dimanche 8 janvier 2017

Should You Count Calories Or Macros?

By Bobby Joe Smith


If you are trying to learn how to lose weight and keep it off, then chances are you have already stumbled across the importance of counting your macronutrients each day.

Yes, macros are the fitness world's new buzz word.

But will counting macronutrients give you better weight loss results than counting your calories?

In today's post, we will take a look and establish the facts.



If this is your first time trying to lose weight, the word macronutrients may sound like something from a Star Trek movie. But this is simply the phrase used to describe the foods which we eat. Every food either falls under the banner of protein, fat or carbohydrates.

1. What Does Protein Do?

Protein is the most important macronutrient for building lean muscle tissue. So it's no surprise that most people who go to the gym supplement their diet with protein shakes, right? But protein also serves the purpose of speeding up your metabolism, helping you to burn more fat throughout the day.

This makes protein your macronutrient of choice when it comes to snacks.

2. What Is Fat Used For?

Fat still suffers from the bad reputation it was unfairly given back in the 1980's. Back then, it was believed that eating fat caused us to store fat. After all, it shares the same name as the ugly thing you don't want sitting on top of your abs, right? However, research has since conclusively proven that fat - even the once dreaded saturated fat - has several key benefits and should definitely be a part of your daily diet. It will help regulate the release of key muscle building hormones like testosterone and cortisol.

3. Why Do We Eat Carbohydrates?

In the early part of the 21st century, celebrity culture made carbohydrates the new bad guy of the nutrition world. As fads like the Adkins diet took off, people all over the world were misled into believing that the human body stores excess fat every time we eat bread. Of course, this is untrue. Not only that, but carbohydrates play a vital role in any fitness routine, because without them you will have no energy to train!

So I encourage you to discard the many myths surrounding carbs. None of them are correct.

Now that you have a grasp on the jobs performed by each macronutrient, is simply counting your macros enough to guarantee you will lose weight?

Despite the fact that counting macros is very popular, your calorie intake is still the deciding factor.

Yes, optimizing your daily split of protein, fat and carbohydrates will lead to a superior diet and you will certainly enjoy better performance thanks to the roles played by each food group. But calories will still determine whether you are going to lose weight or gain weight.

Despite the fact that fitness has evolved, eating too many calories will always lead to weight gain.




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