In This ArticleView AllIn This ArticleWhat Are Macros or Macronutrients?Which Macro Is Most Important for Weight Loss?Can Counting Macros Help with Weight Loss?A Word on ‘If It Fits Your Macros’ (IIFYM)The Bottom Line
In This ArticleView All
View All
In This Article
What Are Macros or Macronutrients?
Which Macro Is Most Important for Weight Loss?
Can Counting Macros Help with Weight Loss?
A Word on ‘If It Fits Your Macros’ (IIFYM)
The Bottom Line
Close
Pictured Recipe:Spring Roll Salad
“Macros” is a buzzword that was likely never heard outside of a nutrition science classroom until just a few years ago. Today, macros (short for macronutrients) are splashed on Instagram profiles and the covers of books. This begs the questions: What are macros, and should you be counting them for weight loss?
Read More:Macros Diet Meal Plan
“Macronutrients are the compounds that provide us with energy, and they are split into three categories: proteins, fats and carbohydrates,” says Carolyn Brown, M.S., RD, a nutritionist atFoodtrainers, a private nutrition practice in New York City.
However, you can’t survive on a single macronutrient alone. That is a good thing because many foods have a combination of the three.
“Each one provides your body with different functions,” Brown says. “For example, carbohydrates are our primary, immediate energy source. Protein repairs and regenerates tissues and cells, and fats are essential for healthy brain function.” Fats are also a source of energy.
Understanding the functions of macronutrients helps to better explain why eating a variety of foods is important for optimal health. However, it doesn’t answer the question of how much of each macronutrient is needed per day and how much is needed if you want to lose weight. Those answers aren’t as straightforward as many would like them to be.
Consider the rise of the low-fat craze in the ’90s. Many people started restricting the macronutrient because they thought it contributed to weight gain. Fast forward to today, and fat has made a comeback to the point that many are followinghigh-fat diets that limit carbohydrates,which are also macronutrients.
This swing back and forth has spurred a legitimate question: For weight loss, which is better, low fat or low carb?
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates provide 4 calories per gram and are found in starchy foods like grains, bread and rice, and in fruit, dairy and table sugar. They are an important source of energy for the body.
Proteins
Proteins deliver 4 calories per gram and are found in foods like meat, fish, soy, dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds and legumes. Protein is made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks for protein and help make muscle, tissue and just about everything else in the body.
Fats
Fat contains 9 calories per gram and is important to help your body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, and it also provides eating satisfaction. While fat has a bad reputation for causing certain health problems and is higher in calories than carbohydrates or protein, it would be difficult to meet your calorie needs without it. The best types of fat are heart-healthy.
Read More:The Best Dinner Foods for Weight Loss
Pictured Recipe:Creamy Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms
Many who count macronutrients as a means for losing weight will wonder if it’s better to follow a low-carbohydrate or low-fat plan for weight loss. A 2021 study inNature Medicineshows that it may not matter which plan you follow. Instead, it comes back to the basics of calorie restriction.
“Total daily calorie deficit takes precedence over macronutrient distribution in the hierarchy of needs when it comes to weight loss,” explains Tony Stephan, RD, a personal trainer and owner ofTony Stephan Fitness & Nutrition.
However, that doesn’t mean that macronutrients, especially in the context of diet quality, don’t play some role in the goal of losing weight.
“Having a dialed-in macronutrient ratio will yield better performance outcomes. If you eat in a calorie deficit but only eat Twinkies all day, you may lose weight, but I doubt you will feel your best,” Stephan says.
In other words, it isn’t just about calories. The macronutrient distribution matters for both weight loss and total health, and the types of food you eat matter too. After all, carbohydrates include everything from candy to whole grains, and those foods provide vastly different nutrients.
The same goes for the type of fat you eat.The American Heart Associationsuggests limiting total fat, saturated fat and trans fats—the types that contribute to heart disease—while including more unsaturated fats. Your choice of a low-fat or a low-carb pattern of eating should take into account if it’s a pattern you can follow long-term and if it provides adequate amounts of nutrients while helping you meet your weight control goals.
