How to Achieve Your Macro Meal Planner Goals in 2022

30 Mar How to Achieve Your Macro Meal Planner Goals in 2022

Once you’ve heard of macro meals? it’s undoubtedly from a neighbor who’s either a fitness freak or quite into healthy diets. Macro dieting can help anybody who wants to focus on building smart food choices that fit one‘s scoring chances, whether they’re losing fat, gaining strength, or improving overall health.

What exactly is a macronutrient?

First of all, getting to know what nutrition we’re taking is essential. Macronutrient consists of three different types of nutrients: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, which provide the majority of energy to your body. Water is also one of the main macronutrients but doesn’t have any calories. When you count your macros, you’re counting the grams of protein, fat, and carbs you are consuming. 

Here are few macronutrients needed for our bodies:

• Proteins 

Here are some of the protein-rich foods – eggs and egg whites, chicken, seafood, greek yogurt, protein powder, tofu, etc.

• Carbohydrate

Examples – bread, potatoes, pumpkin, plantains, rice, lentils, oats, vegetables, fruit, beans, maple syrup, honey, etc.

• Fats

Examples – oil (olive, coconut, avocado, etc.), butter or ghee, nuts, seeds, nut butter, avocados, olives, beef, whole eggs, bacon, full-fat dairy, cheese, etc.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend the following macronutrients for adults:

• Proteins; Females need 46 grams and Males need 56 grams which are around 10-30% of their daily calorie intake. 
• Carbohydrates: a person needs 130 grams daily, which is around 45–65% of their daily calorie intake from carbs.
• Fats should be around 20–35% of daily calorie intake.

Macro tracking 

Macro tracking is just noting down the food you eat, either on a mobile app or a website. This is to see the breakdown of proteins, fats, and carbs that you consume. Counting the number of macros you take per meal helps to balance the nutrition and control calories at the same time. Even though a macro plan largely focuses on macronutrient counts, this also requires other nutrients over a certain calorie limit. An individual can estimate their caloric intake requirements and then compute their macronutrients appropriately.

In the US, 33% more food is consumed out-of-home than in 1970, and this pattern is followed internationally. Food out-of-home is usually of poorer nutritional quality and higher in calories in both independent and chain restaurants, and people find it difficult to estimate the calorie content of the food that is taken out-of-home. Therefore calorie labeling has been suggested as a tool to help raise awareness of the calorie content of food and to help people choose fewer calories.

Methods for tracking: Keep count of macros

Following the determination of the macronutrient proportion, an individual must monitor their food consumption. Measuring the food intake entails keeping a meal record and concentrating on the macronutrients consumed.

• For several people, the most convenient option would be to use a site or a smartphone app.
• Others choose to do the arithmetic by hand, which takes longer. This usually entails estimating how many grams of each macronutrient a person will receive each day using the formula given:

[Total calories multiplied by macronutrient (%) / calories per gram]

How to start a macro diet?

It is easy to start a macro diet. First, know how many grams of protein, fats, and carbohydrates you consume each day. It is better to track it using a tracker or a mobile application. Once you know your calorie intake, you need to set up a calorie goal and choose a smart macro meal planner that contains good macronutrients in it. 

Advantages of Macro Dieting

• It aids in weight loss.
• It builds lean muscles.
• Gains athletic benefits.
• Manages sugar levels.
• Maintains and improves overall health and physical conditions.

Macro-friendly foods 

Macro-friendly means only high protein and low carbs & fats foods. The fruits and vegetables that are macro-friendly are broccoli, spinach, cucumbers, lettuce, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, and carrots. 

Here are a few macro meal recipes you can try out: 

• Vegan Sweet Potato & Black Bean Bowl
• Egg White Scramble And Sweet Potato Hash
• Tofu and Veggie Spring Roll Bowls
• High Protein Instant Pot Chicken Pasta 
• Stir-Fried Pork Meal Prep

Macro meal planner considerations and risks 

A study published in 2017 found a link between calorie counting and normal health tracking for eating disorder behaviors. This shows that a strong emphasis on health tracking might still put those with no record of eating problems at risk of developing disordered eating behaviors. Before starting a macro meal, one should follow and know the below precautions:

1. Unlike tracking calories, it is not an easy process to track macros as it takes a lot of time, and also, following a best macro meal planner diet requires a person to pay a lot of attention to every macronutrient ratio in everything food their intake. 
2. A macro diet could lead to a scarcity of nutritional diversity. It can be easily overlooked as the essential micronutrient as it focuses only on proteins, fats, and carbs. 
3. Being on a macro diet might put you in a state of isolation. For Example, if you go for dinner or get together with friends/family, you’ll be restricted to only certain foods and won’t be able to eat whatever you want. 

So, before taking up a macro diet, it is advisable to get your mind mentally and physically prepared for the diet to achieve a healthy diet process.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What happens if you don’t eat enough macronutrients? 

If you don’t get enough protein in your diet, you will have weakened muscles instead of losing fat, which also leads to lower metabolism.

1. What do macronutrients do to your health? 

Macronutrients, or macros, are essential nutrients for the body. Macronutrients provide the body with energy, help to prevent diseases, and allow the body to function correctly.

1. Is it better to count macros or calories? 

It is better to focus on macros as counting macronutrients ensures that some essential nutrients are incorporated into your diet instead of focusing solely on calories. 

1. Which macro is more important? 

All the three primary macronutrients play a major role in your body i.e, carbohydrates, protein, and fat. It is necessary to balance these nutrients in your diet for a healthy lifestyle.

1. Is the macro diet superior to the keto diet?

Unlike the keto diet, the macro diet is more variable, which means you may change your macronutrient balance based on your current goals and figure out what works for you.

Conclusion:

Macronutrients (proteins, fats, and carbs) play essential roles in the body’s functionality. Keeping track of a person’s macro intake helps them to achieve their fitness goals. However, for the other counts, macros are time-consuming and also have their risks. It is advisable to have a word with a nutritionist or healthcare provider before starting a macro diet.

Reference:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/micros-vs-macros#how-much-you-need

https://www.crispyfoodidea.com/2021/03/macro-friendly-meal-prep-recipes.html

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/macro-diet#summary

https://www.nature.com/articles/ejcn2015175#Sec1

https://www.amjmedsci.org/article/S0002-9629(15)37975-1/fulltext