You signed up to the gym, you found a fitness program and you’ve done well all week ? Now it’s time to also get your nutrition ON POINT !
You better hold on to your plate in order to get a well balanced meal …. OK I’M OUT
Anyway !
What is a Macro Diet?
It’s a type of diet where people measure and track there consumption of Protein, Carbs and Fat. The amount calculation for each macro-nutriment is based on the objective you have ( building muscle, losing weight losing fat, maintenance). This is very popular in the fitness lifestyle because this can help with any goals you have.
Is a Macro diet for you?
Macro diet isn’t for everyone! This is very restraining as your need to calculate any food you eat daily. I would recommend this diet if:
- You are prepping for a competition or a holiday
- You are already shredded but want to be even more
- You want a diet that will have an impact
How to calculate them for your diet?
Sorry I don’t have any automatic calculator but I’m going to show you how to calculate your calories intake and then your macros in order to match your fitness objective for weight maintenance. So grab your calculator and lets do this !
Btw if you are like me with mathemathics…. don’t worry, everything will be okay !
How to calculate your calorie intake ?
First we need to calculate your BMR which is the amount of energy you are burning while resting. Then we are going to use your BMR and your activity level to calculate the amount of calories you need to consume every day in order to maintain your weight.
If you don’t do any sport/walk etc: BMR x 1.1
If you are just a little bit active ( 1-2 workout per week) : BMR x 1.275
If you workout 3-5 days a week: BMR x 1.35
If you are super super active ! COME ON : BMR x 1.525
- For a Woman
BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + ( 1.8 x height in cm) – ( 4.7 x age in yrs )
So let’s take myself as an example
655 x (9.6 x 55) + ( 1.8 x 167 ) – ( 4.7 x 24 ) = 1370 Kcal
I work out 6 days a week so I need to multiple by 1.525 = 1370 x 1.525 = 2090 kcal
So with all the exercise I do I need to eat 2090 kcal in order to maintain my weight !
- For a Male
BMR = 66 + (13.75 x weight in kg) + ( 5 x height in cm) – ( 6.8 x age in yrs )
Do the same as for my example
How to calculate your macros?
So now that you know how many calories your body needs to maintain its weight – its time to take a look at the macros… Because it’s obviously not 100% of carbs that you will have to consume! 😉
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Calculate your proteins
Proteins as you probably know are key for muscle growth, recovering after an intense training and also for losing fat 🙂
You should aim to consume between 2.4 to 2.8g per kilo of bodyweight (0.8 to 1.2g per pound)
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Calculate your fats
Fats fats …avocadosssssss and olive oil ! Yes but we moderation guys ! For this you will need around 0.3g of fat per pound. You need to give it a try but you might want to adapt this to your reaction to fats. We all have a different approach/reaction to fats !
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Calculate your carbs
So now… grab a calculator, unless you are very good with Maths 😉
- Multiple your fat intake by 9
- Multiple your protein by 4
- Add those together and THEN subtract the sum of your calories – This will give you what you have left to consume, the number of calories that are left for carbs.
- To know the number of grams of carbs that you need to consume per day divide this number by 4.
Example : My total of calories is 2090 kcal and my weight is 121 pounds
121 x 1.2= 145g of protein x 4 = 580
121 x 0.3 = 36g of fats x 9 = 324
580 + 324 = 904 – 2090kcal = 1,186g of carb remaining
1,186 / 4 = 296.5g of carbs per day
ET VOILA ! DONE – I know that was long by it’s worth it !
So for myself I need to eat:
145g of protein, 36g of fat and 296g of carbs per day !
GIVE IT A TRY!
Try to follow this for a while and see how your body respond, you might need to adjust the intakes a bit 😉 Also this will vary with the different objectives you have. If you want to build muscle your intake in calories will be higher and if you are cutting this will be this opposite. But I will talk about this in another article!
Creating a diet matching your macros
Find below a tabs which indicate how much calories is in 1 gram of protein, fat and carb.
| Macro | Calories per gram |
| Protein | 4 |
| Fat | 9 |
| Carb | 4 |
Use the below table to create your diet by matching the amount of macros you need per day !
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Source of protein
| 100g Protein Source | Gram of protein |
| Chicken | 20g of protein |
| Eggs | 13g of protein |
| Cottage cheese | 11g of protein |
| Salmon | 22g of protein |
| Soybeans | 36g of protein |
Personally I have a hard time reaching my daily amount of protein required just with the food I eat. To help me with this, I always have a Protein Shake after my workouts and even sometimes in the afternoon as a snack. It’s the easiest way to get 20g of protein quickly and without too many calories ( 80) ! 
-
Source of fat
| 100g fat Source | Gram of fat |
| Avocado | 15g of fat |
| Eggs | 11g of fat |
| Dark chocolate 70% | 17g of fat |
| Salmon | 13g of fat |
| Almonds | 49g of fat |
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Source of carbs
| 100g carbs Source | Gram of carbs |
| Cooked Rice | 28g of carbs |
| Pasta | 25g of carbs |
| Sweet potatoe | 20g of carbs |
| Pop corn | 74g of carbs |
| Bread multi grain | 43g of carbs |
Here you go, now you just have to create your own plan! If you really want to start this diet, take the time to get a nutrition plan together and do it on point!
If you want any help, don’t hesitate to comment below and I will help you with your nutrition plan / macro diet ! You can also get that Ebook from trainer Lindsey, you will find everything you need to succeed! Get 10% using the code “CAM” !
Smile & Enjoy
Camille
