Do you have what it takes to track macros? I don’t mean that in the traditional sense of having down and dirty determination, I mean it literally. Macros require a basic understanding of nutrition, and owning a digital food scale. I found mine on amazon, and I love it. The scale is rechargeable, and just pretty. Buuuuuut this isn’t about my scale. This is about equipping you with the knowledge you need to make educated decisions about what, and how much you put in your body. So let’s get started!

Macro is short for macronutrient. This is what our bodies need for energy, and to keep us alive, so today we will be talking about the hot three: protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Each of these macro sources contain calories. And, not to get off topic here, but I need to make something clear, calories are not the enemy. Calories are friends, they are helpful, and they are necessary for both gaining and losing weight. Often, people associate calories with weight gain, and therefore form a love-hate relationship with them. This relationship typically turns into the belief that you must drop your caloric intake down to 1,200/day to successfully lose weight. And it works, for a short time. Eventually, your body is depleted of energy storage, and since you aren’t refueling with sufficient amounts of fat/carbs, this is what causes you to feel tired, weak, and grouchy. Sufficient calories are so important, and I will harp on that throughout this post. Now, back to the good stuff!

Carbs, fats, and proteins. The hot three. Each of these energy sources are made up of calories, and when balanced appropriately, they set a ^healthy^ macro goal. I say healthy, because we aren’t looking for a quick fix, or to feel like crap in the name of vanity. We want health first, appearance later. Once we can agree on that, we can move on!

One gram of carbs has 4 calories, one gram of protein has 4 calories, and one gram of fat has 9 calories. Depending on your health and fitness goals, these energy sources, aka macronutrients, can be manipulated, or ‘tweaked’ to fit your needs. I will use myself as an example, I feel very comfortable at 1,850 calories / day. For myself, I prefer higher carbs than fats, and set my protein at a reasonable goal. Currently, I am sitting at 150 grams of protein, 192 carbs, and 54 fat, which totals 1,854 calories per day. I have tried manipulating the numbers, and giving myself higher protein, but I have found that for where I am at in life, anything over 150 grams per day is not sustainable. And right now, we want sustainable, but also achievable goals. Because if we can’t get to our goals, how can we keep them? We can’t. So if you are hesitant, my advice to you is start small, and take on one goal at a time until you are confident in yourself enough to move to the next.

This is a lot of information to take in, and getting started can be daunting. That is why I am here to help! I will hold your hand through the entire process of getting started, and continue to check in and answer questions! If you are ready to take the next step in your health, and learn how to track your macros, HMU and get can do this together! Until next time friends!