MACROS
What are Macros? They are three of the essential nutrients that make up your every day caloric intake. These Macro Nutrients consist of carbohydrates, protein and fat. You can easily find these items on nutrition labels or with the help of a calorie tracker app such as My Fitness Pal. There are many diets that exist today that which may consider certain macros to be good or bad for you, but our body requires a balance of all three to remain healthy. Restriction of any of these may be done to reduce the body fat percentage in someone, but they are also a necessity to maintain muscle mass which is a huge factor for high intensity athletes. Finding the right balance for an individual to reduce fat, increase muscle mass, or maintain both can take time as all of our bodies process these macros differently. Macros are accounted for in the format of grams.
PROTEIN
Protein is one of the most essential macros. The best types of protein are lean and can include chicken, beef, pork tenderloin, turkey, soy products, fish, eggs, egg whites and supplemental powders and bars.
FAT
Fat is another essential macro but is most beneficial in it's healthiest forms such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Some of the best sources of these fatty acids include avocados, olive oil, nuts, seeds, and fatty fish
CARBS
Carbohydrates have gotten the least amount of love from fad diets, yet it is one of the most important macros for sustaining energy and building muscle. You want to stick with it's complex form, such as oatmeal, berries, unprocessed grains, and vegetables.
CALCULATING MACROS
The calculations for finding the right macros in your diet start with the following:
Step 1
Finding Out Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
This is the amount of calories you burn at complete rest. If you laid in bed for 24 hours straight and didn't move, this would be the amount of calories you would burn regardless
Step 2
Determine Your Goals
Maintain
If you plan to maintain your weight, you want to make your caloric intake match that of your BMR + Daily Burn
Lose Fat
If you plan to lose fat, you want to be in a caloric deficit, so determine your BMR + Daily Burn and multiply that by .75 to get your new daily caloric goal.
Gain Muscle
If you plan to gain muscle, you will likely need to eat in a surplus of your BMR + Daily Burn. This would likely be a slight increase of 10% to 20% of your current BMR + Daily Burn.
Step 3
Calculate Your Macros
Once you determine your daily caloric intake, you can then move on to calculating your macros
Protein
You want your protein in grams to be anywhere from .8 to 1.5 grams per pound you weigh, then multiply by 4 to get your calories
Fat
You next want to determine your fat percentage, and multiple that by your daily calories, then divide by 9 to get your grams
Carbs
The last step is an equation of Daily Calories - Protein Calories - Fat Calories = Carb Calories. You then multiply that number by 4 to get your carbs in grams.
Step 4
Track and Adjust
Your macro goals may not match your diet or fitness goals on your first try, so make sure to track your macros every day for at least 2 weeks to see if you need to increase or decrease your protein, fat or carb percentages.
EXAMPLE
Jane Doe currently has a Basal Metabolic Rate of 1300 calories per day and is fairly active, burning on average 300 calories per day. Jane wants to maintain her current physique so she will be eating 1600 calories per day as her total intake. Jane Doe weighs 120 pounds.
Protein
120 lbs x 1 gram of Protein =
120 Grams of Protein X 4 =
480 Calories
Fat
1600 Intake Calories x 30% =
480 Calories / 9 =
53 Grams of Fat
Carbs
1600 Intake Calories -
480 Protein Calories - 480 Fat Calories =
640 Carb Calories/ 4 =
160 Grams of Carbs
Macro Consumption Goals
120g Protein | 53g of Fat |160g Carbs
Macro Percentages
30% Protein | 30% Fat | 40% Carbs
