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tracking macros....

pcarzola

Member
Just taking a survey...

How many of you track your macros religiously and how many dont?

Do you believe its "necessary" if not competing?

I do, and im almost ocd about it. Its not an easy thing to do day in an out.
 
I only really track on a cut and then when I'm reverse dieting back up for like a month after my cut. Besides that I just go by if I'm hungry or not... But I always have a weight in mind that if I hit I do a mini cut and track macros for a week or two.

I feel like if you are serious about changing you physique you need to track your macros.
 
Is it absolutely necessary for the majority of people, no.

Personally, I track, but that is because it helps with structure, which I am all about in all aspects of my life. I like structure. I do not find it time consuming or hard in anyway.

Why do you think it isn't easy?
 
pcarzola said:
Just taking a survey...

How many of you track your macros religiously and how many dont?

Do you believe its "necessary" if not competing?

I do, and im almost ocd about it. Its not an easy thing to do day in an out.
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If your not going to make a living off bodybuilding and counting calories for most of us we can do it to help us enhance our physique and seek some goals, but if you start to become OCD and it starts to take away from your friends, family and social life then there is a problem
This is hobby, not your lifestyle or your career, so yes it can be nice to track calories to help you achieve progress in and out of the gym, but nothing that should be taken to the OCD level.
 
I count all of mine except on a cheat day, main reason is simply because my metabolism is sooo slow that I need to know everything I eat and watch it carefully.
 
I count while I'm cutting and especially when I'm carb cycling. I just count protein and make sure I don't go under my calorie goal when bulking.
 
The Solution said:
If your not going to make a living off bodybuilding and counting calories for most of us we can do it to help us enhance our physique and seek some goals, but if you start to become OCD and it starts to take away from your friends, family and social life then there is a problem
This is hobby, not your lifestyle or your career, so yes it can be nice to track calories to help you achieve progress in and out of the gym, but nothing that should be taken to the OCD level.
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Great points. I dont compete, but I have been tracking my macros religiously for over a year. As you can imagine, Ive missed dining out etc because I didnt have my scale etc.lol. Lately, Ive been just thinking about going without counting for awhile and eating sensibly.
 
pcarzola said:
Great points. I dont compete, but I have been tracking my macros religiously for over a year. As you can imagine, Ive missed dining out etc because I didnt have my scale etc.lol. Lately, Ive been just thinking about going without counting for awhile and eating sensibly.
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Sounds fun :)
 
grinnell27 said:
I count all of mine except on a cheat day, main reason is simply because my metabolism is sooo slow that I need to know everything I eat and watch it carefully.
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I hear ya. Its not that its a hard thing to do. Maybe Ill just work in a cheat day where anything goes. Alcohol etc. Right now I have no cheat days so maybe Ill try that. I wanted to see how many actually count and who just go by how they feel!
 
pcarzola said:
Great points. I dont compete, but I have been tracking my macros religiously for over a year. As you can imagine, Ive missed dining out etc because I didnt have my scale etc.lol. Lately, Ive been just thinking about going without counting for awhile and eating sensibly.
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This is a red flag
Why would you negate social events because you do not have a scale. its not like your stepping on stage in 2 weeks or going to get a paycheck for hiting 333g of carbs or going a few over or enjoying a free meal

Think about what your saying. Think about your long term relationship with food and the big picture here.
 
The Solution said:
If your not going to make a living off bodybuilding and counting calories for most of us we can do it to help us enhance our physique and seek some goals, but if you start to become OCD and it starts to take away from your friends, family and social life then there is a problem This is hobby, not your lifestyle or your career, so yes it can be nice to track calories to help you achieve progress in and out of the gym, but nothing that should be taken to the OCD level.
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exactly!!! Honestly, I do have a general idea of how much I take in everyday, but I never track macros to the point of +/- a gram. If you are not competing then do not stress over it
 
I count my steps, reps, and bowel movements and net those out of my daily calories so I can account for caloric expenditures. Just kidding. Def dont let this eat up your life if your not making a living off of this. Even if you get your calories down perfectly there are other variables that will change your net caloric deficit/surplus. So dont sweat it. If your off a little one day it wont make a difference if your in it for the long haul like it seems you are. When im out to eat i either take a min and look it up on myfitnesspal app while im there real quick or if I know im going out to a specific place you can look it up before you go and it will be close enough to what you actually eat.
 
Here it is i am 13 days away from reaching 700 days in a row on myfitnesspal. I am 20.... i would rather not use it but its more of a mental state for me/re assuring myself i hit everything. Weight everything too. It does hurt my social life but ever since i have joined team pro physique i have had a better relationship with food. Some people have problems and brush it off but its a big deal.
 
The Solution said:
This is a red flag
Why would you negate social events because you do not have a scale. its not like your stepping on stage in 2 weeks or going to get a paycheck for hiting 333g of carbs or going a few over or enjoying a free meal

Think about what your saying. Think about your long term relationship with food and the big picture here.
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Seriously, its not that serious..lol. i appreciate your comments and was kidding about the scale thing. But i do take this **** serious as many others do. Im simply wondering how many weigh all their food and count macros vs going on the feel. Thanks!
 
