What Are Macros and Why Count Them?

I am writing this post in connection to my last post about me selling my nutritionist/nutrition coaching services. I have just started with a very basic service of calculating a person's Basal Metabolic Rate, determining their macros based on their goals and tracking their macros for them if they choose. I know that if you are reading this and you are a seasoned veteran of the healthy lifestyle or have a degree or education in health, fitness, wellness, nutrition etc. then you will probably find that you've heard these terminologies and calculations before. But as I've learned! Not everyone knows what those are. 

The Basal Metabolic Rate is very easy to understand. All it is, is the amount of calories your body burns as if you were to just lay in bed all day and not move. Yes your body burns calories at rest because it has many processes like keeping you ALIVE going on inside of it. It actually requires calories for your brain to function!

Determining one's macro needs. Macros are proteins, carbohydrates and fats in your diet. For the most part, we are all shaped differently, weight and height, physical activity levels, health situations etc. I would be determining how many grams/percent of the person's foods should come from each category (protein, carbs and fats). This helps people to learn about why they are gaining or losing weight. They are either over or under consuming macros. Based on your body and your goals, there is a certain amount of each that you should eat to reach those goals. 

And lastly, tracking of the macros. Basically I would be the person's own personal MyFitnessPal App or whatever app is out there that you plug in each and every single piece of food, drink and seasoning you ingest and it will tell you how many of each macros and micros you have eaten. It can be tedious and a lot of people do not like doing this so I am offering to do it for them which would hopefully give them enough time to focus on their goal(s). 

Why are these 3 things important? Well from my experience and education I have learned that a big part of people not being able to reach their weight loss goals is because they really have no idea how much they are actually eating. If you actually tracked your food intake (many people do but many also don't) they would see why they are gaining weight, why they have low energy, why they are binge eating on carbs etc. 

Also, if you were to count macros (or have me count them for you) and follow them, you could still eat whatever you wanted. It wouldn't be like you were going to suddenly have to stop eating your favorite foods, they would just have to fit into the macros. Make sense? It is sort of how the Weight Watchers counting of points works if you've ever heard about that. If you are supposed to have 150 grams of carbs and you want to eat a piece of chocolate that has 14g in it, then you would have to deduct that from your total and you'd have 136g of carbs left that you could eat. Eating that piece of chocolate wouldn't blow your whole day. Also meeting that number to a tee isn't necessary, just getting close to it (above or under) is perfectly fine.

I hope that clears it up for you all that have been saying that I needed to put a post like this out there. You were right. I thought I was appealing to people who already had a basic knowledge of these things but then they wouldn't be the ones needing me to help them with it. I'm appealing to those who have determined in their minds that they want to start living a healthier lifestyle when it comes to nutrition and they are serious about taking the next step. I really would love to be able to help you if you need it. I am looking forward to helping anybody struggling to get to where they want to be physically and mentally. Being healthy physically affects how we feel emotionally and mentally about ourselves. I think its really important to have all those areas of life covered when it comes to health. I am just a small piece of the puzzle with my nutrition degree. Love to hear from you!!!