The Benefits of Counting Macros
Macro counting really isn’t as scary as it may seem. Like anything new we learn, it simply takes a little time and effort for us to “get good” at it.
When I first started counting macros, I didn’t even know what a macro was! (It’s short for macronutrient, by the way). I had to learn every part of macro counting – and lemme tell ya, it was a challenge! But compared to every other diet, macro counting worked for me. Traditional diets made me work for the diet… meaning I would have to alter my life in order to follow rigid rules and restrictions it said I “must do” in order to see results. Not fun. Or sustainable. That’s why I think I’ve tried every diet out there. None of them stuck because they were just too hard to follow long-term. When I continued learning more about macro counting, I saw how macro counting was helping me live my life.
Macronutrients are;
protein
carbohydrates (carbs)
fats
Those three components make up all the foods we eat.
When we understand which proportion of those to eat according to our body and goals, we can begin to count these macros by tracking the foods we eat in order to see results! Cool, huh? But reading nutrition labels, using a macro counting app… it was super intimidating to me at first! I had to take it one day at a time. And when I did, wow did it change my life.
You see, there’s this chain of events that follows starting this journey of macro counting. When you take that first step, you make bigger strides in learning about nutrition. This knowledge helps you become more aware of yourself, what you enjoy eating, and dispel myths surrounding food. Once you feel confident in these areas, you can begin a journey away from a more strict macro counting lifestyle to what we refer to as an “flexible” approach – because you’ve built a foundation knowing what your body needs! That’s what makes macro counting so amazing. It isn’t a diet. It’s a lifestyle you learn to follow that adapts as you grow and evolve in your own fitness journey!
So here I want to give you 6 benefits (as if you need more reasons…) that I’ve found to counting macros in hopes you’ll see how it can work for your life as well!
6. Backed by Science & Success Stories
I get it. I need to “see it to believe it,” too. But let me be the first one to tell you that macro counting is not some Joe-shmo’s diet of “what’s best” because it may have worked for one guy one time. Macro counting uses calculations according to your lifestyle, your goals, and your body! It’s proven that we need all three macronutrients for our body to function optimally (click here to read more).
Once those calculations are made, you learn how your body responds to the numbers of carbs, proteins, and fats, and make adjustments as necessary. Perhaps your life changes (new job, new goal, pregnancy, etc.) and you need to make larger adjustments – macro counting allows you to do so in a safe and effective way!
Don’t take it just from me. Sure, you know I’ve had success with macro counting… but my husband Joshua and I have helped over 12,456 women use macro counting to give them the body of their dreams – and keep it…here’s just a couple of incredible transformations that we’ve been humbled to be apart of their journey…
5. Become Educated About Food & Gain Confidence
Macro counting helped educate me on so many lies I once believed surrounding food. There are so many publications, and let’s be honest, social media accounts, that promote various food myths in hopes to sell a product or idea. Macro counting helped me realize how flawed my view of food was. It taught me that carbs don’t make me fat, there is no one-size fits-all “magic” calorie intake, and that my body needs all the macronutrients for energy to function best! It showed me that results really aren’t that complex or complicated. It just took my willingness to put in the work. I learned that carbs helped my brain function. I learned that my body was capable of so much more than I gave it credit for. My body composition began to change in a positive way – even though I was eating more. My stomach wasn’t bloated all the time, and my muscles were becoming more defined.
When I started learning these things, I was able to gain the confidence I so desperately wanted because I knew what I was doing was best for my body. And I FELT better, too. I learned that I could eat a bagel for breakfast and still reach my goals. When I started eating more overall calories in my day, I was able to live more freely. Not only that, there were no more “off limits” foods. There was no list of “good” or “bad” foods – because those things don’t exist! When I started realizing that I could fit any food I wanted to eat in my daily macros, I was no longer obsessed with what I could or could not eat. I was able to live my life.
I also learned that this journey of macro counting is one that transforms with me. I learned the tools I need to continue using macro counting no matter my phase of life or goal I have. The skills I learned don’t apply to one moment in my life… but for every moment in my life. This gave me confidence to keep going while reaching my ever-changing goals.
4. Improved Workout Performance
I think this is one of my favorite benefits to counting macros. (Okay, I could say that about them all…) But seriously – seeing my workouts exponentially improve from eating the nutrients I needed was a GAME. CHANGER. I didn’t realize how much my workouts were really suffering. So, before I started macro counting, I thought that carbs would make me fat. So I avoided them at all costs. When macro counting told me to start eating carbs to fuel my body… I was SUPER skeptical. I mean, for so long I had believed that they were the reason I couldn’t get the body I really wanted. But I knew that I needed to change what I was doing and macro counting was teaching me that.