I weight everything and i have to admit, i have a small pocket scale that i USED to bring to places when i ate out
 
pcarzola said:
Seriously, its not that serious..lol. i appreciate your comments and was kidding about the scale thing. But i do take this **** serious as many others do. Im simply wondering how many weigh all their food and count macros vs going on the feel. Thanks!
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Its not that serious? so you turn down dinners and social gatherings because you don't want to miss a meal or fear you will eat 2-3g of fat over a meal and not hit your macros (just a statement not being 100% serious but you get the point)

Ok, in 3 years if you look back and you missed your macros on 2 days out of the 365 days you lived in 2014 are you going to get fat?
Are you going to get a 10,000$ paycheck because you hit your macros?
Are you going to be the next greatest thing in the fitness industry for hitting macros for so many X or Y days?
Think about that in the big picture for a second.

Do you really see yourself putting everything on a scale the rest of your life and turning down friends, family members, and social gatherings in the future? you going to weigh out your wedding cake too when you get married too?

It is not healthy, bodybuilding is not healthy in general. A lot of people get eating disorders off tracking calories and macros consistently, they lose friendships and friends and families because they rather weigh their food or get in a workout. They start to schedule their life around their gym time and their meal times and negate other aspects of their social life, their jobs, their friends, and other things or hobbies they may have because they are looking at the clock for the X or Y hour to eat their next meal.

There is plenty of research and real life experience to show you both of these examples, and yet people continually fall into this trap. not saying you are that, but still none of us are going to be the next jay cutlet unless we start injecting ourself full of fluids and oil's. None of us are going to make a living off weighing our food, for us to pass up time with friends, family and social events is just ludicrous. Those may be memories you may never get back as you grow up, and you may lose things you wish you could take back because you had to eat that 100g of rice and 200g of chicken before going "Catabolic" bro.

Many people have fallen victim to counting calories so close that it can lead to health problems, organ failure, and also may lead to HRT or TRT due to undereating for prolonged periods of time or very low fat intakes (again not saying you do, just stating about IRL) and what this can do to some people who are so wrapped out tracking everything to a T.

While that is great, and it does aid our goals and physiques in the gym which we work hard for. We have to remember this is only going to be a "Hobby" for us as we grow up, and its just something we do for fun. Just like if we went hunting, or went fishing. We will never get paid, we do it to have fun, put a smile on our face, or maybe pass some stress we have on our shoulders.
 
I used to be really ocd about it as well. I got on a new plan with a coach and stopped tracking. It honestly feels like a burden has been lifted as odd as that sounds. I obsessed over the numbers. I now just eyeball it and this cut is going better than Any since I started tracking a year ago.
 
dbrock504 said:
I used to be really ocd about it as well. I got on a new plan with a coach and stopped tracking. It honestly feels like a burden has been lifted as odd as that sounds. I obsessed over the numbers. I now just eyeball it and this cut is going better than Any since I started tracking a year ago.
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Funny you say this
I just got a few PM's stating the same thing :)
 
I wish I knew how to track them better. I'm sooooo lost at times. Do I go by the calories or the carbs, fats, or proteins?! But... What if I hit all those but don't take in enough calories?! What if I hit my calories and go over all my macros.


:face palm: :over analyzing:
 
The Solution said:
Its not that serious? so you turn down dinners and social gatherings because you don't want to miss a meal or fear you will eat 2-3g of fat over a meal and not hit your macros (just a statement not being 100% serious but you get the point)

Ok, in 3 years if you look back and you missed your macros on 2 days out of the 365 days you lived in 2014 are you going to get fat?
Are you going to get a 10,000$ paycheck because you hit your macros?
Are you going to be the next greatest thing in the fitness industry for hitting macros for so many X or Y days?
Think about that in the big picture for a second.

Do you really see yourself putting everything on a scale the rest of your life and turning down friends, family members, and social gatherings in the future? you going to weigh out your wedding cake too when you get married too?

It is not healthy, bodybuilding is not healthy in general. A lot of people get eating disorders off tracking calories and macros consistently, they lose friendships and friends and families because they rather weigh their food or get in a workout. They start to schedule their life around their gym time and their meal times and negate other aspects of their social life, their jobs, their friends, and other things or hobbies they may have because they are looking at the clock for the X or Y hour to eat their next meal.

There is plenty of research and real life experience to show you both of these examples, and yet people continually fall into this trap. not saying you are that, but still none of us are going to be the next jay cutlet unless we start injecting ourself full of fluids and oil's. None of us are going to make a living off weighing our food, for us to pass up time with friends, family and social events is just ludicrous. Those may be memories you may never get back as you grow up, and you may lose things you wish you could take back because you had to eat that 100g of rice and 200g of chicken before going "Catabolic" bro.

Many people have fallen victim to counting calories so close that it can lead to health problems, organ failure, and also may lead to HRT or TRT due to undereating for prolonged periods of time or very low fat intakes (again not saying you do, just stating about IRL) and what this can do to some people who are so wrapped out tracking everything to a T.

