Origin Foundational Nutrition Series: Macronutrients

Origin Foundational Nutrition Series: Macronutrients

Podcast Episode / Book a Comprehensive Nutrition Call with Dario

The words and phrases below will help you navigate Macros better, feel free to refer back to this list as you read.

1. Macronutrients - the three macronutrients are Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat
2. Calorie - a unit of energy
3. Counting Macros - weight, measuring and logging food in an app such as MyFitnessPal to understand the daily consumption of Carbs, Protein and Fat - thus calories.
4. TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure. How many calories you burn in a day.
5. IIFYM - If it Fits Your Macros. Used to illustrate the flexibility that Counting Macros allows. This theory allows one to indulge in things like ice-cream, as long as one does not exceed their daily macronutrient goal for Carbs and Fat.
6. Clean Eating - Consuming 80-90% of your meals from your kitchen or a meal prep service. A clean meal includes ample protein, colorful carbohydrates, and lots of greens.
7. Body Composition - How much fat vs how much muscle your body has.

Who is it for?

Counting macronutrients is for those who have a firm grip on "clean eating", and the habits associated with consistently doing so. Diving into counting calories before mastering the habits associated with general clean eating / food choice is not a good idea. Once clean eating becomes your natural lifestyle, we would then look into counting macros.

How do I do it?

By weighing food, on an app like MyFitnessPal to track daily progress against a goal set by a professional (do not use their pre-set goals!).

By preparing food so that you always know what your next meal will be. Whether you do it yourself, or pay a meal-prep company to do so - you must know what your next meal will be in order to effectively track macros.

How Do Macros and Calories Work Together?

There is a direct, mathematical connection from calories to macros:

1g of Carbs = 4 Calories

1g of Protein = 4 calories

1g of Fat = 9 Calories (fat is more than 2x calorically dense than the other 2 macronutrients)

Sample day in which macronutrient caloric values are roughly evenly distributed 1/3 each:

165g Carbs x 4 calories per gram = 660 Calories

165g Protein x 4 calories per gram = 660 Calories

75g Fat x 9 calories per gram = 675

Total calories: 660 + 660 + 675 = 1995 Daily Calories

Why should I do it?

Tracking calories allows us to manipulate bodyweight by eating in a deficit or a surplus based on our TDEE. That's a great start.

Tracking the macros that make-up your daily calorie intake allows you to achieve the desired body composition AND promotes performance in life and in the gym.

The structure provided by a macronutrient goal also allows you the freedom to indulge, while understanding exactly how much indulgence is appropriate.

Practical Application Tips

1. Preparation = Separation. You must prepare your food. You must know where your next meal is coming from, and have clean food in your refrigerator at all times.
2. Get Ahead. Get out in front of your protein goal. Carbs and fat are readily and easily found in so many foods. Protein is much harder to find. So make sure by the mid-way point of your day you are more than half way to your protein goal.
3. Read Food Labels. Lots of foods such as nut-butters or protein bars are advertised as "high protein'. Now that you understand the caloric math behind Carbs, Fat and Protein - make sure that any label claims are indeed true.

To understand the soft-skills needed and practical application, I go further in depth here:

The Origin Way Podcast - Foundational Nutrition Series: Macronutrients