Your Comprehensive Guide to Macro Counting
If you’ve heard of a macro diet, it may come from a friend of yours, a topic you found on social media or heard of this word at your gym. Macro counting gives you a lot of positive benefits by allowing you to have foods you love in moderation – whether you’re looking to lose weight (or fat), build muscle, to start or maintain a healthy lifestyle!
What is Macro Counting?
It can be intimidating, but it’s not as complicated as it seems. Macronutrients (macros) are protein, carbs, and fat that makes up total calories in the food you eat daily.
By counting macros, you’re able to learn and understand how to fuel your body correctly by making better food choices that allow you to enjoy food in moderation while meeting your goals without depriving yourself, increase energy and curb hunger signals.
It is the same concept that drives if it fits your macros (IIFYM) and flexible dieting, but with a twist by emphasizing the focus on getting most meals and snacks from more “nutritious” sources filled with vitamins and minerals!
What Are The Benefits With Macro Counting?
While macro counting helps you understand how much food your body needs to function optimally. Still, you’ll also experience a positive chain of events going from building the foundation to a happy, healthy, and sustainable lifestyle.
You’re going to experience positive benefits with macro counting like:
Allow you to stick with your plan much longer.
Go out to eat without guilt.
It doesn’t consume your time.
Increased energy and improved performance.
Become educated about food and gain confidence.
It works with your lifestyle, preferences, and time constraints.
It is the most versatile way to transform your lifestyle. There aren’t strict lists of foods you can and cannot have – nothing off limits!
Why Not Follow A Fad Diet?
Fad diets can be useful, but you don’t want to depend on them. Here’s why. Most diets are likely to strip away necessary nutrients, leading to an increase in food cravings.
These increased cravings can cause occasional binges, and the lack of nutrients could cause other side effects like a headache, fatigue, confusion, and or irritability.
They are also rigid and strict, including mounds of rules. You know that feeling when you have to turn down the invitation to go out and eat with your loved ones, saying no to wine nights with girls, etc.
Wait, there’s more! It leads you to a restrictive lifestyle, leading to exhaustion and pushes you into a cyclical pattern of dieting going from being frustrated while being deprived to eating everything in sight over and over again.
Are you ready to kiss these fad diets good-bye? Read on!
What Are Macronutrients?
Macros are what makes calories (energy) in food. Let’s start with protein as it is the most important macro.
Protein
Protein helps you build and repair muscles, is the most thermic, helps curb your appetite, and keeps you feeling full compared to carbs and fat.
For each gram, it gives you 4 calories.
You can find protein from the following list:
Lean beef, chicken, lamb, pork, and turkey
Dairy
Fresh fish, canned fish, fish in a packet
Deli meat (ham and turkey – low sodium options if available)
Beef broth
Whole eggs and egg whites
Tofu
Protein bars and or powders
How Much Protein Should I Get?
You’d want to consume between 0.55 g/lb. (1.2 g/kg.) to 1.5 g/lb. (3.3 g/kg.) depending on three factors:
Eating Preferences (i.e., vegan, vegetarian, non-specified, etc.)
Physical Goals (i.e., body fat loss, maintenance, muscle building)
Activity Level (i.e., sedentary, active, very active, labor-intensive)
Fat
Fat is essential for the body’s optimal function from absorption of vitamins (A, D, E, and K specifically), balance and regulate hormones (progesterone for women and testosterone for men), and helps with brain function.
For each gram, it gives you 9 calories.
You can find fat from the following list:
Meat
Fish
Nuts
Nut Butters
Butters
Oils
Egg Yolks
Dairy Products
Dark Chocolate
Other Packaged (Less Nutritious) Foods
How Much Fat Should I Get?
With fat consumption, it depends on your weight, body fat percentage, physical goals, and eating preferences. The fat intake range goes from 15% of total calories to 40% or more.
