December 13, 2020
Macro Counting, a tool for well informed individuals.
There are many successful nutrition strategies out there and there seems to be a new one "invented" or highlighted with each new year. There are diets like – paleo, keto, low-carb, vegan, carnivore, or mediterranean to name a few. There are also tools or strategies that nutrition coaches will use to help clients understand what exactly they are ingesting – the plate method, portion size containers, calorie counting, and our favorite macro counting. All of these methods share similarities in that they are tracking nutrients – protein, carbs, fats, fiber, and calories – however, some strategies will take the numbers out of the equation for you by telling you to "fill half your plate with fruits and/or vegetables" or "consume 4 purple portion containers to reach your protein for the day."
Now, we do think that these strategies can lead to success for some clients. However, we think that macro counting can TEACH us much more about nutrition at the end of the day.
The beauty of macronutrient counting is that it truly does provide nutrition education for the individual. You would be surprised to find out that people struggle to know what foods contain protein, or are high in carbohydrate, or may be low in fat – this may be you and that is okay! As you start to weigh and track your foods, you'll start to pick up on what foods provide mostly protein, or mostly carbohydrate, or mostly fats, or a combination of all of them. With this information, you'll be able to tailor a nutrition recommendation to achieve your nutrition and fitness goals with accuracy and confidence.
Unlike using fixed portion containers to build your meal or just counting overall calories for the day, counting macros can teach you why you are consuming x-amount of protein, carbs, and fats to reach a certain fitness or body composition goal.
- - Trying to increase our performance in high-intensity training? We should be eating more carbohydrates.
- - Hold a higher percentage of body fat and trying to work through recomposition? We may look to eat less carbohydrates and more fat.
- - Struggling to gain muscle and don't know why? Let's look at our protein intake and maybe increase that.
With the right guidance from one of our coaches, you can adjust macronutrients based on personal goals, lifestyle, and the individual.
Interested in finding out how you can use macro counting to reach your fitness and body composition goals? Send us a message and we can get you started!
