Does it fit your macros?
Move over calorie counting! (You’re so 1990’s).
Macro nutrient tracking and counting has become the next “big thing” in recent years.
Dieters, apps and health-conscious eaters alike keep tabs of the number of proteins, carbs and fats in a meal, or the percentage of proteins, carbs and fats they eat on a daily basis .
Instead of the idea that a “calorie is a calorie” (ex. 100 calories of a donut=100 calories of almonds), macronutrient tracking takes into consideration the balance of macro-nutrients (proteins, carbs or fats) each meal provides—ultimately, encouraging you to find the appropriate balance that works for your body depending on your personal health goals (be it: weight loss, weight gain, maintenance, more energy, gut health, etc.).
Should YOU be tracking your macros?
Like most things nutrition-related, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to the “right way” to eat; There can be MANY tools in a tool belt that help an individual find both a healthy nutrition plan that works for them and a healthy relationship with food.
In this article, we’ll review:
The Pros & Cons of Macro-Counting Tracking
How to Do It, and;
What to Watch Out For if You Count Macros
PROS OF MACRO-COUNTING
Pros of Macro Counting include:
- Helps you understand appropriate balance for your body
- Helps you figure out what a portion size looks like
- Helps you eat enough (particularly athletes or chronic under-eaters)
- Can help you control a blood sugar imbalance or symptoms like feeling hangry, irritable or low on energy
For some, tracking and counting macronutrients helps them establish an idea of what an appropriate amount of food or serving size for their body is—particularly if they haven’t been eating enough (which is all too common), or enough balance for the body.
For instance: Many women come to me looking to “fix” their wonky metabolism gain more energy, heal their gut or correct a hormonal imbalance—getting their period back or quieting down a bad case of PMS.
“I just don’t understand why I can’t lose the last 5 lbs.” or “I’ve always had horrible PMS,” they say.
A look into their daily lifestyle or food diary often reveals an imbalance of macro-nutrients, or low intake of food as a whole:
- From not eating enough carbohydrate—out of fear of gaining weight
- Scant servings of quality fats—maybe some olive oil or avocado here or there, but no saturated fats, or not a full serving of fat
- Or minimal protein—preferring a vegetarian/vegan diet, or occasional meat consumption
When I see a client’s food log who is undereating, sometimes a Macro-Nutrient approach from an educational standpoint can help them get a clear picture of what a serving looks like, and what balance or ratio of foods can help them thrive.
Another example I commonly see are those who have an insatiable sweet tooth or coffee addiction—“blood sugar imbalance.”
“I crash every day at 3 p.m.,” “I get hangry between meals!” or “I need something sweet—I crave sugar all the time,” they say.
Again, an initial macro-nutrient approach to their meals can help them see where they are often lacking the fuel (particularly fats and/or proteins) to help counter the crazy blood sugar cravings.
Even if white sugar or candy is not a daily part of their diet, our grain-based and carbohydrate-based diets of modern day often leave many of us neglecting healthy fats, proteins or leafy green veggies—all of which help bring the body back to balance.
Hence, a macro approach for re-calibrating the appropriate balance for your daily meals CAN be beneficial.
CONS
That said, there ALSO can be MANY unnecessary tools or unhelpful tools that really don’t get us any where but more frustrated (like trying to use that small wrench in the tool belt on a larger bolt)—i.e. “Macros gone wrong.”
Some of the cons of tracking macros include:
- Macro counting often requires people to weigh or measure their food—often leaving them confined to a “box” of food
- Macros can take the joy or intuitiveness out of eating to fuel your body—making it more of a science experiment or chore (“I need to get X-amount carbs in”—as opposed to “Hmm…a sweet potato sounds good)
- Macros don’t consider the food quality (i.e. a gummy bear and rice are equal; a Tyson chicken breast and pastured chicken breast are equal)
- Macros don’t consider MICRO-NUTRIENTS (vitamins and minerals). For instance, you can eat sweet potatoes and broccoli every day to “fit your macros” but miss out on other essential nutrients other veggies provide.
