Why Counting Macros Is Better Than Any Fad Diet

Food has a bad reputation – deservedly so. They tend to be difficult to maintain, and are often based on a fondness for celery. Or chicken soup. Following macros, however, is not a diet. No, it’s eating with a purpose; deciding on your goal—fit or not—and calculating the foods you need to eat to achieve that goal.

There are three macronutrients: proteins, fats and carbohydrates. How much of each you need depends on what kind of body you want, where you are now, and what kind of training you do. (Vitamins and minerals are available micronutrients – they are also important, but this is about drawing large doses.)

Each of the three macros does a different job. Protein (eggs, meat, fish, chicken, beans) is necessary for muscle growth and tissue repair. Healthy fats (olive oil, nuts, avocado, fish oil) are important for energy levels and cognitive function. Carbohydrates (brown rice, pasta and bread) are the main source of energy. The process of following many methods includes care, discipline and one of the small dimensions that serious food has next to the yuzu fruit.

Joseph Rapoport, 28, has a stressful job in real estate and because of that he was taking a break from exercise. Under the guidance of Samuel Quinn, head of personal training at Nuffield Health, he began working regularly and adopting a number of follow-up methods. He started at 176 lbs with a weight lifting goal: He pushed his weight up to 192 lbs and achieved 12.5% ​​body fat. Then she changed her big goals with a new goal of cutting fat, and now she has eight percent body fat and weighs 163 lbs. Rapoport feels macro tracking has changed his life, and his story shows the power of the method if you’re willing to commit.

A new beginning

“My original plan was to see how big and strong I could get,” he says, “but my goals changed over time. I live in Bristol, England but I moved to Plymouth to start a business and since I was living alone, I had a lot of time outside of work to focus on. I wanted to see what I could do I played with the exercise in the past, I did the odd exercise, but I didn’t really focus on it.”

Nutrient targets

“I always ate well, but you have to eat the right thing more than the amount of nutrients. The more I did it, the more I became concerned about it, re-evaluating my food to make sure that I achieve goals. My coach Sam said it was one of the best he’s seen. I measured every tomato.”

Daily macro breakdown

“My daily calories were based on protein. In the first phase of building muscle I got up to 192 lbs. eating 3200 calories a day made up of 160 grams of protein, 400 grams of carbohydrates and 107 grams of fat. Sam explained how many calories are in each macronutrient: four calories for a gram of protein, four for carbohydrates and nine for fat.”

Weighing all foods

“I didn’t eat meat at this time, so I ate a lot of eggs. The other two macros, fat and carbs were whatever I had left. We didn’t count fiber-rich vegetables at all—broccoli, zucchini, lettuce. I could eat as much as I wanted, within reason. I had a scale for every meal, which was time-consuming at first, but after a while, you know the mess. It feels heavy at first but it gets really easy. It makes it difficult to eat out but you can look for good food. Also, it’s about consistency: I was consistent during the week so I didn’t mind going out for dinner or drinking a glass of wine on the weekend. If I did that on Saturday, I might cut my calories a little bit the next day.”

A typical day

“Breakfast of natural yogurt with nuts, while lunch or dinner was 4-5 eggs, whole grain toast, some vegetables, pine nuts and seeds with Olive oil and guacamole. I also used protein shakes. Now that I don’t eat any more, it’s salmon with butter and lemon or chicken breast with honey I got all my recipes and experimented.”

New goals

“I am very happy to follow my progress. I would say start small, as time goes by it becomes an interest rather than another stress. It’s been nice to have something that means my life isn’t just focused on work. I’m taking it to the next level now, cutting my body fat. My current big goals are 1930 calories a day made up of 193 grams of protein, 145 grams of carbs, 64 grams of fat.

Mental health benefits

“I’ve never felt so good and this focus is so mentally clear. I find the work less stressful—the core work hasn’t changed, but I don’t feel I feel more confident and outspoken. The effect on my mental life has been one of greatness.”

This story began to unfold British GQ.