Macros question.
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saralynrice
Posts: 29
ive been having a hard time with macros since I've started this. I'm still figuring out the balance. But my question to you is. I know that we should stay close to or under calories as possible, and protein too, but how do you get your macros prefect everyday. Are there some that are more important then others to stay over or under? How do you guys balance it out, cuz I'm finding it impossible to exactly meet all my set goals with out going over/ under some. Thank you in advance!!
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Replies
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You don't get them perfect every day. Assuming you just want to lose weight in general, they are entirely unimportant. especially if you're just using MFP's default settings for them.
Just track calories unless you have endurance or body composition goals.0 -
You don't get them perfect every day. Assuming you just want to lose weight in general, they are entirely unimportant. especially if you're just using MFP's default settings for them.
Just track calories unless you have endurance or body composition goals.
???? You are aware macros are what make up calories?
if you wan't to get them "perfect" just track what you eat. When i'm tracking i get mine as close to spot on as i can (+/- 10 calories). You just need to figure out what is what; jasmine rice is 0 fat, very low protein, and high in carbs. cheeses are (typically) very low/0 carb, high in fat and moderate in protein. meat is always 0 carb unless you add something to it0 -
I have a trainer that set them for me specifically, I'll ask her when I see her. But I thought I'd get your guys's opinions too. My calories are at 1500 with protein and fat at 35% & carbs at 30%0
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bornforbattles wrote: »You don't get them perfect every day. Assuming you just want to lose weight in general, they are entirely unimportant. especially if you're just using MFP's default settings for them.
Just track calories unless you have endurance or body composition goals.
???? You are aware macros are what make up calories?
if you wan't to get them "perfect" just track what you eat. When i'm tracking i get mine as close to spot on as i can (+/- 10 calories). You just need to figure out what is what; jasmine rice is 0 fat, very low protein, and high in carbs. cheeses are (typically) very low/0 carb, high in fat and moderate in protein. meat is always 0 carb unless you add something to it
Yes, I'm aware. And tracking macros/being aware of macros is not at all required for weight loss. I've lost nearly 30lbs and the only macro I actively care about is protein, which is a minimum - I easily go over or sometimes a bit under. I'm over on my goals this week so far and I'll only need 80g tomorrow to meet my weekly goal, but that doesn't mean I'm only going to eat 80g if I feel like eating more.
It's entirely unnecessary to get your macros "perfect" even if your goals are body composition or endurance oriented. I regularly go over on protein and fat. Overall calories are what matter, macro tracking is optional.0 -
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My goals right now are just weight loss, but in the future it might be gaining muscle. I'm only 3 weeks in and still figuring everything out. I'm learning so much from reading all the comments on mfp. I would really like to eat my macros the right way and I have been tracking everything. I guess I just need to learn foods better so I can get as close to perfect as possible.0
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saralynrice wrote: »My goals right now are just weight loss, but in the future it might be gaining muscle. I'm only 3 weeks in and still figuring everything out. I'm learning so much from reading all the comments on mfp. I would really like to eat my macros the right way and I have been tracking everything. I guess I just need to learn foods better so I can get as close to perfect as possible.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/shortcut-to-size-nutrition.html
^take a look at that, should help alot0 -
Thank you!! I'll check it out!!0
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saralynrice wrote: »I have a trainer that set them for me specifically, I'll ask her when I see her. But I thought I'd get your guys's opinions too. My calories are at 1500 with protein and fat at 35% & carbs at 30%
Why did your trainer set your macros based on percentages? That's not the most accurate way to do it. Assuming you have body compositional goals and are strength training, then the generic starting points for macros would be something like this:
Protein grams: 0.8x your weight in lbs
Fat grams: 0.3x your weight in lbs
Carbs grams: the rest
protein and fat as minimums. You can potentially go as low as 0.6x your weight for protein, which I'd recommend if obese/overweight because you probably wouldn't need the higher protein g.
