Are you looking for an alternative to dieting that gives you more food freedom and flexibility? Look no further!
In this episode of Macros Made Easy, I’m sharing the importance of tracking macros for improving health and nutrition, and actionable steps you can take right now to get started.
Some of the things I cover in this episode are:
what are macros and why are they important to understand?
Macros, which is short for “macronutrients”, are the three categories of energy-providing nutrients that make up all of our food. They are protein, fat, and carbohydrates.
By tracking macros, we are able to provide our bodies with gentle direction on what we want to see out of it. By manipulating the macros in our food we can achieve specific goals, learn some basic nutrition education, remove limits on food, and determine the right portion sizes for our bodies. It can also help us to have a healthier relationship with food, and to have more control over lean muscle gain or fat loss, satiety, blood sugar balance, hormone balance, and overall energy.
Ultimately, understanding and tracking macros can help us to achieve our health, body composition, and athletic performance goals.
actionable steps to get started tracking macros
If you’re ready to get started tracking macros, here are the steps I recommend to get started:
- Download an app that you’re familiar with, understand, and/or like using and start logging your current eats. Don’t worry about changing how you eat – just start logging! My favorite app is Cronometer.
- Take a look at the macronutrient breakdown of your meals at the end of the day while ignoring calories. This helps you get an understanding of your current eating pattern and which macros you could potentially be over or under eating.
- Get a macro prescription and compare it to the averages you’ve seen in your diary.
- After you know your macro prescription, pick one macronutrient to focus on first. Start making changes to your current eats to get closer to your macro prescription for that one macro, while still ignoring calories.
- Once you’ve got that down, it’s time to aim to get within +/- 5 grams of all your macro targets.
- Assess how you feel and make changes if necessary.
Still feel like you could use some advice to help you get started? Here are some things I wish I did when I first started tracking.
what is a macro prescription and how can you get one?
A macro prescription is the personalized nutrition plan that is tailored to your individual needs and goals. It takes into account your current health, body composition, and athletic performance goals, as well as your lifestyle and preferences. To get a macro prescription, you should consult a registered dietitian who specializes in a macro-based approach. They will be able to assess your current health and goals, and create a plan that will best suit your needs.
If you’d like to set your own macro prescription to learn how much protein, fat and carbohydrates you need to support your goals, download the DIY Macros Guide here.
is macro tracking right for you?
Tracking macros provides a neutral, non-dieting approach to nutrition education, removing limits on food and giving you control over portion sizes. It can also lead to more food freedom and flexibility, and can provide you with a roadmap to achieve specific goals. However, it’s important to understand that tracking macros isn’t right for everyone. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide if macro tracking is the right approach for you.
If you’re serious about achieving some significant health, body composition or athletic performance goals in the most efficient way possible, tracking macros is the way to do it!
Thanks for listening! Be sure to tune in to all the episodes to receive more advice for reaching your health goals with more ease.
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Resources mentioned in this episode:
Food Tracking apps I recommend:
