Nutrition Step 3 – Macro tracking

This is the next step to you becoming shredded and should only be implemented if you have read, followed, digested and understood the two previous blogs – Good Nutritional Habits and Calorie Tracking. Before proceeding with this you need to consider should you or shouldn’t you macro track?

When to track your macro’s

1. Your lean, but you want to be leaner.

Now is the time to step up your fat loss through manipulation of your macro nutrients.

2. You have no idea what protein is?

To get lean you will be aiming for upwards of 180g of protein per day and 30g per meal. If you don’t know your premium proteins from your pork pie then you should track.

3. You have cravings

You should be moderately hungry on a fat loss diet, not starving. Getting lean will require some will power but getting your macros and calories right should not leave you starving.

4. You have a goal

If your holiday is 6 weeks away and you want to look your best on the beach.

Tracking your macro’s

What does “to macro” mean? “To macro” means tracking the number of grams of protein, carbohydrates, and fats you consume on a particular day. Bodybuilders and physique competitors have mastered this art and have no qualms about whipping out their food scale at any given moment. For the rest of us, it means going out and buying a scale, taking the time to do the measurements and calculations, and perhaps most imposing of all, setting aside the mental bandwidth to actually care about the results.

There is much debate on what is the optimal range for macro tracking and we will discuss further in future blogs! But for the aim of fat loss, here would be my suggested macro breakdowns for fat loss.

Protein 40%

Fat 30%

Carbohydrate 30%

This would be based on you consuming calories to your sedentary metabolic rate (bodyweight in kg x 24 for males, x 20 for females) For an 80kg male that would equate to…..

1,920 calories

Protein 192g

Fat 64g

Carbohydrate 144g

If your exercise was above 5 sessions per week I would advise increasing this ratio to 30% Protein/ 40% Carbohydrates / 30% Fat and then increasing your calories to 30g per kg of bodyweight for males and 24g per kg of bodyweight for females. For an 80kg male that would equate to….

2,400 calories

Protein 180g

Fat 80g

Carbohydrate 240g

Tracking your macro’s

Tracking your macro’s couldn’t be easier if you are using Myfitnesspal.

• Go to myfitnesspal home page and log in.
• On the top column go to ‘goals’ and click
• Adjust your calorie target and macro breakdown (% of carbohydrate, fat and protein)

Now not only do you need to ensure you eat adequate calories but also ensure that your macro’s are on point. Ensuring enough protein will ensure you preserve your lean muscle whilst melting fat stores.

Net blog we will look at nutrient timing.