Explaining macronutrients
Macronutrients are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. And each one of these macronutrients play a vital role in our health and how the body functions.
Being able to understand how macronutrients work and how to balance them will help you to maintain a healthy weight, lose weight or even gain weight. Depending on what you want to do through your diet. This could also include gaining muscle mass.
If you are new to counting or balancing macronutrients, then you may find the information overwhelming at best.
I am hoping this blog will explain macronutrients in an easy to read and understanding format.
First before we dive in, we are obviously trying to understand macronutrients today but there also micronutrients. Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals. Micro meaning small, tiny, or little, and macro’s meaning more. However, both macronutrients and micro are equally as important as each other, and we must have them in the right quantities to live a longer, fuller, illness and disease-free life.
Today’s blog is only on macronutrients I will post another blog on micronutrient at a later date.
Shot summary.
“Macronutrients are carbohydrates, proteins and fats, micronutrients are vitamins and minerals. Macro means bigger or more than and micro means less then. Both macro and micronutrients are needed in the right quantities to support a healthy lifespan”
Understanding each macronutrient.
Macronutrients are carbohydrates, proteins and fats that supply our body with energy. The three energy systems do have an order the primary is carbohydrates. Secondary is fats and lastly the body will use protein as an energy source.
Let us take a small look into each macronutrient however checkout my blog on essential nutrients to find out in greater detail.
Carbohydrates,
It is more important to know what type of carbohydrate you are eating, as some carbohydrates are healthier than others. Carbohydrates provide the body with glucose which is used for energy to support all of our body functions and physical activities. Carbohydrates also help to maintain blood glucose level, aids with insulin metabolism and also helps with the metabolism of triglycerides.
Protein.
This is vital for so many processes within our body. They help to provide structure to our body tissues which includes the cell membranes muscle skin organs, nails, bones, and tendons, Proteins are also used in the hormonal systems, metabolic system, and the enzyme system.
Fats,
These are vital for insulation and for the protection of our soft organs. Fat is also used for the absorption of fat, soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K, and their transportation throughout the body.
Short Summary.
“Carbohydrates protein and fats play vital roles in our body, from providing glucose for energy, breaking down and metabolising triglycerides to helping control our blood sugars.”
Counting macronutrients.
Counting your macronutrients has become a lot more popular over the past few years. The main goal of counting your macro’s is to help you achieve your health goals. This could be weight loss, weight management, weight gain, improving athletic performance, or may be building muscle mass.
By understanding your Macros, you can adjust them to your own specific requirements. Once you understand how to balance your macro’s you can adjust them to give you more energy depending on your lifestyle, health, and fitness goals.
There are only four simple steps to take to be able to count and track your own macros.
Step one,
Finding out your daily calorie intake.
(BMR)
For men
(10xweight in KG) + (6.25x height in cm) (minus x 5 x age in years) + 5
For women
(10x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) minus (5 x age in years) minus 161.
To make this really simple for you I will leave a calorie counter app as a link.
Step two,
Factor in your health and weight goals.
If you are sedentary meaning, you do little to exercise, it is your BMR x 1.2.
If you do light activities meaning you do light exercise 1-3 times a week then it is your BMR x 1.375.
If you do moderate activities meaning you are physically active 3-5 days a week then it is your BMR x1.55
If you do physical activities that are intense 6-7 days a week then it is your BMR x 1.725
If you do extreme physical activity that are very intense 6-7 days a week then it is your BMR x 1.9.
Step three,
Find out your ideal macro intake.
This should be around.
Carbs, 45-65% of your daily calories.
Protein, 10-35% of your daily calories.
Fat, 25-30% of daily calories.
I will leave a link to a macro calculator to make it easier for you.
Step 4
you can now start tracking your macro intake.
Summary
“Counting macros can be done in four effortless steps, 1, workout your daily calories, 2, workout your health goals, 3, Find out your idea macro intake. 4, keep track of your macro. Links are throughout the blogs to the calculator you can use to make this process really easy for you.”
Helpful tips
- Tailor your macros to what you need.
- Do not be over detailed.
- Use nutritional labels.
- Prep your meals in advance.
- Use a shopping list.
- Properly weigh uncooked, raw, and cooked foods,
- adjust your macros if they are too restrictive or too high.
- Measure and record all food intake accurately.
- Regularly review and adjust macro goals based on progress and changes in body composition.
The main pros of counting macros are its flexibility, adaptabilities, helps people to gain a healthy relationship with food, and there is no calorie counting.
People can find that adjusting or even just tracking their macronutrients complicated.
So here are a few tips for you. Consult with a nutritional therapist like me, here at A.C.S nutritional therapist we design nutritional and dietary plans with optimal macro and micronutrients for all requirements. We deliver a bespoke service at affordable prices, we design a nutritional plan, with all recipes and their methods, adjustments to your plan if and when the occasion occurs and you get weekly, fortnightly or monthly phone consultation with one of our registered nutritional therapist
Remember it is important to be flexible and adjust as needed rather than sticking rigidly to a set plan. This can help prevent burnout and ensure long-term success in achieving health and fitness goals.
Common misconceptions about macro
There are several common misconceptions about macros.
- The first is that they are only for bodybuilders or athletes.
- This is not true; everyone should have a perfect balance of macro’s to help our bodies to function at its optimal best. This gives us the abilities to stay fit and healthy, both physically and mentally, well giving our body the raw materials, it needs to rebuild, repair, and fight off illness and diseases.
- Not all macro’s are created equally, and it really will matter where they come from when we are talking about our health and wellness.
- Finally, there is no need to become puzzled or worried about counting macro’s first as above here at A.C.S we do it all for you including the recipes and we do not just stop there, you get a nutritional therapist on your side to help you achieve your goals. Of course, there are apps out there you can use.
Thank you for reading this blog you may also like our blog on clean eating. Also our blog on essential nutrients.
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By Aaron Christopher Slade