What does it mean to “count macros?"
This is a strategy used to help people optimize their performance, health or body composition. Macronutrients or “macros” are our protein, fats and carbohydrates. They make up the foods that we eat, and contribute to our total calories consumed each day.
Every food you eat will have a different breakdown of macronutrients. Some foods will be primarily one source of macros and others will be more balanced. Think of a tbsp of butter, which is fat, compared to a lentil, which is a mixture of protein and carbs.
Our bodies need proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in varying amounts to function optimally. Counting macros can help you better understand your individual intake and need to feel your best.
What are macronutrients?
Macronutrients are nutrients the body needs in large quantities to function optimally. The three macronutrients are protein, fats, and carbohydrates. Each macronutrient has a calorie count associated with it. Protein and carbs both have 4 calories per gram. Fat has 9 calories per gram.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are a source of immediate energy for all of your body’s cells. Regardless of the food source, all carbohydrates we consume are digested as simple sugars. While their final digested form may look the same, simple and complex carbs are digested and absorbed at different rates. Think of a piece of candy versus a baked potato.
Simple carbs (candy) are digested and absorbed much quicker then more complex versions (baked potato). While all humans should consume carbohydrates, our individual needs will vary based on goals, lifestyle, and activity levels.
Fat
We need adequate fat to support metabolism, repair of body tissues, immunity, hormone production, and the absorption of many fat-soluble nutrients (such as vitamins A and D). In addition to these very important roles, fat also helps keep us full between meals, as well as adds flavor and enjoyment.
Protein
Protein is the building block of life. It is found throughout our body from our hair and skin to our muscle and bone. It helps promote good immune function, metabolism, satiety, weight management, and performance. There are few functions in the body that DON’T involve protein, which makes it such a critical macronutrient.
How do you count macros?
To count macros, you must first determine your daily calorie goal. This calorie goal will be determined by your reason for counting macros in the first place. Are you interested in losing fat, gaining muscle, increasing performance or focused on overall health? Different goals have different caloric needs.
The identification of your primary goal then helps create the parameters to which your macros will be set. Your individual targets for all three macronutrients; protein, fat and carbs must equal your total calories. This total calorie number and individual macro breakdown allows you to keep yourself well fueled for your intended goal.
As an example, if we were to give a client a goal of hitting 2000 calories in a day with 30% protein, 30% fat and 40% carbs, then his/her macros would be: 150P/67F/200C. The conversion from calories to grams being achieved by dividing protein and carbohydrate calories by 4, and fat calories by 9.
Grams | Calories | Percentage | |
Protein | 150g* | 600 | 30% |
Fat | 67g* | 600 | 30% |
Carb | 200g* | 800 | 40% |
Totals | 2000 | 100% |
*Note: Macros were rounded to closest whole number
Example: 30% of 2000 calories equals 600 calories. 30% is both our percentage of calories from fat and protein.
- To find the amount of protein you’d take 600 calories divided by 4 to get you 150g of protein.
- To find the amount of fat you’d take 600 calories divided by 9 to get you 67g of fat.
- Our remaining 40% of calories comes from carbohydrates. 40% of 2000 calories equals 800 calories. 800 calories divided by 4 equals 200g of carbohydrates.
Macro counting, as it relates to the physical act of tracking the food, is most easily done using a tracking program like MyFitnessPal. Apps like MFP have a diverse catalogue of foods caloric and macronutrient values from all over the world. Upon searching a food item in MFP, you will be shown both the caloric and macronutrient values of the food.
By logging your individual serving of this food into the app, you will be able to aggregate your total macronutrients consumed throughout the course of the day. Over time, you will gain a better understanding of which foods fall into each category, making it easier to eat more intuitively.
Tracking macronutrients manually using pen and paper is also possible, just much more time consuming.
Why Should I Do This?
Tracking macros can help you improve your health, performance, and body composition, by ensuring you’re eating the right amounts of each macro to achieve your goals.
You’ll also learn how to intuitively fuel your body overtime by tracking macros. The process of weighing and measuring food portions helps frame or reprogram portion sizes in your mind. This practice can eventually help you move away from weighing, measuring, and logging your food all together. Allowing you to maintain your goals with ease.
Fat Loss Vs Building Muscle?
Fueling for fat loss is very different from fueling to build lean muscle mass. Fat loss requires a caloric deficit while mass building requires a caloric surplus. Working with a coach to help set specific achievable macro targets for your individual goals will help ensure you aren’t eating too little, or too much, preventing you from reaching your goals.
How to Plan Meals
Planning meals to hit your macronutrients can feel confusing at first. We recommend starting simple with a base of proteins, fats and carbohydrates you’re familiar with and building from there.
We advise our clients to fill 75% of their food journals with foods we consider “eat more” foods, 15% of their journals with “eat some” foods, and 10% with “eat less” foods.
- “Eat more” foods contain a variety of macro and micronutrients. They are important for overall health and wellness.
