Both calorie- and macro-counting are tools used to manage your food and energy intake across the day, often with the aim of helping you lose, gain or maintain weight. Both require tracking your food intake, usually with an app like MyFitnessPal, to count the number of calories or macros you’re eating throughout the day.
Each time you eat or drink something, you simply log it in your app or software, and you’ll be able to see the calorie or macro breakdown of whatever you’ve consumed. While both methods of tracking are slightly different, they both require a lot of effort and work. Most of the time, you need to weigh or measure all your food before eating, so you can track your intake accurately, in addition to inputting everything you eat into your tracking tools.
What’s the difference between the two?
Calorie counting basically gives you a set number of calories to eat each day, taking into account your height, age, weight, level of physical activity, and your weight goals.
Calories are simply a unit of measurement for energy, so using this method means your food is measured purely by the energy it contains. Each macronutrient (protein, carbs and fats) contains a different number of calories - fat contains 9 calories/gram, while protein and carbs contain 4 calories/gram, so the idea is that you can eat whatever you want within your allocated calories for the day.
On the other hand, macro counting focuses more on the macronutrient profiles (again, carbohydrates, fats and protein) of foods you eat throughout the day. Rather than counting calories, you track how many grams of each macronutrient you’re eating. Indirectly, you’re still tracking calories since macronutrients make up the calories in the food and drink you consume, yet macro tracking allows you to manipulate your diet to prioritise the macronutrients you thrive and feel your best on. For example, a keto diet requires macro tracking to achieve ketosis, as you need to limit your carbohydrate intake and maximise your fat intake, meaning you need to actively analyse each meal’s macro profile.
So which is more effective?
Macro tracking can be more effective in helping you achieve weight-related goals and health goals, as it places more emphasis on what you’re eating, rather than the specific focus calorie counting places on how much energy you’re consuming. Macro tracking also takes into account your nutrient intake to some extent, while calorie counting takes no account of nutrients.
By manipulating different macronutrient intakes, you can more directly impact your health and weight outcomes. For example, high protein diets have been shown to help grow lean muscle mass, as well as leaving you more satiated throughout the day (and therefore less likely to overeat). Knowing this, you can choose to increase your macros allocated to protein, in order to help you achieve your goals. So arguably this is the more accurate, effective method to use.
However, in saying that, both calorie- and macro-counting can be misleading if you fall into the trap of IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros). Basically, if you adopt the mindset that you can eat whatever you want as long as it fits into your allocated calorie or macro target for the day, no matter how high in saturated fats, sugars, artificial additives etc, it is, you might suffer from adverse health outcomes.
Because, despite all we hear about weight loss requiring a calorie deficit, and calories in vs calories out being the bottom line for achieving all your goals, it’s not quite this simple… The reality is this: all foods are not equal. Eating one greasy, artificial burger each day because it fits your calories or macros, versus eating a variety of different plant foods, vegetables, fruits, wholegrains, healthy fats and proteins, has a hugely different impact on your health.
Why? Well, because health isn’t just about your weight! So focusing too much on the numbers side of things can lead to nutrient deficiencies, and poor health outcomes and concerns if you’re not eating enough nutrient-dense foods. So while we can say macro-counting may be the lesser of two evils, it’s not enough to purely focus on your macronutrient intake, and ignore the healthfulness of everything you’re putting into your body.
Should you start tracking?
Interestingly, research shows us that people who track both calories and macros tend to give it up over time, as it can really take the joy out of food. Sometimes tracking becomes so consuming, you forget about choosing foods you actually enjoy, simply focusing on the macro profile or calories they contain instead. This can rob you of the social connections eating can offer, as well as the joy of eating your favourite foods! We’re definitely not about that…
Also, if you’ve ever struggled with disordered eating or unhealthy behaviours around food, this is probably not the way to go for you… Tracking can create a really obsessive, disordered relationship with food, and we know it can really exacerbate issues like these. If you see food as simply numbers to control and restrict, you can all too easily fall down the rabbit hole of disordered eating. And it can be very hard to climb back out of that hole!
If you find yourself becoming obsessive about eating the “perfect” diet, or unable to enjoy a meal out with friends, or even feel like you’re chained to your MyFitnessPal app, maybe it’s time to rethink your tracking habits… There is a point at which obsessing over being “healthy” can actually become incredibly unhealthy.
Interestingly, both calorie and macro tracking are both notoriously inaccurate and unreliable, with most people either understating or overstating their food consumption significantly throughout the day. This can lead to even worse health outcomes, with many people undereating as a result. Others end up cutting out entire food groups with the aim of being “healthier”, with no need to do so whatsoever!
The other thing to note is this: less can be more when it comes to calorie deficits for weight loss. The idea of tracking sometimes makes us believe that the greater the calorie deficit you’re in, the faster you’ll achieve your weight loss goals… but this isn’t the case! In fact, if your calorie deficit is too large, your body will panic and go into “starvation mode”, actively storing fat because it believes it may not be fed enough in the future. So an excessive deficit can slow down your weight loss efforts, and be incredibly unsustainable over time. Again we see, tracking is not the golden ticket to reaching your goals!
However, if you’re trying to gain weight or muscle, tracking may have some use. Particularly when focusing on building muscle, by significantly increasing your protein intake (and overall calories), you give yourself a much greater chance of achieving this goal - so in this instance, tracking may be helpful. But keep in mind, macro and calorie-counting should only ever be used as a short-term tool - it should never become a lifestyle!
The bottom line?
No scientific research currently supports the idea that tracking macros or calories is more effective than the other in helping you achieve weight-related goals. Even looking into the difference between low-fat versus low-carb diets found no significant differences in results between the two, suggesting that tracking macros might not be hugely helpful. Similarly, calorie tracking was only as effective as it was sustainable.
So it comes down to this: the best way to manage your health and weight, if that’s your focus, is to find a way of eating that is both enjoyable and sustainable, and feels more like a lifestyle choice than a diet. You don’t need to analyse and track every mouthful of food you swallow - where’s the fun in that?! Instead, remember that every one of us is unique and responds differently to different foods and diets.
So put your focus back onto eating healthy, whole foods the majority of the time, and leaving room for some fun foods to be added into the mix too! Find what works for you and stick to it - because consistency is always key!
Need more nutrition and fitness tips and strategies to help you reach your goals? Head to our blog for heaps of helpful info, healthy recipes, tips and tricks!
