You want to lose weight, gain muscle or simply eat healthier. Start by understanding macro - the macronutrients your body needs every day: carbohydrates ( carbohydrates), protein ( carbohydrates) and fat.
Calculating your macro intake helps you control your portion sizes, know what you are eating, and thereby adjust to suit your health goals.
Maker monitoring is an effective way to eat more controlled and improve overall health, says Dr. Angela Ryan Lee, a cardiologist in Ohio, USA, to very well health.
Step 1: Determine your daily calorie needs
Each person's body needs a different amount of calories, depending on gender, age, weight and level of exercise. For example:
Women: about 1,600 - 2,400 calories/day
Men: about 2,000 - 3,000 calories/day
Once you know how many calories you need, you will divide them into three main groups:
Carbohydrates: 45 - 65% of total calories
Protein ( profound): 10 - 35%
Fat: 20 - 35%
For example, if you eat 2,000 calories/day and choose a ratio of 50% carbs - 25% protein - 25% fat, you will need:
250g carbohydrates
125g protein
55g fat
Step 2: Adjust according to personal goals
If you:
If you want to lose weight, increase protein and reduce bad starch.
To gain muscle, eat more squash and starch.
To stabilize blood sugar, eat lots of vegetables, whole grains, and limit sweets.
Increasing protein intake at meals can help control weight and blood sugar, says nutritionist Jonathan Purtell (RDN), currently working in New York.
Step 3: Monitor the amount of macro you eat each day
Read food labels carefully: look at calories, grams of protein, starch and fat. You can also use free apps such as: MyFitness Pal, Cronometer, MyPlate from USDA.
These tools help you track more accurately. A kitchen scale is also a powerful assistant for you to measure your portion sizes appropriately.
Tips to maintain habits
Plan meals for the week.
Prepare healthy snacks (nuts, unsweetened yogurt, pre-cut vegetables).
Record your eating log to track your progress.
Eat outside selectively: ask for nutritional information when needed.
