Friday, January 22, 2016

Back to Basics: Let's Talk Macros

When people ask me about my nutrition, the first thing they ask me when I explain how I track my food is: 

"What are macros?"

Macros is short for macronutrients and there are three major macronutrients your body needs to function properly-- carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. These are the three main sources of fuel your body needs, and it is important to have a balance of all three. 

An imbalance of nutrition can lead to a lot of things: hormonal issues, weight gain/loss, mood swings, fatigue, etc. A lot of common problems that people complain about can have a simple solution as easily as tweaking their nutrition. If our bodies aren't fueled properly, then we don't feel our best. It can be something that people take for granted and reach for that extra caffeine rather than taking the time to get to the root of the problem.

And how do we get to the root of the problem? Well, the first step is to gain some basic knowledge in order to make educated choices.

Maybe it's just because I feel like a lot of people in my life right now have been reaching out to me asking advice on nutrition, but I've noticed a lot lately that there are a lot of misconceptions about nutrition. I can't tell you the number of times people will tell me "oh I loaded up on peanut butter for protein" and then I'm thinking "no, no, no peanut butter is not a protein source".

SO, I wanted to do this post and kinda clear things up because there is a ton of misleading information out there. Lord knows I love Pinterest but I swear sometimes it can be one of the biggest culprits! There are so many pins where I just want to hit the report button and be like THIS IS ALL FALSE INFORMATION PEOPLE haha!

Don't even get me started on the "no-carb" diet pins. This post would literally go on for 20 pages...

Anywayyyy, let's talk about some basic foods and their macro categories! As always, I am not a professional but this is just going to be an informative post about which foods fall into certain macro categories. If you want to get help with your own nutrition I'd suggest talking to your doctor or a professional like a macro coach!

First, let's start with carbs because carbs = love. You might not find that in a nutrition book but I think it's pretty much true. Carbs keep people happy! So don't cut them out of your diet because we don't want to be unhappy do we?

Here are some extremely basic carbs: oats, pasta, quinoa, potatoes, rice, vegetables, fruits, and bread. Now, this might get confusing because you hear a lot about foods like quinoa being protein-packed. BUT quinoa has only about 6g of protein per serving and 31g of carbs, which means it ain't a protein source at all like look at that carb content. You can pick a carb source that might be a little higher in protein like quinoa vs. pasta but that is still going to be a carb. My advice is if you want more protein without extra carbs or fats (like when trying to hit your macros) then stick with a lean meat like chicken or fish.  You can't just eat one serving of quinoa and think that you got enough protein because 6g a day is hardly anything!


So next let's talk about some good fat sources: peanut buttaaaaaa (my #1 forever and always) or any nut butter really but let's be honest who can pass up peanut butter?, avocados, butter (yes, I eat real butter), cheese, and oils (coconut, olive, sunflower, canola, sesame, etc).  

Now, nut butters and cheese might get confusing because yes they do have some protein but SOME. Let's look at this example of peanut butter: 8g of fat, 3g of carbs, and only 3.5g of protein. I eat around 120g of protein a day so if I wanted to just get that from protein I would literally have to eat more than 34 servings of peanut butter to hit my protein goal. Which means my fat intake would be 270g for one day. That is literally about 7 times my normal amount of fat. 

No matter which way you try to spin it, nut butters are a fat. So if you're thinking about trying to add some extra protein in your diet, peanut butter is probably not the best way to do it. 


And finally we have protein! Yeah I talk a lot about my love for carbs and obsession with peanut butter but sometimes I think that secretly protein is my favorite macro. I'm not kidding when I say I get cravings for chicken and eggs haha! And turkey bacon oh my goodness do I love turkey bacon. 

Okay getting back on track here are some great examples of protein: chicken, fish, turkey, protein powders, tofu, plain greek yogurt, and egg whites. 

Again you have to pay attention to some other additional macros depending on which protein source you choose. For example, greek yogurt has a ton of protein but it also has a moderate chunk of carbs which is something to account for, and I don't even bother with flavored greek yogurts because that shoots the carbs through the roof. I stick with plain and then do some little add-ins to save myself some macros. Fish, chicken, and turkey might have some additional fats depending on how lean it is, which is something else to consider. The same goes with protein powders but for the most part you will get  a lot of protein for your buck if you pick one of those main sources. Honestly, egg whites are one of my go-tos because it's simply just protein. No fats, no carbs, just protein so I'll add it in to a lot of things like oats to get some extra protein!

Red meat is another source of protein but it's not my favorite. I love a good steak or burger every so often but that can come with a lot of fat. If I have the option, I go for a bison or elk burger which is leaner but still can have some extra fat. I like to stick with poultry and leaner fish like tilapia or cod since salmon can also be higher in fats. 


So there you have it! Just some basic examples of foods and their macro categories. I know it can be overwhelming at first looking at macros and learning about them let alone trying to track them. My advice is to just start familiarizing yourself with nutrition labels so you can learn about the breakdown of the macros in the foods you're eating. That way you can start with educating yourself about your decisions and work from there. If anyone has any questions at all feel free to email me and I can try to point you in the right direction of macro coaches that I trust! 

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