Count Macros to Lose the Gut

“My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people.”  — Orson Welles

Diets suck. No one loves the idea of severely restricting what they are allowed to eat. The purpose of any diet is to lose or maintain a certain level of health. Unfortunately, to do this you need to stick to the regiment, which proves difficult and often results in failure. We propose a better option: counting macros.

Hundreds of diets exist in endless formats. Everything from crash diets, high protein, vegetarian, etc. exist and each claims to be the best approach. In regards to weight loss, the only scientifically proven approach is to fundamentally adopt a diet that creates a negative energy balance and focuses on good food quality to promote health¹. This is true for any food based diet (carnivore, vegetarian, vegan). To achieve this, people often jump to fad diets which are proven not to work. By itself, decreasing calorie intake will have a limited short-term influence². Worse, people often adopt medically-driven diets without personal medical cause and think these diets are healthier than they actually are. This leads to unfounded weight loss expectations³.

Weight loss requires a combination of exercise and healthy eating, but not all calories are created equal⁴. 100 calories of cake is not equal to 100 calories of spinach. Counting macros is an approach to monitoring your daily consumption of fat, carbs, and protein⁵. First calculate your energy balance (there are calculators to help with this⁶). Next, determine a target calorie intake. The basic rule of thumb is to consume 10-15% below what you’re burning everyday. Finally, break down your macro percentages and track against them (apps make it easy to do this). Ratios differ per individual based on fitness goals and body preferences, but the general starting point is 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fat⁵. With this approach you have flexibility in your diet while still maintaining your health.

Action: Break down your macro goals and track against them.

Further Reading:

1. Scientific evidence of diets for weight loss: Different macronutrient composition, intermittent fasting, and popular diets
2. Reducing Calorie Intake May Not Help You Lose Body Weight
3. Determinants of gluten-free diet adoption among individuals without celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity
4. Stop counting calories
5. Counting Macros Is a Smart Way to Lose Weight and Build Muscle
6. Body Weight Planner