Nutrients, or macros, consist of proteins, carbs, and fats. You can think of them as the building blocks for food, and each of them serves a specific function in your body. This is why you’ll often hear the phrase, “Not all calories are created equal”. While each are important, eating too much or too little of any one of them can lead to an unoptimized approach to nutrition. Let’s take a deeper look at their specific functions.
Protein
Protein helps support the production and retention of lean muscle mass. It also contains essential amino acids that allow your muscle to fully repair and recover from daily use as well as intense training sessions. Lastly, protein is also the most satiating macro, meaning that a diet that is high in protein helps to keep hunger at bay.
Carbs
Carbohydrates are your body's most readily available source of energy. This includes the energy you need for basic bodily functions (ie: breathing, digestion, etc) and living your everyday life, but it is especially impactful for training. For athletes that compete in endurance sports or higher-volume exercise, carbs work to replenish glycogen stores in your muscles that are depleted throughout the session. This translates into better recovery and higher levels of performance.
Fat
Omega fatty acids such as EPA and DHA help to support cardiovascular health, joint health and also aid in digestion. Further, fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K require sufficient dietary fat in order to be properly absorbed by the body. Fats also help to keep your hair and nails strong and promote skin health!
By tracking macros, you are ensuring you’re getting enough of each macro and optimizing your nutrition to support your goals - whether that’s losing body fat, gaining strength and muscle mass, or improving performance in a chosen sport.
While on the surface it might appear as if eating within the framework of a macro prescription would be restrictive, it’s actually quite the opposite. Nothing is “off limits” with a flexible dieting approach and by finding a balance between what you enjoy and what your body needs, you can achieve nutritional freedom while still working towards your goals!
Sound too good to be true? It’s not as complicated as you might think. Follow these simple steps to get started:
Set your macros
We will do this for you within 3 days of receiving your information!
Buy a digital scale
The more accurate you can be about measuring the foods going into your body, the better and more consistent your results will be. It might seem like a lot of extra work, but in actuality, you’re adding an easy step to actions you’re already taking! Simply weigh and record your portions before cooking and you’re set. Our go to suggestions can be found here.
Track your intake with a food-tracking app
Our go-to tracker is MacrosFirst. Built from the ground up with macro tracking in mind! Paid alternatives include MyFitnessPal or myMacros+.
This is just a small introduction to the information and resources we provide to you when you sign up for our help. You can take advantage of that here!