Macro's & Fat Loss
Macro's also known as macro-nutrients are what we consume when eating a diet of carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
I am asked daily about what is the correct amount for effective fat loss. Today I will attempt to answer it and make it more clear for you to build a diet that suits you.
First and foremost, knowing your daily calorie expenditure is key. Let's say you are a 6 ft male, weighing 200 lbs and you are moderately active and burn 3000 kcals per day. There is always variations, that's why I am a big advocate of using a fitbit and getting a more accurate measurement.
To lose 1kg per week (moderately difficult) you would need to cut about 1000 kcals of your 3000 kcal requirement. So we now have a new calorie requirement of 2000 kcals.
Now we need to workout what percentage of the 2000 kcals do we consume from each of the macros. This is where flexibility comes into it. Some people do better on high carbs and some on less. For this purpose I am going to use a ratio of 50% Carbs, 25% Protein and 25% Fats.
Carbs contain 4 kcals per gram (2000-50%=1000 kcals/4=250 grams of carbs)
Fat contains 9 kcals per gram (2000-75%=500 kcals/9=56 grams of fat)
Protein contains 4 kcals per gram (2000-75%=500 kcals/4=125 grams of protein)
So presuming you have got the maths, we now know the correct amount of each macro-nutrient to consume in grams.
A person who burns 3000 kcals per day and wants to lose 1 kg per week will require 250 grams of carbs/56 grams of fat/125 grams of protein.
Some other marco ratios that may suit include :
40/30/30 (carbs/fat/protein)
50/15/35 (carbs/fat/protein)
35/30/35 (carbs/fat/protein)
Now you just have to do the maths with regards which one is best suited to you.
One tip I will give, is go buy a FitBit (yeah I know, I say it a lot in my blogs) They have a great platform and can do the maths for you.
Happy eating
Love
Chris
