Why do my calories/macros vary between options (days)?

Why do my calories/macros vary between options (days)?

There are a couple of reasons as to why your calories/macros will vary between days. We won't go into detail regarding calories and macros, but every client is going to have a different calorie intake and macronutrient breakdown depending on their goal and individual statistics. Additionally, protein and fat are essential macronutrients; meaning, there are minimum requirements that must be met. 

1. Diet Preferences & Recipes 

The diet preference you select dictates what meals/recipes become available for potential inclusion in your meal plan; the diet preferences with fewer restrictions allow for a wider variety of meals/recipes. But, it's less variety that can often lead to a more consistent plan. Let's say you select Simple Keto as your diet preference, and you add multiple items to your allergies/dislikes list. This would result in a restricted meal plan as far as meals/recipes go, but, because of these restrictions, only similar types of meals, consisting of similar calorie/macronutrient breakdowns, can be included. Similar meals/recipes mean consistent calories/macros, which ultimately leads to a tighter consistency across options (days). A contrasting example might be you select Recipe Based Keto as your diet preference, as you would like a wide variety of meals/recipes. Each meal/recipe has different ingredients and different base quantities, resulting in a broader range of calorie/macronutrient totals. To be able to include such a wide variety of meals/recipes, there needs to be wiggle room regarding your calories/macronutrients.

Your diet preference and meals/recipes are two of the most significant contributing factors when it comes to your calories/macros varying between options (days).

2. Allergies/Dislikes List 

Adding items to your allergies/dislikes list creates limitations surrounding your meal plan. It's these limitations —within reason—that can lead to a more consistent meal plan. Just be sure not to add too many items, or you won't have a meal plan. 

3. Vital Statistics & Gender 

Your vital statistics (including gender) all contribute towards your calorie/macronutrient breakdown. The more calories you consume, the more recipes/meals become available for potential inclusion in your meal plan. And —you've guessed it— the more variety within your meal plan, the more inconsistent your meal plan's calorie/macronutrient breakdown can potentially be. 

4. Rounding 

Lastly, rounding. We round ingredients, recipes, and statistics, to the nearest half. You may (by chance) end up with a plan that consists of multiple meals, that contain multiple ingredients, that have been rounded. If you took a six meal-per-day meal plan, for example, that could be a decent amount of rounding. Rest assure our rounding tolerance is set to 3-5% total, so your meal plan can not round to a point where you would need to worry about it impacting your body composition/goal.

As always, if you've taken all of the above into consideration, and still have concerns surrounding your plan, please do not hesitate to reach out to the JRF Customer Support Team.
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