Rant..counting macros

halimaiqbal00
halimaiqbal00 Posts: 288 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Is so time consuming and a royal pain in the *kitten*. Fiddling about with numbers to make sure they're within 5g of protein, carbs and fat. I've been tweaking my eats to get the numbers to match all day it seems. What a bother!

If I just keep my protein up, does it matter where my carbs and fats fall as long as I meet my calorie allowance?

Replies

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    Depends on your goals.
    There is no reason to fiddle all day with them - they don't need to be exact, it's just a guide.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    That degree of precision is totally unnecessary. Relax a bit!
    Protein and fats as minimum goals for me when I can be bothered even logging food at all.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I never particularly obsessed about them that much...great to be aware of generally...hardly anything you need to be precise with.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    I've never paid attention to macros and things have turned out ok for me :)
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Outside of a physique competitor or someone needing specific breakdowns for medical reasons, the average gym goer doesn't need to obsess over perfect macros. A general idea is more than enough.
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,396 Member
    I've never looked at my macros, just my over all calorie count and I've not had any issues reaching my goals (not that I have very strict goals).
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Diabetics have to care too.

    I find if I include all macros in each meal it balances out in the end. Or close enough.

    Yesterday was an exception; a carb-fest. I lived.
  • bellaa_x0
    bellaa_x0 Posts: 1,062 Member
    its really not that difficult once you've been doing it for a while - you get used to it. time consuming? don't see how it is any more time consuming than counting calories. plus its like a puzzle when it comes to finding what foods you can eat to meet your macros.
  • halimaiqbal00
    halimaiqbal00 Posts: 288 Member
    Phew, that's reassuring! I watched some vids concerning macros on YouTube and one fitness lady specifically stated that you haven't met your macros if you're not within 5 percent of all 3. Started obsessing once I heard that
  • halimaiqbal00
    halimaiqbal00 Posts: 288 Member
    edited December 2016
    Of course it's more time consuming than hitting calorie amount. Trying to stay under 2000 calories for instance, is much more simple than trying to hit a specific number of carbs, fats and protein. Or am I missing something?
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    edited December 2016
    I found that when I focus on getting enough protein, that carbs and fat fall into line. Then I evaluate on a weekly basis using the pie chart in the phone app.
  • ronjsteele1
    ronjsteele1 Posts: 1,064 Member
    I typically eat higher fat, lower carb. I have to make sure my protein intake is adequate (which is hard for me!) because I have pancreas damage and have to be very aware of blood sugar. I'm not diabetic but am trying to avoid it bc of the pancreas damage. That said, I only pay attention to protein and the fat and carbs tend to just fall in line where I want/need them too. I spend little to no time thinking about macros. Maybe it will matter when I get closer to goal???
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited December 2016
    halimaiqbal00 wrote: »
    Of course it's more time consuming than hitting calorie amount. Trying to stay under 2000 calories for instance, is much more simple than trying to hit a specific number of carbs, fats and protein. Or am I missing something?

    Yes you are missing that your body is incredibly efficient and capable of thriving on a very varied diet and is also able to squirrel away macros for another day.
    Protein and fat are essential which is why minimums make sense - if you go over it doesn't matter in the slightest. Carbs are the most variable - you will notice there are successful people eating low/medium/high carb....
    Let enjoyment and performance be your guide to carbs IMHO.

    Hit your calories first (even that can be averaged out) then don't obsess over the little details.

    You can find all sorts of people on YouTube trying to make a living out of making something simple more complex than it needs to be.
  • Skyblueyellow
    Skyblueyellow Posts: 225 Member
    I do eat to my macros because I'm diabetic. I fiddle around with them but I pretty much know what I need to add to my evening snack to get pretty darn close. I don't worry if I'm over or under by a few percent here and there. It's not going to add up perfectly every day. What matters for me is being aware of my carb intake. I use my macros as another tool to help control by blood sugar.

    Personally, barring medical issues, I'm not sure that most people need to pay too much attention to macros as long as they hit their calorie goals.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    halimaiqbal00 wrote: »
    Phew, that's reassuring! I watched some vids concerning macros on YouTube and one fitness lady specifically stated that you haven't met your macros if you're not within 5 percent of all 3. Started obsessing once I heard that

    The fitness industry at large tends to make things far more complicated than need be, particularly when we're talking about gen pop. They tend to take things that may have some impact for, say, a competitive bodybuilder and extrapolate them out and exaggerate those benefits to gen pop...when in fact, in many cases, they're mute points for gen pop.
  • SlothLady_97
    SlothLady_97 Posts: 6 Member
    It's alright to be picky and anal about macros, but, when it comes to weightloss at its core, macros don't really matter. I never try to track my fat, carbs, protein. All I do is stay within my calories and obviously make some sort of effort to get fruits and veggies in there for health and nutrition. If you don't have any sort of deficiency, it's nothing to worry about.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Calories > Macros > All else.

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