Help With Macros vs Calories

brandonharrison82
brandonharrison82 Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
First, a short back story. I started gaining weight after having a hernia removed in the 3rd grade. I don't blame the surgery, I blame myself for not knowing that it was bad to eat two bowls of Apple Jacks now that I had more room in my stomach. On top of over eating, I also grew up an only child who was never "forced" to eat healthy items. I ended up being a picky eater adult whose vegetable palette is mostly starches with the occasional cucumber or celery stick. I'm a short guy at 5'5" and I'm currently 219 lbs. My current MFP goal weight is 180, however, I don't really know what I want my weight to be.

I'm posting here because I really like the idea of tracking macros and using an IIFYM plan, but I'm having a hard time getting in all of my calories without going over my allowed macros for the day. This is especially true when I factor in my exercise for the day. I currently do a 21 Day Fix video every morning and some evenings I'll go a mile to a mile and a half at about 3 mph on our treadmill. As far as my hunger goes, I feel like I'm eating plenty, but when I look at my MFP stats, I'm 500 calories below where I need to be, even though I've almost maxed out all of my macros for the day. I also don't feel as though I'm eating terrible things that are filling up my macros, but I must be doing something wrong.

What tips do you guys have for tracking macros and meeting the total calorie count for the day?

An average day for me would look like this:

Breakfast: Shake (greek yogurt, banana, cocoa, pb, 1% milk, stevia)
Snack: Fruit
Lunch: Leftover meat from dinner the night before (a protein like pork chops or chicken), salad (mixed greens, plus a some combo of shredded carrots, cucumbers, celery, cauliflower)
Snack: Clif bar, nuts, beef jerky, more fruit (something along those lines if I'm feeling hungry)
Dinner: Meat, veggies (mashed cauliflower, green beans), occasional carb (wheat tortilla on taco night, or corn on the cob, or peas, baked potato)

Again, I feel as though this is plenty of food for me. I don't feel hungry once I finish eating and if I do start to get a little hungry in between meals, I don't think my snacks are all that terrible. If I add more of these foods to meet the calorie count, I go over on my macros. If I eat this and meet my macros, my calories seem too low. Obviously less calories means weight loss and that's what I want, but I worry that my body will sense too few calories and my metabolism will slow down so much that I plateau off and stop losing weight.

Replies

  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    brandonharrison82 wrote: »

    Again, I feel as though this is plenty of food for me. I don't feel hungry once I finish eating and if I do start to get a little hungry in between meals, I don't think my snacks are all that terrible. If I add more of these foods to meet the calorie count, I go over on my macros. If I eat this and meet my macros, my calories seem too low. Obviously less calories means weight loss and that's what I want, but I worry that my body will sense too few calories and my metabolism will slow down so much that I plateau off and stop losing weight.

    Do not worry about that. Body metabolism doesn't slow down because you are eating less. You will lose weight because you are in deficit, that is what every diet is based on no matter how it sells it, you consume less, you lose weight. simple.

    If you are content with this amount, and lose weight on it..keep doing it. When you reach maintenance, you can decide if you want to lose more, or up the calories to stay the same. Thousands of successful people did just that...myself included.

    Good luck
  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
    I'd recommend setting your protein (180 g) and fat (70 g) "goals" as minimums, don't worry about going over. Hit your calorie goal. What's your calorie goal?
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    _benjammin wrote: »
    I'd recommend setting your protein (180 g) and fat (70 g) "goals" as minimums, don't worry about going over. Hit your calorie goal. What's your calorie goal?