So I started eating carbs and my body responded accordingly. I had more energy in the day. My brain didn’t feel so hazy and foggy. I could remember things (without fifteen reminders and notes stuck to my forehead), I didn’t want to collapse from exhaustion, and I didn’t feel so weak all the time! So when I went to the gym, I noticed I was able to lift with more purpose, and I wasn’t getting burnt out two sets in! In fact, I noticed my strength improving in weeks simply because I had the energy to lift heavier! Plus my body was able to actually build the muscle I was working so hard for since I was eating the proper amounts of protein. Working out and feeling stuck is never fun. Macro counting helped me overcome so many plateaus in my lifts!
3. It Doesn’t Consume Your Time
Following a diet can be time consuming. Here’s what I mean. When I was trying to do things my own way, I would spend hours trying to prepare all my meals, making sure they didn’t break any of the rules I needed to follow. I was constantly worried about what I was eating and I would never let myself eat away from home. Not only that, I had to keep up with all the things I could or couldn’t eat. I had to analyze every food choice. I had to come up with excuses that got me out of family parties or social outings. All of THAT was more time consuming than macro counting has ever been. I promise.
Once I learned the basics of macro counting, I was able to spend less time obsessing over food and instead take steps to help me be successful throughout the week. Like creating simple meal preps so I wouldn’t use excuses like, “I don’t have anything to eat,” to keep me from staying on track. I found that if I spend 2 hours (3 at most maybe) on a Sunday afternoon, I could prepare a protein source and some vegetables and/or rice to have food readily available for me to simply “grab and go” from the fridge. Eventually I was able to find “staple” meals I enjoyed and now I rotate amongst those, knowing I’m staying on track while still eating what I love. I also found that I learned to keep my fridge and pantry stocked with a wide variety of nutritious foods making snacking options easy!
As I really grew comfortable with macro counting, I was able to start being less strict because I knew what my body needed and had a handle on what that looked like day-to-day. Especially when using my staple foods! I was confident in my choices and knew I was still giving my body what it needed!
2. Go Out to Eat Without Guilt
Macro counting works whether you’re eating at home or away from home. With the luxury of the internet, it doesn’t take long to find the nutritional information for most large restaurants online. That means when planning a night out, you can simply plan ahead for the meal, making sure you’re ordering what you really want to eat at the restaurant and still stay on track! No more restricting the whole day (only to binge at the restaurant because you’re so hungry) or “making up” for the meal the next day (or week) at the gym or on the cardio machine. Macro counting is the tool that goes with you, remember?
That means your freedom to go out and enjoy life will return! I remember nearly crying when I realized I could eat at my favorite restaurants and still stay on track with my goals. And it wasn’t like I had to order the “lightest” thing on the menu. I could order what I really wanted to eat… the burger, the sandwich, the steak… whatever I wanted! I didn’t have to order a plain, boring salad anymore. And you can, too!
Not only that… there were times when I didn’t know the nutritional information for the restaurant. Usually that would terrify me. But macro counting gave me the freedom to eat in these situations with mindfulness. I was educated about what I needed (protein, fat, and carb) for a balanced meal, and so I would choose wisely on the menu but wouldn’t freak. I knew that one “non-perfectly” tracked meal (or even an entirely untracked one) wouldn’t ruin my progress. And when I allowed these moments in my life, I wouldn’t find myself going on a binge from deprivation! I would simply get back on track with my next meal (or the next day).
Which leads me to benefit number one…
1. More Likely to Stick With Your Plan
Other diet plans are rigid and strict. They give you mounds of rules. We all know that as soon as someone says “don’t touch that” we want to immediately “touch that”! And restricting ourselves for so long just gets exhausting. No one wants to always so “no” to girls’ night or date night. It’s almost impossible to keep telling yourself you don’t really want to enjoy a cupcake or a donut (or whatever other tasty treat you’ve been told you can’t eat) every now and then without “falling off track” for months at a time.
I get it. I’ve been there. More than once. Because every other diet would have me in a cyclical pattern of dieting really hard to getting frustrated with being deprived to eating everything in sight to restricting myself even more to make up for my mistakes. I was miserable.
Macro counting (if you haven’t caught on by now), is the most versatile way to transform your lifestyle. Not only does macro counting teach you how to fuel your body optimally, but it transforms as your life does. There aren’t strict lists of foods you can and can’t eat. There is literally nothing off limits! No social situations can keep you from reaching your goals.
It takes time to learn – like anything we learn in life - but it is in the learning process that we mend our relationships with food and ourselves. We learn how adaptable and amazing our bodies are. And we see the results we’ve been chasing all that time – while fully embracing life to the fullest. That’s what makes this so easy to sustain long-term. It doesn’t feel like a “plan.” It isn’t a “diet.” It simply becomes a way of life!
So are you ready to achieve your goals without sacrificing the food you love forever??
If so, I’ve created a simple program called Macro Counting Made Simple Online Academy and it has helped over 12,400+ women finally create happy, healthy and sustainable results, are you next?
Got questions? I’d love to start a conversation with you in the comments below!