Counting Macros

What are they and why do we care?

Macronutrients, commonly referred to as macros, are the main nutrients that are essential to optimal body function. Macros can be broken down into the categories of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Each main category of macros has an essential role Carbohydrates provide our body with energy and also ensures brain and muscle function. Some examples of carbs include potatoes, bread, and pasta.

Proteins are made of amino acids and play the vital role of repairing our tissues including skin, muscles, and bones. Common examples of protein include lean meats, eggs, dairy, seafood, and nuts Fats are important as they support the body in absorbing vitamins, regulating metabolism, and storing energy. Examples of fat in foods include butter, oil, nuts, and some dairy products.

Although some foods mostly comprise one of the groups of macronutrients, all foods have are made up of different proportions of macros, which is where tracking what you eat and the amount of macronutrients come in!
When sticking to a diet regimen, I like to focus on counting macronutrients rather than counting calories alone.

Strictly counting calories will track the measurement of energy going into the body, while counting macronutrients will consider the key nutrients that are going into the body. When it comes to a diet and fitness regimen, the proportion of those nutrients are important in helping one achieve their particular goals, whether it to be to gain mass or lose weight.

Once you calculate your daily macro intake based on your goals, you will need to count and track your daily macronutrients. I don’t like to specific diets where you eat the same food every day, rather, I prefer intuitive based eating where you eat foods within your macronutrient requirements, but you do not feel completely restricted.

Here’s An Example Of How To Count/Track Macros

Let’s say your personal macronutrient needs per day equals to 200 grams of carbs, 150 grams of protein, and 67 grams of fats. These are the metrics per each category that you are supposed to be meeting per day. As you go about your day, use a journal to write down what you eat and the macronutrients of each meal, so you are aware of how much you’re eating and can make sure you’re hitting your numbers.

Let’s say for breakfast that you were going to have 1 cup of oatmeal. According to this nutrition label, here is how you would calculate your macros:
Fat: For this nutrition label, there are 2 grams of fat for the serving size of ¼ cup. If you are eating 1 cup, you will take 2×4=8, meaning 8 grams in one cup.
Protein: 5 grams per serving means 1 cup of oatmeal has 20 grams of protein (5×4=20)

Carbohydrates: when calculating carbs, we are only concerned with net carbs, which means the amount of carbohydrates – dietary fiber. In this case, it would mean 31-4= 27. 27×4 would mean 108 grams for 1 cup
If you had just 1 cup of plain oatmeal for breakfast, you would write in in a journal as Fat- 8 grams, Protein- 20 grams, Carbs- 108 grams. Then you would fill in your diet with foods hat fit your remaining macros- which according to this example are 92 grams of carbs, 130 grams of protein, and 59 grams of fat.