Macronutrients, or macros, are nutrients that your body needs in large amounts to perform daily functions. The three macronutrients that fuel energy, store energy, and build and repair cells are carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
Tracking your macros can be an effective way to make sure you’re getting enough nutrients each day. It may also help with weight gain or loss. Tracking macros will be different for everyone.
This article will review general guidelines on how to determine macros for a healthy diet.
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How to Count Macros to Lose Weight
Successful weight loss can be achieved when you maintain an overall calorie deficit. This means that you burn more calories than you consume through food during the day. Weight loss can be achieved by eating fewer calories, exercising more to burn more calories, or a combination of both to create a calorie deficit.
When trying to lose weight this way, it’s important to pay attention to your macros to make sure you’re still maintaining appropriate nutrient levels. For most people who want to lose weight, the goal is fat loss while preserving muscle mass. This requires maintaining adequate amounts of protein while reducing calories from carbohydrate and fat sources.
Protein
As a general rule of thumb, the Recommended Allowance (RDA) of protein for a healthy adult performing minimal physical activity is 0.8 grams (g) of protein per kilogram (kg) (g/kg) of body weight, or approximately 0 per kilogram (kg) of body weight. .36g. This means at least 54 g of protein per day for a 150-pound person.
As you increase your activity level, your protein intake should also increase to support your muscle function and prevent muscle fiber breakdown, according to the following guidelines:
- Minimum physical activity: 1.0 g/kg or approximately 0.45 g of protein per kilo of body weight
- Moderate physical activity: 1.3 g/kg or approximately 0.59 g of protein per kilo of body weight
- Intense physical activity: 1.6 g/kg or approximately 0.73 g of protein per kilo of body weight
This works out to 67.5g, 88.5g, or 109.5g of protein per day for a 150-pound person, depending on physical activity level.
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Once you’ve reached adequate daily protein levels, you want to make sure you’re getting enough fat in your diet. Dietary guidelines prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) recommend fat intake between 20% and 35% of total calories.
To ensure you are getting enough essential fatty acids and that your body can absorb fat-soluble vitamins, i.e. vitamins that can only be absorbed in the presence of fat, a minimum of 20% of calories must come from fat. While the recommended range is 20% to 35%, there is no upper limit (UL) as there are no negative side effects associated with higher fat intake as long as the fats come from healthy fat sources.
To determine your fat intake, you first need to determine your ideal daily calorie intake. This will differ from person to person. For weight loss, your daily calorie goal must be less than your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), which is a calorie calculation derived from an estimate of the number of calories you burn at rest, along with your physical activity and basal metabolic rate (BMR). .
Once you have this number, you will multiply it by 20% to find your minimum daily amount of fat calories. For a 2,000-calorie diet, this equates to at least 400 calories from fat. You then divide those fat calories by the number nine, because there are 9 calories in every 1 gram of fat.
For a 2,000-calorie diet with 20% (400 calories) coming from fat, this equates to at least 44 grams of fat per day.
carbohydrates
Calculating your carb intake requires more math. To do this, take your daily calorie goal and subtract the calories from fat and protein. Since each gram of protein has 4 calories, you will multiply your protein grams per day to calculate your protein calories.
You’ll then subtract that number, along with your fat calories, from your total calorie goal to find your carbohydrate calories. Since each gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories, you will determine your gram carbohydrate count by dividing your carbohydrate calories by 4.
How to Count Macros to Win
To gain weight, you may also want to track your macros to make sure you’re consuming enough daily calories to support weight gain. Whether you’re looking to gain weight overall or gain muscle mass specifically, your macro breakdown may look a little different.
Weight
Gaining weight often involves a caloric excess, or consuming more calories than your body needs to complete daily functions. Calculations for weight gain usually start with adding an additional 100-200 calories per day to your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), but this number can be quite variable depending on how much weight you plan to gain.
As long as the total calories you consume each day are more than your body needs, weight gain can be achieved with various macro combinations. Usually this is accomplished by increasing your fat or carbohydrate intake.
Each gram of fat has more than twice as many calories as a gram of protein or carbohydrate; Therefore, consuming more grams of fat per day easily increases your daily calorie count. But because fatty foods can be filling, some people may feel full on a higher-fat diet and not consume enough calories.
