The Macro Diet Plan
There are a number of diets to lose weight. And many really can work. With vegan, paleo and countless others, it can be difficult to choose the perfect diet. We here at Diet and Nutrition Fact know a secret about diets. Here’s the big diet secret: different diets work best for different people. One particular diet that focuses on the large parts of your diet is the macro diet plan. The diet attempts to target your overall body weight. Here we describe the different aspects of this plan to help you figure out its details.
How Does The Macro Diet Plan Work?
The idea is that you consume three major food types or macronutrients. These are the fats, proteins and the carbohydrates and make up just everything you eat. The diet plan works by controlling the caloric intake of each nutrient. Once you limit the calories of each type of food you can only consume a certain amount of calories of that specific macronutrient, no matter what shape it takes. Usually, the diet works with a 20% calorie cut.
This macro diet plan helps you make the right food choices which are much healthier and easier. You can choose a healthy, wholesome carb over a temporary, fattening Oreo snack. The basic advantage of this diet is that it ensures that your body still gets the right proportions of all the important nutrients. And like we mentioned above, everyone is different. The great thing about the macro diet plan is that it is versatile for every body type.
Macronutrients are nutrients that our body needs in large amounts and these nutrients include proteins, fats, and carbs. These three macros are the basic components of every diet and everything you eat will some combination of the three.
Now, when you provide your body with macro nutrients by eating food, you are also providing your body with calories (aka energy).
Each type of macro contains a specific amount of calories and it’s important that you remember this. It’s very simple really:
1 gram of protein has 4 calories
1 gram of fat has 9 calories
1 gram of carbs has 4 calories
So by eating food, you are providing macronutrients to your body and, by definition, providing your body with calories
The diet is typically based on 35-40year olds. For males, it assumes an average weight of 170 pounds and a height of 70 inches. The females are typically 35 years old, with a weight of 150 pounds and a height of 64 inches. Now, when you calculate the total protein requirements, the males can ingest a total of 2088 calories, which are divided as:
- Carbohydrate 222g
- Protein 170g
- Fat 58g
Women are allowed to take in 1651 calories in total. These are divided into:
- Carbohydrates 160 g
- Protein 150g
- Fat 46g
The Reason It Works
So how does the macro diet plan work and how are people able to lose weight and get in shape by eating things like ice cream, cookies, chips, and other “junk” food?
The diet works because it gives people the freedom to indulge in their favorite foods while still being able to get lean because it leverages basic physiology. The diet can be broken down into 4 easy steps:
- Choose your overall fitness goal
- Calculate your Daily Calorie Intake & TDEE
- Calculate your macros
- Start tracking your calories and macros
Macro Diet Plan Recipe Suggestions
Of course, managing your body and your diet on a strict rule can be tough. This plan makes it easy because you can eat the foods you want as long as you stay within your “macros”. You need to calculate the composition and the calorie count of everything you eat. Apps like myfitnesspal make tracking food super simple and accessible on your phone.
My biggest problem when I started the diet was getting enough protein. I’m not even sure I realized how much protein was in certain foods. I knew that oatmeal was mainly a carb. But did you know that there are 6 grams of protein in a cup of cooked oatmeal?
Here we suggest certain foods you can try for the macro diet plan help you get used to getting enough protein.
- Eggs, these are your friends which you can use for breakfasts, lunch or dinner. Comprising of 21.2g Protein, 16.8g fat, and 24.2g carbohydrates, making it fulfilling while leaving enough allowance for other foods as well.
- Protein shakes, another valuable way to fill up with a snack is the protein shake. It most contains proteins, amounting to 38 grams with only 6g fat and 52 g carbs.
- Salads, these are your savior. You can delve into the greens without worrying too much about going overboard. Plus, you can always add some meat such as tuna every now and then to make it tastier and wholesome.
Keeping track of your macros helps you become more aware of what you are putting in your mouth. It helps you customize your eating habits according to your body type. Moreover, as you spend more time understanding your body, you finally understand the tipping point and conveniently manage to keep your weight within safe limits.
