So you’ve decided to start counting macros. At first, it can feel really overwhelming. You’re handed numbers from a coach or you’ve calculated your own with a macro calculator. What’s next? First thing’s first, you need to understand the basics of counting macros if you’re going to be successful at it.
What Are Macros?
Macros refer to the macronutrients in foods, aka your protein, fats and carbs. Aside from this, you have micronutrients which refer to the vitamins and minerals your body needs to perform essential functions and processes. For the purposes of this post, we are going to focus on macros, but know that micros naturally come from foods that are part of macros. For example, a banana would be a carb source but it is filled with potassium, vitamin b6 and vitamin c.
Each macro provides essential nutrients and benefits for the body, in addition to a different caloric expenditure per gram. Let’s break it down:
Proteins
In my opinion, protein is the most important macro. Proteins provide 4 calories per grams and are digested by the body the slowest. Meaning when you eat a protein-heavy meal, you’ll be fuller longer because your body takes longer to break it down, compared to carbs that are used for fast energy.
Depending on your fitness goals and body needs, your protein intake will vary anywhere from .6-1 x your body weight. For example, if you are a 150 pound male, you will have protein macros up to 150 grams of protein per day. The more weight lifting you do, the more protein your body will need to replenish and build your muscles.
Some of my favorites are:
Carbohydrates
Oh, carbs are by far my favorite macro and the one that’s hardest for me to limit. Carbs are made up of 4 calories per grams, just like protein. The major difference here is the way these macros are broken down and used in our bodies. When paired with proteins and fats, carbs can be used to create sustained energy, but carbs alone will give you quick energy. Think of the foods you’d typically eat before a tough workout or a long run: energy chews (all sugar, aka sugar), Cliff Bar (carbs), bananas (carbs), etc.
Try some of my favorite healthy carbs:
Fats
Each gram of fats equal 9 calories, making it the highest caloric macro. These are usually the easiest to get away from me and really pack in the calories. Think of peanut butter – it’s 200 calories for only 2 tbsp.
Aside from all the bodily functions fats help with, fats help you stay full and satisfied after your meals. They are usually richer in flavor and should be used more sparingly.
Incorporate these fats to hit your macros:
Save this cheat sheet for a quick reference of protein, carbs, fats and micronutrients to add to your plate:
So now that you know what macros are, let’s move on to how to track them successfully…
Top 5 Tips For Counting Macros
1) Pre-Log Your Food To “Stay On Track”
First thing to do is download an app to add your food intake to eliminate the daily math. I like MyFitnessPal but I’ve heard good things about Lose It! and Cronometer.
The days I am “spot on” with my macros is when I plan and enter my foods in the app ahead of time, like the night before. Especially during the work week, I love planning my breakfast, lunch and snacks ahead of time. Then I can look at my macros and see what I need for dinner. If I’m low on carbs and high on protein, I’ll make pasta. If I need lots of protein, I may make a chicken stir fry. Or if you know you’re going out to eat for dinner, log that early to plan the rest of the day accordingly. You have some flexibility here.
This tip is also great for eating the food you have and eliminating waste. If you buy certain foods and log them in your app, that’s what you eat.
When I’m doing a cut, I almost always plan a treat for the evenings. Then if I get to 7pm or 8pm and I don’t want it, I can “bank” the macros or swap it for something else I want instead. Some of my favorite healthy treats and snacks are:
2) Learn The Most Efficient Ways to Weigh Food
After counting macros for a few years, I’ve learned a few hacks for weighting food efficiently:
- If scooping food out of a container (like a peanut butter jar), place the container on the scale and zero it out. Then start scooping the food out of the jar and adding it to a recipe, plate, etc. The scale will show a negative number of how much food was removed. Log that weight into your app as a positive amount. I use this method a lot for cooking egg whites from a container or when adding pasta sauce to cooked pasta. I’ll add what I want then log whatever is on the scale.
- If adding numerous items to a plate, place a plate on the scale and zero it out. Add one food and log to your app. Then zero out the scale. Add the next food and log it. Zero out the scale. Repeat until done. The same goes for if you are adding dressings or condiments.
- When removing food from a package, scan the barcode in your app and log at its current state. For example, if you scan a bag of frozen chicken, weigh the chicken frozen and log it. See below on raw vs. cooked foods.
- If you plan to eat some of the same meals, you can easily copy over what you logged in previous days by hitting the … icon in your food diary, click copy from date and select the meal and date desired.
3) Properly Weigh & Log Raw & Cooked Foods
As mentioned above, you can scan barcodes on your food packages and weigh in their purchased state. But let’s say you want to cook a bunch of frozen chicken to meal prep for the week, you won’t log the food in your app with the frozen package information.
Instead, you’ll want to search on your app for a cooked chicken item and add it. If you cooked with oil, I’ll add the oil separately in the app.
If you are making single servings, you can weigh any food raw before you cook it. For example, I’ll weigh broccoli or potatoes raw before cooking and add oil or dressings separately.
4) Create Recipes in MFP
Let’s say you want to make a recipe from a cookbook or whip up your own recipe and be precise as possible. For MyFitnessPal (and likely the other apps I mentioned above), you can add recipes in your settings.
Create a new recipe, add in a random number of servings (you will change this later) and enter in all of the ingredients. Either scan your ingredients you are using or search for the best option available. Once your recipe is created, go ahead and cook your meal.
You’ll need to weigh the cooked recipe so you have 2 options:
- You can weigh the pot you’ll have the final dish in before cooking. Write down the weight in grams on a piece of paper or on your phone. Once you have the final weight amount of the recipe in the pot, subtract the amount of the pot and you have your total weight of the food.
- When you are done cooking, you can place a Tupperware container on the scale and zero it out. Pour the cooked meal into the container and you have your final cooked weight.
Once you have the amount the final food weights, add that in your app as the serving size. For example, if you make chili and the end product weights 2,000 grams, you change the serving size for the recipe in your app as 2,000 servings. Then when you go to log that recipe as a meal, you will weigh your desired serving and enter that weight as the number of servings. So if you’re eating 200 grams of chili, you add the recipe to your food diary for the day and type in 200 for the serving size. Hopefully that makes sense!
5) Tweak Your Macros If They’re Too Restrictive Or Too High
Unless you are working 1:1 with a nutrition coach, your macros won’t be 100% correct. Don’t be afraid to tweak them! Only you know what your body needs.
If you feel really restricted or hungry, try adding like 25 grams of carbs each day to see what happens. If you feel like your macros are too high, try to cut out carbs and fats to see how your body reacts.
Counting macros is meant to be sustainable. The beauty of macros are you can really incorporate any food into them. You want a donut this morning? Go for it, then tweak your macros for the rest of the day so your meals are higher in protein and lower in fat.
At the end of the day, a diet is only effective if it’s something that is sustainable over time and reinforces healthy habits. Stick to lean meats, veggies, fruits and healthy fats (with an indulgence here or there) and you’ll be good.
And remember you don’t have to be perfect at first, you just have to start. I promise counting macros will become second nature the longer you do it.
If you have any questions, feel free to DM me on Instagram @BreatheSweatEat! I share lots of macro-friendly recipes and tips on IG and this blog so follow along for more!
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and this post only reflects my personal experience with counting macros for many years. I hope this post helps you understand how to track macros efficiently and understand the general knowledge of macros.