WTF Are Macros & How Do I Calculate Them?

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Macros or macronutrients are quite simply the amount of protein, carbohydrates and fats that you will eat. Each of the macro nutrients contains a set calorie amount per gram;

– PROTEIN = 4 Kcals per gram.
– CARBOHYDRATE = 4 Kcals per gram.
– FAT = 9 Kcals per gram.

So as you can see from above fat contains the most amount of calories per gram in comparison to carbs and proteins. But how on Earth do you work out how many calories you should eat each day in order to reach your body image goals?

This is a topic that can cause many arguments within the fitness industry as there are different nutritional stratergies that certain ‘camps’ will put forward as the ONLY way to eat for prime body shape – whether that is high fat low carb or low fat high carb. So I am not going to get into this in this blog I am simply going to put together a simple effective way to calculate your daily nutrient needs. To make any diet work you have to find out what foods ‘work’ for you that make your diet ENJOYABLE and SUSTAINABLE. The main reason why I don’t get clients to weigh and measure food or count calories is to try to demonstrate how eating to nourish your body will actually keep you within the macronutrient guidelines I am going to list in this blog without being overly worried about weighing and measuring everything.

Enough ramblings, lets get down to business…

To work out your daily calorie needs take your bodyweight in pounds and multiply it by 14.

Lets take a 75kg male for this article. 75kg converted to pounds is 165.
165 x 14 = 2310 calories.

PROTEIN requirements that I recommend are 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight (as a minimum).
165 pounds in weight = 165g of protein.
Remember that protein contains 4 Kcals per gram –> 165 x 4 = 660 Kcals.

FAT requirements that I recommend are 25% of your daily calories.
Remember that fat contains 9 Kcals per gram –> 2310 / 4 = 577.5 (that gives us 25% of our daily calories).
577.5 devided by 9 = 64.16 grams of fat.

CARBOHYDRATE daily requirements will fill in the rest of the remaining calories after you have taken away your protein and your fat calories.
165g of PROTEIN = 660 calories.
64.16g of FAT = 577.5 calories.

660 + 577.5 = 1237.5 calories.

2310 – 1237.5 = 1072.5 calories.

1072.5 devided by 4 = 268.12 grams of CARBOHYDRATES.

So, the daily macros for this 75kg male are:
– 2310 CALORIES split into:
*PROTEIN = 165 grams.
*FAT = 64.16 grams.
*CARBOHYDRATES = 268.12 grams.

These numbers ARE NOT set in stone. There will always be varience depending on several factors. I will cover how and when to adapt your macros in a follow up blog to this one.

If you are confused or require more help and explanation on anything nutrition related then please do not hesitate to contact me.