Having a healthy body is such an important thing in life. Being healthy and fit helps you navigate life more easily and allows you person the pleasures of fully enjoying life with your loved ones and contribute positively to society. All this comes about because having a healthy body helps to ensure that you have a fresh mind ready and capable of handling daily activities to the fullest.
This is the reason why taking a bit of time to exercise and eat healthy is critical in life. Good exercises help in shedding off extra weight as well as keeping fit. There are also some other practices that you should not ignore if you want a healthy lifestyle, and one of these practices is to know the number of nutrients that you, as an individual, should be ingesting daily.
What are Macronutrients?
Macronutrients are a crucial part of any person’s diet. This is true whether a person is trying to lose weight or just trying to maintain their current weight. Some people are actually trying to add body mass, and knowing what macronutrients are is a good step for this goal as well.
So, what exactly are macronutrients?
Biologically, macronutrients can be described as the food substances that a person or indeed any living organism needs to consume in large quantities for their survival and growth. In most cases, these types of nutrients are needed to provide energy to these living organisms.
For humans, there are majorly three types of macronutrients; carbohydrates (also known as sugars), lipids (also known as fats), and proteins. The type of energy received from these micronutrients is typically provided by calories. Some people have preached the idea that calories are harmful to a person’s health, which is true in high unhealthy doses.
Another reason why calories are said to be unhealthy is that there are food types that produce unhealthy calories, but there are others whose calories humans actually need for survival. A good example is that 100 calories of a doughnut are less healthy than 100 calories of an avocado. An avocado is a lipid while a doughnut is a carb.
To be able to know the amount of macronutrients that an individual needs, one needs a macronutrient calculator.
Why Calculate Macros for Bodybuilding and Weight Loss
If you are interested in a healthy lifestyle, it is important to know the amount of macronutrients that you take in. This knowledge will prevent you from ingesting too many carbohydrates for your body, and hence help you to keep a healthy body. This knowledge also helps those who are trying to lose weight or to add to their body mass. When trying to add body mass, a person should add a little more of their normal calorie intake while if trying to lose some weight, a person is required to significantly reduce the amount of calorie intake for their body type.
On normal occasions, the count of calories in each of these macronutrients is as follows:
- Proteins contain four calories per each gram
- Carbohydrates contain four calories per each gram
- Lipids/fats contain nine calories per each gram
Having these basic numbers of calories for each of these macronutrients gives you a rough idea of the calories that you are ingesting. You can spend your time worrying and counting calories or you can just use a macro nutrient calculator. It will make your work much easier when compared to using your head and fingers to count the nutrients. This is messy, and you can easily lose track of your numbers.
Foods Containing Macronutrients
As earlier stated, macronutrients are crucial in the human diet. The internal organs like the kidneys, the heart, the brain, and all of the muscles require them in considerably large doses for their functionality. A good point to note is that carbohydrates that are indigestible are needed for the good health of the intestine. Another good point to take note of is that fats cannot be broken down in the body without the presence of carbohydrates; hence, it is imperative to eat them together.
Another fun fact to keep in mind is that tissue repair and growth depend on macros like proteins, and other macros like lipids are solely used for energy. If energy is not expended, this becomes excess energy and is stored in the body as fat. This is one reason why people gain excess weight within a short period of time.
There are certain specific types of food that contain great macronutrients. Foods like yogurt and other milk products produce good protein. Starchy types like potatoes, grains, and some types of fruits give out good carbs. There are other healthy foods which contain macronutrients but in lesser dosages, like beans, vegetables, and nuts.
Top Online Macro Nutrient Calculators
Tracking all the information of the amount of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates that a person should take can be challenging. This is the reason why a good macro nutrient calculator is required. One way to always be accurate on your macronutrient calculation is to search online for a good calculator. Here are a few great online macronutrient calculators.
- IIFYM calculator. This is a light weight yet fast, comprehensive, and easy to use calculator. It is also really accurate and you can rarely go wrong when using it.
- The MacroNutrient Calculator. This is another very comprehensive way to get your body in check. It is really easy to use, and the best part about it is that you can also get a free MacroNutrient Diet online book to use alongside it. Its accuracy is almost 100% and it is reliable.
- Another good and reliable calculator is the Macronutrient calculator from legion athletic.
- Macro Fit also offers a really efficient macro calculator.
- Bodybuilding.com is another online site which provides a great calculator.
Macro Nutrient Calculator Conclusion
There are a number of other great calculators to help you reach your body goals in good time and in a healthy way. You only need to be vigilant enough and dedicated, knowing that the end results will pay off to give you a better quality of life.
