What's your Macro?

Hi Ladies! Welcome to my first blog!

Many of my clients struggle with weight loss and while my job is to help you exercise, I can no longer ignore your crying for help when it comes to dieting and losing weight. I hear many of you say things such as "I should just cut carbs all together!", or " I can't get rid of those last few pounds, I decided to cut all meat!", or " I don't know what else to do, but starve myself!". I want to scream; " DON'T DO IT!!" each time I hear some of you say that. When it comes to safe effective weight loss there is no extreme formula but rather a more balanced formula.

We all need these three macronutrients in our diet to be healthy : Carbohydrates (complex and simple sugars), Protein (Plant and animal), and Fats. Every meal you make should contain these three Macros.

Today, I'm going to explain the different nutrients and how the body uses them. Ready? Set, Go!

PROTEIN

Protein is the most important macronutrient whether you're trying to lose or gain weight. When it is being digested, protein breaks down onto Amino Acids. These amino acids are the building blocks of muscle. Protein can help maintain muscle when dieting to lose weight, or build muscle if trying to gain.

CARBOHYDRATES

"Carbs" have gotten a bad reputation in the last 20 years. Low carbs diets may help you lose weight quickly, but your energy level will rapidly decrease as well. Carbohydrates are broken down by the body into glucose (sugar). Your body uses this glucose for ENERGY. Take it away completely and you will find yourself dragging your feet, grumpy, and unmotivated to exercise. People on low carb diets initially lose weight quickly, because the body will turn to fat stores for energy; The problem is that once your fat stores are depleted, your body will turn to your muscles for energy. Breaking down your hard work earned muscles? I say Heck No!

FATS

During digestion, Fats are broken down into Fatty Acids. Fatty acids are essential for normal regulation of hormones and other body functions. In large quantities, fats can be detrimental to your health. Since they are calorie dense; consume too many and your body will store the excess as body fat. This is the reason why MODERATION is KEY! You should find a balance between eating enough fats for proper hormone balance but not so much that your body fat percentage increases.

So the number one rule is EVERYTHING IN MODERATION.

To reach your goal weight, you need to calculate your personal daily intake of carbohydrates, proteins, and fat. It is not a one size fit all formula and each person's metabolism, overall health, and activity level all play a vital role in how much of each macros you should eat. The Mifflin, M.D., St Jeor Formula is one of the most popular and respected methods used to calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).

To find out WHAT'S YOUR MICRO? You can use many apps such as My Fitness Pal or websites such as macrofit.com; just put in your personal weight, age, activity level, and it will calculate your own TDEE. I have been tracking macros for weight loss for years now, and while it take some little work at first, it has now become second nature and makes dieting so much more enjoyable!