What Counts If You’re Counting
In todays day of fad diets, everywhere you turn people tell you to count your calories…no count your macros…NO count your micros! As more and more nutritional information is being brought to the “table,” It is becoming increasingly clear, that the more information we have access to, the more confusing the subject is becoming.
Some of you may be asking yourselves already “what is a macro or a micro? What does calorie, really mean anyways?” First, let me do my best to explain what those are, and what it means to “count” or track” each of them. Then, hopefully, you’ll feel a little more prepared the next time you hit the grocery store.
Let’s begin by keeping it simple. A calorie or (kcal) is defined as being a unit of energy. Therefore, we take in so much “energy” per day. To ensure proper and accurate weight loss, we need to ensure that we are burning more energy/calories than what we are consuming. Excess calories that do not get utilized over the course of a day are stored in the body as fat and contribute to weight gain. Different foods give us a specific number of calories i.e. a Macintosh apple contains 80 calories. “The average woman needs to eat about 2,000 calories per day to maintain her weight, and 1,500 calories per day to lose one pound of weight per week. Meanwhile, the average man needs 2,500 calories to maintain, and 2,000 to lose one pound of weight per week (Kris Gunnars, 2019)” Think of calories as the fuel for your car (body). Whether it is for a male (2500) or female (2000) is when your tank is full. We want to make sure we are fueling our bodies with optimal nutrition if we expect to get the most out of it.
Moving forward a Macronutrient is defined as “any nutrient that the body uses in relatively large quantities. Macronutrients include carbohydrates, fat, and proteins. Macronutrients are different from micronutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, which the body needs in smaller amounts (Daniel Gastelu & Frederick C. Hatfield, 2019)” (more on those later!) Regarding macro’s and calories, they are as follows; Carbohydrates=4 calories/gram (g); Protein=4 calories/g; Fat=9calories/g; and just because we can’t live without water…water=0 calories/g.
In my opinion, it all depends on what your goals are and where you are in completing those goals. Generally, diet and weight loss should be an easy calculation of caloric input compared to caloric output. All that means is that if you want to lose weight, you must exert (or use) more energy (calories), than you take in. Numerically the average healthy person working out 3 days per week, for an hour to an hour and a half of moderate exercise. Requires roughly 2000Kcal of energy to maintain their strength and energy during the day.
Is tracking macro and micronutrients going to get you closer to your goal? No, not really. It will assist you in bringing you closer to the goals you strive for. Unless you are a professional athlete (i.e. a bodybuilder, a power lifter or other high-level athlete) the requirement to track those minuet numbers is unnecessary. Truth is, if we try and eat enough food to get all our macro’s/micro’s, we will literally spend almost all day just eating. If you are concerned about those numbers, you can pick some multivitamins from any pharmacy or supplement store.
One of the biggest secrets to working out and making the changes you wish to see is being honest with yourself. Consistency and honesty with yourself is the key. Is it going to be hard? Yes! Are you going to have discouraging days? Yes! Can you reach your goals? YES! However, you must understand that the road to success is seldom a straight line.
Stay focused, make healthy choices, and be honest with yourself. Stay hydrated as being dehydrated will lead to feelings of hunger. Keep a food log if food is something that you’re struggling with. Sometimes it helps to see what you’re eating written down. Some people don’t realize their daily consumption until it’s written down in front of them. Some people make healthier choice for the simple fact that, they don’t want to write their poor food choices down in their daily log.
I know personally, I choose not to count calories, I’d rather rely on my own bodies intuition to tell me when I should be eating and when I’ve had enough. I keep a vast array of healthy, sustainable food choices and make meal prep a priority in my home. Sometimes, trusting your body can take a lot of time, patience and practice. Some people prefer to count calories and that’s perfectly ok too. Either way, being armed with the proper information moving forward and understanding the logic behind what you’re doing is key!