- Macros can make you MORE obsessive about food (as if you weren’t enough already)
- Macros make eating CONFUSING for some (especially if numbers aren’t your thing)
- Macros don’t address digestion—and supporting it. If your gut is unhealthy, then you won’t absorb those macros in the first place.
Only you know you—and where your mindset and body truly are for the Macro approach. macros.
In my professional opinion, I do think Macros CAN be helpful for helping a person understand portion sizing and figure out the appropriate balance of food their body needs—at various seasons throughout their lives.
(And your needs will probably change depending on other factors, like needing more carbs when you’re pregnant; fueling with more fat as a ketogenic approach to healing from inflammation; upping the protein when you start strength training).
However, I think Macros should be a season. A re-set. Once you get an idea of portion size or balance for your body—toss the food scale or measuring cups, or anything else.
One, two weeks tops and you SHOULD have a good idea of what a portion size is on the right balance for your body.
You don’t need to live bound to Macro-counting or calorie counting—anything.
(Food and eating is so much more than that!)
How to Do It
Soooo…You KNOW balance is good for you, and that some of each food type is required in some form or fashion for optimal health…
BUT how do you know how many proteins, fats and carbs you should eat anyways—regardless of Macro counting or not?
- The runners tell you that you need to “carb up” before a race.
- Body builders tell you to down a protein shake 30-minutes after your workout.
- The body hackers and body healers tell you ketogenic (high-fat) diets are the way to go.
How do you know what’s right for YOU?!
Answer: You get to be the experiment.
Ultimately no one can tell you if you need more carbs, or if you do better on more fat, or a little less or more protein.
A general rule of thumb or accepted guideline for ideal health is balance and that ratio of each of the Macros tends to be:
30% of your daily calories and macros from Proteins
30% of your daily calories and macros from Fats
40% of your daily calories and macros from Carbs (mostly vegetables)
For optimal balance and general health and well-being, this ratio here is pretty standard and has steered MANY folks in the right direction.
If these ratios are based on an average balanced consumption of 2,000 calories for women and 2600 calories for men, the break down would look something like this:
Protein: 50-100 grams protein/women, 65-130 grams/men
Fat*: 50-70 grams fat/women, 70-90 grams/men
Carbs**: 75-150 grams carbs/women, 100-200 carbs/men
*Fats are added fats, like coconut oil, ghee, butter, avocado, nuts/seeds—not the fat found in food, from broccoli to chicken
**Carbs are starchy carbs and fruit sources, fibrous green veggies have some carbs for sure but the energy required to digest them negates the added carb bonus they give to your day
From there, tweaking of any of these ratios for various body composition and health-related goals.
DETERMINING YOUR MACROS
MACRO COUNTING requires MATH (or a calculator)—at least at first.
It also requires you eat an appropriate amount of calories for your body.
(i.e. 1200 calories have to go ladies!)
I rarely if ever recommend a moderately daily-active female go below 1800 calories.
Aiming for a baseline of 1800-2400 calories is appropriate for many women, depending on the health of your gut and genetic makeup (and often times more if you are trying to gain weight, support pregnancy or support training and workout levels).
Once you determine a ballpark of calories (no perfection here—and, remember, more calories=more metabolic energy, NOT more fat), then you can determine macros.
To simplify things for you, here is a chart for an example based on that 2000-calorie/women, and 2600-calorie/men intake and particular goals you may have*
Here’s how:
CARB CHEAT SHEET
Often times when trying to figure out if you need more carb, less carb, more fat, less fat, etc., it’s easiest to start with tweaking your carbs, then filling in the rest with proteins and fats. Check in with how you feel and results you see (i.e. more energy, blood sugar balance, etc.) and adjust accordingly. Your body is the experiment.
VERY LOW CARB < 10% < 65 g < 50 g
- Neurological issues (Epilepsy,
Alzheimer’s, etc.)
