Counting Calories? Or Counting Macros? 

I've been looking at different posts on My Fitness Pal forums and watching youtube videos, and I became curious between the difference of counting calories and counting macronutrients. It seems that both way works for different people, but what really is the difference between the two methods? Does one benefit more than the other? Today I sat down and did some research, and I learned some interesting things. 

Since my new diet plan, I have started counting my calories. At first, it was hard to track everything I ate. It seemed like a very tedious task, but after a couple weeks, it became a natural habit to record things. It also made me realize how much more calorie dense some things were than I thought. 

I did a little bit of research and came across this blog. This advid blogger mentioned a LOT of things between the calories and macros, as well as how about the two different methods work and work together. 

Here is a summary of information I picked up from his blog:  

• Protein: 4 calories per gram 
• Carbohydrate: 4 calories per gram 
• Fat: 9 calories per gram 
• Alcohol: 7 calories per gram 
• Taking the weight of the specific macronutrient and multiplying it by the number of calories per gram of that macronutrient allows you to arrive at the number of calories in that food item. 

• To be more accurate with your food measurements, go to "Calorie King" for more detailed information. It is suggested to use grams or ounces to be more accurate than approximating the size of the portion.

He recommends counting macros over calories, not only because it's more accurate for when you're trying to build muscle, but also because it essentially ends up as counting calories as well (simple calculation conversion will give you calories). 

I think this is a good idea as well, because if you hit your macros accordingly, you can assume that you've hit your calorie needs for the day as well. On the contrary, if you hit your daily caloric needs, it doesn't mean that you've hit all the required macros. You may have had more calories from fat than protein, for example. 

I also searched on youtube to see what some people recommended for counting macros, and I came across one useful video. According to the video, their method of calculating macros was derived from multiplying your weight with a "scale of intensity" between 12 to 15. 12 being working out 1-3 times a day with moderate intensity, and 15 being working out 5+ times a week with higher intensity of physical endurance. 

Typically, there are two methods: 40/40/20 and 50/30/20 (carbs/protein/fat) method. Myfitnesspal members recommend a 40/40/20 for maintenance or cutting phase, and the 50/30/20 for bulking. Here is what my macros would be broken down to in terms of grams and calories for a cutting phase. 

I am definitely going to try start counting my macros instead of my calories now. When I count my calories, I find that it's very easy to become obsessive over it. With macros, I think it would give me a more satisfactory feeling because I'll know that not only have I hit my caloric goal, I have also gotten an approximate "balance" of macronutrients for my changing body :) 

To start this new "diet" plan, my boyfriend and I went grocery shopping today! We ended up spending a LOT more than we planned, because we got a couple where if you spent $200 you get a free mini lawn chair.... I ended up buying a big suntanning lawn chair to rack up the bill :P 

Strawberries, blueberries, apples, lemons, mushrooms, extra lean ground beef patties, chicken filet breasts, natural pepperoni sticks, fat free and high protein yogurt, roti, and ristorante pizza :) 

I also pre-measured the weight of my chicken and beef, and also wrote down the macros on them so it'll be much easier to just record them as I'm cooking :) 

Wish me luck!!