macros for fat loss

Today we’re gonna be talking about macros for fat loss.

I promise I won’t go too deep and boring and all about the numbers, but instead hopefully give you a simple way to understand the fundamentals of it so you won’t ever have to stress about it.

So what are macros?

Macros is short for macronutrients, which in simple terms is the nutrients that we need in higher quantities ie. carbs, protein, and fat. Micronutrients on the other hand are nutrients that we need in much lesser quantities such as vitamins and minerals. I’ll touch on micros another day, today we figure out macros.

What does each macro do?

Simply put: protein helps build/preserve muscle, carbs provide physical and mental energy, fats help keep our hormones and health in check.

Different diets have very different macro ratios. Keto has very high ratio of fats and low in carbs while vegan is the opposite, high in carbs, lower in fat and proteins.

I’m sure you’ve seen all kinds of macro ratios thrown out there like 80/10/10, 40/30/30, 20/40/40 etc. The numbers are just percentages of macros from the total calories you’re eating so say 80/10/10 would be 80% carbs, 10% protein, 10% fats and if your daily diet is 1500kcal then that’s where you base the percentages off of.

Is there a best macro ratio for fat loss?

Nope. Not at all.

Regardless of what macro ratio you’re following, if you’re in a consistently calorie deficit you’re gonna lose fat. Doesn’t matter if you’re eating more or less carbs or fats or proteins in your diet, if you’re constantly eating less than your body expends, you’re gonna lose fat. There’s no secret macro ratio for fat loss. Fat loss primarily comes from the total amount of food you eat on a regular basis.

Of course with that said there are some general recommendations. No matter what your goals are it’s recommended that you have at least 30% protein in your diet. If you’re hitting 30% proteins, your fats and carbs ratio can really just be up to your preference (though don’t let either of them fall below 10%, they’re still essential nutrients to consume)

Why 30% protein? Cos consuming more protein regularly means whether you’re losing or gaining or maintaining weight you’d be building/preserving more muscle than you would otherwise. More muscles equals better health, higher metabolism, more strength, and just really better quality of life.

So for simple math, say you’re aiming for 1500kcal daily, 30% of 1500kcal would be 450kcal. So the aim for your daily diet would be to consume at least 450kcal worth of protein. That’s just how you work out the nitty gritty numbers. Same goes for carbs and fats.

Oh and I want to emphasize here that you absolutely DO NOT need to count calories or macros in order to lose fat. These are just one of the many many methods out there and all of them work. Find one that works for you, you don’t have to deal with numbers if you dread it. But I do hope at least from this letter you get a clearer idea of what macros mean when others are talking about it, and if someone’s trying to sell you some secret macro for fat loss you can spot immediately that it’s bullshit.

Any questions you have on more specific stuff on macros feel free to hit the reply button and ask, or head over to my IG and ask on the daily Q&As.

That’s it for now. Till the next one!

Hope you’re been well and safe!

—Po