There’s often confusion around why we count macronutrients but not calories. This is especially true because macronutrients essentially are calories:

• • • • • 1 gram of protein = 4 calories
        • 1 gram of carbohydrate = 4 calories
        • 1 gram of fat = 9 calories
        • 1 gram of alcohol = 7 calories

Calories definitely matter. Calories in verses calories out is the defining factor in overall weight gain or loss. Because each macronutrient has a specified number of calories it means that if you hit your macros you are also hitting your calories. What calories alone don’t count is what type of weight we lose or gain. If you are trying to lose 10lbs and simply eat at a caloric deficit to accomplish this, you have no knowledge or control over whether the weight you’re losing comes from the loss of muscle tissue, connective tissue, hormones, bones, or fat (which is what we will assume we’re all hoping to lose). Each macronutrient serves a different purpose within your body, as well as supports different tissue types. (As a side note, you might be surprised to know that dietary fat does not necessarily just support body fat!). Protein, for example supports muscle. And when we’re simply eating at a deficit with no regard for the macronutrients of that deficit, you’re likely not getting enough protein. Losing 10lbs of muscle will result in weight loss yes and the number on the scale might be satisfying to see, but you’ll likely still feel squishy having not lost the fat tissue you had hoped to lose, and you’ll have less strength.

We also don’t count calories because they can be misleading both on food labels and in tracking apps. Packaging requirements allow food companies to round up or down caloric values, which often leads to significant inaccuracies in the math. If you’re a details person, you can read all about the FDAs nutrition label rounding requirement laws here.

In tracking apps like MyFitnessPal (MFP) users can create food entries, however they like. This means they can input any number of macronutrients and calories they like, and the math doesn’t have to add up at all. These errors are quite frequent in MFP. Which is also the reason why we must always check the MFP entries we use for inaccuracies before we log them. Failing to do so may put us way off our targets without us even realizing it!

The is an example entry that was made to prove this point. It was created with a reasonable amount of macros (20g carbs, 5g fat, 30g protein), but the calories are ridiculously high (2078 cals) and don’t match. The proper math would show this entry at just 245 calories.  The math would be as follows:

Carbohydrates 20g x 4 calories = 80 calories
Fat 5g x 9 calories = 45 calories
Protein 30g x 4 calories = 120 calories
80 calories + 45 calories + 120 calories = 245 calories

If you used this entry in your diary, your macros for the day would be correct, but your calories would show as sky high in MyFitnessPal. This explains why you can safely ignore the calories shown as long as you have verified the macros are correct.

You can check MFP entries for accuracy by comparing nutrient details against what is shown on the labels of the food your eating. In addition for fresh whole foods you can use sources like

• Canada’s Nutrient Value Guide found here.
• The USDA’s nutrient database found here.
  • • • The USDA has a mobile app you can download!  Search your app store!

For restaurant and other foods you can find details at:

• The CalorieKing Website here.
• And most major restaurant chains will have nutrition information available either on their websites or upon request.