Increasing your daily carbohydrate grams will also help you gain weight. Simple carbohydrates such as sugar, bleached flour products such as bread, pasta, cereal and crackers, white potatoes and white rice are fast-digesting carbohydrates that do not contain the fiber that will fill you up.
It is easier to eat these foods in large quantities without feeling full; This can help increase your daily carbohydrate intake and overall calorie intake, which will help you gain weight.
Your fat and calorie grams can be calculated from your daily calorie goal after subtracting your protein needs from your daily total. Whether you’re gaining, losing, or maintaining weight, protein guidelines remain the same.
muscle mass
If you want to gain muscle mass, you need to focus not only on higher calorie intake every day, but also on protein intake and exercise in the gym. Higher calorie intake without stimulating your muscles through exercise such as lifting weights will not signal your body to build more muscle. Consuming more calories more frequently results in increased body fat.
Consuming more calories from protein can help you gain muscle mass instead of body fat.
Protein requirements for weight loss are the same as for muscle mass gain, depending on your level of physical activity:
- Minimum physical activity: 1 g/kg or approximately 0.45 g of protein per kilo of body weight
- Moderate physical activity: 1.3 g/kg or approximately 0.59 g of protein per kilo of body weight
- Intense physical activity: 1.6 g/kg or approximately 0.73 g of protein per kilo of body weight
Excess protein beyond these amounts is generally not recommended beyond 2 g/kg, or approximately 0.91 g of protein per kilo of body weight, as too much protein can have adverse side effects, including kidney damage.
Macronutrients Explained: The Benefits of Thinking About the Big Picture
Whether you’re looking to gain weight, lose weight, or maintain a healthy body, it’s important to think about your macros on a broad scale when it comes to supporting your bodily functions. Counting calories alone is not necessarily ideal for ensuring your body is properly nourished, fueling your function and achieving the body composition you desire.
People following special diets should pay closer attention to macronutrient ratios to ensure there are no deficiencies in any category. People who are vegetarian (do not eat animal flesh), vegan (do not eat any foods derived from animals, including eggs and dairy products), or pescatarian (consume mostly seafood and a vegetarian diet) generally do not consume the same levels of protein. other people do so because of reduced consumption of animal products.
If you’re following one of these diets, it’s especially important to track your protein intake to make sure you’re getting enough protein to support your body’s functions.
Special Precautions and Reminders
Before adjusting your macronutrients to fit your needs, always consult a healthcare professional to ensure you are not making any drastic changes that could negatively affect your health.
For example, although reducing carbohydrate and sugar intake may be beneficial for lowering blood sugar in people with diabetes, reducing carbohydrate intake too much can be potentially dangerous and cause hypoglycemia. Other conditions, such as digestive problems, can be worsened by too much fat intake, while too little fat intake can cause hormonal problems.
It’s best to work with a registered dietitian to create a macronutrient ratio that suits your individual needs and goals to ensure you’re adjusting your dietary needs in a way that’s safe for your own personal health. Everyone is different, so not everyone should follow the same macronutrient ratios.
Macronutrients That Should Be Consumed Regularly
Every food you eat has a breakdown of macronutrients, but some foods are better than others for supporting optimal health. The best sources of macronutrients come from whole, minimally processed foods such as unprocessed meat, poultry, fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables, tubers, nuts and seeds.
These food sources also contain high levels of micronutrients, or vitamins and minerals, that are important for supporting healthy body functions. Whole foods can help keep you fuller for longer, especially if they contain a healthy amount of dietary fiber. They can also help reduce inflammation levels in your body.
Macronutrients that should be consumed in moderation
Even unhealthy foods, although not very nutritious, consist of macronutrients, mostly unhealthy fats, and high amounts of carbohydrates through sugar. Heavily processed foods and snacks, fried foods and desserts are best consumed in moderation. These foods can increase inflammation in the body and are often low in beneficial micronutrients and dietary fiber.
Summary
Macros, short for macronutrients, are three major nutrients required in large amounts to fuel the body’s daily functions. Macros include carbohydrates, fats and proteins. While you should generally meet minimum amounts of protein and fat, your amount of carbohydrates may fluctuate.
Tracking your macros regularly and adjusting the amount you consume from each category can be beneficial for overall health and weight gain or weight loss. It is important to consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, as making drastic changes to your diet can have negative effects on your health. Consider talking to a registered dietitian to find a macronutrient ratio that works for you and will help you reach your goals.