I receive a lot of emails with people asking me about macros. I will give you a basic understanding on macros and their relation to calories so you can keep making progress!
First, “macros” is short for macronutrient. These are Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fats. Each macronutrient has a specific amount of calories per gram. Protein and Carbs both have 4 calories per gram and Fat has 9 calories per gram. If we track the amount of grams of each macronutrient then we can determine our daily caloric total. We all know the importance of how many calories per day you consume. If you eat too many calories then you can potentially get fat and if you eat too few you can potentially lose muscle and starve.
Once you know how many calories per day you should be consuming we can then decide how many of each macro we want to consume to hit that caloric goal. Some people like to follow a low carbohydrate diet so they might get most of their calories from protein and fats. Other people follow a low fat diet and will get most of their calories from carbs and protein. I like to follow the split of 40% protein, 30% carbs, and 30% fat. This will guarantee that we get enough protein and fats to get our essentials and we will get enough carbs to provide fuel for training.
After you have a set amount of daily calories and a macronutrient split based on % of total calories we can then make adjustments to your macros. You may want to try decreasing your carbs and increasing your protein intake. The daily caloric total will remain the same but the change in macros might make a change in your physique! At this point it becomes unique to the individual. Some people like to have a very high protein intake and lower their carbs and fat intake. Others like to have a high protein and moderate fat intake with low carbs. It’s all going to depend on you and your body!
Now that you have a basic understanding of macros I suggest that you track them so that you can make adjustments to take you closer to your goals! For more information be sure to check out the MACROS TOOL exclusive to squad members! #letsgetbettertogether.