Many people exercise to look and feel better. As a result, they strive to reach an ideal bodyweight and when the goal is met they typically feel more confident. If you want to be more confident and happier in life, choosing a healthier lifestyle will only help your cause. Healthy nutrition, and understanding macronutrients better, plays a big role in living a healthy, sustainable lifestyle.
Macronutrients
You probably know someone who is on a diet and counting calories. If so, they probably use some form of counting macronutrients. The term, macronutrient, might not be a word you’ve given too much thought. You will likely be familiar, though, with the three types of macronutrients we eat each day: carbohydrates, protein and fat. This article looks at each of these, what they do for the body, and how to balance them to improve your diet. Let’s take a look at each one.
Carbohydrate
If you ask anyone what their favorite food or meal is, it is pretty much guaranteed that some form of carbohydrates are involved. Most meals revolve around the comfort of carbohydrates such as bread, pasta or wheat. Carbohydrates are a type of substance which are found in many different foods. Once broken down, they are converted into energy for the body. Sugar is a type of simple carbohydrate. It metabolizes to form energy and gives us the ability to run around and stay awake throughout the day.
This particular macronutrient has gotten a bad wrap over the years. As a result, many people try to avoid carbs altogether. They fear what they will do to their body. So, let us just stop right there and say: certain carbs are good for you! Your brain utilizes carbohydrates on a daily basis for fuel (about 120 grams a day). Without carbohydrates you wouldn’t have the energy to get out of bed, solve math problems or workout. We need carbs to live, so make sure you let yourself eat them! It basically comes down to eating more healthy, complex carbs and less of the highly processed carbs.
Protein
Let’s begin by making one thing clear: eating more protein won’t solve all of your problems. In fact, too much protein can cause issues. We all need a healthy dose of protein, however, in our diet each day, to support and build muscle. Each meal should contain some form of protein. Typically, 25-35 grams of protein in each meal is a good start. The role of protein in the body is to create and maintain muscle cells and to keep us strong.
Another job requirement of protein, that you may not have been aware of, is it transports hemoglobin around your body. One of the many things hemoglobin does is pick up oxygen atoms from the air we breathe and transports them to our cells. So basically, a low protein intake can have a huge effect on your oxygen intake. In the gym world, this muscle builder is considered, by many, as the most important macronutrient of the whole bunch.
Fat
Fat is something which most of us spend a great deal of of time trying to lose. So the idea of putting more of it into our bodies each day might just seem like a crazy idea. However, fat is just as important as any other substance in the body and as long as we reach for healthy fats we can still keep a lean physique.
Fat makes up our cell membranes, it improves our brain function and nerve system, and it can also help to absorb certain vitamins which are fat soluble. Healthy fat has a lot more to offer for the body than you may think and it is because of this that we should eat a small amount of fat each day. By adding foods such as nuts, oily fish and avocado to your salads and meals, you’ll end up providing your body with the fat it needs for improved function.
How to Count Macronutrients
Counting your macros involves thinking about everything you are going to eat during the day and splitting this into carbohydrate, protein and fat buckets. Think of it like a pie chart with approximately 50 percent of what you eat coming from healthy carbs, 30 percent from protein and 20 percent is healthy fat. You can always adjust these amounts slightly, depending on your needs and goals. You may want a higher protein intake or less fat, but as a rule of thumb, this is a helpful guide to follow.
Case Study 1
As an example, a female who is eating approximately 1,600 calories, in order to lose some weight, her calorie breakdown per macronutrient would be similar to the following.
Carbohydrates
Total intake = 800 calories (divide by 4 to determine the number of gram to eat for the day = 200).
Protein
Total intake = 480 calories (divide by 4 to determine the number of grams for the day =120).
Fat
Total intake = 320 calories (divide by 9 to determine the number of grams for the day = 36).
Case Study 2
In a second example, a male, looking to drop weight, a caloric intake of about 2,700 calories would look like the following, if you were to break it down by macronutrient.
Carbohydrate – 1,350 calories (338 grams/day).
Protein – 810 calories (202 grams/day).
Fat – 540 calories (60 grams/day).
Keep in mind, these are just rough examples. You are not always going to count your calories each day but having a better understanding of where the calories are coming from and how much of each macronutrient you’re consuming can only help on the nutrition side.
Final Thought
A helpful way to keep on track of the macros which you eat is to use an app such as MyFitnessPal which counts your calories for your meals by ingredient. You can see much more clearly where you need to make changes in terms of your ratios. Counting macros this way will allow you to stay healthy and it will also ensure that you maintain your ideal bodyweight too.
Stay Strong Together
Jefit is a strength training app used for planning & tracking workouts and helps all gym goers and athletes keep on track with their fitness goals. Not only does it offer you the ability to update and share your workout log with a supportive community, it has the largest exercise library for both strength training and cardio exercises.
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