It is time to ditch the calorie counting and start thinking about your macronutrients
Before I started on my educational journey into the world of health and fitness my only knowledge of macronutrients was the food pyramid, looking at the back of nutrition labels and reading ‘health’ magazines. I grew up in the era when margarine replaced butter, boxed cereal replaced fresh eggs for breakfast and ‘fat free’ reigned.
In my mind it was all about total energy. 2000 calories or less per day. How many calories I burned would determine how many more calories I would allow myself. My obsession with having a slim physique made me think that with fat being the most calorie dense food then the logical thing would be to try and eradicate it as much as I possibly could from my diet.
I had no idea that these 3 macronutrients are broken down differently in the body, elicit varying hormonal responses and in turn effect metabolism and all round performance.
The very basics on calories
Protein, carbohydrate and fat make up the 3 key macronutrients. In very basic terms, macronutrients are what our body needs for survival. Each of these provide the body with energy, or calories to enable growth, metabolism, repair and other body functions. While each contain calories, the amount does vary.
Carbohydrate 4 calories per gram
Protein 4 calories per gram
Fat 9 calories per gram
Note: Alcohol is not a macronutrient, yet is another source of calories at 7 calories per gram.
The truth is that a calorie is not really a calorie. A calorie from fat versus a calorie from protein or carbohydrates is broken down and utilized at a different rate in the body. This is a great article on Huffington Post where Dr Lustig succinctly describes why all calories are not created equally.
The low fat craze of the 90’s that still seems to stick did not take into account that the breakdown of these nutrients requires varied amounts of energy from the body. This will elicit different hormonal responses which could be from the type of food, the quality and of course the individual. How could 100 calories of fresh vegetable be the same as 100 calories of french fries? When you think about it, it makes no sense! As individuals we are all different and for some more carbohydrates may be tolerated well, where for others a higher protein and fat ratio will yield better results. Genetics, lifestyle factors and diet history will all play a role.
Where to go from here?
If you have been doing the same thing with your diet for some time and you are not getting results, then it is time to look a little closer. Start thinking about each meal in terms of the three macronutrients and knowing what, when and where sugar is creeping into your diet.
1. Where is the protein? Are you eating unprocessed animal products or more processed meats?
2. What kind of fat are you eating? Are you eating good quality monounsaturated fats, e.g. from nuts, avocados, seeds and cold pressed oils such as olive oil?
3. How much and what type of carbohydrate are you consuming? What is the vegetable to processed carbohydrate ratio? For example vegetables versus pasta, quinoa or brown rice? What type of refined carbohydrate are you eating? e.g wild rice or jasmine rice?
4. What sugars are you eating? Candy or sweets? In coffee, soda, milk products or juices?
Looking at your meal in terms of macronutrients can be a bit of an eye opener….. And I am just scratching the surface here. Check out the Precision Nutrition calorie control guide as a good starting point for constructing a better plate.
Sources:
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/fix-a-broken-diet
http://www.phillearney.com/nutrition/its-not-about-the-calorie/