What are macros?

For those of you who are new to this, “macros” is short for “macronutrients”, the nutrients found in large quantities that give us energy. The three main macronutrients are fat, protein and carbohydrate. Avoid getting these confused with micronutrients which are vitamins and minerals found in food and consumed in small amounts.

Protein

Protein is essentially our body’s “building materials and structures”. From our skin to our organs, to our hair and muscle, protein constitutes the bulk of these structures. We get these building materials from our diet from the dietary protein we eat. Our body digests these protein containing foods and breaks down the protein provided into its own individual building blocks (amino acids). These building blocks are then used by our body to build new protein structures again or repair damaged ones (like when we cause muscle damage during training). This process of breaking down and repurposing is how we essentially grow our muscle (alongside the necessary stimulus like weight or resistance training).

How much protein do we need though? Well, government recommendations advise around 55g of protein a day for men and 45g a day for women. Now I know that doesn’t sound like a lot… because, well, it’s not. In fact, researchers suggest that both men and women should be at least aiming for 1.2g of protein per kg of bodyweight each day (which would eclipse these government recommendations)^1,2.

Athletes may want to pay particular attention to this point; researchers have proposed that you may need as much as 1.6 to 2.2g of protein per kg of bodyweight per day¹ to make up for all the added performance and recovery demands.

A protein powder supplement is a very useful means of achieving these higher targets as well as being way more cost and calorie efficient.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates or “carbs” aren’t the devil nor are they simply shuttled straight to your hips (despite what the internet gurus may tell you). Carbs are actually the body’s primary source of energy and, whilst they aren’t essential (because we can actually convert both protein and fats into carbohydrate, albeit not very efficiently), having an adequate supply of them in your diet may be more optimal for both your health, body composition and performance.

Many carbohydrate sources are rich in important health promoting nutrients (such as the incredibly nutritious fruit, veg, beans and lentils as well as wholegrains and other grains) and can be used around training to optimize performance and recovery.

Aim to include roughly a palm sized portion within your main meals (if not more if you’re aiming to gain muscle, highly active and or larger in frame) and, more generally speaking, target around five portions of fruit and veg each day to get your dose of micronutrients. Timing your sugary foods around training would be best as these digest and absorb quickly (which is exactly what our body needs at this time). This more readily available carbohydrate can be used to spare muscle glycogen, extend exercise performance, reduce perceived difficulty during exercise/activity as well as promote enhanced recovery after exercise¹.

Fats

The “F” word; arguably even more demonised than carbs – fats.

Fats, just like carbs, are misunderstood but, unlike carbs, some fats are actually essential because we can’t get them from our diet. Fats also have a unique and diverse set of roles within the human body ranging from being an integral part of our cells, used in the creation of hormones to even protecting our internal organs.

Yes, fats within the body are pretty important but we must also be conscious that dietary fat is more than double the energy density of protein or carbohydrate (9kcals per gram compared to 4kcals per gram). We must also be conscious of the “quality” of our dietary fat.

Having a greater intake of “unhealthy” fats (such as saturated and trans fats) may not be so good for your body composition⁵ or your health⁶. We should aim to have more “healthy” fats within our diet (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) which we can find in oily fish, avocados, nuts and seeds and some plant cooking oils (extra virgin, canola and avocado oil all being good examples).

Calculate your maintenance calories

No matter what goal you have in mind, calculating your macros and maintenance calories allows you to figure out how many calories you need to eat daily in order to maintain your weight. Everyone will have a slightly different amount of maintenance calories as it can vary with age, gender, activity level, and other factors.

BMR

First, calculate your basal metabolic rate, or your BMR. Your BMR is your ‘basal metabolic rate’. It’s the amount of energy (calories) your body burns if you do nothing but rest for 24 hours.

To calculate your BMR, you should know your weight in kilograms and your height in centimetres, and you should have a calculator.

Men: BMR = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (years) + 5

Women: BMR = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (years) – 161

TDEE

Now calculate the amount of calories you need daily, including physical activity (this includes anything from brushing your teeth to running a marathon). This is referred to as your ‘TDEE’, or total daily energy expenditure.

To work out how many calories you need per day, use a calculator to multiply your BMR (you’ve just worked this out in step 1) by your physical activity level or ‘PAL’, which is represented by the numbers below: