#Macro counting apps how to

It has several unique properties that make it an essential part of all but the most obscure diets.įor weight loss, protein has the unique capability to increase your feelings of fullness (“satiety” in technical terms) as well as increase your body’s energy expenditure.Īccording to research published in 2004 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, protein’s ability to increase your energy expenditure is a result of the increased caloric expenditure needed to break down the amino acids in protein ( 3).Īnimal protein seems to be slightly more effective at achieving this increase in caloric expenditure, but plant-derived protein will also work. Protein plays an incredibly versatile role when it comes to weight loss, gain, or maintenance. Beyond this, there’s the option of protein powder, which comes in both animal and plant-derived forms. There are plenty of vegetarian protein sources too: you’ll find tons of protein in chickpeas, soybeans, and tofu, to name just a few sources. Protein makes up the lion’s share of the calories you’ll find in lean meats like chicken, turkey, and fish, and is plentiful in all kinds of animal products like dairy, beef, lamb, and pork. Still, it emphasizes that tracking carbohydrate intake is very important if you think that insulin and blood sugar have to do with obesity, weight gain, and fat mass. Now, this theory is not without its critics, as indicated by a counterpoint article published by Kevin Hall and other researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Columbia University ( 2 ).

According to this theory, hunger and overeating aren’t the cause of obesity-they’re a symptom. This vicious cycle, according to researchers like Ludwig, explains many facets of obesity in a new light. The result is that, a few hours after a carbohydrate-rich meal (especially if it’s mostly refined carbs), blood sugar crashes, body fat increases, and you get hungry again. This theory states that excessive carbohydrate consumption causes a spike in insulin, which in turn causes your body to pull blood sugar out of the blood and store it as fat. Not all carbs are created equal, but emerging research suggests that refined carbohydrates (like white flour or white rice) behave a lot like sugars when it comes to determining your body’s response, so lumping them into the same category is starting to make more sense.Īccording to the “carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity”, advocated by researchers like David Ludwig at the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, carbohydrates are at the heart of fat gain ( 1).

#Macro counting apps how to

We’ll take a quick look at each of these macros first, then dive in to how to use our macro calculator to achieve your health goals, whether those are weight loss, weight gain, or simply maintenance of your weight while ensuring long term health.Ĭarbohydrates, or carbs for short, are the macros you’ll get in bread, pasta, fruit, vegetables, and other starchy or sugary foods.

Tracking your macros, and not just your overall caloric intake, is important because each macro has different effects on your body. The specifications of your diet are going to dictate your macro ratio, as different weight loss programs are going to call for different ratios of fats, carbs, and proteins. Each of these macros play a different role in nutrition, and their amount and distribution is going to change based on whether you are trying to gain weight, lose weight, or maintain the same weight.