Calories Vs Macros/Micros
lozzyhunxx
Posts: 47 Member
I've seen time and time again that, if you want to lose weight, calories are what you should keep an eye out for. But, if you were to stay within calories but exceed nutrients (frequently) would you still end up losing weight? Just curious - not many of us on here seem to care for the nutrients, only the calories. What do you care about?
I do try to stay within all things
I do try to stay within all things
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Replies
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I care about both.
You would lose weight still if you were still in fact in a deficit. If you go over in one particular macro, you'd have to be under in another macro in order to balance it out.0 -
lozzyhunxx wrote: »I've seen time and time again that, if you want to lose weight, calories are what you should keep an eye out for. But, if you were to stay within calories but exceed nutrients (frequently) would you still end up losing weight? Just curious - not many of us on here seem to care for the nutrients, only the calories. What do you care about?
I do try to stay within all things
Of course. You have to understand that a calorie is a unit of energy. Your body requires XXXX amount of energy (calories) per day for you to be alive, do you day to day stuff, and exercise, etc.
When you consume more energy than your body requires to do all of these things, that excess energy has to go somewhere...it is stored as fat...energy reserves.
When you consume less energy than your body requires to do all of those things, that energy deficit must be compensated for...by dipping into your energy reserves...aka fat stores.
When you consume a balance of energy you maintain your weight.
Macros come into play when you're talking about nutrition...having a good macro nutrient balance can help you have a more balanced diet...and depending on what you use to make up those macros, a more nutritious one as well.
Keep in mind, there is no ideal macro ratio...MFP's defaults are actually pretty low protein IMO, especially since a higher protein intake is going to help you maintain lean mass while you're trying to cut fat.
Most people who monitor their macros closely do so for performance and fitness reasons...some people also have certain medical conditions that would warrant paying close attention to their macros. For the average person trying to lose some weight, calories are the most important and you should be putting most of your focus on those goals...once you get that down you can start playing with your macros to see what is going to benefit you most from a body composition standpoint and performance standpoint.
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Good reply, cwolfman13.
IMO- when considering food intake, in order of importance:
1. calories
2. macronutrients (the ratio of fat, carbs, and protein daily)
3. micronutrients (flavonols, the various antioxidants, etc., for hormesis)
Make sure a level is optimized before you concern yourself with the next lower one. A lot of people get this all backwards and mess themselves up.
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Macros are just another way of dividing calories. For instance, there are 4 calories in one gram of protein or carbohydrate, 7 in alcohol, 9 in fats. So if you were to stay within your calories, you would necessarily be balancing out your macros (NOT "balancing" as in optimal intake, but balancing them against each other so that you are still within calories). If you were overerating in all macro areas, you would be over your calorie goal.
For nutrition, you should be getting an appropriate ratio of each macronutrient based on your calorie goals and your fitness goals.
For weight loss, people who are new to tracking food should start by trying to stay within their calories. Once they have that down, then worry about macros. After macros are in check, think about micros.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »lozzyhunxx wrote: »I've seen time and time again that, if you want to lose weight, calories are what you should keep an eye out for. But, if you were to stay within calories but exceed nutrients (frequently) would you still end up losing weight? Just curious - not many of us on here seem to care for the nutrients, only the calories. What do you care about?
I do try to stay within all things
Of course. You have to understand that a calorie is a unit of energy. Your body requires XXXX amount of energy (calories) per day for you to be alive, do you day to day stuff, and exercise, etc.
When you consume more energy than your body requires to do all of these things, that excess energy has to go somewhere...it is stored as fat...energy reserves.
When you consume less energy than your body requires to do all of those things, that energy deficit must be compensated for...by dipping into your energy reserves...aka fat stores.
When you consume a balance of energy you maintain your weight.
Macros come into play when you're talking about nutrition...having a good macro nutrient balance can help you have a more balanced diet...and depending on what you use to make up those macros, a more nutritious one as well.
Keep in mind, there is no ideal macro ratio...MFP's defaults are actually pretty low protein IMO, especially since a higher protein intake is going to help you maintain lean mass while you're trying to cut fat.
Most people who monitor their macros closely do so for performance and fitness reasons...some people also have certain medical conditions that would warrant paying close attention to their macros. For the average person trying to lose some weight, calories are the most important and you should be putting most of your focus on those goals...once you get that down you can start playing with your macros to see what is going to benefit you most from a body composition standpoint and performance standpoint.
Nicely explained!0 -
fivethreeone wrote: »Macros are just another way of dividing calories. For instance, there are 4 calories in one gram of protein or carbohydrate, 7 in alcohol, 9 in fats. So if you were to stay within your calories, you would necessarily be balancing out your macros (NOT "balancing" as in optimal intake, but balancing them against each other so that you are still within calories). If you were overerating in all macro areas, you would be over your calorie goal.
For nutrition, you should be getting an appropriate ratio of each macronutrient based on your calorie goals and your fitness goals.
For weight loss, people who are new to tracking food should start by trying to stay within their calories. Once they have that down, then worry about macros. After macros are in check, think about micros.
I was about to type something, but really, this says it all right here.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »lozzyhunxx wrote: »I've seen time and time again that, if you want to lose weight, calories are what you should keep an eye out for. But, if you were to stay within calories but exceed nutrients (frequently) would you still end up losing weight? Just curious - not many of us on here seem to care for the nutrients, only the calories. What do you care about?
I do try to stay within all things
Of course. You have to understand that a calorie is a unit of energy. Your body requires XXXX amount of energy (calories) per day for you to be alive, do you day to day stuff, and exercise, etc.
When you consume more energy than your body requires to do all of these things, that excess energy has to go somewhere...it is stored as fat...energy reserves.
When you consume less energy than your body requires to do all of those things, that energy deficit must be compensated for...by dipping into your energy reserves...aka fat stores.
When you consume a balance of energy you maintain your weight.
Macros come into play when you're talking about nutrition...having a good macro nutrient balance can help you have a more balanced diet...and depending on what you use to make up those macros, a more nutritious one as well.
Keep in mind, there is no ideal macro ratio...MFP's defaults are actually pretty low protein IMO, especially since a higher protein intake is going to help you maintain lean mass while you're trying to cut fat.
Most people who monitor their macros closely do so for performance and fitness reasons...some people also have certain medical conditions that would warrant paying close attention to their macros. For the average person trying to lose some weight, calories are the most important and you should be putting most of your focus on those goals...once you get that down you can start playing with your macros to see what is going to benefit you most from a body composition standpoint and performance standpoint.
/thread0 -
Thank you so much everyone! I'm usually concerned about sugar because I love fruit & I often go over sugar limits...I didn't know how concerned I should be.0
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lozzyhunxx wrote: »Thank you so much everyone! I'm usually concerned about sugar because I love fruit & I often go over sugar limits...I didn't know how concerned I should be.
Unless you have a medical condition that would cause you to need to watch it (e.g. diabetes) or you find it causes problems with adherence, don't worry about it.0
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