What are Macronutrients?
Macronutrients include Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats and are the vast bulk of where your calories should come from. Whereas Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals and are needed in much lower amounts.
In order to successfully maintain your body or attain a leaner or more muscular body, it’s worth paying closer attention to the amount of each macronutient your body needs to achieve this.
PROTEIN
Protein contains 4 calories per gram. You should be consuming between 0.8 – 1.0 gram of lean Protein per pound of your body weight.
For example, I weigh 185 lbs so my Protein intake should be 185 grams each day.
4 calories per gram x 185 = 740 calories of Protein per day for me.
FATS
Fat contains 9 calories per gram. Consume 0.3 – 0.5 grams of Fat per pound of body weight.
185 lbs X 0.5 = 92.5 grams of Fat per day.
9 calories per gram x 92.5 = 832.5 calories of Fat for me per day.
CARBOHYDRATES
Carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram. Subtract the total daily calories of Protein and Fat, and take this number away from total daily calories and divide by 4 to get your daily amount of Carbohydrates per day.
So for me, in total I require 2059 Calories per day,
832.5 Fat + 740 Protein = 1572.5 Total Calories
Daily Calories 2509 – 1572.5 = 936.5
936.5 ÷ 4 = 234 grams of Carbs for me each day
936 calories of Carbohydrates per day.
Apply the same ratios to yourself to give yourself some clearer goals to aim for when it comes to planning your daily nutrition.