My Transformation: Monitoring macros and why it is important!
I’m sure you’ve heard people talk about counting their carbs when they are on a diet to loose weight, gain weight or training for a physical event. And though this is important, carbs are not the only macro you should be counting!
What are macro diets all about?
When I first started dieting and working out again I was aware that counting macros was important. I had many people at the gym and friends of mine who train express the importance of counting macros daily in order to track my success. In fact, many agree, by not doing it you are essentially setting yourself up for failure. That may sound harsh, but since I have been doing this, I have been much more successful.
Even though we all know it is important to watch what we eat, especially if we are trying to loose weight, most of us kind of ignore that at the beginning. We figure since we’re going to the gym and doing cardio and lifting some weights that we can still pretty much eat what we want as long as it is not junk food.
And yes, you will see some early results by cutting out junk food and hitting the treadmill everyday, but you are not really setting yourself up for success down the road.
As I have mentioned in many past posts, the key is to understanding when you should eat and what you should be eating.
This is where macros come in.
So what are macros? In order to maintain, gain or loose weight you should be counting your daily macros in order to make sure you are eating correctly.
Forget counting calories, they can only tell you so much. If you’re not careful and you are not eating the right calories, you’ll likely not loose weight — you may even loose muscle too!
Here is a common example that many nutritionists use when breaking down good vs. bad calories:
100 calories of avocado (fat) is a lot better than 100 calories of a doughnut (carbs).
Simple right? Look at it this way, for most diets where the goal is to loose weight and/or gain muscle it’s very important to know how many carbs you’re eating in comparison to fat and protein. Typical weight loss diets usually aim for less than 50–40 carbs per day. If you’re aiming to gain muscle as well you will also need to increase the amount of protein you consume.
When counting macros, you are simply adding up how many grams of carbs (total and net), fat and protein you are eating each day. You can also add fiber to this list.
To calculate your optimal macronutrient intake depends on many different factors: your age, gender, weight, BMI and activity level. To best determine what you should be eating, you’d need to decide what “diet” to follow. Every diet is different.
To simplify this process I use an app called Carb Manager. There are many apps out there, this is just the one I stumbled upon first and it does the job well.
Not to get into all the details, but when you first start up you need to setup your profile. This will help determine what your daily calorie budget should be. The app, as I assume most of these apps do, has a built in macronutrient calculator that will calculate your macro ratio based on your calorie budget and diet goals.
In my case I am on a daily budget of 2974 calories per day which amounts to a max intake of 40g total carbs, 205g of fat (though I try to keep this closer to 150g) and 242g of protein.
I am also tracking my net carbs and fiber.
For the moment these macros are working well for my diet and training but I intend to play with the numbers as I continue to experiment with what is optimal for my body type, health and other important factors.
I should also mention that this is based on a diet goal of leaning out (loosing body fat) in order to bulk up later. Once I begin to bulk up, which should be fairly soon, I intend to increase my protein intake and carbs (slightly) and modify my 16/8 IF protocol.
How I manage my daily macros
This is where it gets a bit difficult. It will take patience and dedication to maintain your target macros. I admit, it sounds more difficult than it actually is. It will require some lifestyle adjustment, but once you make it a daily routine … it all just starts to fit into place.
Important factors in hitting your macros:
- Read every label carefully! This may be the most important element of success. Whenever I go grocery shopping I spend a little extra time to read both ingredients and nutritional facts on every box, bottle and package. Key items I look for first are how many grams of sugar, if it is not 0 I do not buy it, and how many grams of carbs per serving. Remember, my goal is 40g of carbs per day, so I need to make sure that no one item is accounting for more than a few grams per serving.
- Do your research! If you cannot find ingredients or nutritional facts on an item at the grocery store — look it up! You can literally google “product name” and “nutritional facts” and get your answer every time. Below is an example: “Lentils and Nutritional facts”
- Portion control. This is super important. I measure every piece of food I put on my plate. The difference can mean a meal that comes in at 12g of carbs vs.5g. For example if I decide to have 1oz of sweet potatoes at lunch that equates to 6g of carbs. If I double that it means I have 6g less to work with at dinner which can also impact the amount of fat and protein I consume and hitting my daily macros becomes more difficult or not possible. So how do I manage this? Easy. I use a mini kitchen scale that I got on amazon for 20 bucks. It’s super easy to use and has been a huge help in not only hitting my daily macros, but gaining a better understanding of what a healthy serving is for different types of food.
- Learn about new foods and recipes. In my spare time I am always digging through blogs and studies online looking for healthy foods to add to my diet. The key, for me, is to find low carb foods that are also high in protein. But, you don’t want eating to be boring and repetitive either. It’s nice to change it up a bit. I look for interesting recipes that are already no sugar and low carb or I modify recipes to fulfill my needs. Another cool feature in the carb manager app is the ability to search through tons of user submitted recipes. This has been super helpful.
