Cals in/out All cals not equal, macro ratios?

[kalfusisagod]

I've had a fitbit surge for the past year and it helps a lot losing (slowly)/maintaining my weight. I currently have a 3500 to 4500/week calorie deficit through eating and exercise (mostly walking, biking, and jogging).

I log all my food (MFP) and exercise (Fitbit) but only focus on my calories and not on my macros. My questions are:

Keeping this simple- If my recommended calorie intake to lose 1lb/week is 2000 cals, and I eat 2500 calories of Wegman cupcakes (plus a multivitam and water) while burning off 500 calories via walking/running, is this possible to lose roughly 1lb/week?

Would it be better to count and manage my macros (via MFP)? I suppose it should be healthier, but does it really pay off in the long run?

Finally what is the protein/carb/fat ratio I should follow? I see too many ratios out there from low fat, high protein, high carbs etc.

I sometimes manually log my calories into MFP's website as barcode scanning is not always possible for me (work-related issues) and I'm trying to decide if I should pay for a MFP membership to enable the manual macro entry into MFP (as Fitbit totally lacks the macro input). Thank you.

-Joseph

[Raelcvn]

It depends, everyone is different. My son can eat what ever he wants and lose weight. I can not. What I eat makes a difference for me. If I eat 1500 calories of the wrong foods, I will gain weight no matter how much I exercise, if I eat 1500 of the right calories and exercise, I will lose weight. Age, health, male vs female, how much body fat to lean mass you have, and more are all factors also. I don't care what anyone says, it is not a matter of simple math. If it were, I wouldn't have a problem losing weight. All you can do is play with and find what works for you.

[BWright1175]

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@kalfusisagod wrote:

Keeping this simple- If my recommended calorie intake to lose 1lb/week is 2000 cals, and I eat 2500 calories of Wegman cupcakes (plus a multivitam and water) while burning off 500 calories via walking/running, is this possible to lose roughly 1lb/week?

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Yes.

Nutrition Professor loses 27 lbs eating Twinkies

[Ukase]

Personally, I've never found a use for MFP. Fitbit's site does that for me just fine - but I prepare my own meals - and "create a meal" and divide the total number of calories that went into the meal and divide the portions to get the number of calories. I only have to do it once - and then, there it is on the right side for me to click and log it. 

As far as the macro ration - this is going to vary from individual to individual. Mine is 50% protein, 30% fat, 20% carbs. 

Do I actually follow that? Nope. I do try to avoid sugars and starches for the most part, except sweet potatoes and brown rice (I think those two are starch-y). 

Now - your specific question - "If my recommended calorie intake to lose 1lb/week is 2000 cals, and I eat 2500 calories of Wegman cupcakes (plus a multivitam and water) while burning off 500 calories via walking/running, is this possible to lose roughly 1lb/week?"

If I understand the question - you're asking if you eat 500 calories of junk, but burn off 500 calories, and all other diet data would result in you losing a pound, then yeah, you'd probably still lose that pound a week. 

BUT! 

Keep in mind that some foods have very little value nutritionally. And a lot of sugar. In the short run, we have to wonder if this food will just restore your glycogen levels, or will it get stored as fat? 

Realize, that we never lose fat cells, except in the case of famine. And when you have a surplus of calories, you may gain some muscle and fat, or just fat. (or some fat and some very slightly larger nails and hair - all protein, that stuff) 

I say, you only live once. As long as you're having a variety in your diet, and are watching the calories and getting enough protein, the rest should take care of itself. (and how much protein is enough? Depends on the needs of your body.) 

Just be sure to check the calories per serving - and then check what a serving is. Those cupcakes are probably 500 calories EACH. You'll have to walk for about 80 minutes, I think to work that off. 

[Dominique]

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@Raelcvn wrote:

My son can eat what ever he wants and lose weight.

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Your son can eat more than you, because he’s younger, a male and possibly more muscular and more active than you, but even he can only lose weight if he eats less than he burns.

[FitBeforeFifty]

For me, macros are a by product of the way I eat and not a goal. I logged my food every day for 9 months to get to my goal weight but never knew my macros. Having the luxury of plentiful data, I later pulled reports and found that I was pretty consistent at 45% carbs, 35% fat and 20% protein.  I don't believe that is a magic number, it's just how I like to eat.

The interesting part of this is I was eating more and more while I lost weight because I was slowly increasing my exercise duration/intensity and burning more and more calories. This meant I was increasing my carb intake consistently as well.

My first week of weight loss I averaged 169 grams of carbs per day. The week before I got to my goal weight I averaged 252 grams of carbs and was losing weight as easily the last week as the first week.

These weren't all "healthy" carbs either ... some were, some weren't. I continued to eat pizza (once per week), pasta (at least 2 - 3 times per week) and drink beer on the weekends.

If you are sedentary, you should consume fewer calories and thus fewer carbs ... the more active you are the more you can consume. 

I like to use this graph to demonstrate the truth behind energy balance. This shows the food I consumed, my exercise calories burned and my weight. As you can see, I continued eating more and more calories (and thus more and more carbs) while my weight continued to drop consistently. Eventually I need to add a second line to show carb intake increasing for those that believe carbs are all that matters and exercise doesn't aid in weight loss.

Note: the flattening of the weight loss slope toward the end was intentional. I cut my calorie deficit target from 500 calories to 250 calories as I approached my goal weight (last 6 - 8 weeks I think).

[I-train-hard]

you could lose weight even eating a cardboard....

calories in must be less than needed. Simple.

[Raelcvn]

Dominique: I agree, he is younger, male, and has a more active job than I do. He's on his feet and moving around for his 4 to 10 hour shifts, 5 to 6 days a week. He rides his bike a lot too. I wouldn't call him muscular in any way, but he's young and still has all his lean muscle mass. I am actually pretty active, but I'm older, and I've lost muscle mass through out the years. I guess that was my point, I have a lot of factors and it isn't simple math for me to lose weight. For me to lose weight, what I eat is as important as the calories in verses calories burned. I feel better too which is definitely a plus.

[hollie68]

You want to be sure you're eating enough protein.  If you don't, you run the risk of your body catabolizing your muscle to feed your body.  That isn't what you want.  You want your body to burn the fat.  From what I've read, a good rule of thumb is a 0.6 - 0.8 g of protein daily for every pound of body weight.  Something to consider.

Good luck!

[kalfusisagod]

@FitBeforeFifty Thank you for your explaination, and I understand that the more you're active, the more you should eat to fuel that activity. I bit the bullet and purchased fitbit's premium reporting and since the beginning of 2016 my weekly averages are:

14% Protein

32% Fat

53% Carbs

I'm going to see if I could modify my weekday meal plans to include more protein and less fat. 

Your graph was really helpful too. Thanks.

-Joseph

[I-train-hard]

your 

 14% Protein

32% Fat

53% Carbs

are completely wrong. 

You will gain weight and it will not be a muscle but fat.

Redo you %

More protein, a bit leas carbs and a lot less fat.

[emili]

@kalfusisagod I found this site to be helpful in explaining macros http://www.iifym.com/iifym-calculator/. I also read the twinkie experiment and I would suggest you do the same. Just for your own information about the value of a calorie. none of us know you enough to suggest anything specific, you have to figure that out for yourself and the only way to do it is through trial and error. do something for a week or two and see what happens. if it works great- stick with it until it doesn't. If no, then back to the drawing board. Read, try, repeat. best, E.

[kalfusisagod]

@I-train-hard @emili @hollie68 Thank you for your input, I'm going to start small now, and move from counting just calories to slowly counting macros. I've mapped out my daily macro counts (I prepare my food 4 to 5 days a week and it's the same every time). Dinner varies from night to night. I think I'm going to change my 54g of carbs in my cereal to something else like a more protein focused cereal. Below is a snapshot of my breakfast, lunch, and snacks throughout. Thanks again.

[FitBeforeFifty]

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@I-train-hard wrote:

your 

 14% Protein

32% Fat

53% Carbs

are completely wrong. 

You will gain weight and it will not be a muscle but fat.

Redo you %

More protein, a bit leas carbs and a lot less fat.

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I don't believe you can backup those assertions with any scientific reference. There is no magic macro ratio that causes fat gain or muscle gain. 

[Dominique]

@kalfusisagod: a quick comment/question on your sample day diet: where are the veggies?! I don’t see any. I would be super-hungry if I had to eat like that, and I’m probably a lot smaller than you. "Replace grain with greens", that’s one piece of advice from John Berardi I remember. For the same amount of calories, veggies would make you feel a lot fuller than "empty carbs" like bread. A liitle bit more work (preparation), but a lot more bang for the buck.

[I-train-hard]

FitBeforeFifty

take a look please. http://nationalacademies.org/hmd/Global/Topics/Food-Nutrition.aspx

[FitBeforeFifty]

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@I-train-hard wrote:

@FitBeforeFifty

take a look please. http://nationalacademies.org/hmd/Global/Topics/Food-Nutrition.aspx

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That is a website home page not a study. I'm not going to search the site trying to help you make your case. Please point to where a certain macro nutrient ratio makes people gain gat ?

[I-train-hard]

You don’t have to help me with anything.

If you really want to know, fallow the white rabbit.... -http://www.precisionnutrition.com/

[FitBeforeFifty]

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@I-train-hard wrote:

You don’t have to help me with anything.

If you really want to know, fallow the white rabbit.... -http://www.precisionnutrition.com/

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Once again, just another website -- no different than a blog or a podcast. I guess we will just have accept your claim as nothing more than bro-science.

[Dominique]

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@FitBeforeFifty wrote:

There is no magic macro ratio that causes fat gain or muscle gain. 

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Indeed, fat loss or fat gain is driven by calories, not macro split. The exact same macro ratio would lead to fat loss if expenditure exceeds total intake, or to fat gain if total intake exceeds expenditure.

For instance, my peanut butter is 579 calories per 100 grams, with 46% of fat, 12% of carbs and 30% of proteins. If my diet consisted of 300 grams of peanut butter and nothing else, and my expenditure was 2000 calories, I would lose fat (deficit: 2000 - 579x3 = 263 calories. If the diet consisted of 400 grams of peanut butter and my expenditure was the same 2000 calories, I would gain fat (surplus: 579x4 - 2000 = 316 calories. Now, the exact deficit/surplus may not be the values I calculated (because of thermic effect of food, fibers, not all calories absorbed etc.), but the basic idea remains the same: you can find amounts of the same macro ratio that will lead to fat gain or fat loss.