Calculating macros

SamDreamBIG
SamDreamBIG Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi I've just started my journey in weight loss and was wondering if someone could explain this macros business
Thanks x

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    If you've just started with weight loss, you don't have to worry about macros. In fact, I would advice against it. Start with setting an appropriate amount of calories, learning to use a food scale, logging correctly, and hitting your calorie goal every day. Weigh yourself regularly and consistently and watch the trend. You will want to lose 1% of your body weight per week, on average. (Some weeks will showe greater loss, other weeks smaller losses, other weeks no loss, some weeks seemingly gains. Nothing to worry about if you are tracking and controlling your intake correctly.)

    If you - say, after a month - find yourself struggling with hunger, cravings, lethargy, or other issues related to sticking to an appropriate amount of calories, you can look into macro splits.
  • sceleratis
    sceleratis Posts: 89 Member
    There are four macro nutrients. Fat has 9 calories per gram, carbs and protein have 4 calories per gram, and alcohol has 7 calories per gram. Most foods are made up of some combination of fat, carbs and protein.

    Your daily calorie allotment is made up of a mixture of fat, carbs and protein. You can pretty much arrange these however you like, but the DRI suggests that you get at minimum .36 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. That's the minimum, mind you. The rest of your calories can be distributed as you see fit. Some people prefer more fat, others prefer more carbs.

    So say you have around 2000 calories a day to work with. A breakdown could be:

    120 grams of protein (120 x 4) = 480 calories
    70 grams of fat (70 x 9) = 630 calories
    223 grams of carbs (223 x 4) = 892 calories

    Add up all of those calorie amounts and you get 2002 calories.

    Again, this is just an example. There are tons of calculators online that can help you to determine the best macro breakdown for your goals.

    Counting macros and counting calories are very similar, but if you're just starting out it's probably in your best interest to worry about overall calorie count versus tracking macros so you can get the hang of working with this lifestyle change.
  • hillaryjess
    hillaryjess Posts: 39 Member
    I agree that initially counting overall calories is a good way start out particularly if you are wanting to drop a considerable amount of weight. It can get overwhelming and hectic if you're just starting out with your weight loss journey to be tracking macros too. It's A LOT of meal planning and prepping. Also it can be difficult to adjust your day if a friend or family want to do a spontaneous meal out.
    Still, as you're logging I would suggest at least glancing at the macro split of your day overall to start becoming familiar with which foods or meals are heavy/light in each of the 3 macros (I'm excluding alcohol here. Yes it has calories but it is a toxin and not a nutrient. Though they are not free calories when I figure them into my day) This will be a big help if you do decide to count in the future. I'm a macro counter(only been doing it for a couple months) but I'm a big fan of it. I follow the "if it fits your macros" school of thought and have had success monitoring my nutrients for race preparation. If you have any further questions about my experience with it please feel free to add or DM me.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    A long read but a very good read....

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1
  • olymp1a
    olymp1a Posts: 1,766 Member
    A good place if you want to learn more about macros is iifym.com/ You will find plenty of information on their site and they also have a free macro calculator which I use for my macros.

    However, I agree with the previous posters that tracking macros can be overwhelming and if you have a lot of weight to lose just focus on calories and slowly start noticing the MFP suggested macros on your diary. See for example if you feel better on a day when you have bigger protein intake, or if lots of carbs make you feel bloated.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    Good advice above ^^

    I lost 30 pounds without focusing on macro's at all. Should I have? I don't know - I'm not an expert in nutrition but I am aware of eating food that keeps me 'full' and energised. There are many people here that follow their macro's to the T and that suits them. It's not something I have ever been interested in tracking myself - I don't want *another* element to 'add' and 'track'. I just want to eat a normal, healthy and balanced 'diet'. Which I have done and continue to do. If it's weight loss you are after, don't over-complicate things. Get a grasp of the calorie in/out idea and you'll reach all your goals no problem :)

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