Macros

nlivesey8303
nlivesey8303 Posts: 5 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi -can someone help me, I have worked out I need 193g of macros which 40% of my daily meal intake and programmed MyFitnessPal, however if you see the pic it says 83% I’m not following?! 🤦‍♀️zn52uf2ddcb0.png

Replies

  • nlivesey8303
    nlivesey8303 Posts: 5 Member
    I’m only on breakfast
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    Those totals are just the percentages for the food you've eaten so far. The far right is the daily goal.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    In other words, you set macros for yourself, and your breakfast was not close to the breakdown you picked. that said, you can balance that out with the rest of the day. all meals don't have to follow your macro profile, just aim to get close by the end of the day.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    The pie chart is confusing and I would ignore it.

    Percentages are based on calories consumed to date, because otherwise they would not add up to 100%. Percentages also don't really matter. You can have the percentages perfect and still eat significantly over or under your calorie goal, which is bad (if done consistently, at least). So all the pie chart tells you is that your breakfast was high carb and quite low in protein and fat, which is not that uncommon (I'm the opposite, my breakfasts are often low carb and higher in fat than the rest of my meals, and I do think it's easier to hit a protein goal if you include a bit more protein with breakfast).

    I'd recommend focusing on the calorie goal and, if you want to focus on macros (personally I only cared about hitting my protein goal and let carbs and fat fall where they did), learn the gram goals and look at those. Protein is typically more of a minimum, especially if your calories are on the low side.

    Speaking of cals being on the low side, what are your cals? Those numbers make it look like you have a goal of 60 g of protein and that that's supposed to be 30% of your total cals, which would seem to say that your total cal goal is 800. That's not an MFP goal and normally would be only under doctor supervision and typically with more protein.
  • nlivesey8303
    nlivesey8303 Posts: 5 Member
    Thanks my calorie goal is just over 1900 per day. So am I right in thinking the 84% of the 40% total?
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    I don't pay much attention to the macros. I focus on staying in a calorie deficit.
  • kiddycat73
    kiddycat73 Posts: 67 Member
    It means that as of right now, as of the meals you have logged so far today, 84% of the calories you have logged have come from carbohydrates. As you go through the day and finish logging, it will even out unless you continue to eat mostly carbohydrates (which is fine if that’s what you want to eat).
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    nlivesey8303 wrote: »
    Thanks my calorie goal is just over 1900 per day. So am I right in thinking the 84% of the 40% total?

    No. it means out of what you already logged today, that food was 84% carbs.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited October 2019
    nlivesey8303 wrote: »
    Thanks my calorie goal is just over 1900 per day. So am I right in thinking the 84% of the 40% total?

    Great, I guess it's impossible to tell total cal from that pie chart, which is one reason I think it's not that helpful. I see how I was confusing myself, and glad I was wrong!

    As for the question, as erickirb and others have said, no, it just means that 84% of the cals in what you had for breakfast were from carbs. I don't personally find that especially useful information, especially when people who have eaten only a small portion of their total cals get the idea that they can't eat more carbs for the rest of the day (or fat or protein, depending).

    1900 cals at 30% protein and fat, 40% carbs would mean you have a goal of about:

    143 g protein; 190 g carbs; and 63 or 64 g fat. I think that's a much better way to think about it than looking at the confusing pie chart.

    So, based on what you ate at breakfast -- 52 g carbs, 2 g fat, 6 g protein, you have eaten only about 250 cals, mostly carbs, and have left about 1650 cals made up of 138 g carbs, 61 or 62 g fat, and 137 g protein. You don't have to hit them all exactly, and you may not need that much protein anyway.

    You aren't close to out of carbs, but you might have trouble hitting protein and fat goals depending on the rest of your meals. But you might not, like I said it's not that uncommon to have a higher carb breakfast.
  • nlivesey8303
    nlivesey8303 Posts: 5 Member
    Thanks everyone, just so I’m 100% the photo says I’m 45% of 40% carbs my trainer said that’s right but I’m no where near the 192g of carb goal. It also says my carb goal is 241g?!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    edited October 2019
    nlivesey8303 wrote: »
    Thanks everyone, just so I’m 100% the photo says I’m 45% of 40% carbs my trainer said that’s right but I’m no where near the 192g of carb goal. It also says my carb goal is 241g?!

    If you added exercise, MFP added calories, which would be at the same % as your goal. so if your goal was 1900 cals at 40%, and you burned 400 cals your goal is now 2300 with 40% so an increase in carbs from 192 to 240.

    That pie doesn't tell you how close you are to your goal in grams it just breaks out the % of each marcro of what you did eat.
  • nlivesey8303
    nlivesey8303 Posts: 5 Member
    Oh! Thanks maths was never my strong point! Appreciate you help!

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