Why Counting Macros is the Secret to Fitness Success
4Feb

Why Counting Macros is the Secret to Fitness Success

The well-known saying ‘eat less, move more’ often comes to mind when talking about losing weight and health and fitness. It’s a bit non-descript though. Your health and wellbeing are much more important when considering your fitness. After all, you could eat nothing but fruit and run 20 miles a day. Yes, you’d create a calorie deficit, which is what you need to lose weight but you wouldn’t necessarily be fit and healthy. Here’s why you need to learn about macros.

What is a macro?

When we’re thinking about everything the body needs to function at a cellular level, we can group items into macronutrients, or macros. Macros are essentially carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Each macro has its specific role in the body, but all 3 provide us with calories and energy. As opposed to micronutrients (things like key vitamins and minerals), a human body needs large amounts of macronutrients in order to function. Let’s look at them all individually:

Protein:

If you remember back to your school biology lessons, protein’s purpose is for growth and repair. A protein has around four calories per gram. Proteins have both animal-based and plant-based sources.

Carbohydrates:

Carbohydrates contain around five calories per gram. Because they’re the body’s primary source of fuel, you’ll often see marathon runners carb-loading in the run-up to a race.

Fat:

At around nine calories per gram, fat is only slightly higher in calories than protein and carbohydrates. Fat shouldn’t be considered the bad guy in your diet; your body needs fat to be healthy. Over-consumption of any macronutrient causes an excess of body fat to get stored in our bodies; it’s time to stop blaming this macronutrient alone.

How to count macros:

Counting macros is a lot easier than counting calories. Essentially, you’re not on a diet, so you won’t feel as restricted as you might do when calorie counting. Many people swear by the app MyFitnessPal, which breaks down the foods you consume into macronutrient content and gives you an idea of what percentages you should be aiming for in your meals.

Why does counting macros work?

People wanting to change their body have been counting calories since their invention. While that works if you’re going to lose weight, fitness experts have now seen the benefit of counting macros. If, for example, you want to lose weight as well as gain muscle, you’ll need to work at a calorie deficit but keep a more significant proportion of your calories for protein. Looking at macronutrients will help you view calories differently. One hundred calories of chocolate will contain a considerable amount of sugar with minimal benefit to the body. The same number of calories from a few nuts, however, will give your body much more in terms of nutrients. We can, therefore, realize that all calories aren’t equal. If you’re looking at being in optimum health and reaching specific fitness goals, it’s time to consider switching your mindset towards counting macros.

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