If any of you guys are looking into new diets to try or a different way to lose weight for the New Year, you’ve probably heard of tracking your “macros” by now. Especially if you spend any time at the gym. This is the way most people who are training for fitness competitions are eating and for good reason. Today I want to give an overview of macros tracking and you can see what all the fuss is about and if you think it’s right for you.

I have successfully done macro counting for several months. It kind of took the back burner for me during the holidays but I am getting back on track with the New Year. I will go more in depth about my own experience at the end but I wanted to share some of the info along the way and share some really good info from Taylor from shethrivesblog.com to as well.

What are “Macros”?

Macronutrients, or Macros as they are most often called, are the basic building blocks of food. Food is broken up into 3 subparts:

-Fat

-Protein

-Carbohydrates

Tracking or counting your macros basically just means plugging your height, weight, activity level, etc. into a little algorithm which breaks things down for you and tells you how many grams of each category to eat every day to either gain, lose, or maintain your weight.

Why would anyone go through this crazy tedious process of weighing, measuring, tracking and mathing every single thing they eat on a daily basis, you ask? Good question!

While it’s true that you may drop a few pounds on a consistent caloric deficit, you won’t have any control over where those lbs are actually getting pulled from (fat stores vs muscle stores) unless you are strategically manipulating your macro intake. More often than not, caloric deficit weight loss isn't simply body fat- it's usually muscle mass too.

1 g FAT = 9 calories

1 g CARBS = 4 calories

1 g PROTEIN = 4 calories

Your basic macros calculator will have you eat 1 gram of protein per pound, 30-50% of your calories from fat, and the rest are from carbohydrates.

For example, a 140 pound woman will be eating 140 grams of protein every single day. Aiming for about 20-30g of protein per meal, plus a post workout snack/shake and a couple high protein snacks will get you there easily. 

There are a ton of free online macros calculators online. One good one is on www.iifiym.com. IIFIYM stands for If It Fits In Your Macros.

There are also a ton of apps that track foods for you. I have a Samsung Galaxy phone and tracking my macros is easy in a free app on my phone called Samsung Health app. The most common app for both iPhones and Androids is MyFitnessPal.

If You’re Definitely Not Giving Up Chocolate

If you wouldn’t touch the idea of a Whole30, sugar detox, or other elimination nutrition program with a ten foot pole, you may benefit from tracking macros. This is why I personally really like counting my macros. I definitely have a sweet tooth and I really like knowing that if I do want to eat a donut or some even eat a burger and fries every once in a while, it is not going to wreck all my fitness goals. I just factor it in for the day and I’m still in great shape.

One of the most often cited flaws in Flexible Dieting is that food quality is simply not a consideration. The theory behind it being that your body will get exactly the same end product out of an organic sweet potato as it will from a handful of Skittles: glucose. (And while that may technically be true, there is of course more to health than that “end product” and/or your body fat percentage; micronutrients like vitamins, minerals, fiber, nutrient bioavailability, digestive health, gut health, brain health, etc etc etc. We all know why an apple is better than a doughnut!)

Back to the point at hand: you can mathematically figure in treats for yourself so that you can enjoy that nightly piece of chocolate, or wine and dine yourself on a special night out, or whatever else your heart desires, so long as you are still hitting your prescribed carb, fat and protein number.

Tracking macros is a lot of work, requires precision and patience and therefore might not be for everyone. And it is certainly not the only way to achieve your goals- there are tons of elite athletes who do not track their food, and I don't want to suggest that this is the only way to lose weight or obtain your fitness goals. But how will you know what works for you if you don’t give it a try?

Remember that the key part to ANY nutrition or fitness routine is consistency. Trying this (or anything else) loosely for two weeks will not get you results. Find what works for you and stick to it, and you’ll hit your goals in no time!

Is it Sustainable?

My sister-in-law is the one who introduced me to macros and she has been doing it consistently for the last 2 years and she loves it and plans to do it forever. It works perfectly for her. I did it for a few months and plan to do it again since I am planning on going on a trip for my anniversary in a couple months and I know this will help me reach my goals the fastest and most effectively.

It may seem daunting to track your macros every day forever, so some people just find it helpful to try it for a while and see how they like it. Worst case is it gives you a better idea of what serving sizes are and it teaches you to understand what you are putting into your body and what it does to your body, which is very valuable.

One thing that can make it easy for me is I absolutely love the cookbooks from Erika from CleanSimpleEats.com. She gives over 75 meals every 3 months and balances out all the macros in the meals perfectly. You do her macro calculator and she tells you how many of her meals to make each day. She did all the math for me. I just have to make her recipes like I would any night of the week anyways. This makes it very easy for me. If you are interested I highly recommend checking her website out.

Have you ever tried tracking your macros? Did you find it effective for you? Please share in the comments below.