Should you be counting Macronutrients?
Three times in the past week I was asked if I teach people to count Macronutrients. I thought maybe you wondered too. (Or perhaps you’ve never heard of counting macros). Either way, here’s my 2 cents.
“Macro” is short for Macronutrient. There are 3 macro (big) nutrients – protein, carbohydrate, and fat. All calories come from these 3 nutrients (plus alcohol).
Each macronutrient serves many unique and critical functions in our bodies:
Protein – builds, repairs, and maintains body tissues
Carbohydrate – provides our main source of energy
Fat – supplies energy, is a component of many of the body’s cells, and supports nutrient transport and growth
According to several people who have spoken to me, counting macros is used by some personal trainers as well as people trying to lose weight. Instead of counting calories, they count macros; that is, the number of grams of protein, carbohydrate, and fat.
The first thing calculated in this process is determining the total calories needed for the particular goal sought. The next decision is what percentages of the diet should come from protein, carbohydrate and fat. Finally, calories are converted into grams.
Not all macros contain the same amount of calories. For example:
- Protein has 4 calories per gram
- Carbohydrates – 4 calories per gram
- Fat – 9 calories per gram
Now you plug in your goal for how many grams of each nutrient to aim for each day.
The counting of each begins. Thankfully, there are apps that can help you track your macros.
So, do I teach people to count macros?
No.
Why? I don’t want to turn the joy of eating into math or rules. That is just like a diet. It goes against the essence of my philosophy of helping people with their food and nutrition.
Plus it doesn’t take into account micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), or fiber.
I definitely do calculations in my work with clients. I do figure calorie and macronutrient needs. But then I help them figure out what foods to eat and how to get the right balance of nutrients, including fiber, vitamins and minerals.
I want you to enjoy food. It’s one of life‘s greatest pleasures. Pay attention to the taste and textures and how you feel. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied. Feel good about eating.
My favorite site for how much to eat from each food group based on your calorie needs is MyPlatePlan.” You can enter your height, weight, age, gender and activity level and it will calculate how many calories you need and how much to eat from each food group. It’s a great way to fix your plate to get balanced nutrition without counting. I used the plate method when I was on WJHG Summer Shape Up.
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