Did you know that approximately 45 million Americans adopt a diet each year?
Diets can be a fantastic way to reach short-term fitness goals. However, the key to genuinely succeeding in and maintaining a noticeable body transformation is to create a sustainable plan. Learning to track calories and macros is proven to help nourish your body and reach long-term fitness goals.
So, what are you waiting for? Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about calories and macros and why they are the key to a sustainable body transformation.
What Are Calories?
Simply put, a calorie is a unit of energy. Every cell in the human body needs this energy to function, so calories are vital for humans to live.
All food types contain calories, and every individual should consume a minimum quota for their body to work correctly. This number depends solely on each person’s resting metabolic rate and activity level.
Eating enough calories during the day is crucial for a person to be healthy. However, measuring calories is also important when reaching a fitness goal that involves weight loss or gains.
For weight loss, an individual would need to consume fewer calories than they burn throughout the day. The body stores extra calories as fat, so constantly abusing the number of calories one consumes daily can cause weight gain.
Keeping track of calories is the best way to ensure that your body receives the necessary energy it needs to function. Eating significantly fewer calories than your body needs can harm your overall health, so always talk to a professional if you want to adopt a low-calorie diet.
What Are Macros?
Macronutrients, or “macros,” are carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Simply put, they are the major nutrients that provide the most energy to the body. Each of these groups plays a significant role in a person’s health.
In fitness, when someone says “counting macros,” it simply means measuring the number of grams you consume of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. The number of grams you should eat from each group depends on your personal fitness goals. As far as calories go, carbohydrates and proteins both have four calories per gram, while fats have nine calories per gram.
To reach your fitness goals, it is crucial to find the right balance of these nutrients, which is why many people have adopted macro tracking into their fitness routines.
Why Are Macros Important?
Although calories significantly impact weight loss, not all calories are created equal when reaching specific goals. This is where macronutrients come into account.
Think about it this way, eating 1,500 calories of fast food will not have the same effect on your body as eating 1,500 calories of healthy versions that contain vegetables, proteins and some quality fats. Sure, the caloric intake will be the same, but the impact on your body will be completely different.
Measuring macros will help you make smarter choices and allow your body to receive a more balanced food intake. Counting macros will ensure that you always provide your body with all the nutrients it needs to function correctly.
CALORIES VS. MACROS
The concept of calories vs. macros can often seem confusing because, many times, these elements don’t necessarily go hand in hand. That is, sometimes you will be focusing on macros, and your calorie intake will increase, or you will be counting calories and notice that you don’t reach the goal for all your macros.
The best way to get the most out of tracking calories and macros is to balance them out so that they work harmoniously towards your fitness goals. Speaking to a professional and/or getting a detailed assessment will help you learn exactly what your body needs.
Both calories and macros play a vital role in body transformation, so finding a balance is key to reaching a sustainable fitness journey. Even if your goal is weight loss and you know that you have to adopt an energy deficit diet (or calorie deficit), finding a way to balance your macros simultaneously will lead to an overall healthier lifestyle.
WHY TRACKING YOUR PROGRESS IS IMPORTANT
Keeping a log of the things you are doing to reach your fitness goals is a good way to stay on track and know what you have to improve during your journey. Measuring your calories and macros can help you optimize your results and lead you to a plan that you’ll be able to adopt as a lifestyle.
Having a clear idea of where you stand in your fitness journey can help you set realistic goals and have an easier time reaching them. Furthermore, it will make you feel accountable and motivate you to keep going.
Transforming your body and achieving prime health is not a linear process. Tracking fitness will allow you to have data on your specific journey and will make it easier to prepare for and avoid any obstacles that you might encounter along the way.
You can measure your fitness process in any way that works for you. Nowadays, there are many great apps and other tools like the Evolt 360 body composition scanner to help you do this.
REACH YOUR FITNESS GOALS
Embarking on a journey of body transformation requires a lot of hard work. Understanding the importance of calories and macros is a fantastic way of building a sustainable diet that works to reach all your fitness goals.
The body needs both calories and macros to function, so establishing a healthy balance is the best way to get your desired outcomes in the best way possible.
The easiest way to stick to your goals and modify them is to keep track of your journey. So, if you want to learn more about how you can do this with the renowned technology of the Evolt 360 body composition scanner, make sure to contact us!