Read More:What Does a Healthy Serving of Carbs Look Like?
Pictured Recipe:Salmon & Avocado Poke Bowl
It could, but many dietitians and health professionals take a different approach to helping individuals lose weight.The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicinerecommends 45%-65% of calories come from carbohydrates, 20%-35% of calories come from fat and 10%-35% of calories come from protein. For someone on a 1,600-calorie diet, that would amount to about 200 grams of carbohydrates, 53 g of fat and 80 g of protein.
From there, Stephan adjusts macronutrients based on preference and activity level. First, he sets the protein amount and then fills in the carbohydrate and fat amounts according to personal preference. “If I have an active individual, I tend to give more of an abundance from carbs. I believe personal preference should dictate [fat and carb amounts] with my clients,” he says.
But this type of approach may not be sustainable for some and could even trigger unhealthy eating behaviors. “When a client comes in attempting to lose weight, as most do, I never point them to a specific number of macros or an app direction,” Brown says. “Fixating on strict numbers, weighing food, logging calories—it all tends to lead to obsessive eating and ‘falling off the wagon’ or breaking their diet, and a cycle of this over and over,” she says.
What to do instead? “I suggest focusing on nutrient density. Eat real, unprocessed foods that mostly do not have labels at all, and you do not have to drive yourself crazy over numbers,” Brown explains.
Pictured Recipe:Spaghetti Squash Lasagna with Broccolini
If you’ve spent any time following the conversation around macronutrients, you’ve likely come across the acronym IIFYM. IIFYM stands for “If It Fits Your Macros” and originated in body-building circles, according to Stephan. “It was the acronym that answered the universal question of ‘Can I eat X, Y or Z food and still see results?'” he says. Stephan explains that IIFYM, at its core, means no foods are off-limits as long as total daily calories are controlled and macronutrients are distributed properly for the end user’s goal.
However, he cautions that this doesn’t mean that the types of foods that fit into the macronutrient count and their quality should be ignored. “There should not be a dichotomy when it comes to food quantity and food quality. I am never going to tell my client that they can’t have their favorite foods, but I do set protein goals, fiber goals and water goals daily for them to achieve,” he says.
Brown agrees, saying that IIFYM is reminiscent of other point-based systems. She finds it worrisome because counting macronutrients has the potential to take the focus off food quality. “Someone could eat all their points in, say, a brownie, or another food with zero nutrient density, and miss out completely on all the vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and energy. That’s not to mention volume and satiation, which is provided from [for example] a whole meal with vegetables, fish, olive oil and quinoa,” Brown says.
As with any diet that focuses on nutrients in isolation and views foods as simply numbers and not for their quality, there is a risk of building a diet around foods that may fit the macro count but not provide health benefits. “Quality is the No. 1 essential for long-term weight loss,” Brown stresses. Stephan agrees, “How can you achieve 35 g of fiber per day eating ice cream all day? You can’t. No foods should be off-limits but, like anything else, it’s about balance.”
Pictured Recipe:Chickpea & Quinoa Grain Bowl
No matter the approach, the message is the same: Your diet has to be sustainable and healthy.
“My goals with clients are always to help them incorporate healthier eating into their lives and to learn flexibility, how to socialize and feel normal, but also feel great about their food choices,” Brown explains. Counting macros, she explains, rarely fits into that approach.
“The clients I’ve had use macros have historically felt overly restricted and completely reliant on homemade food, which is fine for a week or two but not realistic long-term,” she says.
Research shows that it is a pattern of eating over time that makes a difference in long-term health. “Someone should always ask, ‘Can I do this for the rest of my life?’ before beginning a protocol. If they can’t say yes, the likelihood for long-term success is very minimal,” Stephan says.
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!Tell us why!OtherSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
Tell us why!OtherSubmit
Tell us why!
