinity of a good macro ratio is going to simply allow for more balanced nutrition.

4 - To hit your macros you have to adjust your diet...for most people this is going to involve reducing carbohydrate intake and upping protein intake and often dietary fat intake as well as the SAD that people are typically used to eating is very carb heavy.

5 - Hitting your macros (or close) while eating a highly nutritious and diverse diet usually results in micros falling in line as well.

Yeah, the whole concept of macros was confusing at first. I'd only ever just aimed to be under on calories. Tracking them and getting them right changed my whole approach to health and weight loss. MFPs default settings are good starting points, but I used http://www.acaloriecounter.com/diet/ to figure mine out. It helps you calculate your own personal ideal protein and fat goals, and then your carbs are just however many calories are leftover.

The 3 macros and fiber are the only things I really care about tracking.

Google search protein sources. Fish is an awesome source, but it's not the only source, by far.

Depending on your calorie goal, you might have to go low carb to meet your protein and fat needs. Adjust your macro ratios to align with your goals, and do your best to meet protein first and fat second. Carbs are easy to fill.

I would say just strike out to get your recommended protein, and let the fat/ carbs fall where they may. If you're feeling too hungry, eat less carbs and more fat, if unable to fuel your workouts eat more carbs around them. Fat & carbs are your two main energy sources, so find an approximate balance that works for you to sate your appetite while giving you the energy you need. Of course if you're specifically doing low carb, you will want to watch your carbs (and net carbs) carefully, other than that, just focus on the previous points

And NEVER enough protein. I feel like I need to be pounding cans of tuna like Popeye did with spinach to reach the protein goal! Does anybody else have this figured out?

My protein goal is pretty high. I just make sure I eat at least 20 grams of protein with each meal (I can easily eat twice that).

How much is 20g of protein? It's about:
3 whole eggs
3oz chicken
1 scoop protein powder
4oz lean ground beef

I forgot to add, and wolfman reminded me...the hardest thing, for most people, is increasing the protein. My approach is to hit my protein target only. Once I hit that, I'm good for the day. If my fat or carbs are off, I don't care at all. I just shoot to get my protein in. that is a challenge all by itself. Around 160 grams of protein every stinking day is no small undertaking.

I do this too, but my protein goal is 125, but on a 1352 cal diet. I shoot for my protein, and most days, am close on both my fat and carbs, though honestly I am fine if my carbs are lower. I don't do specific cardio, so don't worry about it.

Doing all that macro stuff is way too much... what's so hard about just eating healthy? Nothing. I know crappy food when I see it... and so do you. Eat the rainbow... want more protein? Eat tuna, eat salmon, eat black beans, get some protein powder.... just eat healthy *kitten*... it's not rocket science, it's not math, it's not macros. It's just deciding you don't want to eat so much fat,sugar and salt. Eat better, eat smaller and exercise. If you need a calculator to figure out what to eat you, you are missing the mark....

What's wrong with eating fat? Fat is important for our bodies. It's necessary for brain function and our metabolism. We lose weight through a calorie deficit no matter where those calories come from. We improve our body composition by ensuring we get appropriate macro to support our goals and by resistance training. There is nothing wrong with using a calculator to figure out what to eat, that's fine if it's not your personal preferred method.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/to-macro-or-not-should-you-track-your-macro-intake.html

I'm on a 40-30-30 diet which is the same ratio in the Zone diet. I'm at about 21% body fat and trying to get to around 10-13%, To do this, I eat at a deficit of about 500 calories a day while hitting my target protein of 1 gram per pound lean mass (about 150g for me). This has worked out to about a 1 pound loss in weight per week while maintaining existing muscle mass. I've never been a big eater so hitting that protein number has been a challenge. I can't do it consistently without at least one serving of whey powder per day. I used to think I ate a lot of protein but I was fooling myself until I started tracking it. For instance, a 5oz serving of turkey breast is 30g of protein. Now imagine eating five servings of turkey breast a day. That's 150g of protein.

I try to keep my micros "in mind", meaning I try to eat fruits and veggies, take my vitamins, not eat Cheetos 3 times day, etc, but I don't really track them. I also don't really pay attention to the "pie graph". I don't try for a certain percentage of each macro. I just aim for 100g of protein a day, and 50g of fat (at minimum, it's cool if I go over). It's really not that difficult.

I try to keep my micros "in mind", meaning I try to eat fruits and veggies, take my vitamins, not eat Cheetos 3 times day, etc, but I don't really track them. I also don't really pay attention to the "pie graph". I don't try for a certain percentage of each macro. I just aim for 100g of protein a day, and 50g of fat (at minimum, it's cool if I go over). It's really not that difficult.

^^And this.

Ok so let me get this straight....I should be concerned with the percentages of protein, fat, and carbs (the pie graph). I was frustrated because I was counting EVERYTHING - including the micros. So MACS not MICS...right? The pie graph....:drinker:

Yes. Carbs/Proteins/Fats. 40-30-30 means 40% of my calories comes from carbs, 30% come from protein and 30% come from fats. There are many different diets that use different percentages depending on the person and his/her goals. My goal is to lean up while maintaining my existing muscle mass so those macros work for me. An endurance runner would probably want to sacrifice protein for carbs though. It all depends what your goals are.

So forget about micros if you're eating good foods (unless you have blood sugar issues or HBP). Those will generally work themselves out.

What's wrong with eating fat?

Nothing. But you can be in awesome shape... or whatever... without making it so complicated. I see so many people here obsessing over macros, micros, multiple acronyms.... it's mind boggling... no wonder people just say screw it...

I see lots of people say screw it when they think they are doomed to "eat clean" forever and can never have pizza or ice cream again. I think that even if someone elects to not worry about macros and micros they still need to understand what they are. I think the more people learn about food and fitness the more likely they are to be successful in the long run. Understanding all of this makes trouble shooting easier.

I agree with most of that.... but I've done the whole gambit here... from competitive bodybuilding to ultrarunning without ever knowing a thing about macros or micros... and I ate plenty of ice cream and pizza...

Eh. People are different. Some people are data-driven (me) and more information can help them accomplish their goals. Some people can do it by feel (you) and have success. I would anticipate though that most people would be more successful in the long run establishing a plan and using the tools provided by this site and others to stick to that plan.

Ha! That's Sun Devils not the NJ variety.

I agree with most of that.... but I've done the whole gambit here... from competitive bodybuilding to ultrarunning without ever knowing a thing about macros or micros... and I ate plenty of ice cream and pizza...

According to your profile "I'm 56...never really been out of shape"

You've never struggled with balance like many of us on this site have. That's great that you don't need to understand it, but many of us who were obese just don't have that natural balance. Some of us have to track diligently and we're lucky if we can move away from it while still making progress towards out goals. When you don't have an off button like me it's even more important to have appropriate macros. Setting up my macros right is the difference between balance and binge eating. That's great that you don't need it, but don't knock the whole thing just because it's irrelevant to you.