Why are macros important?
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becknomad
Posts: 63 Member
If calories are calories, why should I be mindful of macros? I get that protein keeps you feeling full for longer but other than that why should I care about macro ratios? Thanks, I'm new here - 3 weeks in and 9 lbs down!
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Replies
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because it matters from what sources u get your calories from carbs or from fat.
if u reach 2000 cal and 70% of the calories come from fats - nuts butters sweets bisquits u will increase your bf %
but if u reach your 70% of 2000 cal by eating carbs it will be great for your body and health too
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because it matters from what sources u get your calories from carbs or from fat.
if u reach 2000 cal and 70% of the calories come from fats - nuts butters sweets bisquits u will increase your bf %
but if u reach your 70% of 2000 cal by eating carbs it will be great for your body and health too
This LITERALLY couldn't be more wrong0 -
If calories are calories, why should I be mindful of macros? I get that protein keeps you feeling full for longer but other than that why should I care about macro ratios? Thanks, I'm new here - 3 weeks in and 9 lbs down!
It's important to consume adequate protein for muscle synthesis and to help grow muscle/prevent muscle loss. Dietary fat is important for hormone production, absorption of fat soluble vitamins and minerals, brain and organ function, as well as skin and hair health. Carbohydrates are the body's preferred source easily accessible energy. That is why macronutrients are important.1 -
Your body needs particular amounts of each macro for daily functioning. More and it will store fat, and less and it will not work effectively or efficiently. In order to maintain or create muscle mass especially you need to be precise. However, fats and carbs are somewhat interchangeable & I find some do better on higher fat and some on lower fat.. It also depends on your body type etc. etc. IIFYM Calculator can sort it all out for u.. it's much better than just calorie counting
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Protein helps build muscle, carbs deliver the protein to the muscle, and goods fats help keep the muscle from breaking down.
Fats have more calories per gram, so cutting fat first helps maintain the calorie deficit of a diet.
I like atleast 50grams of fat that's 450 calories
I want between 200 and 250grams of protein that's 800-1000 calories
Then I want between 100, and 150grams of carbs. That's 400-600 calories.
2050 on my high days (lifting) 1650 on my lowest (lazy do nothing days) and somewhere between on regular active days.
Focusing on macros helps you lose as little muscle as possible while losing the fat. Plus in your first 6 months of a solid lifting, and macro diet program you can GAIN muscle while burning off fat. It's a great way to get started. You'd be ahead of the game.0 -
Read up on the topic of balanced diet and portion sizing.
This site has those that constantly argue back and forth on nutrition strategy so it can become a bit less useful than you would think.
I will say that extreme diets that totally eliminate any macro group are quite challenging and not, not very well balanced for a long term eating solution
If you lift and break down muscle you need protein to rebuild. You need fats. Carbs are nice to have as high octane fuel at times. I eat a Snickers before a long bike ride. You can learn to fuel your body for activity as required.
Read a few articles on nutrition, not marketing stuff from people trying to sell a diet.
If you want to really dig in and understand how you burn off calories, be that fat or carbs, Google mitochondria endurance training
It is the fuel burning (an adaptive organelle) furnace in your muscles that is the switch to burn fat or carbs in the required mix.
Good luck on your fitness journey. It is fun and you can educate yourself an take control of it!
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I've stopped counting here's what I eat typicall now though.
Breakfast
2 large eggs, with half cup of egg white, serving of oatmeal with a choice of frozen berries mixed in.
Snack
Cup of milk with 2 scoops whey protein
Lunch
Sandwich with 4oz of chicken, turkey, roast beef, or ham. Cheese, mayo, and choice of veggies. Greek yogurt, and almonds.
Dinner
Either 10oz chicken breast, 8oz round steak, or 8oz porkchop.
Either serving of rice, or large baked potato.
Either 1 cup brocoli, green beans, or mixed veggies.
My at home cheat meal is chicken fettuccine Alfredo I replace one of the dinners.
You get 1 cheat meal where you ignore macros entirely every week.0 -
It's exactly what a previous poster stated--a ballanced meal. We've gotten off track with that, but bodies function the best with it. I live in Italy and the mediterranean diet is the norm. I have no problem hitting my macros. Now, you have people with illnesses, alergies, or doing heavy lifting that have to change their macros up to achieve their goals.
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Calories are king for weight loss but macros and micros need to be eaten in adequate amounts in order to properly nourish the body.
The thing is, those are wide ranges. There's plenty of wiggle room.
Protein: 15-25% of calories
Fat: 20-35% (that upper limit has recently been eliminated, at least in the US)
Carbs: 45-65% (going lower than 45% isn't a problem if that works for you)
Basically, at least 15% of calories from protein, at least 20% from fat.
The default MFP macros (50C/30F/20P) are working nicely for me. Previously, I wasn't eating nearly enough protein and I was lower on fat when I was trying to watch what I ate. With these macros I don't feel nearly as hungry as I did when I lost weight in the past.0 -
Why would protein be your lowest number?0
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for someone who is not training the recommendation is 0.75g of protein per kilo of body weight, for someone who is training, it should be 1.2 - 2.0g per kg. That's quite a lot of protein, hard to get without having fish or meat in at least two meals, or whey protein supplements.
As for fat and carbs, I'd stick with getting most of your calories from carbs, some people prefer ketogenic diets with mostly fat, but many people feel awful on this diet, and the 'menu' is certainly more expensive than a high-carb low-fat menu.0 -
They aren't as important as people make then out to be.0
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Calories are king for weight loss but macros and micros need to be eaten in adequate amounts in order to properly nourish the body.
