What macros are & how to find yours

What's up Art of six pack . 

Sorry for the delay in the new post ,  anyway i am here to make it right.

Today we'll talk about a famous subject, macronutrients.

Some of you already know what's this, some of you don't.

Alright macros or macronutrients are the   protein, carbohydrates and the fats.

Every thing you eat has a specific number on both of these three.

For example a slice of whole grain bread has 2 gr of protein,  20 grams of carbs and 0 gr of fat.

So you give your body these numbers to process.

Carbs are the primary source of energy and by saying primary i mean that your body doesn't get energy only from the carbs. Think for a minute, if you haven't eat for many hours can you move, sure you can (a little bit).

Why you say,  cause the body has the ability to adjust and stay alive.

To get back on track, protein and fats give you also energy.

If the body doesn't have sufficient energy, it has to find from somewhere, this will be from what you eat (protein, fats) or from what you have (muscle, fat cells)

Protein is used to create new muscle tissue, from bicep to hair.

Fats are to support the system of our body, to be functionaly, it "controls" our testosterone for males.

Now let's move to the calories, i am sure you all know it.

Now calories come from protein, carbs and fats.

• 1 gr of protein has 4 calories
• 1 gr of carbohydrates has 4 calories 
• 1 gr of fat has 9 calories and 1 gr of alcohol has 7 calories

. As you can see fats contain a lot of calories.

 But this doesn't mean that they are bad.

As i said earlier, fats are crucial for our system to function properly.

Healthy fats are going to help with fat loss even.

On the other hand bad fats are going to ruin your fat loss.

Cause the body doesn't know how to utilize them, just as the alcohol so it stores them :-(

  

Now that we covered what they are let's move on how to find yours.

I am sure that you have heard "40/40/20 bro, Arnold used it" or 50/30/20 bro it's the best"

There numbers are the percentages of the calories.

With Carbs/Protein/Fats.

For example your calories are 2000

50% of them will come from carbohydrates (1000 calories)

30% from protein (600)

20% from fats (400)

To find how many grams you simply do maths

Carbs: 1000/4=250 gr

Protein: 600/4=150 gr 

Fats: 400/9=44 gr

Although they are a good guideline i believe it's better to have macro goals and not macro ratio.

It's like a suit, these percentages above are a one size suit for everybody.

Wouldn't you prefer a custom suit to fit you perfectly? 

If you answered yes then ok let's move on how to do it !

First you have to find your calories.

A very general way to find how many calories is by your bodytype.

Endomorphs- Slow metabolisms, usually store fat easier

                Bodyweight x 13 or 14

Ectomorphs- Fast metabolism, usually lose fat quicker

                Bodyweight x 16, 17 or 18

Mesomorphs- Naturally fit, average metabolism

               Bodyweight x 15

A other way to find your calories is by the Harris-Benedict equation, also known as the Harris-Benedict principle, is used to estimate what a person's BMR (basal metabolic rate) and daily requirements are. The person's BMR total is multiplied by another number which represents their level of physical activity. The resulting number is that person's recommended daily calorie intake in order to keep their body weight where it is. 

 This equation has limitations. It does not take into account varying levels of muscle mass to fat mass ratios - a very muscular person needs more calories, even when resting.

 How to calculate your BMR 

Male adults

 66.5 + (13.75 x kg body weight) + (5.003 x height in cm) - (6.755 x age) = BMR

 66 + ( 6.23 x pounds body weight) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.76 x age) = BMR

 Female adults

 55.1 + (9.563 x kg body weight) + (1.850 x height in cm) - (4.676 x age) = BMR

 655 + (4.35 x kg body weight) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age) = BMR

 You can use our BMR calculator below to work out your BMR. 

BMR calculator  

Applying levels of physical activity to the equation 

Sedentary lifestyle - if you do very little or no exercise at all

 Your daily calorie requirements are BMR x 1.2 

Slightly active lifestyle - light exercise between once and three times per week

 Your daily calorie requirements are BMR x 1.375

 Moderately active lifestyle - if you do moderate exercise three to five days per week

 Your daily calorie requirements are BMR x 1.55 

Active lifestyle - if you do intensive/heavy exercise six to seven times per week

 Your daily calorie requirements are BMR x 1.725

 Very active lifestyle - if you do very heavy/intensive exercise twice a day (extra heavy workouts)

 Your daily calorie requirements are BMR x 1.9

And one more way is by simply recording everything you eat  for a normal week, that your weight haven’t changed and that’s your calories.

