What the heck are MACROS?

I'm sure you've heard the word "macros" or IIFYM (if it fits your macros) get thrown around. Well, the term “macros” stands for macronutrients which are the main nutrients that make up the foods we eat. There are three: Carbohydrates. Protein. Fat. You might have also heard of micronutrients! Which are vitamins and minerals - multi vitamin, greens, etc.

*Pro tip your body actually breaks down your food for fuel in a certain order, first it uses your carbohydrates, then your protein, and lastly fat! This is why us trainers always recommend you eat an appropriate amount of carbs before a workout so you’ll have the energy and fuel! You might have heard of “fasted” cardio; in simpler words it basically just means doing cardio BEFORE eating in the morning and typically your body uses the food consumed the day before for energy and your body has most likely already burned through most of the carbs and some proteins in your sleep (side note - did you know you burn aprox .40 cal for every pound you are in 1 hr, so if you weight 150lbs and you sleep 8hrs you will burn almost 550cals!) so your body will be forced to use the remaining proteins / fat to use as fuel and therefore you will burn mainly fat vs if you had eaten then did cardio it would take longer to get to the burning fat stage. Some say this is a myth and you don’t actually burn more fat opposed to doing cardio after you’ve eaten. In my opinion I believe every one can have their own opinion so try it on your own! See if it works for you. It’s all about experience!

Ok i'm getting a little off track here. Let's get to the point. HOW do you track your macros properly you may ask? Typically protein ratio is set at .825 grams per pound of bodyweight so for example if you weight 120lbs you should be eating aprox 100g of protein a day! For fats the dietary reference intake (DRI) for fat in adults is 20% to 35% of total calories from fat. That is about 44 grams to 77 grams of fat per day if you eat 2,000 calories a day. Lastly carbs are the remainder so about 40-60% of your daily intake so for example if you’re eating 2,000 cals a day 225 to 325 grams of carbs per day should be consumed. Of course these numbers all fluctuate depending on if you’re in a fat loss, maintaining, or weight gain stage.

One thing about tracking your macros that can be beneficial and sustainable is the type of carbs and fats you choose! There are "bad" and "good" carbs/fats. For example a "bad" carbs/fats would be cereal and processed foods high in fat and "good" carbs/fats would be whole foods like potatoes, fruit, and peanut butter! In my opinion I try to live by the 20/80 rule. Meaning 80% of my nutrition intake is whole healthy macros and 20% fun foods that contain the "bad" options. Life is all about moderation and balance. Being able to have those little cravings we all get leads to a longer and more sustainable healthy lifestyle!

There are tons of different apps you can use, my favorite being MyFitnessPal. These apps can assist you in calculating your macros based on your weight, goals, etc. but I don’t use their insight they provide - if you are just starting out on your fitness journey I would use their insight (I did in the beginning) but I personally like to create my own macro intake based off my own knowledge and fitness goals. I use the app mainly to input my foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks and use the nutrition count page to track them.

With all this being said, I hope this information is useful and valuable to you! If you have any questions please don’t ever hesitate to reach out to me! I am always here for guidance and help. I also create customized meal plans based off macros for clients, if interested feel free to email me!