Carbs
Carbs are nonessential, meaning you can survive without carbs, but it doesn’t mean you should! You also need to acknowledge that carbs aren’t evil and will not make you gain weight (it’s the caloric surplus)!
Your brain uses between 15% to 20% of total calories as it relies on glucose (the simplest form of sugar) to function. Carbs also provide overall health, performance, energy, and helps improve body composition.
You can find carbs from the following list:
Fruits
Vegetables
Grains and Bread
Sugar
Less Nutritious Foods (i.e., processed)
Drinks
How Much Carbs Should I Get?
For carbs’ consumption, like the other two macros, it varies depending on your needs. Still, the general recommendation starts with a minimum of one gram of carb per pound of bodyweight, if possible.
What About Alcohol?
Our bodies do not need alcohol, but it can be drunk in moderation. It is toxic and be mindful of how much you plan on drinking. Each gram provides 7 calories, and it does not contain any nutritional value.
Click here if you’d like to learn how to calculate and convert alcohol into macros.
How To Calculate Macros
The ideal macro ratio depends on your gender, age, height, weight, activity level, and goals. However, if you’re starting out – it’s vital to begin with general guidelines that allow you to gain some experience.
Choose your lifestyle multiplier:
11: Sedentary and doesn’t stay active at all
12: Train less than 5 hours a week
13: Train 5-10 hours a week (most people fit into this category)
14: Train 10-15 hours a week
15: Train 15-20 hours a week
16: Train over 20 hours a week (i.e., competitive athletes)
Equation: Your weight x Your Lifestyle Multiplier = Total Calories.
For example, I weigh 147 pounds, and my lifestyle multiplier is 14. The equation looks like this: 147 lbs. x 14 (LM) = 2,058 calories.
Two thousand fifty-eight calories are the estimated amount of food I need to consume every day to maintain my current body composition.
Macro Counting For Weight Loss
If you’re planning on losing fat and preserve muscle, you’ll want to create a caloric deficit by subtracting your calories from 300 to 500 to kickstart your body fat loss phase. Your macro ratios are more likely to be in 40-50% protein; 25-40% fat and 10-30% carbs.
Then you’ll want to adjust based on your body’s response to macros every 3-6 weeks with your self-check-in to continue and make progress.
Macro Counting For Muscle Building
If you’re planning on building muscle while minimizing body fat gain, you’ll want to create a caloric surplus by adding your calories from 300 to 500 calories to kickstart your muscle-building phase. Your macro ratios are more likely to be in 25-35% protein; 15-25% fat and 40-60% carbs.
From here, you’ll be able to adjust based on your weekly or bi-weekly self-check-ins to monitor your progress and ensure you're on track toward your goals.
Macro Counting For Maintenance
If you’re looking to count macros to maintain your current weight or body composition, you’d want to use a simple equation from above. For the macro ratios, you can try 25-35% protein; 25-35% fat and 30-50% carbs.
How To Track Macros
When you learn how to count macros, you can start with measuring cups and spoons. However, I encourage you to weigh your food in ounces and grams to improve your macro accuracy as you get more comfortable with macro counting.
When measuring foods with cups or spoons, they’re not accurate as if you’re using a food scale.
It may not seem like a lot at the time, but it can translate into several hundreds of calories/grams more or less than we think we’re eating. Long-term, it’ll lead us to frustration because we do not see the results we want.
For example, when I tested a measuring scoop that came with my protein powder. It labels 31 grams (weight) of protein powder per heaping scoop on the nutritional label. When I took a heaping scoop of it (minus the scoop’s weight) on the food scale, it measured at only 24 grams!
What does that mean? It means I was getting less protein than I thought! Using a food scale helps me make sure I can get the protein I need to eat to hit my goals to build and preserve hard-earned muscles I worked hard to get.
Most people may find that using a food scale seems to be obsessive, but in reality, it’s not. It is a tool for you in your kitchen, and, ultimately, saves you time. When you learn how to use it and practice with consistency, you’ll become a pro in no time!
