The One With Macro Basics

What are Macronutrients?

Macronutrients, or macros, are the 3 main ingredients required by your body for growth and development. These are Protein, Carbohydrates and Fat. Each macro has its own role and importance in your body. Additionally, each has its own calorie value and makes up the calories of our food. Micronutrients, vitamins and minerals, also have their own importance. But our purposes today we are only going to talk about macronutrients.

Macro Roles

Fortunately, nutritional research has opened our eyes to a more effective way of making food choices—balancing our macros.

Protein

The main purpose of consuming protein is to build and maintain muscle in your body. Lean muscle mass can help speed up your metabolism. Faster metabolism means you can enjoy more food :) It also means that generally the more muscle you have, the less body fat you have as well. While counting your macros for weight loss, your goal is to lose body fat but retain as much muscle as possible.

Carbohydrates

Carbs main purpose is for fueling your body. When in a calorie deficit, your body will pull stored carbs as fuel and energy. There are two types of carbs - complex and sugar (usually referred to as simple carbs). Complex carbs contain starch and fiber. Your body can't digest fiber but helps you feel fuller, keep you regular and important for digestive health. Sugar carbs are just that, 2 sugar molecules linked together. Both type of carbs are broken down and stored as glucose in your body, but the sugar carbs are broken down quicker.

Fats

Fats will help produce essential hormones. Fat is also used to keep your body warm and if glucose (carbs) aren't available, then it can be used for energy. There are 4 main types of fats; Saturated fats, Trans fats, Monounsaturated fats and Polyunsaturated fats. Saturated fats and Trans Fats are commonly known as "bad fats". These "bad fats" are usually solid at room temperature, like a stick of butter. Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are commonly known as "good fats" and you will find these liquid at room temperature like vegetable oil.*

Macros make up Calories in Food

The food we eat is made up of calories. Each macro has it's own role in making up those total calories. Protein and carbs are 4 calories per gram. So 25g of Protein or carbs will equal 100 calories. Fat is 9 calories per gram. So 11.1g of fat will equal 100 calories.

Now is a good time to mention that the nutrition labels on our food are allowed to have discrepancies. The law allows a pretty lax margin of error—up to 20 percent—for the stated value versus actual value of nutrients. In reality, that means a 100-calorie pack could, theoretically, contain up to 120 calories and still not be violating the law.

So don't fret if your calories aren't matching exactly! For the purposes of counting our macros, we care more about those numbers anyway.

On nutrition labels, you will always see the three macronutrients listed with the number of grams the product contains.

For Example:

• 8g of fat

• 37g of carbs

• 3g of protein

Based on the caloric value for a gram of each of the macro nutrients listed above (1 gram carb = 4 calories, 1 gram protein = 4 calories, 1 gram fat = 9 calories), you can see how this product’s 230 calories are broken into the three macros:

If what you are eating doesn’t have a nutrition label (think: an apple), then you can use a database (like MyFitnessPal) to calculate the macronutrients.

So Why Count Your Macros?

Losing weight really comes down to calories in versus calories out.

So anyway you choose to be in a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. But the quality and longevity of sustained results is vastly different. Many have found, myself included, that instead of the traditional method of counting calories, that counting specific breakdowns of each macronutrient to yield better results.

To quote Amber from Biceps After Babies,

"For example, if your typical diet and exercise puts you in a caloric deficit (eating fewer calories than you use each day) but you aren’t eating enough protein, your body will break down muscle for use as energy. If you aren’t getting enough carbohydrates, you’ll likely feel weak and unable to perform well during workouts. Carbs are fuel! Lastly, not getting enough fat in your diet can mess with your hormones, which can make your weight loss stall or even make it more difficult for you to build muscle, since eating healthy fats can naturally boost your levels of growth hormones.

Yes, you can lose weight by cutting calories, but we aren’t just interested in dropping weight. We want to lose fat, and we want a good-looking, athletic, healthy body. For that, counting calories isn’t enough—you need to count your macros."

IIFYM - If It Fits Your Macros

The lifestyle of If It Fits Your Macros is simply explained as just that. You eat what fits your macros. In the long term, micronutrients will play a role however, so unfortunately most of can't survive on Oreos and Chocolate milk alone :) However, it also doesn't mean you have to eat grilled chicken and broccoli for all of your meals. Although Chick-Fil-A Chicken sandwiches may fit your day everyday, you may find that depending on how aggressive your calorie deficit is, that the Original Chicken Sandwich takes up too much of your day to eat it. You may find that you are hungrier quicker in the day and then find it easier to binge and "blow your macros".

Think of your macros like a daily puzzle. One you get to maneuver and manipulate to work for you!

*For the purposes of this blog, there is no "bad" carbs, fats or food groups.

**I am not a dietitian, personal trainer, or macro coach. These opinions are based off my personal experiences and research.

***The thoughts, experiences and opinions expressed on this website are my own.