Also did your trainer set your calories to 1500? If so based on what equation or based on what goal? Are you using the MFP net method and eating back calories or are you doing TDEE? What is your estimated maintenance needs for which ever method you are using, how much weight do you want to lose?0 -
bornforbattles wrote: »
Why the hell would I only eat 1200 calories? Tracking macros will not change the kind of food you want to eat. If I want to eat 400 calories worth of brownie in a day (whcih I have), then I will, because dietary context for health trumps the individual item.
Sugar is also not a macro.
Plenty of people here just count calories and still make wise food decisions, whether it is because they practice flexible dieting (i.e. proper moderation) or because they are restrictive and think that they cannot eat woo-woo bad foods to be healthy.
And a 600 calorie meal full of fat and carbs would be just fine. Some nuts and fruit, or nuts and crackers, cereal and milk, chocolate if desired, doesn't matter.0 -
saralynrice wrote: »I have a trainer that set them for me specifically, I'll ask her when I see her. But I thought I'd get your guys's opinions too. My calories are at 1500 with protein and fat at 35% & carbs at 30%
Why did your trainer set your macros based on percentages? That's not the most accurate way to do it. Assuming you have body compositional goals and are strength training, then the generic starting points for macros would be something like this:
Protein grams: 0.8x your weight in lbs
Fat grams: 0.3x your weight in lbs
Carbs grams: the rest
protein and fat as minimums. You can potentially go as low as 0.6x your weight for protein, which I'd recommend if obese/overweight because you probably wouldn't need the higher protein g.
Also did your trainer set your calories to 1500? If so based on what equation or based on what goal? Are you using the MFP net method and eating back calories or are you doing TDEE? What is your estimated maintenance needs for which ever method you are using, how much weight do you want to lose?
Just..stop. You're giving people terrible advice and if they listen to you they're going to develop bad habits0 -
She didn't set them on percentages, instead of switching over to my diary to look up the specific numbers to write in this post, I just remember that the percentages worked out to that. My calories are like 1504, with my protein and fat being at 134 each I think and carbs I can't remember with out looking. But regardless, my question wasn't whether my trainer set the right macros for me. It was how people get their macros perfect everyday.0
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saralynrice wrote: »My goals right now are just weight loss, but in the future it might be gaining muscle. I'm only 3 weeks in and still figuring everything out. I'm learning so much from reading all the comments on mfp. I would really like to eat my macros the right way and I have been tracking everything. I guess I just need to learn foods better so I can get as close to perfect as possible.
When I first started out I tracked macros right away because I had specific body composition and strength training goals. If you are finding it difficult or are overwhelmed then you can simply focus on eating your caloric goals while eating foods you enjoy eating - remember, this is a lifestyle change, not some temporary fix to help you lose weight. eat the way you plan to eat for the indefinite future, just smaller portions than what you'd eat while maintaining.
If you are set on tracking macros, then understand that it's just pointless to worry about being on point or perfect all the time. Go through my diary and you will see that I generally get near my macros but I'm also often over on one or two of them while under on another. And I accomplish this by only really looking at my protein needs. Once I meet that I will eat whatever else I feel like eating. I only monitor protein because that's the only macro that I care all that much about. I easily meet or go over my fat needs without trying, and carbs are just "the rest" so there is no need for me to track them. Especially since my goals are not endurance-based.0 -
Awesome!!! ^^^^ that was exactly what I was looking for!!!! Thank you0
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bornforbattles wrote: »saralynrice wrote: »I have a trainer that set them for me specifically, I'll ask her when I see her. But I thought I'd get your guys's opinions too. My calories are at 1500 with protein and fat at 35% & carbs at 30%
Why did your trainer set your macros based on percentages? That's not the most accurate way to do it. Assuming you have body compositional goals and are strength training, then the generic starting points for macros would be something like this:
Protein grams: 0.8x your weight in lbs
Fat grams: 0.3x your weight in lbs
Carbs grams: the rest
protein and fat as minimums. You can potentially go as low as 0.6x your weight for protein, which I'd recommend if obese/overweight because you probably wouldn't need the higher protein g.
