Let’s talk macronutrients! What are they?
Colleagues, friends, family and absolute strangers in the gym approach me frequently and ask what do I eat on a daily basis to stay lean and how do I lose weight. My response is that I hit my macros and am consistent with training and nutrition.
“Do you know your macros? Have you ever thought about weighing your food?” I get a blank stare from folks when I ask these questions similar to when I ask my patients do you have any questions after I have given them way too much information about how a dental implant works!
Today, I would like to explain how we figure out macros and NO! You do not have to weigh your food to lose weight but you do need to have a good estimate of how many calories your taking in on a daily basis!
Macronutrients are essentially three sources of calories that we consume in the form of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Look at the nutrition labels on foods you buy in the grocery store and you will find them. What is important to know is that:
- 1 gram of Protein= 4 calories
- 1 gram of Carbohydrate= 4 calories
- 1 gram of Fat= 9 calories
As you can see, fats are the most caloric dense of the macronutrients at 9 calories per gram. Based on the amounts of each macronutrient we consume in grams per day determines our total daily calories.
For those of you who calculated your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) after reading my previous blog titled: What to lose weight, figure out your daily caloric needs! http://www.drbrianevans.com/?p=32, you are now ready to figure out how much of each of the above macronutrients you should be consuming. For those of you who didn’t, please go back and make those calculations! (If you need any help, feel free to comment below with any questions and I will answer them!)
There will be some variability among individuals on the percentages of macronutrients they should consume daily which we will dive into in another blog but for now, let us assume the average percentages for an active 180lb male with a TDEE of 2000 calories per day. The most common percentages of macronutrients are 35% protein, 45% carbohydrates, and 20% fats.
Based on these percentages, we would calculate the total grams of macros needed as follows:
Protein
2000 daily calories x 35% (protein) = 700 calories
700 cal/4 cal per gram of protein=175 grams of protein
2000 daily calories x 45% (carbohydrates) = 900 calories
Carbs
900 cal/4 cal per gram of carbs= 225 grams of carbohydrates
Fats
2000 daily calories x 20% (fats) = 200 calories
200 cal/9 cal per gram of fat= 22.2= rounded to 22 grams of fat
Macro Summary: Below are the daily macros for the person above to consume in order to maintain body weight?
175 grams of protein
225 grams of carbs
22 grams of fats
Now that you know you what macros are and how to calculate the average daily percentages based on your TDEE to consume, it is essentially as simple as using an app like https://www.myfitnesspal.com to enter all foods eaten during the day via meals or snacks. This app is perfect to help you organize! It has an enormous library of basically any foods you can imagine and breaks their macros down. It even includes many restaurant foods. Take Starbucks for example. You go have a cafe latte (non-fat of course) and a breakfast sandwich, enter them into My Fitness Pal for that day and like magic, the calories and breakdown of macros for each will be provided!
I realize this is work! Having to understand TDEEs, macros and entering food you eat into My Fitness Pal but as they say, Rome was not built in day! It will take time and some effort but once you “know your macros” and are consistent in hitting those numbers each day, you will be armed with the knowledge that can absolutely help you reach your weight loss, gain or maintenance goals! I am here to help you along the way! If you’re overwhelmed, please feel free to comment, ask questions and please subscribe to the blog!
Until next time,
Be fit!
Brian
