What are Calories and Macros?
What are Calories and Macros? Most people don’t know what a calorie or a macro really is but hear about it every day. I will go into detail of what calories and macros are, and give you insider information to help you on your weight loss journey.
What is a Calorie?
According to an article in the Journal of Nutrition, titled “History of the Calorie in Nutrition,” in 1863, a calorie was defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water from 0 to 1 degree Celsius. In 1925, calories became scientifically defined in terms of joules, which are units typically used by physicists to describe the amount of work needed to force one newton through one meter (Live Science). In other words, a calorie is a unit of energy. There are Calories and calories. Capitalized Calories are what we are talking about today, the unit used in nutrition. Sometimes you will see Calorie labeled as kilojoules or kilocalories.
Most of us don’t use the term Calorie in terms of its scientific definition, we think of it in terms of food. How many Calories does this soda have? How many Calories can I have each day? Calories when it comes to nutrition still means energy. Calories fuel our bodies.
How Many Calories?
The amount of Calories your body needs is dependent upon a magnitude of factors. One of these factors is your Basal Metabolic Rate. The BMR is the number of Calories your body needs to maintain its current weight at rest. Gender, Height, Weight, and Age determine BMR. Because we don’t lay in bed all day, your BMR is not how many calories you need a day. You will need to add some depending on your activity level. If you are very active, you may need to eat 50% more than your BMR to maintain weight, if you are not very active, maybe 10-20% more.
When trying to lose weight, I suggest starting your diet at your BMR as an aggressive way to start your weight loss. If you are physically active and eat your BMR, you shouldn’t have much trouble losing weight.
Most people need 1500-2500 calories a day in their diet, but this depends on BMR and activity levels.
What are Macros?
Macronutrients are types of calories that have specific roles within our bodies. The three main macronutrients are fats, carbohydrates, and protein. There is a fourth macronutrient and it is alcohol. Each macronutrient is made up of a number of calories.
- Fats have on average 9 calories per gram
- Carbohydrates have on average 4 calories per gram
- Proteins have on average 4 calories per gram
- Alcohol has on average 7 calories per gram
As you can see, each macronutrient has different calories. The total sum of your macronutrients equals the number of calories you have.
Each macronutrient has a specific role in your body.
Fats
Fats store energy, protect our organs, cell signaling, help us absorb vitamins, and produce important hormones, however, some have a bad name. There are good and bad fats. Good fats are your polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats because these fats help lower cholesterol levels and are good for your heart. This includes nuts, olive oils, avocado, and fish. Saturated and trans fats are bad in certain cases. There is no benefit for the human body to ingest any trans fats. The good news is that most fast food restaurants and food manufacturers have removed trans fats from their ingredients. Saturated fats can drive up cholesterol levels, but may not be as bad for you as originally feared. The verdict is still out on how good or bad saturated fats may be, but it may be best to limit.
Carbohydrates
Your body uses carbohydrates as its main source of energy. Carbohydrates are made up of fiber, simple carbohydrates, and complex carbohydrates. Fiber aids in digestion and provides little to no energy for the body. Fiber is typically deducted from total carbohydrates because it doesn’t contain any calories (or very little). Simple carbohydrates break down to provide energy. Simple carbohydrates are in processed foods, fruit, sodas, and many enriched products. These carbohydrates are ruining the American diet due to over ingestion because of the impact on blood sugar. One of my biggest piece of advice is to limit simple carbohydrate consumption to only around your workout. If you have a desk job like me, and ingest sugar and other simple carbohydrates, blood sugar will spike, dumping insulin into the body. Insulin is a transportation hormone, it’s job is to move nutrients. If you are not active, it will move these calories as fat. Simple carbohydrates, and not fats, are the #1 reason why Americans are becoming more obese. Complex carbohydrates take longer for the body to breakdown, which doesn’t lead to blood sugar fluctuations. Complex carbs are found in whole grains, beans, and vegetables.
Eating simple carbohydrates around workouts does the opposite though. It tells insulin to move protein (if ingested) and carbohydrates to the muscle to repair, build, and replenish your muscles. To maximize your workout, it is imperative to ingest simple carbohydrates such as Ignition along with quality hydrolyzed whey protein isolates immediately post workout.
If you are going to cheat on your diet, it is smart to do it around a workout because it will cause the blood sugar spike to move towards your muscles, and less towards your gut!
Protein
Protein makes up over 40% of our dry weight. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Each type of amino acid provides different benefits to the body. Protein creates and rebuilds muscle. It aids in metabolism. A study showed that protein boosts metabolism by 20%-35% during digestion, while carbohydrates and fats tend to only boost 5%-15%. Studies show that protein helps keep you fuller for longer, and doesn’t turn into fat at quite the rate of the other macros. One study showed that those who eat 30% or more of their calories from protein ate 400+ calories less than those who don’t! If you are trying to lose weight, protein may be the key that you are missing.
How Much of Each?
The number of macronutrients depend on the number of calories you consume because macros make up your total calories. I always suggest to my clients to calculate their BMR, set a calorie goal, and then figure out macros. The FDA suggestion of calories and macros doesn’t always work out. The FDA currently uses a 2,000 calorie diet which may be too many or too few for many individuals because total calories is based on a number of factors. It is only after calculating your BMR and factoring in your activity level that you can figure out exactly how many macros you need per day.
The FDA suggests 45-65% carbohydrates, 20-35% fats, and 10-35% proteins. Many diet experts disagree with the FDA recommendations because it allows for too many carbohydrates and too few proteins. Multiple studies show that protein is the king of weight loss because it keeps you fuller longer and dieters tend to eat fewer calories when eating more protein.
My suggestion is a 30% Fats, 30% Carbohydrates, 40% Protein diet.
If you are wanting to eat 2000 calories, your macros would look like:
66 grams of fat
150 grams of carbohydrates
200 grams of protein
If you have a hard time eating 200 grams of protein, you can reduce protein by 5-10%.
Check out my meal plans and workout plans https://www.cardioandweights.com/training-and-nutrition-articles/
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Questions or Comments? I hope you now know what are calories and macros!
Post below!
Dustin Holston
Personal Trainer/Sports Nutritionist
Before starting any new diet and exercise program please check with your doctor and clear any exercise and/or diet changes with them before beginning. I am not a doctor or registered dietitian. I do not claim to cure any cause, condition or disease.
Sources:
Effect of dietary protein content on weight gain, energy expenditure, and body composition during overeating: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2012, 307:47-55.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-truth-about-fats-bad-and-good
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-lose-weight-as-fast-as-possible#section2
https://www.livescience.com/52802-what-is-a-calorie.html
(2004, October 23). In The effects of high protein diets on thermogenesis, satiety and weight loss: a critical review.. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15466943