Also did your trainer set your calories to 1500? If so based on what equation or based on what goal? Are you using the MFP net method and eating back calories or are you doing TDEE? What is your estimated maintenance needs for which ever method you are using, how much weight do you want to lose?
Just..stop. You're giving people terrible advice and if they listen to you they're going to develop bad habits
She's actually given great advice.0 -
bornforbattles wrote: »
There's nothing wrong with sugar and fat, as long as you stay in a deficit and do not have a medical need to track either one. "Healthy" is also debatable, as that definition is vague and different for everyone. There is also no "good" and "bad" foods. Anything can be eaten in moderation.0 -
Oh okay. I do recommend setting things based on grams, not %, since that is how you can truly customize to your needs/goals.saralynrice wrote: »She didn't set them on percentages, instead of switching over to my diary to look up the specific numbers to write in this post, I just remember that the percentages worked out to that. My calories are like 1504, with my protein and fat being at 134 each I think and carbs I can't remember with out looking. But regardless, my question wasn't whether my trainer set the right macros for me. It was how people get their macros perfect everyday.
The reason I am asking about why/how your trainer set up your goals is because.. honestly, I'd never go to a trainer for dietary advice. Your diary states you have less than 20lbs to lose? So a 0.5-1lb/week weight loss goal from your maintenance needs would be reasonable. If you know your estimated maintenance caloric needs then your current goal would be 10%/250 calories or 20%/500 calories below your maintenance needs for a 0.5 ad 1lb loss, respectively. If your current intake goal does not follow with those guidelines based on your maintenance needs, then I'd suggest changing your goals.
And like I said, absolutely no reason to be perfect with macros. You can aim to be within your desired ranges, which is what macros should be (ranges), or you can prioritize whichever macro(s) you care most about and just track that, as I do with protein. If I knew that I was constantly under on fats then I'd also make fat a priority, but I'm always at or over so no reason for me to really track it all that closely.0 -
And what about this is "terrible advice"? The part that recommends setting macros based on grams, which is what you'll see on the bodybuilding forums that you linked? Or hte recommended calculations, which are based on both what many members here say and similar to what one of the threads on bodybuilding.com states, which has at least a dozen pages of responses praising the OP? Or that macros don't need to be "perfect" every day to meet your goals?bornforbattles wrote: »saralynrice wrote: »I have a trainer that set them for me specifically, I'll ask her when I see her. But I thought I'd get your guys's opinions too. My calories are at 1500 with protein and fat at 35% & carbs at 30%
Why did your trainer set your macros based on percentages? That's not the most accurate way to do it. Assuming you have body compositional goals and are strength training, then the generic starting points for macros would be something like this:
Protein grams: 0.8x your weight in lbs
Fat grams: 0.3x your weight in lbs
Carbs grams: the rest
protein and fat as minimums. You can potentially go as low as 0.6x your weight for protein, which I'd recommend if obese/overweight because you probably wouldn't need the higher protein g.
Also did your trainer set your calories to 1500? If so based on what equation or based on what goal? Are you using the MFP net method and eating back calories or are you doing TDEE? What is your estimated maintenance needs for which ever method you are using, how much weight do you want to lose?
Just..stop. You're giving people terrible advice and if they listen to you they're going to develop bad habits
If anything, I would say that advising someone to always meet their goals EXACTLY for macros is the poor advice. That's not a sustainable way of tracking or eating. That'd be like telling someone that they can't go over on their calories every now and then, when in reality they can because they can either eat less the next day(s) to make up for it or just anticipate slower results that week. Logging here is about practicing sustainable habits, and in no way is being a macro nazi sustainable. Macro ranges? PLacing emphasis on one or two macros and letting things fall where they may? Customizing your ranges based on your specific goals? These are all reasonable and sustainable.
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bornforbattles wrote: »
What exactly is wrong with sugar and fat?0 -
Liftng4Lis wrote: »bornforbattles wrote: »
What exactly is wrong with sugar and fat?
Sugar is fine if it's from fruit. But also not if it's from high GI fruit. And fat is fine if it comes from nuts and oil. But not butter. And you definitely can't eat red meat, but salmon is fine.
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