The calories that you find should be maintance, that means that your weight wont change at all.

If you want to lose weight you cut calories if you want to gain you add calories, that simple.

But in a slow way, you don’t want to have 1000 calories difference.

We have talked about how you should change your calories in other posts.

Allright, now that we find how many calories you need lets move to macros !

Endomorphs- Slow metabolisms, usually store fat easier

Bulking (Gain Mass) : 

• Protein: 1.2-1.35 g/lb
• Fats: 0.4-0.6 g/lb
• Carbs: Fill in with remaining calories

Cutting (Lose fat):

• Protein: 1.35-1.5 g/lb
• Fats: 0.3-0.45 g/lb
• Carbs: Fill in with remaining calories

 Ectomorphs- Fast metabolism, usually lose fat quicker

Bulking (Gain Mass)  :

• Protein: 1.0-1.25 g/lb
• Fats: 0.3-0.5 g/lb
• Carbs: Fill in with remaining calories

Cutting (Lose fat): 

• Protein: 1.2-1.35 g/lb
• Fats: 0.25-0.4 g/lb
• Carbs: Fill in with remaining calories

 Mesomorphs – Naturally fit, average metabolism

Bulking (Gain Mass)  : 

• Protein: 1.1-1.3 g/lb
• Fats: 0.3-0.45 g/lb
• Carbs: Fill in with remaining calories 

Cutting (Lose fat): 

• Protein: 1.15-1.35 g/lb
• Fats: 0.2-0.4 g/lb
• Carbs: Fill in with remaining calories 

To have an idea of what to eat :

For Protein:

Boneless chicken breast

Boneless turkey breast

Cottage cheese

Tuna and most other types of fish (Salmon)

Egg whites

Low fat cheese or no fat cheese

Carbohydrate Choices :

Low-glycemic (slow-digesting): These carbohydrate sources enter your blood system slowly, causing less of an insulin spike. Low-glycemic carbs are ideal throughout the day, and include fruits, whole grains, oatmeal, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, and sweet potatoes.

High glycemic (fast-digesting): Fast-digesting carbs hit your blood stream quicker, causing insulin to spike. Fast-digesting carbs are ideal after a workout. Fast-digesting carbs include white bread, white potatoes, sugars, candy, gummy bears, Pixy Stix, and Swee Tarts. Tropical fruits are also typically fast-digesting.

When you're not actively training, you want a carbohydrate that is not only going to provide you a slow and long-lasting energy source, but isn't going to spike insulin, either. Any time you spike insulin, you increase your chance of storing body fat (except after a workout). To stay lean while you build muscle, most of your carbs should be slow-digesting.

Times you need fast digesting carbohydrates :

Right after you work out: You deplete glycogen levels while you train, so you need to restore glycogen levels with fast-digesting carbs. Spiking your insulin at this key time won't cause fat storage, but will enhance muscle growth.

Right after you wake up: you have been fasting for hours and your body needs carbohydrates. But in need a little bit of spike also to come to its normal level and to stop being catabolic.
But be careful, in the morning fast acting should be minimal, let’s say 1 banana is fine. You haven’t workout so you don’t want many high glycemic, your mainly source must be complex.

For Fats:

Egg yolks

Nuts (almonds, peanuts, walnuts, ect)

Olive oil

Avocado

Fish (salmon preferably)

Flax seed oil

Omega 3 (fish oil capsules)

Primrose oil

Just as carbohydrates, fats also have categories.

One is the good fats and the other is the bad fats.

Bad fats are butter,pizza,sweets …..

And just like high glycemic carbohydrates, bad fats also are being stored as fat, cause your body don’t know how to absorb them so it stores it, just like alcohol.

So if you want to drink or eat something bad, think it for a minute . 

Well that’s it guys and girls I hope  it will be useful.