- Supplements. Do not be afraid to supplement your diet. Initially I was somewhat skeptical of adding more chemicals to my diet. But, I did my research and found a reliable and certified nutritionist. It’s easy to get caught up in fitness blogs and buy products that are recommended to help you increase your metabolism, focus, energy, strength, etc. But you gotta do your research and ensure you are buying quality product. If you are adamant about not using these types of supplements there are plenty of natural and organic ones on the market too. Personally, I use a combination of both. I will list a few lower down.
- Consult with your doctor. This is important. If you do not have a personal doctor go to a walk in clinic or health center, but find someone who you can trust. It is absolutely essential to determine if you have any health issues, predispositions, allergies, etc., before you take any supplements, natural herb or try new foods.
What my diet consists of
Ok, if you’ve made it this far down the post I congratulate you. I know it wasn’t easy. Learning about macros can be even more discouraging than actually getting off your a** and doing it. I know when I first began reading about macros I was inundated with information and fairly confused. Not to mention, I was certain that anyone doing this daily was insane — how does anyone find the time to do this?
I sat down, took a deep breath and pushed myself to get it done. It was easier than I thought after all. Today I don’t even really think about it. I just make it happen each day and have benefited tremendously from doing so.
Ok, ok, let’s get to the juicy stuff (no pun intended), here are a few ingredients that have become a staple of my weekly diet. My next post post will include some creative recipes I have come up with, modified and found online.
Main ingredients — things I eat every day or every week:
- Salmon — of any kind. I mentioned this in a previous post, but canned salmon can be more beneficial than fresh salmon. I eat salmon at least once a day for lunch or dinner.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture study found that the omega-3 fatty acid levels in canned salmon even exceeded the amount found in fresh salmon.
- Sardines — these suckers are packed full of goodness. A single serving has around 23 grams of protein and is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, iron and potassium, and only 200 calories.
- Chicken and turkey — both are packed full of protein, but turkey tends to be slightly higher in protein and lower in fat.
- Lean ground beef 80%–90% — if you need or want to eat red meat this is your best option. It is high in protein but also high in fat, even at 80 or 90. I restrict this to about once a week.
- Sweet potatoes, turnips, squash, parsnip, carrots, eggplant— I consume on average an oz or 2 a day, of one or maybe two of them. I cook them in coconut oil or butter. Root veggies are a great way to get vital nutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium and dietary fiber.
- Hard boiled, poached or fried eggs—I eat on average 3–4 eggs a day in some form. Eggs are high in protein, minerals, and good fats.
- Kale, spinach, arugula, char — These bad boys are high in fiber, low in fat and filled with nutrients.
- Broccoli — I mostly consume broccoli for it’s high fiber but it is also a good source of vitamin B1, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, calcium, iron, niacin and selenium.
- Mushrrooms — also a a good source of fiber and protein and low in fat and carbs.
- Red, navy, kidney and black beans — beans are also a great source of fiber and protein. But, be careful, they can be very high in carbs. I tend to eat beans once or twice a week and only 2–3 tablespoons at a time.
- Spices — pretty much anything goes, but there are a handful that have some powerful benefits to the body: cinnamon, paprika, cumin, curry, nutmeg, garlic, ginger. I will cook with these as often as I can and I use many of them in my coffee, teas and protein shakes.
- Condiments — basically anything with 0 sugar and low in carbs. My regulars include: mayonnaise, siracha, mustard, apple cider vinegar, tahini, hummus, and tzatziki. And yes, I typically tend to make these from scratch instead of store bought.
And finally for cooking all of the above I use real butter, coconut oil and avocado oil.
Beverages — this list ois pretty straight forward:
- Water
- Coffee
- Tea — only black, chai, green and matcha.
- Unsweetened cashew milk
- Unsweetened coconut milk
Supplements:
- Protein powder — I use a few different types of whey: Gold standard, naked whey, and best whey. I will only use whey that has 0 sugar. I also use some plant based protein powders: Iron Vegan Unsweetened and Pea Powder.
- Taurine — is an animo acid, a chemical that is a required building block of protein. There are many benefits to adding more taurine to your system including; brain functionality, increases the action of insulin, improving glucose tolerance, and acting as an antioxidant. I add up to 500mg a day to my protein shakes. Below is the brand I use.
- Black Macca root — Black Maca roots traditionally grow in the Peruvian Andes. This root has been used medicinally for centuries. The benefits are tremendous and scientists are only just recently really beginning to understand all of it’s benefits in modern medicine. Most commonly it is used to increase metabolism, libido, energy, mood, memory and balance hormones. It is also high in antioxidants and nutrients, such as vitamin C, copper and iron. I add one tablespoon daily to my protein shakes. the idea is to cycle it in and out. You should not use it for more than 3 months at a time. Take a few weeks off and then cycle it back in. Below is the brand I use.
That pretty much sums up my weekly edibles. :)
Final thoughts
At the end of the day diet is a very personal thing. It will never be the same for everybody and you need to experiment with what works best for you.
I’m no expert. I’m just very passionate about health and fitness and very lucky that it has so far worked very well for me.
I’m always looking for new foods and supplements to add to my diet and ways of improving upon my “process”.
If you have any suggestions or want to add to what I’ve discussed here please feel free to reach out to me.
