What Are Macros?

To Start with, the term ‘Macro’ is short for Macronutrient.. Which essentially means, we need them in large amounts (Macro)…

There are 3;

Protein

Carbohydrates

Fats

Technically, alcohol is the 4th… we’re not going to get into that today. I’ve written a past article on alcohol you can check out here.

Macronutrients make up the components of all food. Essentially, our macros are what calories are made of. Our Calorie Composition.

Since Macronutrients are what our calories are made up of, it makes sense that they contain calories. #smart.

Therefore, when we add our macros up, they equal our total calorie intake. #smarter.

To add our macros up, we need to understand that each macronutrient contains its own amount of calories…

Protein has 4 calories per gram.

Carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram as well.

Fats have 9 calories per gram.

So,

20g Protein contains 80 calories (20x4=80).

20g Carbs contains 80 calories (20x4=80).

20g Fat contains 180 calories (20x9=180).

As you can see, fats are the most calorie dense of the 3 macro nutrients.

It would also be important to note that we aren’t measuring the overall volume/weight of a particular food to get these equations.

For example. 100g of Chicken breast is not 100g of protein. 100g of raw chicken breast CONTAINS approx. 23g of protein & 1g of fat.

Whilst energy balance (calories in vs calories out) is king in regards to our body composition goals, it’s important to understand that each one of these macronutrients plays a specific role in our bodies, which means, its important to look beyond JUST overall calorie intake if we want to optimise our overall health, wellness and performance.

The optimal amount and/or ratio of these macronutrients (governed by our daily calorie target) is going to be specific to the individual, based on our gender, age, weight, activity levels etc. Some other uncontrollables such as our genetics will play a factor here also.

Over the course of the next few week, we’re going to go through each macronutrient one by one including how to consider eating the right amount specific to you and your goals!

Stay tuned.

Ben.