Having the right diet can mean a world of difference when it comes to seeing results and performing you best! The hard part usually comes from taking out foods you love! Right!? Well what if I told you that you could still eat foods you love, and still see results! Its called a macro fitting diet. This refers to consuming the right amount of macronutrients (Fats, Carbs, and Protein) each day. So first you need to determine your maintenance calorie needs. Once you find that, adjust your overall intake by 500 calories. If you want to lose weight, eat 500 less calories per day than your recommended maintenance calories. If you want to gain weight, increase by 500 from your maintenance calories. This adds up to +/- 3,500 calories per week. It takes 3,500 calories to gain or lose 1 pound. So by the end of the week you will have gained or lost one pound base on which way you turn your calorie intake, while keeping your activity levels consistent.
If It Fits Your Macros “IIFYM”
More importantly than calories, we want to look at macronutrients. Your ratio of carbs, fats, and protein to make up your total calories will make a big difference in your end results.
1 gram of Protein = 4 calories
1 gram of Carbohydrates = 4 calories
1 gram of Fat = 9 calories
Determining your macro ratios
This is called a Macro Fitting Diet. Also referred to as If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM). Your ratio to make up your total daily calories may differ from your friend, fitness idol, trainer, etc. So find what works best for you. But at least be sure to get one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight each day. Fats are more calorie dense, and should be slightly lower than your total protein and carbohydrate intake, unless you react better to a high fat/low carb diet.
Cravings can be ok
By controlling your diet based on hitting your right macros, you can allow for some of your favorite foods to fill those numbers and cravings. Just don’t go overboard on the sugar or saturated fat to make up carbs and fats. The majority of nutrients should be coming from healthy nutrient dense foods, such as complex carbohydrates, unsaturated fats, and protein.
How to easily track
Tracking these in your head, or by writing them down can suck to do! There are much easier ways to track without all the hassle! The best way in my opinion is by using MyFitnessPal.com. It’s a free website and app, that you can log your daily foods for each meal, and it adds up all the numbers for you. For best accuracy, I highly recommend using a food scale. They can be found for pretty cheap, and work for a long time!
Summery
So pick your goal (gain muscle, lose fat), find your maintenance calorie intake, adjust your intake by 500 calories per day based on your goal, and set the macro ratios that work best for you. Once you do this, you can keep consistent by tracking your meals on the computer or your phone, and see what week’s work best from your personal records. Making these simple changes will help you constantly stay on track and shoot your results way ahead of the game, all while making your life a whole lot easier!
Watch my video below for more info on this topic
For some more information, check out my Custom Meal Plans, Youtube Channel, and other Blog Posts.
