Why Counting Macros Vs. Calories Is More Effective (& How You Can Start Doing It Now!)

I know, I know, for years and YEARS, beyond what I can even fathom, we have ALL worried about how many calories we’re getting in versus putting out, looking at nutrition labels, and “running that extra mile” if we’ve had X amount of calories that day. BUT, I’m going to let you in on a little secret…. Calorie counting does NOT work. Here’s why …

When you go into the grocery store (Meijer, Stop N Shop, Publix, etc.), you fill your cart with the usual: eggs in a carton (cheapest ones you can find, OBV!), gallon of milk (or in these days, almond or coconut milk), meat, veggies, etc. You’re stocking up on healthy foods, so you’re doing great right?! However… did you see what it took to get all of that produce TO the store where YOU are picking it up from? Do you know exactly where it is grown or what farmer had a hand in getting that to you? Are you aware of how many days it took to get the produce there, every hand that was involved, what kind of climates it went through before it got to YOUR state and YOUR city to be picked up from. Was it ever frozen at one point? Or how about, when is the LAST time that they tested out the nutritional value of that specific food? Those nutrition labels that you see on containers and packages… it’s a great estimate! But if you are not there through all walks of life with this food, how are you to know exactly how many calories it contains? Those nutrition labels (unless the FDA comes out with something they need to add/remove from them) are not required to be updated. This means that the farmers/manufacturers of that food could have easily changed how they grow something/what they feed their animals, without having to touch the label. And all of this can DRASTICALLY change the effect of that specific food, and how many calories it contains.

Now that I’ve ruined your life (and the way that you read nutrition labels), let’s talk about something that DOES work: macro counting. Macro counting is the value of a food and how much of each macronutrient that it can supply you. Macronutrients are the base of what our diet should be: protein, carbs and fats. For macro counting, you get a specific value in grams that you should have each day of each macronutrient (this is why it’s key to have a coach help you figure out what that may be!). These values rely on your age, weight, height, activity level, goals, and various other factors in your life (that’s math and headaches for us to figure out, so don’t worry about that!). Let’s use mine as an example: right now my macros are set to 110g of protein, 274g of carbs, and 73g of fat. That means that with each meal, I weigh out a certain size of that food and track it in something like MyFitnessPal (my preference) to get track how many macros that I have in thus far. That means that if I get in 26g of protein, 49g of carb and 21g of fat for breakfast, I will have 84g of protein, 225g of carbs and 52g of fat left. See how that works?

Rather than counting CALORIES, you are counting your macronutrients in grams to make sure that you are fueling your body with the amount of nutrients that it needs in accordance to your goals (lose weight, maintain or gain), and what you and your coach agree on. Over time, you can adjust these as needed to make sure that you are working towards those goals, and your coach should also be monitoring your levels (sleep, energy, motivation, etc.) to make sure that you are healthy and happy!

Macro counting can not only help you achieve your goals, but it can also help you with FLEXIBLE DIETING (which we can get into later!). Basically, have the cake, or the ice cream… give in to your sweet tooth once in a while, live a little! You have some macros to cover ;)