How many macros do you do for weight loss and why?

stephaniec715
stephaniec715 Posts: 10 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have tried to look up different websites to figure out how many macros I should be consuming for weight loss, But there are so many different answers. Without paying to get the info from a real nutritionist, I'm just curious what you all do? Also… what do you do when you are way low on your calories? I had breakfast lunch and dinner and a small snack earlier in the day but I still have 400 calories to go. What would you do? Fat bombs? Protein shake? Thanks

Replies

  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,027 Member
    Go with MFP's default numbers and adjust according to your preferences. It's calories that matter for weight loss, macros are more about health and nutrition.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,204 Member
    For starters, just set up your MFP profile and use the default macros, treating protein & fat goals as minimums. The defaults aren't crazy for most people.

    If you need to consume more calories, look at where your macros are deficient, and eat something accordingly. If protein is low, eat something with protein (tuna, chicken, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, etc.) If fat is low, eat something with fat (nuts, avocado, peanut butter, etc.). If carbs are low but nothing else is, eat anything that sounds tasty in the moment (including a treat or alcoholic drink if you wish), because there is no minimum essential amount of carbs.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited March 2018
    stephaniec715 wrote: »
    I have tried to look up different websites to figure out how many macros I should be consuming for weight loss, But there are so many different answers. Without paying to get the info from a real nutritionist, I'm just curious what you all do? Also… what do you do when you are way low on your calories? I had breakfast lunch and dinner and a small snack earlier in the day but I still have 400 calories to go. What would you do? Fat bombs? Protein shake? Thanks

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1

    Macros are relevant for satiety, workout performance, body composition goals, energy levels, overall nutrition/health, etc. But speaking purely in terms of weight loss, your macro split doesn't matter. Calories are what matter. It doesn't matter if you choose to eat low-carb, low-fat or whatever, weight loss will be the same for equivalent calorie counts.
  • DarianJP
    DarianJP Posts: 95 Member
    Just make sure you’re hitting an appropriate protein intake for your stats and fill in the rest with fats and carbs depending on which one satisfies you more. Fats aren’t inherently bad and neither are carbs.
  • fb47
    fb47 Posts: 1,058 Member
    edited March 2018
    stephaniec715 wrote: »
    I have tried to look up different websites to figure out how many macros I should be consuming for weight loss, But there are so many different answers. Without paying to get the info from a real nutritionist, I'm just curious what you all do? Also… what do you do when you are way low on your calories? I had breakfast lunch and dinner and a small snack earlier in the day but I still have 400 calories to go. What would you do? Fat bombs? Protein shake? Thanks

    25%-30% of my calories goes towards fat (I like it in the higher end usually simply because there's almost fats in everything it seems these days), I keep 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight, the rest all carbs. The most important thing is calories for body composition, the macros aren't that important individually except you need to hit a certain minimum for fats and you need to get adequate protein which is especially important if you're an active person.

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