5 Hot Tips To Help You Count Your Macros

Forget counting calories, these days every fit person worth their salt is counting their macros, but, um, what are they?

For the uninitiated, macros or macronutrients are protein, fat and carbohydrate and your body needs a certain amount of each to ensure it’s performing optimally.

Your daily intake is worked out from your height, weight, and age to give you a daily goal that might look a little something like this: 56g of protein, 35g of fat and 22g of carbs.

Wanna ensure you’re eating optimally but reckon counting your macros sounds a bit too tricky and time consuming? We asked personal trainer Siobhan O’Hagan how to make it super simple.

1. Use an online calculator

If you’re not so good with numbers, you can use a macro calculator to get you started. Siobhan recommends IIFYM.com. “But remember,” she warns, “this is only a starting point, so aim to stick with the same macros for two weeks to assess how these numbers work for you.”

2. Use MyFitnessPal for everyday tracking

“This app has a huge library of nutritional information for both branded and generic products,” Siobhan explains, “but watch out; don’t use the guided goals as the formula it uses tends to give you a really low calorie allowance. Use custom goal settings instead and enter the numbers you got from the online calculator.” Got it.

3. Meal plan and prep

The secret to macro success? Be prepared and plan all your meals in advance. “It’s very difficult to eat on the fly and hit all your macro requirements,” Siobhan explains. “Plan out each day so that you match your protein, fat and carb goals as closely as possible. As a rule of thumb, if you’re 10g out on each macro, that’s okay.”

4. Stock up on staples

“Use some staple adjustable items in your day so you can change the amount as necessary for the different macro requirements,” Siobhan suggests. This means if oats and protein powder are a regular in your daily diet, you can simply increase of decrease the amount you use of each in order to hit your daily carb and protein intake.

5. Track everything, even when you go off plan

You’ve scoffed a double chocolate brownie that most definitely wasn’t on your meal plan. What now? All is not lost. “If you have something outside of your plan, track it as soon as possible,” says Siobhan. “Then adjust the rest of the days food to make it fit.” See? Easy.

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