Tracking Macronutrients WILL Help You Lose Weight - Here’s WHY!

Some of the best habits to focus on in order to lose weight lie in our daily routine: getting enough sleep, exercising on a regular basis and eating well are all key components to living a long, healthy life.

But the most important factor that needs to occur every day in order to experience weight loss?

There needs to be a consistent caloric deficit of what we are taking in for food vs what we are exerting.

Which just means you need to be eating fewer calories every day than what you are burning off through your regular activity.  

Tracking macros is similar to tracking calories; only you’re taking it one step further by tracking proteins, carbs, and fats. The idea behind following a macro diet is that you’re literally feeding your body what it needs while learning how to properly fuel your body most effectively.

You do this by learning what works and feels best for you- some people feel great eating more carbs versus fats. But others feel better on a higher fat diet compared to a higher carb diet. 

Both can easily produce weight loss results- it just depends on what feels better for the individual!

As a coach, I believe that there should be a good balance of all different macros in a person's diet. The reason for this is all macronutrients bring something important to the table. For example, when we don’t eat enough protein, we risk losing muscle, which can result in a slower metabolism. If we aren’t eating enough carbs, we may experience poor performance at work or at the gym due to decreased energy and brainpower. If we aren’t consuming enough healthy fats, we may experience some hormonal imbalances. 

On the contrary, if our overall carb, fats, or protein intake is too high, we may not see any fat loss progress.

One thing is for sure- you can’t have a clear idea of what is actually happening in your diet if you lack the awareness of what you are taking in. So, with that said, one of the most important benefits of counting macros is the precision of the practice itself. There are no guessing games when it comes to tracking. It makes monitoring progress much easier which in turn allows for adjustments going forward. 

Let’s take the following as an example: It’s breakfast time and who doesn’t love breakfast?!

If you choose to eat two pop-tart pastries, you’re consuming 400 calories, 76g of carbs, 10g of fats, and 4g of protein. Your body is going to process those carbs within 30 minutes due to the lack of nutrients and fiber and you’ll be left feeling hungry and unsatisfied relatively quickly. 

Now, take half a cup of oatmeal, 2 tablespoons of almond butter and half a cup of blueberries and you wind up with 402 calories, 20g of fat, and 13g of protein. The oatmeal will definitely hold you over for a longer period of time especially since it’s paired with a healthy fat. Not to mention since the oatmeal is more of a complex carb, your body will take longer to break it down and utilize it for energy. 

You are going to be the most precise and time-efficient in your weight-loss journey by choosing to track macros. Additionally, you’ll have the experience of learning and understanding how to fuel your body best for your goals and lifestyle as you move forward which will decrease the chances of you putting the weight back on.

The beauty of tracking what you eat lies in the knowledge that is acquired by doing so. Many people have no idea how much food they are taking in let alone how certain foods leave them feeling physically and mentally.

By tracking macros, you not only learn about portion control, but you also obtain a certain level of awareness with certain foods that allows you to make necessary adjustments needed to move forward in your fat loss journey.