Macro counting, anyone here doing it?

My hubby and I eat a ketogenic diet and have had great success with weight loss and other health factors including improved lipid blood panels. We track mostly our carb macro, but the lifestyle is low carb, moderate protein, and high fat. We do not do IIFYM (if it fits your macros) but rather we eat clean healthy organic foods - no processed foods for us (except bacon!). It's not complicated, just a different mindset to get away from counting calories and the fear of fat.

@MOB I give you credit I am not good at Keto at all

I loosely track macros to see how well I'm doing overall with my diet (more protein, less fat). MyFitnessPal is a good app because it does calories, nutrients, and macros for everything you put in.

@BtoB, I have been considering switching up my breakfast, I just love my Special K! I used to have a low calorie oatmeal which was low in fat and protein, but higher in carbs. Carbs are what I struggle most with as I love foods that are high in carbs. After looking over my food choices the last three days, the thing that sticks out the most to me is that I am lacking protein, so incorporating more protein in my breakfast may definitely help with that.

@OliviaP what happened/

@MrsVoegs I've lost 15 lbs and inches around my body. I had previously lost 50 lbs with weight watchers. But WW was not conducive to a weight lifter's life. We need carbs. Do not be shy of carbs. Especially if you're working out!

My biggest advice is meal prep! Track your lunch and plan everything around that. Make sure you're eating pre and post workout. Live by the 80/20 rule. 80% nutrient dense foods and 20% fun foods aka whatever you want within your macros! Life is all about balance. When we limit ourselves of life's indulgences, that's when we binge. Trust me I've learned the hard way many many times.

@Olivia, I am not looking at it as a long term thing, I am more looking to more efficiently cut fat over the next couple of months leading up to my dress fitting (Target: back fat/armpit fat, arm flab, belly flab; I know, I know, there's no such thing as a *quick* fix).

After that, I would like to return to counting calories as I have in the past to maintain my weight after my fitting. I had been hearing so much about macro ratios targeting specific goals of bulking vs. cutting, and when I noticed that a macro tracker had been added to the Fitbit app I got a little excited and started looking into it.

Sorry to hear that it didn't work out well for you, I hope that you and food are back on good terms!

@Brittany, first, congratulations on your weight loss! 65 pounds is incredible.

So that must be why my carb ratio is so high when I calculate my macros, because I'm working out (need carbs!), but not trying to build as much muscle right now (needs proteins).

Thank you!

Very common misconception. The only way you'll build muscle is being in a caloric surplus. Meaning probably 3,000 calories per day or more. I'm guessing you're not even close to that. So don't worry .. you aren't building muscle. Your muscles might APPEAR bigger but it's just because you're losing fat so they're coming out to play!

Do you lift weights?

@Brittany, I try to do strength training or tabata twice a week, and then the other 1-2 days I do cardio for 30-45 minutes by running and then do a few sets of reps on a couple of different machines at the gym.

ETA: I'm nowhere near close to 3,000 calories. My fitbit app starts me off at about 1,000 calories and adds more in as I walk during the day and exercise at night. I usually wait until after my evening workout to eat dinner because then I have "extra" calories to work with so I can splurge a little more. Fitbit calculates this off my age, height, and weight, my goal weight, and the difficulty of my nutrition plan, which I have chosen the hardest option.

You definitely don't want to do too much cardio. I was the girl who was doing cardio 6 days a week for an hour. I was relying on cardio to work off my food and punishing myself if I ate a bad meal. Don't get me wrong, cardio is needed. But so is weight lifting. Lifting will help you lose fat and replace that fat with muscle. Which is what we all want.

So do you think my balance of cardio/weights is decent or should I cut down on cardio or add more weight training? I love to run which is why I do so much cardio, but if upping my lifting frequency is what I need, I will do that as well.

So many moving parts with nutrition and fitness! Thank you for taking the time to give me information!

@Brittany I agree 100%

@MrsVoegs17 I would add more weights for sure. Some girls think training heavy with weights will make them bulky. That is a false statement, girls that do steroids and lift heavy become bulky. Weights, moderate cardio, and macros will get you there

Calorie counting is the same thing as macro counting- but you're just counting the tails side of the quarter instead of the heads side.

It doesn't make a difference.

Jumping up to- a well balanced fitness routine would/should/will have strength AND cardio vascular work.

So- both.

The more specific your goals are- the more you would lean to one side- it doesn't mean one is better or worse than the other- but it becomes goal driven. so a marathoner will greatly reduce strength work he or she does because of the running training takes priority.

A powerlifter will do minimal (almost no) cardiovascular work as they get closer to their competition.

It doesn't mean one is good or bad- but they are very specified.

If you aren't specified in your goals- you should do SOME of both.

@MrsVoegs17 I'd say no more than 30 min of cardio 2-3 times per week and lift 4x/week

Quads/hams

Back/biceps

Shoulders/chest

Shoulders/triceps

Glutes/hams

^^ that's my weekly split but you can do your own based on that.

JoRocka - it's similar but if you eat 1800 calories of legit all carbs is way different than eating 1800 calories of a variety of fats carbs and protein. But yes at the end of the day, weight loss is calories in versus calories out but if you're maximizing fat loss, it's ultimately about macros.

Macro Counting > Calorie counting.

Basically start with your protein intake. It usually runs about 1 lb of LEAN mass (your weight without body fat, if you don't know this, I recommend you do a body fat test). You should aim for .8 gram protein to 1 gram protein per day no matter what. Protein helps you "hang onto muscle" as you lose weight so its important. Hanging onto muscle = faster metabolism so its more than just looks. After strictly counting macros for a year, I just focus on my protein intake and let the rest fall into place.

From there you calculate your fats and carbs. Fat is important because it satiates your hunger/keeps you full for longer. This is somewhere around .4 grams per pound of body weight, however it varies per individual/ goals/etc....

The biggest thing that gets manipulated is carbs when going for fat loss. If fat loss is the goal, then typically you aim for less carbs, if muscle building is the goal, typically you'll aim for more carbs. If you are working out, your carbs shouldn't be too low. If you find you have low energy when you work out, try consuming the bulk of your carbs before and after a workout. "Eat for what you are about to do"

@Brittany, do you do each of those workouts daily ie: Quads/Hams, back/biceps? Or focus on one per day? How many sets do you do? How many reps in each set? How long do you spend lifting? Thank you again for the awesome info!

@Jo, during the summer, I pretty much only run, with no strength training, because I hate being inside at the gym and I do 1-2 5Ks a month. For now, I am looking to cut as much fat as I can leading up to my dress fitting.

@MrsVoegs17 Brittany is showing you a split routine. You focus on a section of your body each day.