Fit 4 Force: What the hell is a Macro?

Hi Guys,

Macro's, macro's....what the hell are macro's?

So you may have heard about macro's when talking about diet or health and fitness? When people refer to macro's (macronutrients) these are the sources which we get our daily caolries from.......Carbohydrates, Protein & Fat.

Now we all have different requirements when it comes to daily calorie intake and when it comes to weight loss then energy in v's energy out is where you need to balance the scales.

When it comes to calories and counting your macro's you might wonder if you can fit a doughnut into your diet and still lose weight? The answer is yes if you are in a calorie defecit, however these are what are classed as 'empty calories' and have little nutritional value. Plus eating high calorie snacks leaves you less food to eat through-out the day.......which leaves you less satisfied.

Filling up on 'healthy' foods keeps you fuller for longer, more satisfied and you are less likely to want to binge on unhealthy foods. So getting the right amount of macros to keep you on the road to success is key. Protein to help build/maintain muscle and carbs and fats to keep you satisfied.

If you want to know your macro/calorie requirements then drop me an email and I will be happy to advise.......

One thing I have come across recently in several articles is that alot of people are not eating enough when it comes to trying to lose weight. This is quite relevant to me at the moment as I have just started my 12 week competition prep and my coach has increased my calories at the start of the process. Now I know the science behind it and often speak to clients about under eating, however, when you are going through it personally, psychologically it is hard eating more as you think that you are going to pile weight on.

Ok so best way to describe this is from my own personal experience........

I train 4-5 times a week (at least) and prior to Christmas I was living off reduced calories. Now I can't train anymore (not without giving up my job lol) and to reduce my calories any further would make me pretty miserable! So I needed to shock my system and kick start my metobolism again and reset my calorie needs......

So increasing my caolries, reducing my training and getting my body used to eating more will reset, then when I need to cut I can introduce more training and reduce my calories without living on saw dust! Now when I say I am increasing my calories I don't mean I am having a doughnut or dairy milk buttons with every meal......I am eating healthy food and following a diet which is sustainable whilst competing!

The same goes if you are just wanting to achieve fat loss goals or change your body composition.......so many people don't eat enough, which puts the body into starvation mode, the metabolism slows down and then it is harder to lose weight. Also I know I have said this before but if you get too obsessed by the scales it can actually have a negative effect. Muscle is more dense so weighs more than fat, however the size of muscle is alot smaller compared to the same weight as fat.

Some times you just have to 'suck up' an initial increase in weight whilst you reset your system to become more efficient at burning fat. If you don't eat enough then more often than not you lose muscle mass..........now the more muscle we have the more fat we burn!

I hope this is some help........so eat enough and make the right choices, if you constantly cut calories you have nothing to work with and you will plateau.......

If you want more advice on this or want to kick start your training and become a fat burning machine, click one of the links below.........