- Severe blood sugar problems
LOW CARB
10 – 15% 65 – 100 g 50 – 75 g
- Weight loss
- Blood sugar regulation
- Mood disturbances
- Digestive problems
MODERATE CARB 15 – 30% 100 – 200 g 75 – 150 g
- Generally healthy
- Maintain weight
- Adrenal fatigue
- Hypothyroidism
- Familial Hypercholesterolemia
HIGH CARB > 30% > 200 g > 150 g
- Athletes and highly active people
- Trying to gain weight/muscle
- Fast metabolism
- Pregnant/breastfeeding
(Note: Adjust accordingly if you are trying to gain weight, support pregnancy or you are very active, as more calories and macros—i.e. food—may be needed).
PROTEIN CHEAT SHEET
After you’ve established the amount of carbs you need, based on your current goals and state of health, the next is protein:
Goal/Population % Protein Protein (grams) for Men
(2600 kcal diet)
Protein (grams) for Women
(2000 kcal diet)
Generally healthy or pregnant 10 – 20% 65 – 130g 50 – 100g
Weight loss, blood, sugar problems, adding muscle mass
20 – 35% 130 – 230g 100 – 176g
DETERMINING YOUR FAT
Lastly, once carbs and proteins are set, the last thing is fat.
Once you’ve determined your carbohydrate and protein levels, the rest of your calories will come from fat. This could be as high as 80-85% fat on a low carbohydrate/low protein diet or as low as 10-15% on a high carbohydrate/high protein diet.
Multiply that percentage by the amount of calories you eat, then divide it by 9 (since there are 9 calories per gram of fat).
Example:
.30 x 2000= 600
600/9=67 grams of fat if you are eating 30% of your calories from fats.
If you’re thinking you want to try your hand at Macro-Eating—and hacking the right balance for your body, I’ve created a downloadable cheat sheet to help you do that.
Macros in Foods You Eat
Phew.
That’s a lot of counting right?!
Can you see why I think Macro-counting is more of a headache—especially in the long term.
You and your body are WAY smarter than numbers are anyways, and once you find the right balance for your body to support its needs, my advice would be to toss the scales and measures.
We haven’t even discussed the amount of grams in various foods you consume.
Here is a general idea of some of the “real foods” you may eat to save you some headaches:
Carbs
1 Small Sweet Potato= 30 grams carbs
1/2 cup Rice: 30-35 grams
1 cup Butternut Squash=15 grams
1 cup Spaghetti Squash=10 grams
1 cup Carrots=12 grams
2 Roasted Beets=9 grams
1/2 cup Quinoa=20 grams
1/2 cup Plantains=25 grams
Proteins
*Vary slightly depending on source (chicken, fish, beef, turkey, etc.)
2 oz. Protein=10 -12 grams
3 oz. Protein=15-20 grams
4 oz. Protein= Approx 24-28 grams
6 oz. Protein= 30-40 grams
8 oz. Protein= 50 grams
Fats
1/2 Avocado=10 grams
1 Tbsp. Avocado/Olive Oil=14 grams
1 Tbsp. Nutbutter=10 grams
1 oz. Nuts=16 grams
1 Tbsp. Ghee=15 grams
1 Tbsp. Butter=10 grams
1 Cup Full-fat Yogurt=16 grams
1 Tbsp. Coconut Butter=10 grams
Pastured Egg Yolk=7 grams
THE BOTTOM LINE
Your body is a smart cookie. If your health is “off,” you wonder if you could have more energy than you do, or you want to experiment with what eating enough or a different ratio of Macros could do for you, have at it!
BUT, for the long term?
1.) Learn how to listen to your body and tweak appropriately (i.e. “Hmm…I am really low on energy right now or experiencing brain fog…did I eat enough fat today?” Or, “I feel weaker than usual—how’s my protein and water intake?” etc.)
2.) Vary things up. (most Macro approaches don’t consider the variety of nutrients you’re eating—and many fall victim to eating chicken and broccoli every day, or gummy bears for their carbs).
3.) Support digestion. Include a daily probiotic, fermented foods (sauerkraut, kimchi, water kefir, beet cavas, low sugar kombucha), plenty of fresh filtered water and mindful eating (chewing your food, slowing down, breathing) into your daily routine.