- “Eat some” foods help balance ”eat more” foods with flavor and variety while still supplying a good amount of macro and micronutrients.
- “Eat less foods” are treat foods, like ice cream, aren’t particularly nutrient dense, but are good for the soul from time to time.
If you know your total macro targets for protein, fats and carbs. An easy way to set goals for each meal is to divide each total by four. This would give you equal amounts of each macro for 3 main meals each day. The last quarter of your macros would then be reserved for snacks. We generally recommend 1-2 snacks per day. This is a good place to start planning and building a balanced meal plan from.
Meals x 3 | Snacks x 2 | |
Protein | 38g | 19g |
Fat | 17g | 8g |
Carb | 50g | 25g |
Example: Our 2000 calorie macros from the example above broken into 3 main meals + 2 snacks: 150g protein, 67g fat, and 200g carbs
M2’s Flexible Dieting and Macros 101
Macronutrient tracking also allows for a flexible diet approach. Here at M2, we are after achieving a long term sustainable diet that incorporates a balance of our “eat more,” “eat some,” and “eat less” foods. We use macronutrient and calorie tracking as a quantitative tool for finding the right individual portion balance for you.
You may have heard of flexible dieting or IIFYM in the past. These terms have traditionally been used to describe a lifestyle which focused more on the accuracy of your individual targets no matter the quality of foods. Below we go through our own philosophy of what flexible dieting means to us here at M2, and how we’ve been successful in making it work for our clients.
What is flexible dieting?
It’s a lifestyle technique that takes the traditional macronutrient counting approach we explained above and "loosens it up a bit." We set the guidelines of total calories, and then simplify the approach by only being stringent about the protein goal. This gives the client the freedom to use different ratios of carbs and fats to hit their total calorie goals. So with the example of the client above, any of the following would be acceptable:
Macro % | 30/45/25 | 30/35/35 | 30/25/45 |
Protein | 150g | 150g | 150g |
Fat | 100g | 80g | 53g |
Carb | 125g | 170g | 233g |
Total Cals | 2000 | 2000 | 2000 |
This freedom often removes the “need to be perfect” feeling that many people struggle with. Which can dramatically increase compliance, and allow for more leeway when going out to eat or in social settings.
How is this approach used for weight loss?
To lose weight a person has to maintain a caloric deficit overtime. Flexible dieting is effective because it can make sustaining this caloric deficit more achievable, especially in situations in which the client may lack control over their food choices. Along with that, controlling your protein intake will help keep you satiated as well as aid in the building of lean muscle mass. This approach takes out the pressure of “perfection,” which in return makes it easier to sustain compliance long enough to see results.
What are the main benefits?
You can easily stay on track, eat more of your favorite foods, learn the benefits of portion control, and reach your goals. This strategy works very well for a wide variety of people whether you have time to meal prep or eat at restaurants frequently.
What are the drawbacks of a flexible dieting lifestyle?
This approach may create freedom for some, however, it doesn’t work for everyone. Some people thrive off reaching specific targets daily and having too much flexibility in macro tracking may throw them off. In this case, you may want to track traditionally. This is why working with a coach one-on-one is a good option to find what strategies are best for you.
Is flexible macros the same as IIFYM?
No, our flexible macro approach is not the same approach as “If It Fits Your Macros”.
We don’t ask you to track your carbs and fats in terms of individual amounts. Instead, you get to change your fat and carb amounts every single day if you want. This allows more flexibility in some cases than IIFYM. You also get to focus on incorporating high quality whole foods with flexible dieting. The IIFYM approach leans on lower quality foods as long as it fits within total macronutrient targets.
Why We Approach Nutrition Coaching This Way
We approach our clients with an understanding of how life’s external factors can play a major role in not only their nutrition, but their overall health and happiness. This is why we take an individualized approach to helping clients achieve their goals.
Our team is highly trained in scientifically backed nutrition practices and behavioral change psychology. We’ve found this personalized combination of science, psychology, and compassion to be the most effective in achieving goals and changing lives. We help people achieve their goals whether they want to work past a negative relationship with food or self limiting belief, compete in a sport, or change their body composition. We educate people on the best practices for them and their particular goals avoiding ‘diet culture’ and other extreme practices.
M2’s Mission Statement:
M2 Nutrition will always put people first. From our staff to our clients, we are committed to providing up-to-date and high-quality health and nutrition education and personalized support, always striving to transform people so they can live happier, healthier lives.
Not sure which protocol is the best fit for your situation? We have a team full of amazing, knowledgeable, and caring coaches, and we’ll get you set up with our personalized one-on-one coaching program or a self-led plan!
READY TO LEARN MORE WITH M2?
If you liked reading about the research and findings on this area of health and nutrition, then we invite you to check out the M2 Certification Series! This 5-course certification will give you a comprehensive look on total health for yourself and your clients. If you want to be on the list to get first access and early bird pricing, click below.