It seems like everyone is going on some type of weird diet today, from Keto to Veganism. Each diet has their own perspective one the foods we consume on a daily basis. However, some of these diets make you cut out the foods you love. Some diets make people miserable because food can play a big role in out mental health. The Macro nutrient diet is one worth considering if you don’t want to me as limited when it comes to your diet. Learn how to diet by tracking your calories and macronutrients, ahead!
Define Your Personal Goals
Before you even consider going on a macro diet, you need to define your personal goals. Not having a clear plan for what you will want to accomplish will make the process far more difficult. Are you someone who is trying to lose weight? Are your trying to gain muscle, or are you trying to maintain the body you have? All of these are critical factors that will influence your dietary decisions moving forward if you take up the macro diet.
Tracking Your Calories
An important part of dieting is tracking your calories because the majority of foods have them. From what we eat to what we consume, it’s important that you are aware of how many calories are in it before you consume it. The amount will also depend on those goals you set for yourself. For example, if you are trying to lose weight, you will want to consume less calories a day then what you are doing currently. If you are building muscle, then you will want to eat more calories with a focus on your plan consisting of proteins.
Understand the Macronutrient Foods
Macronutrients are the foods that must be consumed in large amounts for the diet. If you are taking on a macronutrient diet, there are three types that you need to be calculating. For a macronutrient diet, you need to understand how much of these foods you need to be consuming.
- Protein is best known for helping you build and repair your muscles among other things. Some protein rich foods include seafood, eggs, ground beef, chicken, cheese, and others. Protein is a necessary part of a macronutrient diet and contain 4 calories per gram.
- Diets like keto shy away from carbohydrates, but the IIFYM diet embraces them. Carbs are a necessary component for the diet and is typically found in foods like rice, pasta, and vegetables. Like protein, carbs will have 4 calories per gram.
- A final component of the macro diet that you need to monitor are fats. While people are turned off by fats like carbs, it is still necessary. Avocados, fish, nuts, and cheese are examples of healthy foods that are high in fat. For those fat based foods, it consists of 9 calories per gram.
Calculate with an App
What makes the IIFYM diet so easy to adopt has to do with how you track it. While calculations may vary, you will need to tally how many grams of protein, carbs, and fat you need to have every day for your personal goals.
To calculate, you will want to determine your basal metabolic rate. You will then want to multiply that number based on your activity level. Your calorie will then be based on whether you want to lose weight, maintain, or gain it. This will help you determine what you need to consume consistently to reach your goal.
While they may sound difficult, there are many apps available on the market that you can download on your smartphone that can make the process a whole lot easier. Some great apps to consider include:
- MyMacros+
- MyPlate
- MyFitnessPal
- Lose It!
- Fitbit
Instead of using a notebook to track your progress, smartphone apps make it a lot easier to keep up with your dietary goals. After each meal, you will want to document it in the app. You will then know how many more points you have left in the day.
Weight Out Your Food
Another aspect of the macro diet is weighing your foods on a scale. Weighing your food is an incredibly part, especially when it comes to cooked foods like protein because it usually decreases. To weigh the foods, you will need to use some type of bowl, but make sure you zero the scale so it doesn’t measure that bowl. Measuring your food will allow you to calculate and track your macros accurately.
Plan Your Meals
It is usually far more difficult to just wing your diets, which is why you should consider planning your meals out for the week. Try to cook all your meats and other foods before the week begins. This way your meals are prepped and ready to go and you already know how many macros your are going to eat in that day. Planning out your meals for the week will also keep you consistent and on track to reach your goals.
Read Food Labels
When you are on your Marco diet, you will also have to play close attention to food labels if you don’t have a food scale with you. Food labels will given you the necessary information you need to track your macros and can help you with your calculation. Figure out how much fats, carbs, and protein are in a serving and determine how many calories are in that meal. While weighting your foods can be more accurate, food labels are another option for you. There are many major restaurants today that provide you with this necessary information as well, so there is no need to worry if you need to improvise.
Benefits of A Macro Diet
There are so many options when it comes to dieting, but some can be incredibly restrictive and take the fun away from eating. However, a Macro diet doesn’t restrict you from eating carbs or fats, it just requires you to calculate and refine your eating style. Adopting the Macro diet can put you on the path towards a healthier lifestyle if you stick with it. While the number crunching can be intimating at first, you will eventually develop a routine and it will become normal to you.
Don’t Forget to Workout
Dieting is the fundamental part of living a healthy lifestyle, but you also don’t want to forget about the gym either because it’s still a valuable 25% of it. Make sure you are getting enough exercise a week. Sticking with a diet might already feel like a lot, but getting exercise equipment in your home can make it a lot easier. Precor, Inspire, and Spirit fitness equipment are available at Top Fitness Store. These products can give you the extra help you need by having it readily available in your own home.
