Macros for beginners

Welcome to my second blog of the diet month series. If you haven't already read "Calories for beginners" then I would suggest giving that one a read first! If you're already a macro master like me, then please forgive me for the slow start, but I want to cover all of the basics.

So, what the hell are macros??

"Macros" is short for Macronutrients, from which all food is made of.

There are three main macronutrients; protein, carbohydrates and fat. Most of my readers would already know this but I am still regularly caught by surprise at how many people don't know what is in their food!

Most food is useless to our body in its complex undigested form; our stomach enzymes digest and change the chemistry of the macronutrients to turn them into simplified molecules that our body can use.

Protein is broken down into amino acids, which are absorbed into the blood stream and distributed to various tissues in the body. You can think of amino acids as the building blocks for muscle development.

Carbohydrates fall under two main categories; simple and complex. A simple carb consists of one or two sugar molecules (think processed food), whilst complex carbs consist of three or more sugar molecules and take longer to digest (think unprocessed foods). Both of these are broken down into glucose (blood sugar) because this is what our body uses for energy. On the other hand, fibre is found in unprocessed carbs but isn't broken down; this is why our stool takes form!

Fats have many functions but mostly play roles in hormone regulation, membrane functioning, cell signalling and energy supply.

These three macronutrients all contain energy, recall in my previous blog that MOST MATER HAS ENERGY.

Protein has 4 calories per gram

Carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram

Fat has 9 calories per gram

Whether you lose or gain weight is dictated by the amount of calories you consume, however I would also like to point out that the function of our cells is affected by both macronutrients and micronutrients. For example, inadequate amino acid intake will compromise protein synthesis and delay growth, vitamin D deficiency will compromise bone mineralization and result in skeletal malformations, types and amounts of dietary fat will have an affect on cell membrane functions.

I follow flexible dieting and frequently eat "junk food" because I know that as long as I eat within my calorie target, I won't gain weight. Now, I'm not saying you should live off doughnuts because they're equivalent to vegetables, what I'm saying is that you can have a doughnut and not feel guilty because your body will use it for energy the same way it uses anything else for energy. The main difference is that vegetables will contain micronutrients and doughnuts won't. (And yes, fruits and vegetables contain carbohydrates, shocker I know.) I therefore tend to eat about 80% wholesome unprocessed foods, and 20% treat foods.

Let's compare a doughnut with an apple:

70 grams of plain Krispy Kreme doughnut: 190 calories, 21g carbs, 11g fats, 2g protein

70 grams of apple: 40 calories, 10g carbs

So although you get more bang for your buck with the apple, you can very objectively compare it to the doughnut and make a calculated decision as to which one you want to eat without demonising the doughnut.

My next blog digs a little bit deeper into micronutrients, so if you liked this one, I'm sure you will love the next one! Don't forget to subscribe if you want to know when it's out!

A life without doughnuts would be like... well I don't know, but pretty sad I imagine!

The Fit Nurse