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“Eating a variety and balance of each macronutrient ensures that you meet your micronutrient goals, which is also key in promoting good health."
OK, you might not have heard of the term “macronutrients” before, but you still eat them every day.
They are , and your body needs a lot of them – which is why they’re called “macronutrients,” not “micronutrients,” such as iron and zinc. Macros also provide your body energy: Each gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories; protein contains 4 and fat, 9. (The only other substance that feeds our bodies calories is alcohol, which has 7 calories per gram. But, since we don’t need booze to survive, it doesn’t get to be a member of the macronutrient club.)
For years, diets have ganged up on this-or-that macronutrient, as much as possible to lose weight. In the 90s, it was the fat-free craze. But then research found that healthy fats such as avocados, walnuts and olive oil can help you shed fat. For instance, one study in the British Journal of Nutrition shows that adults who eat the most unsaturated fat have lower body mass indexes and less belly fat than those who eat the least.
Then, in the early 2000s, the stormed onto the scene, and urged – even from fruits and veggies – and fill up on protein and fat. But some research disputes that approach. In one 2014 PLOS ONE study, when adults tried two different diets, one rich in whole grains and low in red meat and one low in whole grains and rich in red meat (both diets packed the same number of calories), they enhanced the diversity of their gut bacteria, lost more weight and body fat and improved their BMI more than when they swapped whole grains for red meat.
That brings us to today’s macro-focused diets, including The One One One Diet and the IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) diet, along with apps such as My Macros+ and Fitocracy Macros. These diets don’t cut macronutrients, but instead tell you to get them all.
“Carbohydrates provide us with energy as well as fiber, which improves heart and digestive health; protein is the building block for strong muscles and healthy tissues and also helps make hormones and enzymes; and fats help maintain healthy tissues and cells, ensure proper nerve and brain function and increase the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins,” says nutritionist Rania Batayneh, author of "The One One One Diet: The Simple 1:1:1 Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss." She adds: “Put simply, each macronutrient plays a very different role in keeping your body healthy, and skipping out on any one of them can compromise health.”
Counting Macros
The One One One Diet focuses on getting one serving of carbohydrates, one serving of protein and one serving of fat at every meal and snack. “Because every meal or snack contains a protein, a carb and a fat, you’re supporting each structure and function of your body with nutrients every few hours, which leads to overall health and wellness," she says. Plus, by combining them at each meal, you can stay full longer, keep your blood sugar from spiking, prevent fat gain, and give your muscles a constant supply of .
“Portion control is inherent in the diet and based on the formula when you stick with one of each of the macronutrients,” she says. For example, in The One One One Diet, a serving size of nut or seed butter (which would count as a fat), is 1 tablespoon, not 2 as indicated on the nutrition label. Some foods, count as two different macronutrients, for example, beans count as both a carb and protein, and cheese counts as a fat and protein. In her book, Batayneh provides a cheat sheet of common foods, their macronutrient classifications and serving sizes. Those serving sizes are critical to keeping your macro intake balanced as well as not overdoing it on calories.
Meanwhile, the If It Fits Your Macros diet requires a lot of math. You have to know how many calories your body burns in an average day, and eat 10 to 20 percent fewer calories every day than that number. Then you’ve got to split those calories so you get 40 percent of them from carbohydrates, 40 percent from protein and 20 percent from fat during the course of each day. ( to help you determine the number of grams of carbs, protein and fat you need daily.) It doesn’t matter when you get each of them. Meanwhile, drink plenty of water and make sure you’re getting a good bit of fiber from the foods you’re eating. It’s worth mentioning that while some nutritionists say this is a pretty healthy split, the diet was designed by competitive bodybuilders, not licensed health professionals.
For years, diets have ganged up on this-or-that macronutrient, as much as possible to lose weight. In the 90s, it was the fat-free craze. But then research found that healthy fats such as avocados, walnuts and olive oil can help you shed fat. For instance, one study in the British Journal of Nutrition shows that adults who eat the most unsaturated fat have lower body mass indexes and less belly fat than those who eat the least.
Then, in the early 2000s, the stormed onto the scene, and urged – even from fruits and veggies – and fill up on protein and fat. But some research disputes that approach. In one 2014 PLOS ONE study, when adults tried two different diets, one rich in whole grains and low in red meat and one low in whole grains and rich in red meat (both diets packed the same number of calories), they enhanced the diversity of their gut bacteria, lost more weight and body fat and improved their BMI more than when they swapped whole grains for red meat.
That brings us to today’s macro-focused diets, including The One One One Diet and the IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) diet, along with apps such as My Macros+ and Fitocracy Macros. These diets don’t cut macronutrients, but instead tell you to get them all.
“Carbohydrates provide us with energy as well as fiber, which improves heart and digestive health; protein is the building block for strong muscles and healthy tissues and also helps make hormones and enzymes; and fats help maintain healthy tissues and cells, ensure proper nerve and brain function and increase the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins,” says nutritionist Rania Batayneh, author of "The One One One Diet: The Simple 1:1:1 Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss." She adds: “Put simply, each macronutrient plays a very different role in keeping your body healthy, and skipping out on any one of them can compromise health.”
Counting Macros
The One One One Diet focuses on getting one serving of carbohydrates, one serving of protein and one serving of fat at every meal and snack. “Because every meal or snack contains a protein, a carb and a fat, you’re supporting each structure and function of your body with nutrients every few hours, which leads to overall health and wellness," she says. Plus, by combining them at each meal, you can stay full longer, keep your blood sugar from spiking, prevent fat gain, and give your muscles a constant supply of .
“Portion control is inherent in the diet and based on the formula when you stick with one of each of the macronutrients,” she says. For example, in The One One One Diet, a serving size of nut or seed butter (which would count as a fat), is 1 tablespoon, not 2 as indicated on the nutrition label. Some foods, count as two different macronutrients, for example, beans count as both a carb and protein, and cheese counts as a fat and protein. In her book, Batayneh provides a cheat sheet of common foods, their macronutrient classifications and serving sizes. Those serving sizes are critical to keeping your macro intake balanced as well as not overdoing it on calories.
Meanwhile, the If It Fits Your Macros diet requires a lot of math. You have to know how many calories your body burns in an average day, and eat 10 to 20 percent fewer calories every day than that number. Then you’ve got to split those calories so you get 40 percent of them from carbohydrates, 40 percent from protein and 20 percent from fat during the course of each day. ( to help you determine the number of grams of carbs, protein and fat you need daily.) It doesn’t matter when you get each of them. Meanwhile, drink plenty of water and make sure you’re getting a good bit of fiber from the foods you’re eating. It’s worth mentioning that while some nutritionists say this is a pretty healthy split, the diet was designed by competitive bodybuilders, not licensed health professionals.