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Sunday, 16 July 2017

Sunshine Coast Dietetics: Macros: Count 'em or Count Me Out?


As a sports dietitian, people often ask me about counting macronutrients or ‘macros’.
When I say macros, I am talking about the amount of carbohydrate, protein and fat consumed in a day (or sometimes a meal). To give you an example, yesterday I consumed 250g carbs, 108g protein and 76g fat. This means I received 49% energy from carbs, 20% from protein and 31% from fat (due to fat being higher in energy content). Though these numbers tell you nothing about the quality of my diet during the day. FYI I could have had 1 ¼ Cups sugar to get that carb intake (though I didn’t).

Why are Macro’s important?
Different training regimes require different macro distribution. The most important factor being the amount of endurance exercise someone is participating in. Endurance exercise requires a greater quantity of carbohydrate to perform. For example a 70kg elite Ironman triathlete during heavy training may require upwards of 560g carb/day. This is only a ballpark figure though it highlights the importance of macros. After we have that carb figure we can then provide guidance on adequate protein, with the remainder of energy being from fats.

For someone interested in muscle gains, focusing on having sufficient protein intake (without going overboard) would be the first port of call. Then ensuring they have enough carbs to get through their sessions, with the remainder being from fat. In these cases it is important to have knowledge about specific macros, more for ensuring minimum requirements of these specific macros are being met.

Why macros aren’t important
Providing someone with a set macro schedule, for example 33% Carb/33% Protein/33% Fat, without understanding their energy requirements, exercise program and personal preferences can be counterproductive. As discussed above, more important is the amounts of specific macronutrients. Sports dietitians have moved away from macro schedules and prefer a much more individualised and periodised nutrition strategy, focusing on the requirements of training. Furthermore, there is always flexibility in macros to address personal preferences.

As suggested above, macros also don’t provide an idea of diet quality. While most people are able to choose protein foods to fit into their macro requirements, fats and carbohydrates are another matter.  Sometimes focusing too much on the % macros will reduce your range of foods, which can compromise vitamin and mineral intake. Yes ‘my only veg is broccoli’ friends, I am talking about you.

What does this mean for you?
In a nutshell; having an idea on the specific macronutrients for your training/exercise/sport and how to obtain them is important. Focusing too much on numbers without consideration for the quality of your diet can be counterproductive. Finally, everyone has individual dietary preferences and it is always important to incorporate those in any meal plan.

Happy eating.

Peter Herzig, AccSD, APD
Sunshine Coast Dietetics 
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