Because counting calories just isn’t enough.
Also known as the misleading “macros diet”, you could be forgiven for thinking that this is just another fad diet that will cost you money and inevitably leave you unfulfilled and back at square one. When in truth all it really involves is eating food your body needs.
None of this “yellow foods only” and “drinking a glass of lemon water 15 minutes before you eat while you sit in a north-facing oak tree”- crap.
Macronutrients
First, let’s look at the word macronutrients. If someone told you that you should be eating nutrient-rich food you’d probably whole-heartedly agree with them, nodding your head as you make lists of all the greens you’ll add to this week’s shopping list.
And while vitamins and minerals are important for all sorts of things in your body, things like vitamin C and potassium (generally agreed to be good things, right?) are micronutrients.
In other words, your body needs comparatively small amounts of these nutrients in order to function properly.
Macronutrients, on the other hand, are those that your body needs in significant quantities in order to function properly. These include protein, carbohydrates, and fats (and sometimes fibre).
Counting calories
Counting calories may have gone out of fashion these days, seeming obsessive and controlling in a world of freedom of expression and hashtags. However, counting your calories is vital if you want to lose weight or gain muscle.
Eat too many calories and they’ll be stored as body fat. Don’t eat enough and your body won’t have the energy to grow new muscle.
But it’s not as straightforward as the number of calories you eat, it’s also about what’s in the food you eat. You could eat four slices of chocolate cake or 375 strawberries (neither of which would be particularly healthy) and you’ll have kept to your 1500-calorie target for the day, but that’s 1500 calories of sugar and very little else.
So basically it’s about eating a balanced diet… groundbreaking, right?
Macros = the death of the “cheat meal”
Counting your calories and tracking your macros is a bit of a ballache, there’s no denying it. But once you get the hang of it, and get your regular meals saved to memory, then the so-called “cheat meal” will be a thing of the past.
No foods are inherently bad for you, or something that you need to completely remove from your diet, they just have different macronutrient values. So as long as you’re getting what you need from your other meals, there’s no reason you can’t have pizza or doughnuts or chocolate.
Just maybe not for every meal.
Track your macros with the Gay Fitness UK app
Shameless plug here! You can track your macros, calories, workouts, and all sorts of fitnessey stuff on the GayFitnessUK app – available for Apple and Android devices.
The app itself is free but only available to those that have purchased one of our 6-week training programs (a bargain at just £12.99).
Have a look to see if there’s a program that suits you!
6-week programs from £12.99
And remember you can also receive weekly workouts for free by subscribing to our newsletter.
First, let’s look at the word macronutrients. If someone told you that you should be eating nutrient-rich food you’d probably whole-heartedly agree with them, nodding your head as you make lists of all the greens you’ll add to this week’s shopping list.
And while vitamins and minerals are important for all sorts of things in your body, things like vitamin C and potassium (generally agreed to be good things, right?) are micronutrients.
In other words, your body needs comparatively small amounts of these nutrients in order to function properly.
Macronutrients, on the other hand, are those that your body needs in significant quantities in order to function properly. These include protein, carbohydrates, and fats (and sometimes fibre).
Counting calories may have gone out of fashion these days, seeming obsessive and controlling in a world of freedom of expression and hashtags. However, counting your calories is vital if you want to lose weight or gain muscle.
Eat too many calories and they’ll be stored as body fat. Don’t eat enough and your body won’t have the energy to grow new muscle.
But it’s not as straightforward as the number of calories you eat, it’s also about what’s in the food you eat. You could eat four slices of chocolate cake or 375 strawberries (neither of which would be particularly healthy) and you’ll have kept to your 1500-calorie target for the day, but that’s 1500 calories of sugar and very little else.
So basically it’s about eating a balanced diet… groundbreaking, right?
Counting your calories and tracking your macros is a bit of a ballache, there’s no denying it. But once you get the hang of it, and get your regular meals saved to memory, then the so-called “cheat meal” will be a thing of the past.
No foods are inherently bad for you, or something that you need to completely remove from your diet, they just have different macronutrient values. So as long as you’re getting what you need from your other meals, there’s no reason you can’t have pizza or doughnuts or chocolate.
Just maybe not for every meal.
