What are Macronutrients? What does this mean to me?

Nutrients are the compounds in foods that help sustain your body. Nutrients are divided into two classes, micronutrients and macronutrients, based on how much of the nutrient your body needs daily. All of the nutrients are an essential component of a healthy diet.

Nutrients are the compounds in foods that help sustain your body. Nutrients are divided into two classes, micronutrients and macronutrients, based on how much of the nutrient your body needs daily. All of the nutrients are an essential component of a healthy diet.

Before we move any further though, we strongly suggest you spend some time looking to clean up your existing diet, just take some simple steps to taking out the things you know shouldn’t be there in the first place. Balancing the macronutrients in your diet will have little effect if you have a blow out every weekend. So change one thing (fizzy juice, sweets, crisps, unhealthy snacks, alcohol), once you are happy that it is changed for good then change another thing. Eventually when you are really happy with your progress and you want to look closer at where you are getting your calories from then it’s time to start analysing you food a bit more closely.

On the Burn It Revolution program we only recommend total calorie management, this is designed as a first step in the nutrition journey, to properly manage your macronutrients you need to be prepared for a greater level of preparation, so we like to look upon this as phase 2. We will be releasing more information like this, but strongly recommend that if you are just getting started then please don’t stress about all this, just read up on our revolution program and get started with the basics first.

Micronutrients vs. Macronutrients

Your body needs both Micro and Macro nutrients, but as the names suggest, it needs more macronutrients than it does micro. The micronutrient group is made up of vitamins and minerals and the macronutrient group consists of carbohydrates, protein and fat.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the preferred source of energy for your body. Carbs provide your body with the simple sugar glucose, which is carried to each of your tissues and cells and converted to energy. The best sources of carbohydrates are plant-based foods, such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Carbohydrates provide you with 4 calories per 1g. The acceptable macronutrient distribution range, or AMDR, for carbohydrates is 45 to 65 % of your daily calories. If you are on a 2,000-calorie diet, you would need 225 to 325g of carbohydrates daily.

Protein

Protein provides the structure to all of the cells in your body. Proteins also help build enzymes and hormones, maintain the acid-base balance in your body, transport various substances throughout your cells and help keep your immune system healthy. In the absence of carbohydrates, proteins can provide your body with energy. Like carbohydrates, proteins provide you with 4 calories per 1g.
There are two ways to calculate your protein needs. You can use the AMDR, which is 10 to 35% your daily calorie needs. If you are on a 2,000-calorie diet, you require 50 to 175g of protein per day. A more precise way to calculate protein needs is based on your body weight. Adults should consume 0.8g of protein per 1kg of body weight. Using this method, a 100kg. person would require approximately 80g of protein per day.

Fat

Although fat is often associated with negative health implications, fat is essential for a healthy diet. Fat helps cushion your organs, provides insulation to help you maintain body temperature and allows you to absorb fat-soluble vitamins. Your body has an unlimited ability to store fat, so fat can also provide with you energy when you haven’t eaten for an extended period of time, notes Blake.
Fat is a more concentrated source of calories than carbohydrates or protein, providing you with 9 calories per 1g. The AMDR for fat is 20 to 35 % of your daily calories, so someone on a 2,000-calorie diet requires approximately 45 to 78g of fat every day.

What does it mean to you?

Keep yourself balanced, do not stress about not hitting your daily target as your body will manage no problem, if you can start moving towards this goal then please do, BUT, if this all seems a bit complicated and if you are being honest with yourself, there are things in your diet that you need to fix first, the start working on the basics. Clean up the junk food, start experimenting with different recipes, increase your water intake and you will start to get results, when you are confident to move on to phase to two then get in touch and we will help!

If you need help with getting yourself on the right track then contact us on info@burnit.co and arrange a goal setting session. Or check out our fat loss Revolution & Revolution at home program

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