Macros....do they really matter?
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AngInCanada
Posts: 947 Member
I've just found this group and am reading the stickied posts. I'm wondering though....do macros really matter or is it pretty much just a matter of CICO? I'm coming here after being on the ketogenic diet (low carb high fat) for just over 6 months. It worked amazingly well for weight loss (I lost 40.6 lbs), but for me, I could never follow it for the rest of my life. Each time I ate more than 20g net carbs I'd beat myself up, go on a binge, and then have to restart. I'd get knocked out of ketosis and would have a couple days where i felt like I was going to die getting back into ketosis and the cycle continued. I was completely exhausted and drained. So yes for weight loss it was amazing.....for life in general, it wasn't good.
I did the scooby calculator and the recommended macros are 40/40/20. Coming from macros that were 5(C)/20(P)/75(F) has me a bit concerned.
Thanks
Angela
I did the scooby calculator and the recommended macros are 40/40/20. Coming from macros that were 5(C)/20(P)/75(F) has me a bit concerned.
Thanks
Angela
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i find i stay fuller longer with increased fat and protein.0
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Macro's do matter but it still mostly boils down to in v's out. Macro's and nutrition timing are really only very important to people who are trying to manipulate their body into something very specific.
For most people, unless you LOVE the low carb lifestyle it's not sustainable. I personally eat 'lower' carbs than most, and 90% of my carbs come from fruit or veg rather than starches that said I had a lovely bowl of porridge for breakfast and I find that a low-carb diet doesn't suit me AT ALL.... I genuinely feel rubbish when I do very low carb.
I think most people eat too many carbs but personally I think any diet which says don't eat X ever! is crazy ... lifes to short and at the end of the day I've seen tons of people lose weight and be healthy with carbs in their diet.
The key here is balance! ..
Food quality is waaay more important than which macros you hit, if you feed your body nutritious food it will do good things.
It sounds to me that if you don't love it, then you should change it. The changes we make need to be for LIFE not just for Christmas
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Hi Ang! I'm with you; I'm trying to figure out how many carbs i can live with *and* achieve the same vitality and endurance i have being in ketosis. B/c it just isn't realistic for me in the long run either.
My macros were the same as yours. But I just changed them to 60%fat, 30% protein and 10%carb....I think this is doable, for me. We'll see.
I caved and ate cocoa dyno bites and chocolate chip, p-butter and mocha brownies like everyday the last 2 weeks of this last pregnancy. And I gained 16 lbs.!
Thankfully 20 of them came off after delivery and i'm now at my 4 month preggo weight 20 days post-partum.
But I have 20 pounds until goal weight and i like to eat. I'd like to be able to make cake (for the family) and eat it too. ;o)
I recall you were doing fantastic, being active and lifting too. Building muscle is definitely a win win! It is just figuring out how much to consume to build and then maintain it without going overboard.
I'm thinking the macros don't matter so much as long as they work for you... In terms of being realistic and living with them but will be following to see what the experts/experienced have to say. Eating the carbs just has me wanting more but then again i believe to have high insulin levels (insulin resistant).
I hope we both find the right ratios.0 -
I think you have to find what works for you. I have much stronger workouts with a higher carb intake (30%) or so, but I never went into Ketosis and it just wasn't practical for me. Quality of the foods you're eating and going by what works for you as an individual is quite important.0
