If there was one thing I could teach you, outside of how to train properly, it would be how to accurately track your caloric intake via counting macronutrients.
The reason for this is because out of all the things you could be doing, this one pays off the most in the end because it gives you so much control over your intake, and thusly your health and fitness goals.
Here are a few reasons why this process pays off big time:
• You can accurately manage your caloric intake over time to help you lose fat, gain muscle, and improve your overall aesthetics.
• Once you learn how to count macros and get a sense of what a serving of protein, carbs, and fat look like, you will have a better idea of how to estimate your intake when eating out.
• It’s a skill that will pay off in the long run because you took the time to figure it out now, instead of leaving your macronutrient intake, and overall caloric intake, up to chance, which is a horrible way to attempt to achieve any goal.
Macronutrients are what makes up the food we eat. They’re known as:
• Protein
• Carbohydrates
• Fat
Macronutrients make up the total calories in our food and are required in large amounts to support life, activity, and cellular processes. Micronutrients are known as vitamins and minerals, which are required in much smaller amounts by the human body.
Alcohol is technically not a macronutrient because it has zero nutritional value (no vitamins or minerals) but it still contains calories and should be tracked if you decide to consume it.
Each macronutrient contains a certain amount of calories per gram, so while we’re focusing on counting macros, it serves as a purpose of controlling and tracking calories.
• 1 gram of protein = 4 calories
• 1 gram of carbohydrate = 4 calories
• 1 gram of fat = 9 calories
• 1 gram of alcohol = 7 calories