Macro Talk

It’s been 9 days of tracking my macros.

Macros is short for macronutrients. They are the carbohydrates, fats and proteins that make up the calories in food.

Before 9 days ago, I would have sworn to you that I eat 3 meals a day. Once I measured it though, I can tell you I eat more than 3 meals a day.  It’s more like 5 or 6, if I hit proper calories.

Why would I want to weight and measure all the food I’m eating?

To get a clear idea of how much I’m eating and where those calories are coming from. Our own judgments about how much we’re eating probably aren’t accurate. I recently claimed to Taylor that I eat 4000 calories a day. He didn’t believe. I tracked for a random day to prove him wrong only to find that I had consumed only 2800.

You’ll estimates will be inaccurate until you look at the numbers.

How I started tracking and what I’m doing with the information.

For the first 3 days I just ate whatever I was going to. Except that I weighed it using a food scale. We’ve had ours for projects like this since 2015. I log the foods into MyFitnessPal. The next day I would repeat.

Despite thinking I was a consistent eater, my patterned seemed to be to under eat one day and then over eat the next. Missing a meal, or two would have a drastic effect on my overall intake and now I’m noticing how it can disrupt my planned training session in the afternoon.

I’m going to continue on for now and keep trying to have less fluctuations with my calorie consumption. This is a good yearly practice to get into. I did it for about 15 days last year in March and I gained some insights I’m still using. Specifically, I started drinking a daily protein shake and eating more oatmeal, both things I’m still doing.

If you’re looking to gain insights on how you’re eating, and need a clear health or performance focused goal, tracking your macros and calories may be beneficial.

Justin Miner

@justinminergain