The thing is, those are wide ranges. There's plenty of wiggle room.
Protein: 15-25% of calories
Fat: 20-35% (that upper limit has recently been eliminated, at least in the US)
Carbs: 45-65% (going lower than 45% isn't a problem if that works for you)
Basically, at least 15% of calories from protein, at least 20% from fat.
The default MFP macros (50C/30F/20P) are working nicely for me. Previously, I wasn't eating nearly enough protein and I was lower on fat when I was trying to watch what I ate. With these macros I don't feel nearly as hungry as I did when I lost weight in the past.
Exactly. The body needs all three in order to function properly, but the exact ratio of each is very individual. I have dieted with a low fat regimen and my skin and hair suffered horribly (lost about half of my hair, about half of what I lost grew back). I like my carbs (especially grains, fruit, and veggies), but I am T2Dm so I have to limit them for best health.
My personal sweet spot as far as macros is 35% carb, 35% protein, and 30% fat.
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It really depends on goals. To lose weight, you are correct it is mostly CICO. One thing that I noticed when I was not watching macros is that low calorie foods typically are very low in fats. Your body needs fats. I was low on them until I started watching my macros and made adjustments. Fats having 9 calories per gram, makes it hard to get a good amount of fats and stay low cal.
For people who are lifting weights, losing weight, and are trying to hold onto muscle while they drop fat, high protein diets are beneficial, as well as protein being great for satiation.
I personally don't like to use percentages when dealing with macros, I know MFP makes you use percentages, but I like to run my macros with real numbers. 1 gram per body weight on protein, .4 grams per body weight on fats, the rest get filled with carbs.
Some say to use lean body mass to use to figure your proteins and fats, and others would say to use your target weight. Example, a 250 pound man wanting to weigh 200 pounds, should aim for 200 grams of protein a day and 80 grams of fat with a total of 1520 calories for the day, and fill the remaining calories with carbs. If you are on a 2500 calorie a day diet, that would leave you right at 245 grams of carbs a day.
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because it matters from what sources u get your calories from carbs or from fat.
if u reach 2000 cal and 70% of the calories come from fats - nuts butters sweets bisquits u will increase your bf %
but if u reach your 70% of 2000 cal by eating carbs it will be great for your body and health too
Holy!
[Post Edited by MFP Staff]0 -
DvlDwnInGA wrote: »It really depends on goals. To lose weight, you are correct it is mostly CICO. One thing that I noticed when I was not watching macros is that low calorie foods typically are very low in fats. Your body needs fats. I was low on them until I started watching my macros and made adjustments. Fats having 9 calories per gram, makes it hard to get a good amount of fats and stay low cal.
For people who are lifting weights, losing weight, and are trying to hold onto muscle while they drop fat, high protein diets are beneficial, as well as protein being great for satiation.
I personally don't like to use percentages when dealing with macros, I know MFP makes you use percentages, but I like to run my macros with real numbers. 1 gram per body weight on protein, .4 grams per body weight on fats, the rest get filled with carbs.
Some say to use lean body mass to use to figure your proteins and fats, and others would say to use your target weight. Example, a 250 pound man wanting to weigh 200 pounds, should aim for 200 grams of protein a day and 80 grams of fat with a total of 1520 calories for the day, and fill the remaining calories with carbs. If you are on a 2500 calorie a day diet, that would leave you right at 245 grams of carbs a day.
Like you said, everyone's goals are different and everyone's bodies are different. For the general public, percentages are a good way to start, then you can tweak as you learn more about you and what your body needs. I use percentages as a way of daily logging, but I arrived at my percentages by calculating total grams. As a T2Dm, I have a maximum of 180 g of carb (set by my PCP who is also a certified diabetic educator) and that was 35% of my starting calorie allowance. The protein was also decided by grams and the fat filled in the rest. Most do protein and fat and fill in with carbs but my medical condition required that I do it differently. It just made sense to keep to the same proportions as my weight went down since they seemed to be the perfect mix for me. If I do recomp after reaching goal, I may rethink this and will, again, use grams to calculate.
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They aren't as important as people make then out to be.
That completely depends on whether you want to optimize your body composition and health, or not. If you're fine with doing well, but not doing the best you possibly can, then yea, I guess macros wouldn't be that important for you, but you can't argue that you can get the best possible results without directly or at least indirectly tracking macronutrient intake.0 -
They aren't as important as people make then out to be.
That completely depends on whether you want to optimize your body composition and health, or not. If you're fine with doing well, but not doing the best you possibly can, then yea, I guess macros wouldn't be that important for you, but you can't argue that you can get the best possible results without directly or at least indirectly tracking macronutrient intake.
I agree completely--well said. 0 -
Protein is the bricks. Carbs are the brick layers. Fat is the cement. Micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc) are the weatherproofing.
- Protein: 0.60-0.80 grams per pound of bodyweight -- the highest amount justified by research for active individuals.
- Dietary Fat: 0.40-0.45 grams per pound of bodyweight -- the lowest amount implied by clinical observation (unless obese).
- Remaining caloric budget: whatever mix of macronutrients you prefer, notably a rich variety of nutritious fruits, veggies, high fiber foods, and healthy fats.
As stated, adequate macronutrient balance also plays a role in body composition.1 - Protein: 0.60-0.80 grams per pound of bodyweight -- the highest amount justified by research for active individuals.
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