What are Macros? The Beginner’s Guide to Macros 101
What are Macros? This is the beginner’s guide to macros 101. If you’re new to your fitness journey, or if you’ve been on this journey for quite some time, you’ve probably heard of the term macros, or macro goals and you’ve probably wondered what in the heck are macros?
Whether you’re interested in losing weight, lowering your caloric intake, gaining muscle or just living a healthy lifestyle in general, you’re going to want to know what macros are, and how they can help you reach your goals.
Today we will be covering the basics on understanding what macros are and how they help and affect your body overall.
What are macros?
Macros is a shortened word for macronutrients. Basically, macros are the 3 major nutrients we consume in all our food intake every day, all day.
- Carbs
- Proteins
- Fats
Carbs: A beginner’s guide to what are macros?
These are essential nutrients to our everyday living and what every person needs. Each nutrient plays a main part in the functionality of our bodies and I’m going to break it down for you below!
This is our bodies primary energy source. This is how we are able to function and keep going throughout the day, carbs is what fuels our bodies engines.
You’ve probably heard the term low carb diet, or I need to cut down on carbs, or carb free diet. They do tend to get a bad reputation because they are SO DANG DELICIOUS. Please remember, they are good for you and our bodies cannot survive without carbs.
It’s really about learning the types of carbs there are and knowing your limit because it’s extremely easy to overeat carbs.
You can have a nice balance of fueling yourself with the complex carbs that are high in fiber such as fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc. that still gives you the satisfaction and creativity you want in your daily eating habits to allow you to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Some examples of high complex carbs:
- Bread
- Rice
- Veggies
- Potatoes
- Fruit
- Oats
- Pasta
Benefits of Carbs:
Our bodies benefit significantly from complex carbohydrates and will help tremendously in our health and fitness goals. Complex carbs is what we call healthy carbs.
Here are just a few examples off some of those health benefits to put it in perspective:
Maintain Blood Sugar Levels – these complex carbs provide the energy source that’s needed for our bodies to prevent rapid spikes in blood sugar, and therefor reducing other health risks that come can potentially happen with that such as insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
Rich in Nutrients – they are packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Fiber Content – because complex carbs are so rich in fiber, they help keep you fuller for longer which contribute to fat loss and controlling hunger and in addition, also support your digestive health
So why do people say carbs are bad, or want to stay away from them?
The answer is simple. LITERALLY simple. The other type of carb is called simple carbs. No pun intended 😊
This simple carb is sugar. If you ever take notice to candy such as a pack of skittles, or even cookies, notice the high carbs, and then take a peak at the sugar content. This is where carbs get a bad rap.
Simple carbohydrates have zero benefits and provide no overall satisfaction to your body, aside from the immediate satisfaction we all get when your in the moment consuming.
NOW – if you want that candy bar, GO. FOR. IT. Life is about balance, and if you deprive yourself of those things that truly bring you joy, my personal outlook is a healthy lifestyle then becomes unsustainable.
It’s about finding that balance, but I fully believe in learning what fuels your body and what doesn’t provides you with the tools and information you need to make those decisions.
FAT: A beginner’s guide to what are macros?
The next macronutrient on your list……FATS. This one also has a very bad rap, but I’m here to tell you not to turn your back on fats, they are most definitely your friend.
This macro protects our organs, supports cell growth and helps our bodies absorb nutrients.
Just like carbs, consuming healthy fats is also very satiating and keeps us fuller for longer which helps us in our fitness and health journeys.
We don’t need a lot to keep us going, especially because it’s the most calorically dense.
What do I mean by calorically dense? This means that fats have 9 total calories per gram, while carbs and protein only have 4 total calories per gram. We will get into those details later of calorie goals and total calorie intake since today we are just focusing on the types of macronutrients.
Long story short is we want to maintain portion control with this macro and consume in smaller amounts.
But we also still should enjoy the deliciousness of the foods that are high in fats and understand how fats also help fuel our bodies with what we need and maintain good health.
There are four main categories of fats:
Monounsaturated Fat
Considered a “good” fat. These fats are found in plant based fats like olive oil and avocado as an example.
Polyunsaturated Fat
Also considered a “good” fat. These fats are mostly found in seeds, nuts, some oils, some types of fish as an example.
Saturated Fat
Considered to be a cross between “good and bad fats”, depending on who you ask or what article you read honestly.
These fats are found in meats such as beef or pork fat, dairy products, butter, and cheese as an example.
My personal take on saturated fat? These types of fats should be ate very sparingly, and best to chose the types of foods with fat contents in the above two categories.
Trans Fat
Considered to be a “bad fat” and avoid when possible. These fats are found in fried foods, shortening, baked goodies like pastries, brownies, cookies, etc. processed snack foods like crackers, chips, butter.
There are a lot of health risks associated with trans fat. I’m certainly not a doctor, but there are a ton of good articles out there who explain this particular fat along with the others greater in detail. The purpose of this breakdown is to provide an understanding of this particular macro.
Moral of the story with foods that have fats:
Are foods that have “good fats” good for you? Absolutely. Is there such a thing is eating too much “good fat?” Yes, there is.
You definitely don’t want to eat a pound of cheese, or 3 avocados with your breakfast, or an entire an of almonds on a daily basis, but don’t be afraid to cook with oils, use cheese in your recipes, eat those egg yolks if your tired of egg whites.
As always, its finding the right balance.
Protein: A beginner’s guide to what are macros?
I love saving the best for last. This macro is nothing short of the bomb.com.
This is the macro that is the ultimate key to weight loss and muscle building. Since this is the slowest macro to digest (our body burns more energy digesting protein), consuming healthy amounts of protein results in a boost to our metabolism and increased calorie burn. YESSSSSSSSSSS.
If you’re into building muscle, protein is also the key that helps your body build, repair and maintain muscle tissue.
Which means the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism is, and the faster you burn through calories which in return supports weight loss, muscle gain, etc. It’s a WIN.
Here are some examples of foods that have a generous amount of protein:
- Chicken
- Many types of fish such as tuna, shrimp, crab
- Greek Yogurt
- Egg whites
- Protein powder
- Ground turkey
- Lean cuts of beef
- Cottage Cheese
Bottom Line on what are macros?
The bottom line is macros are essential to our bodies overall health and contribute to the daily functioning of our bodies in everyday life.
Each macronutrient plays a different role in our overall health and are the building blocks in helping us reach our fitness and health goals. Whether that is maintaining a healthy weight, increasing muscle mass, or trying to reach your personal body composition goals.
Restricting or eliminating one of them can cause serious health effects, and I recommend you speaking with your physician before making any drastic changes to your diet so that you understand all aspects and can choose the best path that’s suited for you and your individual needs.
Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor or claim to be an expert by any means on the scientific approach behind macros and the functions of your body.
I’m simply a mama who’s been in the fitness and health world for a decade and have learned a thing or two along the way.
I have encountered so many other women who were just like me when I started my journey and had no idea where to start, what things were, and my mission is to help other mamas on their journeys and provide a perspective of my knowledge that I have acquired over the last 10 years and hopefully pass along to others who need some guidance and a simple breakdown.
It takes a village, right?
Here are some other helpful articles:
Here are some credible sources that I recommend reading if you want to learn what macros are further.