And what to do about it…

macros = Calories

So you’ve recently started tracking macros, setting what you think is the perfect split, and a couple of days into tracking, you’ve hit your first perfect macro day... yet your calories don’t add up? If...

1g Protein = 4 calories
1g Carbohydrate = 4 calories
1g Fat = 9 calories

Then why do the calories not add up when you hit all your macros perfectly?

For example, the below day adds up to 2607 calories by macro math (a 95 calorie difference):

How does this Happen?

Method 1: Rounding Calories

The FDA requires food manufacturers to round their labels to create even numbers:

Fewer than 5 > round to zero
50 or fewer > round to the nearest 5
More than 50 > round to the nearest 10

This can allow manufacturers to create smaller serving sizes to allow for “zero/low calorie” items.

Example: Hershey’s Cocoa Powder per 1 TBSP:

Label: 10 cal = 1g P / 3g C / 0.5g F / 2g fiber
Macro Math = 20.5 cals / serving

Other brands like Navitas show 20 calories per 1 TBSP, meaning Hershey rounded to show lower calories per serving (combined with method two).

Method 2: Discounting Fiber and Sugar Alcohols

The FDA also allows manufacturers to discount fiber and sugar alcohols from total calories, but it’s not standardized.

Therefore, it’s at the manufacturer's discretion.

This incentivizes manufacturers to artificially pack foods with high-fiber fillers so they can market “diet” foods as lower-calorie.

For Example: Mission Carb Balance Tortillas:

Label: 70 cal = 3g P / 9g C / 5g F / 15g fiber
Macro Math = 133 cals per tortilla (-63 cals off)

If you knew a regular soft flour tortilla was 140 cals would that change your mind on which tortilla to buy?

SO what do I do about it?

Option 1: Create custom entries

Create custom entries for all packaged foods over 10 calories off. Yikes.

Option 2: Accept it and don’t track specific macros

At EPN, we’re big fans of tracking minimums when it comes to macros and hitting a target calorie range.

By hitting minimums, it takes away the anxiety of targets not aligning perfectly.

Option 3: A little bit of both = our preferred method

Rather than creating custom entries for everything, set a rule that anything with 10g+ fiber gets a custom entry. Combining that with macro minimums, and you’ve got a happy balance.

Option 4: Change your tracking app

A notable shout-out to MacrosFirst here (which we typically don’t use).

This app allows for “tracking calories by macro math,” where the calorie total ignores the manufacturer’s label and is calculated based on tracked macros.

This has its downsides as you’ll get penalized for sugar alcohols as well (generally regarded as zero calories).

Additionally, it incentivizes hitting macros +/- the grams versus a little more flexible tracking. If you like super precise numbers, this is a great option!

Takeaway

Due to FDA regulations, macros will never match perfectly with packaged foods' calories.

Also, due to FDA guidelines, manufacturers will use the fiber loophole to create seemingly “low-calorie food” by fortifying foods with higher fiber options to artificially lower the item's calories.