Counting Macros... Not Calories

Counting calories seem to be the norm for majority of people who are trying to lose weight and that is awesome. Weightloss is basically calories in vs. calories out. You want to be in a calorie deficit to lose pounds. That is why it is very important to keep track of what you eat to make sure you are staying on the right path when it comes to your nutrition.

I've been counting calories since I starting my journey but I have been having trouble with the amount of calories I should hit each day. Now in the beginning my goal was 1200 each day, but I found that I some times would get hungry and that lead me to making bad choices by the end of the day. The problem I found is that I was focused more on calories than the nutrients in the calories. That is why I am now counting my macronutrients versus my calories.

Macros are pretty much broken down into your protein, carbs, and fats intake. If you are on Myfitnesspal like me then you can see not only how much nutrients your are taking in but you can also see the percentages of your protein, fats, and carb which are your macros. Now everyone macros are different and myfitnesspal will give you what they think you should have based off your personal information.

I never followed what myfitnesspal gave me for calories because there is no way I am eating 1800 calories and now I am not following what they gave me for macros. I eat a low carb, high protein diet so I never hit what they give me. I recently adjusted my own macros in myfitnesspal to better accommodate the goals I want to hit and here they are below.

My calorie goal is to not go over 1600, but following my macros I never will.

My protein goal is 160g (40%)
My carbohydrate goal is 100g (25%)
My fats goal is 62g (35%)

Although fats are important, I will most likely never hit 62 grams of fat eating as clean as I do. I hate nuts, avocados, and not big on oils sooooo yea lol.

So far with hitting my protein and carb macro goals, I eat around 1200-1300 calories and I am NEVER hungry in-between meals.

Counting macros might help you eat more clean and keep you from being hungry. Let me know if you have tried it out!