While that is great, and it does aid our goals and physiques in the gym which we work hard for. We have to remember this is only going to be a "Hobby" for us as we grow up, and its just something we do for fun. Just like if we went hunting, or went fishing. We will never get paid, we do it to have fun, put a smile on our face, or maybe pass some stress we have on our shoulders.
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Very well said.
 
puccah8808 said:
I wish I knew how to track them better. I'm sooooo lost at times. Do I go by the calories or the carbs, fats, or proteins?! But... What if I hit all those but don't take in enough calories?! What if I hit my calories and go over all my macros. :face palm: :over analyzing:
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Download the app- my fitness pal. Just enter in your food and it does the rest. It keeps track of all your macros, micros, cals everything.
 
The first problem to having a problem is admitting it. Seems like some people here and other similar sites have an ED, but do not realize it.
 
AntM1564 said:
The first problem to having a problem is admitting it. Seems like some people here and other similar sites have an ED, but do not realize it.
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It's true, the thing is most people don't want to admit it. I know I didn't but it got to a point where I put eating in front of family gatherings. And it's just not right. Even at thanksgiving weighting my turkey. I hope people notice what's going on and draw a line in the sand. I never knew how important it is to form a good relationship with food.
 
Tabascoonall said:
It's true, the thing is most people don't want to admit it. I know I didn't but it got to a point where I put eating in front of family gatherings. And it's just not right. Even at thanksgiving weighting my turkey. I hope people notice what's going on and draw a line in the sand. I never knew how important it is to form a good relationship with food.
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Im glad I started this thread.
 
it was a great idea, i know having people to talk to about ED is very helpful. Cause i use to think i was alone and couldn't go to anyone
 
I weigh myself before I eat. Then I eat and weigh myself after I eat. If I didn't get heavier, I eat more. Especially on Thanksgiving:) (totally not serious)
 
Well said by The Solution. Live your life, there's no sense in obsessing over things like how you can't hang out with friends or family because you didn't hit your macros or are afraid to go over. Tracking macros has its benefits but it shouldn't consumer your life.
 
Missing social events because you couldn't weigh your food... Unless you're deep into a contest prep then you are just being ridiculous.
 
People track macros so they can be flexible with their diets but now it has created a new obsession/ disorder.

Don't forget that being flexible is all apart of it.
Make adjustments and be sensible with your eating.
 
Contopaxi said:
Missing social events because you couldn't weigh your food... Unless you're deep into a contest prep then you are just being ridiculous.
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Gotta make sure your hitting them macros bro.
Gonna get fat if you dont or enjoy a meal out

People will look back in 3 months, 1 year, 3 years and just laugh for missing those chances.
 
The Solution said:
Gotta make sure your hitting them macros bro. Gonna get fat if you dont or enjoy a meal out People will look back in 3 months, 1 year, 3 years and just laugh for missing those chances.
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Das it mane

In saying that.
If I know I have a social event I adjust my eating during the day to accommodate for a big meal or a couple of beers with mates
 
Contopaxi said:
Das it mane

In saying that.
If I know I have a social event I adjust my eating during the day to accommodate for a big meal or a couple of beers with mates
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and if you go over or under kcals who cares? none of us get paid to hit macros. Sure it helps to reach goals, but there is more to life than making sure you hit X or Y macros, or shelter yourself to a scale when in reality none of us will get paid to do this.
 
The Solution said:
and if you go over or under kcals who cares? none of us get paid to hit macros. Sure it helps to reach goals, but there is more to life than making sure you hit X or Y macros, or shelter yourself to a scale when in reality none of us will get paid to do this.
Click to expand...

Perfectly put man!
The solution coming through with the goods again!
 
The Solution said:
Gotta make sure your hitting them macros bro.
Gonna get fat if you dont or enjoy a meal out

People will look back in 3 months, 1 year, 3 years and just laugh for missing those chances.
Click to expand...

The bolded is so true for me, in the way I used to eat. Probably had an ED to an extent.
 
I think counting calories has a place and I do it. I use a kitchen scale for baking and meal prep to help towards goals.
I agree with others that if it affects your social life you've gone too far. I think bringing a scale to a restaurant is a bad sign.

Several years ago I was very OCD about caloric intake. I'll admit I had an ED. I was starting to miss out on social events and realized a few things...
1) I wasn't making gains so wtf I'm doing!
2) although I was eating healthy foods, it was unhealthy mentally which believe it or not will hinder your physical progress
3) life is too short
 
Sorry to bump an old thread, but just wanted to say thanks to those who contributed (instead of PMing everybody)! For about 8 months I have just been eating from 8-10 p.m. Basically the same thing everyday, but not tracking calories, macros, etc. Body looks fine (lean) but my progress totally stalled on my training and I have gotten sick of feeling worn down all day. I recently decided to to go back to a normal eating schedule to try to put on some lean mass and just improve my quality of life. Guess what happened...I started trying to plan the perfect macro split for my return to eating and BOOM, paralysis by analysis.

So I stumbled upon this thread and took it to heart. No more obsessing over percentages. Time to eat, train, grow and learn/tweak as I go.

Thanks again
 
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