Scribd
Upload
113 views

Macros 101

Macronutrients are carbohydrates, fats, protein, and alcohol, which are the basic building blocks for energy. They provide calories per gram consumed at 4 calories for carbs and protein, 9 calories for fat, and 7 calories for alcohol. An example shows calculating total macronutrient and calorie intake for a day consisting of bagels, chicken, and beer. Understanding macronutrients allows formulating meal plans by substituting foods to meet macronutrient goals for the day.

Uploaded by

Adriano Bruno
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
113 views

Macros 101

Macronutrients are carbohydrates, fats, protein, and alcohol, which are the basic building blocks for energy. They provide calories per gram consumed at 4 calories for carbs and protein, 9 calories for fat, and 7 calories for alcohol. An example shows calculating total macronutrient and calorie intake for a day consisting of bagels, chicken, and beer. Understanding macronutrients allows formulating meal plans by substituting foods to meet macronutrient goals for the day.

Uploaded by

Adriano Bruno
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

What Are Macronutrients?

Let’s start at the most basic level.

Macronutrients are the basic building blocks for energy.

Macronutrients are:
• Carbohydrates
• Fats
• Protein
• Alcohol

These 4 “macros” combined are what make up your total calorie intake.

Carbohydrates – 4 calories /per gram


Protein – 4 calories /per g
Fats – 9 calories /per g
Alcohol – 7 calories /per g

For the sake of a simple example, let’s say all you ate today was:

- 4 bagels (32g carb per bagel x 4 = 128g carb)


- 1 whole chicken breast (40g protein)
- and 1 beer (14g alcohol, 13g carbs)

Your total Macro intake for the day would be:

Carbs – 141g (141 x 4 calories = 564 calories)


Protein – 40g (40 x 4 calories = 160 calories)
Fat – 0g
Alcohol – 14g (14 x 7 calories = 98 calories)
Total calories = 822

Macros provide us with energy, they are in the food we eat and they all contain a certain amount
of calories per gram consumed. Based on this knowledge, you can formulate your own meal
plan by substituting and replacing foods where needed.

Example: You’re going out for dinner to an Italian restaurant. You know there will be lots of
pasta and bread (carbs). During the day, you will want to choose low carb foods, so that you
can go to dinner and not worry about going way over your Macros.

www.torquebarbell.com
How to Calculate Macros
Option 1: Figure out how many calories you're eating now. Keep a food journal for three days.
Write down everything you eat and drink. Eat the same as you normally would, don't change
anything. Then write down all the nutrition info – how many calories/protein/carbs/fat was in
each meal, then total them up for the day. Use My Fitness Pal or Google to calculate. Include all
fluids.

Option 2: Another (less accurate) method is to multiply your lean body mass (LBM) by 17 to get
an estimate of your caloric intake. LBM is calculated by multiplying your body weight by your
body fat percent, then subtract that number from your total bodyweight. This should give you an
approximate number of calories needed to maintain your current weight. To lose weight -
subtract 300-500 calories from this number.

Example
• Body Weight = 150lbs
• Body Fat Percent = 23% (150 x 0.23 = 34lbs of body fat)
• Lean Body Mass = 116 pounds (150–34 = 116lbs)
• Baseline Calories = 1972 calories (116 x 17)

Let’s use the following the calorie ratio of 40/40/20 - meaning 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat.
• Total Baseline Calories = 1,972
• Total Daily Protein = 197g (1,972 x 0.40/4 calories per gram)
• Total Daily Carbs = 197g (1,972 x 0.40/4 calories per gram)
• Total Daily Fat = 43g (1,972 x 0.20/9 calories per gram)

Then break it down into meals. Let's assume 5 meals per day.
Protein = 40g per meal (197g/5)
Carbs = 40g per meal (197g/5)
Fat = 9g or less per meal (43g/5)

From there you can make up your own meal plans and adjust your percentages based on what
you feel and perform best with.

www.torquebarbell.com

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy