That depends. 

If your current food intake is meeting your health and fitness goals, there is no need to read further. However, if you are looking to build more muscle, or lift a little heavier, or lose fat, read on.

Many people believe that they know exactly how much they are eating and yet cannot understand why they are not able to lose weight. Others will say they cannot build muscle yet don’t know how much protein they eat daily.  It will be hard for you to reach your goals if you do not have the information you need or are not following a plan to help you reach them.

Tracking is a way to help you monitor your food intake and help you attain your health and fitness goals.  Tracking involves monitoring the amount of calories and macros that are consumed.  In my last blog, “Calorie Counting Made Simple,” the term, “calorie,” was defined and the importance of weighing food raw was discussed.  Weighing food in its raw form, or before cooking, is the preferred method because when food is cooked it loses weight and volume. Thus, weighing food before it is cooked will give you a better measurement of the calories it contains and allow you to track your calorie intake more accurately.

There are different ways that you can track how much you eat.  This article will focus on tracking your calories and macros.  While tracking calories and macros may not be for everyone, it is a precise and accurate method of tracking and accuracy is important when you are working towards achieving your health and fitness goals.  Since we already defined calories, let’s look more closely at what macros are and why monitoring their intake is important.

Macros, or macronutrients, are large nutrients that make up the different foods that we eat.  Macronutrients help the body function and affect how our body works. There are three major categories of macronutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.  We need to include all three macronutrients in our nutrition as they each serve a unique purpose for our bodies.  The structures and functions of each macronutrient are complex, and since this is not a chemistry lesson, we will look briefly at each one as it relates to counting macros and health and fitness goals.

Let’s get started.

Protein

Your body uses protein for many things but it is not efficient at storing it.  That means that you need to replenish the protein in your body by eating foods that contain protein.  Once you eat protein, it is used, recycled, and sometimes excreted, which explains why a consistent supply of protein in the diet is required.  Often when we think of protein we think of meat, poultry, and fish - all excellent sources of protein.  A respectable amount of protein is also found in foods such as beans, lentils, eggs, yogurt and other dairy.

If you have weight loss or strength goals, it is important to track protein for several reasons:  

1. As mentioned earlier, your body needs to consistently replenish protein in order for it to function.  This happens when you eat food that contains protein.

2. If you want to build muscle, you will need to know how much protein you are eating to ensure that your muscles have enough to grow and get stronger.

3. If you want to lose weight, eating protein will make you feel full longer. 

4. If you are counting calories, you need to know that there are four calories in every gram of protein. 

5. You should typically consume .75 - 1.0 gram/protein per body weight daily.

Fats

Many people hear the word “fats” and immediately think that they are bad for the body or that you should not eat them.  However, fats do provide the body with energy.  Dietary fats can be saturated (solid at room temperature) or unsaturated (liquid at room temperature).  Typically, you want to have more unsaturated fats in your diet rather than saturated fats.  

A few examples of foods that contain saturated fats are beef, pork, butter, cheese, and foods that are baked or fried.  Foods that contain unsaturated fats include olive oil, avocados, peanut butter, and many nuts and seeds.  

While fats are needed by the body and some unsaturated fats are considered healthy because they help lower your cholesterol level, it is important for you to know that all fats are high in calories.  If you are counting calories, keep in mind that each gram of fat has nine calories.  Fats contain more calories per gram than protein and carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates, or carbs, have developed an undeserved bad reputation. Some people are reluctant to eat them and believe that eating carbs will make them fat.  However, carbs are the body’s main source of energy and your body will use carbs for energy before it uses proteins and fats.  

You definitely want to limit your intake of highly processed carbs, such as pastries, candy, white breads, and soda.  However, whole, minimally processed carbs, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can help with energy levels.  Carbs contain four calories per gram.

Tracking Your Macros and Calories 

Remember that one gram of each macro contains a certain number of calories:

• 1 gram of protein = 4 calories

• 1 gram of carbohydrate = 4 calories

• 1 gram of fat = 9 calories

This means that when you track your macros, you are also tracking your calories.  For example, if you have a daily goal to eat 130 grams of protein, 100 grams carbs, and 50 grams of fat, you would eat 1370 calories daily.  If you do the math - Protein: 130 X 4 = 520; Carbs:100 X 4 = 400; Fat: 50 X 9 = 450; Total: 520+400+450=1370 calories.

That probably looks like a lot of math. 

So, let’s simplify the process a bit.

Focus on Your Protein and Calories

Since we know that protein is important whether you are trying to build muscle, maintain your weight, or lose weight, and since we understand the importance of energy balance, let’s just focus on tracking protein and calories. 

Looking at the same example from above, you would try to hit your protein goal of 130 grams and your calorie goal of about 1400 calories.  By tracking protein and calories, your carbohydrates and fats will fall within your allotted calories.  You can track or record your protein and calories in an app (which will do the math for you) or with pencil and paper.  See my last blog, “Calorie Counting Made Simple,” for some helpful tools.

If you hit your protein goal and calorie goal consistently, you will see the results that you want.  There is no quick fix for sustained fat loss or muscle growth. Just keep in mind that patience and consistency are important when working toward your goals.