A Beginners Guide To Tracking Macros - Dunnebells

This is a beginners guide to tracking macros which is often referred to as IIFYM, or “If It Fits Your Macros”.

This style of flexible dieting has become increasingly popular with those trying to lose weight or live a happier healthy life because this diet doesn’t feel overly restricive. I couldn’t be more thrilled to show you what tracking your macros is all about. It was one of the most helpful things during my weight loss journey.

TRACKING MACROS

So what does tracking macros look like? Well, instead of counting calories you simply track macronutrients. In simple terms, Macronutrients are subdivided into three major categories that are inclusive of all the compounds required for our subsistence. And, a balance of all three is what matters!

Our health and body shape is determined by the diet we consume and once you understand that macronutrients for the elements of all that we eat things will become a lot easier for you. 

PROTEINS

Proteins are commonly referred to as bodybuilding foods. It is often perceived that building muscles are the only major function that these macronutrients perform. However, there is much more to this Macronutrient than this. In addition to the development of the body, these nurture your brain by building neurons and adding to your intelligence. 

Proteins typically make up at least 10-15 percent of a healthy daily diet. However, there might be a variation in the intake depending on every individual’s body and fitness goals. The most commonly found foods that are rich in this macronutrient are nuts, meat, vegetables, yogurt, etc. Seafood is also an excellent source of protein. Consume these healthy foods to balance out the protein category in your body.

 CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates form the second category of Macronutrients. Carbohydrates are the energy giving compounds for our body. In addition to this, these macronutrients play primary function in our immunity, reproductivity, and blood clotting. Doctors recommend that these should make up at least 45-65 percent of your diet. Digging deeper in carbohydrates, these have two categories, namely complex and simple. Simple carbohydrates are those that give instant energy while complex carbohydrates give sustained energy. Rich sources of carbohydrates include cereals and crackers, beans, whole grains, vegetables, etc. You should be careful as to what source you pick as many sources of carbohydrates contain saturated fats which can quickly derail your health and fitness goals.

FATS

Fats are the macronutrients that are most often considered as the villain in the world of diets. The mere reference to the word brings out images of huge bellies unhealthy foods. However, fats are not so bad in reality, at least when consumed in restrained amounts. These macronutrients are important for your gut to perform various functions and are also an incredible source of stored energy. Popular sources of these macronutrients include almonds, avocados, salmon etc.

These are the three categories that form the macronutrients in our body. A healthy balance of these is very essential to ensure a proper functioning of the body and a healthy lifestyle. Start tracking and consuming the right macros for your goals today!

MACROS ARE BETTER THAN COUNTING CALORIES

It is very common for people these days to track their calorie intake and allow this to determine their eating habits. People are of the belief that a low-calorie diet is a key to a healthy life. As much as this is ineffective, such an idea can also be very damaging to your health. To understand why we must first learn what a calorie is!

A calorie is merely a unit of energy which can be converted and utilized by our body to perform a task. A number of calories do not determine the components of the food, which makes the entire process of tracking these useless.  

A better way to make healthy eating habits is to track the Macronutrients in the food you eat. As individual needs for different macronutrients are different, this also makes it easier to determine what to eat and what not to eat. For instance, a person who works out might consume a low-calorie diet. However, this will not cover the protein requirement of his body. Hence, it becomes very important to analyze the macronutrient contents of food rather than the calorie content.

SET YOUR MACRO NUMBERS

Individual macro requirements may vary according to individual needs. As specified above, you might want to consume a protein-rich diet if you engage in regular workouts. Similarly, an overweight person may want to consider consuming more carbohydrates over fats.

HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR MACROS

It is very important for you to determine your macro numbers so you know where to start.

The general process is:

1. Calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR): As a qualified health professional I am able to use an equation to determine how much energy your body uses at rest, based on things like age, sex, height and weight.

2. Adjust for activity level: So once your BMR is determined, you must consider activity level to identify is an increase in calories is required.

3. Adjust based on weight goals: Then using your calculations, for weight loss generally speaking, reduce your calorie intake by 15–25%. If weight gain is the goal, increase calories by 5–15%.

4. Determine your macros: Protein intake should be between 0.7–1.0 grams per pound of body weight. Fat intake should be between 0.25–0.4 grams per pound of body weight. All remaining calories are allotted for carbs.

Once all the calculations have been made, you should be left with how many grams of protein, far and carbs to consume each day which will also generate a number of calories to stick to each day.

After this, you might want to make small goals to improve the quality of your diet.

TRACK YOUR MACROS USING MYFITNESSPAL

MyFitnessPal will help you to track your diet and the various nutrients that you are consuming.  You can simply scan the barcode of the food that you might want to consume, and the app will provide you with all the nutritional information relating to it. It also enables you to analyze your nutrient intake. What are you waiting for? It is time to give this thing a go. It is time for you to start tracking your macros!

A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO TRACKING MACROS SUMMARY

It is very important to pay attention to what you eat. Tracking macros makes doing this easy and less painful. You can have those “fun” foods and you will actually learn so much about the nutritional content of food as you log everything. Soon enough you won’t even need the app!

At the end of the day, as someone who lost over 65 lbs tracking macros I know what it feels like to just start and sometimes you need some help! If you want to lose weight, develop that toned look and increase your energy following leaning how to follow a macro diet for weight loss and a customized fitness program with the support of an online personal trainer would be the #1 thing I recommend doing. You WILL see results like 100’s of my clients around the world who take part in the 8-week program.

Stay strong. Be the fire.

Dunnebells.

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