    I was going to say something pretty similar to that....don't sweat the macros as much.
  • brandonharrison82
    brandonharrison82 Posts: 7 Member
    MFP says that my calorie goal should be 1500, but I felt that was very low especially after doing my own BMR calculations. I've set my own goal at 2000.
  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
    Even at 2k calories, that's a very aggressive deficit. I just cut from 165 to 155 on 2k in about 10 weeks with zero cardio.
    Have you read any of Lyle McDonald's stuff at Body Recomposition?
    About 11 to 13 calories per pound body weight is a moderate deficit. http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/setting-the-deficit-small-moderate-or-large.html/
  • brandonharrison82
    brandonharrison82 Posts: 7 Member
    That would put me around 2500 calories per day. That many calories seems impossible to reach when I'm eating chicken and salads. I guess I just need to up the amounts of these things that I'm eating.
  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
    I can't see your diary but based on the average meal you posted, I'm guessing your fat intake may be low. Throw some peanut butter in your shake, use full fat milk, butter your potatoes, full fat salad dressings.
    Losing slowly (1 pound a week) with exercise while hitting your minimum macro and micro nutrient goals will be healthier (mentally and physically). 2500 calories sounds about right if you are still over 200lbs. Give it time, like 6 months. If you are tracking accurately and weight loss slows you can bump calories down a little
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    I don't worry about going over in protein, but I do try to keep below the fat and carb limits.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    when I look at my MFP stats, I'm 500 calories below where I need to be, even though I've almost maxed out all of my macros for the day. I also don't feel as though I'm eating terrible things that are filling up my macros, but I must be doing something wrong.

    This is confusing. Would you please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    when I look at my MFP stats, I'm 500 calories below where I need to be, even though I've almost maxed out all of my macros for the day. I also don't feel as though I'm eating terrible things that are filling up my macros, but I must be doing something wrong.

    This is confusing. Would you please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

    Yeah, I was confused about that too. I'm thinking he may be logging inaccurate entries.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    your macros are what make up your calories...if you are hitting your macros but not your calories that means you are logging erroneous entries from the database. there may be some variation due to rounding, but your macros should add up to your calories...ie if you are hitting your macros then you are hitting your calorie targets as well.
  • brandonharrison82
    brandonharrison82 Posts: 7 Member
    I've updated my diary to be public. Today, for instance, I had what felt like a filling breakfast of two eggs and a couple pieces of turkey bacon, followed by a chocolate shake/smoothie. I didn't eat anything else until lunch and I had a salad with about 1- 1.5 cups mixed greens, a med sized cucumber, and some shredded carrots alongside two grilled chicken strips. I use lite ranch dressing, but only a couple tbsp. I had two clementines as a dessert. A couple hours later I had a Clif bar. It's nearly 7PM here and I've not yet eaten dinner, but honestly, I'm not even that hungry right now. Our plan is to make grilled pork chops and some faux mashed potatoes with cauliflower. I'll also make some corn on the cob. Assuming I eat all of that for dinner, I doubt I'll be hungry the rest of the night. According to MFP, however, I still have over 600 calories left for the day including 51 grams of carbs and 55 grams of protein. I've also gone over on my fats.
  • mlboyer100
    mlboyer100 Posts: 115 Member
    You have very valid points and concerns. First, don't let MFP tell you what your calories are. Use the formula in the front of the 21 Day Fix book to calculate your basic caloric needs, then follow the directions to make adjustments for your lifestyle and weigh loss needs. That's a Great Program! I've been through it two times and now I'm doing a strength building program. I was fortunate to be invited into a private FB nutrition and fitness group that is all about keeping each other motivated! it has worked wonderfully for me! The constant positive reinforcement, help and nutritional training have helped me lose 40 pounds, but More importantly, helped me keep it off for over five months! PM me if you want information. No charge, no hype, just people helping other people obtain their health goals.
  • brandonharrison82
    brandonharrison82 Posts: 7 Member
    I liked 21 Day Fix to an extent. I love most of the workouts, but the meal plan is very hard for me. I realize this is mostly because I'm such a picky eater and the idea of fitting 4-6 cups of veggies into one day makes me want to give up right now. This is why I'd rather try to just track my macros instead. I can eat the things I want and still have a healthy relationship with food.

    I would definitely be interested in a FB group for motivation and ideas.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    Your calorie setting looked good, not super low yet low enough you should lose weight at.

    Macro goals should not be absolutes. Focusing on adequate protein (150 grams should be plenty) then letting carbs and fats end up where they naturally do is fine. This way you can experiment with what combination helps keep you full and assists your workouts. You might find you feel better and perform well with slightly higher fat or you might find that carbs are the key. If you force yourself to stick to macros that are frustrating to hit or don't leave you satisfied you aren't being set up for long term success.

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