Macros are just one part of nutrition. Often times, I think it’s the first thing that people start to research when they decide to make a plan to work on bettering their nutrition. As a nutrition coach it was one of the first things I learned about. Coming from a business and finance background it was simple to learn. I’m good at math & I love lists so done and done!
The desire to better one’s nutrition usually comes from two impetuses, I want to look better or I have a health concern I need to rectify. Examples of these are wanting to lose some body fat in order to see muscle definition and overall weigh less or being told at your last doctor appointment that you are pre-diabetic. These have been the instances that I have seen the most.
But determining, counting and even hitting a set daily macronutrient goal are not guarantees of well-rounded nutrition or health. What does that mean? Well sure it can be the right ratio of those macronutrients to fuel properly and possibly give you the energy balance you need to fuel yourself and even change your body composition, but it doesn’t qualify the quality of those calories. This is one of the biggest downsides to the flexible diet method. Technically, you could hit your macro goals without ever ingesting a single veggie. Because of this, you need to make sure you’re focusing on WHAT you’re eating, not just the numbers.
Here’s an example:
2 ounces of chicken breast has approximately 20 grams of protein
1 scoop of whey protein has approximately 20 grams of protein
When you are counting macros, you only keep track of Proteins, Fats & Carbs, so these are the same, right? Nope the protein powder also typically has a few carbohydrates as well so likely more calories. Also by choosing the protein powder over the chicken, you can lose all the micronutrients that are provided by this whole food source like zinc, selenium and B vitamins. These vitamins and mineral play specific roles in how your body functions. B vitamins, for example, assist with red blood cell formation, support the immune system and help the body convert food into energy.
Focusing on macronutrients is a simple place to start because every food we eat is made up of some ratio of protein, carbs and fats. And those building blocks quite literally fuel our lives! But there is so much more to food than just the macronutrients. This diet says nothing about vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, antioxidants, and other nutrients that are often not on a food label, but play an essential role in good health.
Simply focusing on getting our allocated ratios of Proteins, Fats and Carbohydrates, is not enough to better our overall health. We need to chose high quality whole food sources to get our needed fuel so that we also get all of the micronutrients and minerals we need for our body to function properly and stay healthy!
Coach Jana
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