Macro Tracking App Recommendations
A meal planning app can help and guide you along the way by allowing you to input numbers and or food you’re eating to get them calculated automatically. It’ll also tell you how close or far you are from hitting your macro goals, and here are my favorite macro tracking app recommendations.
Meal Planning For Your Macros
Sticking to your macro counting plan requires preparation by helping you stay ahead of time, along with time and money saved while hitting your macro goals on the go.
In general, you’ll want to begin with three meals and two snacks and if you plan to eat one every three to four hours. It helps you from getting hungry, have plenty of energy, and avoid mistakes (i.e., reaching for a snack) while staying focused on your goals.
It Saves You Time
It may sound time-consuming, but it’ll be worth it. The cool part about this is the more time you practice with meal planning, the faster it’ll become as you start to form the habit!
Prep In Bulk: To save time, find food that allows you to prepare in bulk. For example, with lunches – you can make pre-packaged parts like chicken/turkey/fish, brown rice/quinoa/sweet potato, and fruits/veggies.
Use Macro Tracking App: You don’t need to do the math when you have an app to do it for you and the best part – you don’t need to write things down because you’ll have the smartphone with you at all times.
Macro–Friendly Restaurants: If you don’t have time to grab a meal for lunch or have to stay at work late at night, it is a great idea to have a list of macro-friendly restaurants on your phone. You can even ask if your local health food has some prepared foods on hand when you are on the run (or have them delivered to you).
It Saves You Money
When you hear others saying that healthy food costs more money than less healthy food, it is not true. There are ways you’re able to buy foods that fit into your macros without overspending your budget.
Buy In Bulk: Helps you stay within your budget while sticking to your macro goals.
Get Weekly Specials: Most local stores have their discounts with weekly specials, like newspapers with coupons, or you can download coupons online. Try to walk around the perimeter of your store to grab more nutritious food like meats and produce first before walking in the aisles for less nutritious food.
Comparison: To stretch your budget further, for example, you’d want to buy frozen instead of fresh or canned vegetables. Another way to save money further is to buy generic foods over name brands as most of them are from the same faculties!
Eat Out Less: When you do meal prep, not only you’re able to hit your macro goals with your meals and snacks but to save money in the long run!
It Helps You Manage And Eat Better
Change Up: To change up the flavors, use a variety of fresh herb and spice when you cook your food (i.e., Mrs. Dash Spices), which gives you appealing and satisfying meals without the need to stick with the same taste each time. It keeps your taste buds happy.
Have Fun Experimenting: It helps you find ways to make your food fun again! For example, if you’re unable to have your favorite pizza because it doesn’t fit into your macros – simply swap out the crust with cauliflower. Can’t have lasagna? No problem, swap it out with zucchini or eggplants. You have endless options when it comes to swaps!
Treats In Moderation: You don’t need to eat the same food for every meal. It is okay to include ice cream, chocolate bars, french fries, etc. in moderation by making them fit into your macros. It’ll help you become less deprived and increase the likelihood of staying with your game plan.
Macro-Friendly Recipes
I have plenty of amazing, delicious, and macro-friendly recipes that you should give them a try. Like Chicken Bacon Ranch Spaghetti Squash and Blueberry Peach Crisp Cobbler, you’ll be in for a surprise with how incredible these recipes are!
Conclusion
Learning how to track macros does require skill development, but you’ll become a pro at it. The best part about macro counting is that it enables you to manipulate your numbers as your body continues to change throughout your journey.
It may be one of the easiest ways to sustain long-term, and it doesn’t feel like a “plan” or “diet,” but a simple tool that shows you how to build a happy, healthy, and sustainable lifestyle while giving you the freedom to eat any food you love in moderation!
What was your favorite takeaway from this post? Leave a comment below. =)
PS. Feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin? You’re not alone, and you can download your free “Macro Counting For The Everyday Women” ebook with a step-by-step guide! Click here to grab yours!