Counting Macros and Why You Should Try It!
If you're not familiar with "counting your macros," it's the process of monitoring and managing your daily intake of the three macronutrients: fat, carbohydrates and protein. Everyone has a different amount they should aim to eat based on goals, body composition, age, gender, level of training, and more. For a few weeks now, I've been counting my macros, and while there were some challenges, I can definitely say that I have noticed a difference in 3 areas in particular:
Sleep. As it turns out, I wasn't eating enough carbs (about 75% of what I should've been eating) and was eating too much fat (roughly 150%!). Increasing my carbohydrates and lowering my fat intake has helped me sleep much better. It's been shown to help with others' sleep, as well.
Recovery. By eating enough of the right foods, I've been able to recover faster, which means I can increase my training volume and get stronger in less time. Win-win!
Body composition. Just by honing my macros, I've gained about 1.5 pounds of lean body mass without a change to my body fat!
A quick how-to guide:
Download the MacroStax app. It's what I use and it's great!
Record what you currently eat to get a baseline.
Determine your goals (lose weight, maintain, gain, etc.) and use this simple calculator to figure out how you should adjust.
Make it easier on yourself. Prep your week's meals ahead of time with your ideal macros, so you can just grab and go during the week.
Make sure you eat vegetables. The ONLY downside to counting macros is that you may find that you neglect vegetables. Not good. To combat this, I make two salad drinks™* per day. My favorite is: 1 banana + 1 scoop of protein + 8oz milk + handful of mixed greens + little ginger + little turmeric + ¼ cucumber + 3 trees of broccoli! You can mix up the veggies and fruit however you'd like.
*™ Michael Butts, Life with Adventure Co.
Conclusions: Counting macros works! I encourage you to try it, even if it doesn't stay a part of your routine. Get after it!