Macronutrient Education
1g protein = 4 calories
1g carbs = 4 calories
1g fat = 9 calories
1g alcohol = 7 calories
Whether or not you are just starting out on your health & fitness journey, chances are you’ve heard the term “counting macros.” It’s a relatively simple concept, but it can be rather confusing at first. I want to help you understand in a less complicated way, so that you can decide if calculating your macros is right or wrong for you. Here’s the rundown of what macros are, & how tracking them could help you reach your goals.
“Macros” is short for macronutrients, which are the nutrients that provide our bodies with energy (aka calories). Calories are what all food is made up of, & macronutrients are the three main building blocks of calories. The three types of macronutrients are: protein, fats, & carbs (well, technically four if you count alcohol).
While calories are just the generalized amount of energy you consume, each macronutrient plays a very different & specific role within your body. So, when you count your macros, you count the grams of protein, carbs & fat that you consume each given day. Each macro contains a set number of calories, and you would calculate your total macros based on your caloric intake.
Your weight is dictated by how many calories you’re taking in & expending. If you burn more calories than you eat, you will eventually lose weight (caloric deficit). If you burn fewer calories than you eat, you will eventually gain weight (caloric surplus). If you eat about the same amount of calories you burn, you will maintain weight.
I strongly believe that there is not one fitness or nutrition program that works for us all. Figuring out what works for you (& what you enjoy & can stick to) is the key to long term health success. There is a chance counting macros isn’t for you. But, on the other hand, you might actually really enjoy the structure & benefits of it!
Is Tracking Macros For Me?
For all of my clients who wish to improve their health & fitness (which is 100% of them), I typically recommend at least tracking macros every 3-4 months, for a minimum of 2 weeks. This is simply to help you understand where your calories are coming from & how calories affect your body. It can be very eye opening when you discover how much you are under or over eating on a daily basis. You’ll also learn that not all food is created equal. Understanding how much your body needs to consume in order to thrive is SO important if you want to reach your goals & feel good while doing so! Your goals also might change. For example, you might be eating at a caloric deficit for a few months to shed some fat before Summer. Once you reach your goal weight, you shouldn’t continue to eat at a deficit. Instead, you should eat to maintain your body composition. Your macros would need to be adjusted & tracking them would ensure that you are doing it correctly.
Personally, I don’t strictly track my macros anymore. But, like I recommend to most of my clients, I do track them for a couple weeks, a few times a year to check-in with myself & make sure I am fueling my body properly. After a couple weeks of logging my food, I feel prepared to ditch the food scale & eat more intuitively again. Next are some scenarios where tracking macros (for at least a little while) might be beneficial to you.
1. I eat healthy & exercise regularly. How come I’m not losing weight? How come I’m not losing weight?
Unfortunately, eating healthy & working out doesn’t automatically make you lose weight. Doing so definitely helps contribute to weight loss, but consuming less calories than your body burns is actually what drops the number on the scale. Even if you eat 2,500 calories a day of solely veggies, if you only burn 1,500 calories a day, you will not lose weight. Science proves that if you aren’t eating at a caloric deficit, you will not lose weight. Tracking macros will help you figure out exactly how many calories you should be consuming daily to reach your goal, whether it’s losing or gaining weight.
2. I’ve hit a plateau & I am not seeing anymore progress.
Anymore progress. It is normal to experience a weight loss or performance plateau after months of consistently losing weight or making progress. The human body is incredibly adaptive & will do its best to maintain equilibrium (homeostasis). The best way to break a plateau can be explained in this one word: Change. You have to switch things up & counteract the adaptation that your body has made to your way of eating or exercising. Tracking macros can help you make an easy change needed in your nutrition to break you through that plateau. But, without knowing where you stand with you macros, you can’t make the change needed to break through the plateau.
3. I don’t think I’m eating enough protein
Consuming the right amount of protein each day is a lot easier said than done. Most of my clients are shocked to see how low their daily intake actually is when they weigh & measure. The RDA is .4g of protein per pound of body weight, which is totally insufficient to anyone who works out with intensity, who is trying to gain lean muscle mass, or who is trying to lose fat & lean out.
A more appropriate protein goal to aim for is 1 gram per pound of bodyweight. So, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should try to consume a minimum of 150 grams of protein daily. It can be extremely difficult to reach this goal without weighing, measuring & tracking - at least at first. This Fuel Guide is a great resource to help you learn which foods contain more protein, so you can gain a better understanding of what your body needs.
Eating enough protein can be a huge struggle. Or, if you’re like me, you might not always have enough time to cook a protein packed meal. This is why I rely on protein supplementation to reach my daily protein goal. It’s easy to mix into my morning coffee, smoothies, mug cakes, pancakes, waffles & more. Not to mention it tastes AMAZING & satisfies my sweet tooth, which keeps me on track!
The same can be said about carbs & fat - It is very common for people to have little concept of not only what they should be consuming, but what they are currently consuming. Macro counting can straighten all of this out & give you an exact picture of what your daily intake should look like.
Remember, it is not feasible to track your macros forever & it might not even be feasible for you at all. Counting macros is simply a strategy to increase your awareness around food. The goal of this is to teach you how to eat more intuitively & to help you develop healthier habits, so that you don’t need to count calories or weigh your food forever.
OKAY, I GET IT NOW. BUT WHAT SHOULD MY SPECIFIC MACROS BE?
There is not a standard amount of macros a person should consume daily. They range from person to person, depending on your height, weight, activity level, age & your personal goals.
The first step is determining your daily caloric intake. The best way to do so is to use a macro calculator to help you figure this out. The app I personally use & recommend to all my clients for tracking macros is the 1st Phorm App. With premium, you’ll receive a customized macro plan, where you can easily track & scan your food. On top of this, the app provides a wide variety of workouts, allows you to take & compare progress photos, track your body metrics, communicate with registered dietitians & more! It is an AMAZING resource that I couldn’t recommend more if you want to take your nutrition to the next level.
