ALL ABOUT MACROS

As we all know, health is not only about fitness but also about nutrition. There's a reason "abs are made in the kitchen" is spouted out any time people discuss health and wellness.

Before we dive in however, I want to be completely honest: I do not eat healthy all the time. At the end of the day I like tacos, pizza and krispy kreme as much as the next person and I do indulge. I mean, just look at those donuts... sometimes you just can't say no.

However, I also know my body well after having tried out many things from actual diets to juicing to counting every single macro that I ate. I really enjoyed counting macros when I did it {basically all of med school}. It forced me to be accountable for my choices and stay on track. I also had a lot of days where MyFitness Pal {my personal favorite app for this} was the only reason I ate enough food for the day or stopped myself from going over with a late night snack. And I also think it's pretty amazing that we can change our body compositions in a noticeable way just by tweaking macros here and there.

Now that I'm in residency, I've moved away from tracking macros and have focused more on intuitive eating--I still keep track of my macros but loosely. I don't document every little snack I have but I also have a good sense of what I'm putting in my body. Now, caveat: if I'm trying to really look my best for a vacation or some upcoming event, I do go back to counting macros because it's the best way for me to get results. And if I'm trying to gain muscle, I also count macros. As a result, that's what I will focus on for those who've never done it.

So first things first, what are macros? Macros is short for macronutrients and there are 3 of them: carbohydrates, proteins and fats. 

1 gram of fat = 9 kcal {calories}, 1 gram of carbs = 4 kcal, and 1 gram of protein = 4 kcal.

So, if you eat 60g fat + 140g carbs + 150g protein that equals a total of 1700 calories {60*9 + 140*4 + 150*4 = 1700}.

There are lots of free macro calculators online if you simply google it. I've used this one and this one before and like them both. You simply insert all your information and it will give you the amount of each macro that should be your daily goal. There are three overall goals to focus on: maintenance, fat loss or muscle gain. If you know any athletes or follow them on social media you'll know about "bulking season". Basically, in the colder months when you're already bundled up is considered a good time to increase your macros in order to gain muscle {aka lean gains}. Then, as you get closer to summer you can switch tactics and decrease your macros for the goal of fat loss. Once you've reached your goal weight, you can then calculate your maintenance calories to stick to that weight.

I would make a habit of recalculating maintenance calories if your weight changes a lot. Being 150 vs 130 lbs obviously leads to a significant difference in how many calories you can consume daily.

Protein is usually the macronutrient that everyone has questions about. My daily goal is to eat 1g of protein per lb of body weight. This is definitely hard if you aren't someone who has been a regular protein eater in the past. I don't have a hard time reaching that amount of protein anymore simply because a lot of my snacks are protein rich. I eat a lot of eggs, lean meats (turkey, chicken breast, occasional beef), cottage cheese and yogurt, and of course protein supplements like protein powder and protein bars.

I try to drink a ton of water but this is hit or miss for me just because of my work. It's the WORST to be in the OR and have to tell my attending that I need to scrub out because I literally can't hold my pee in {this has happened before...}. So on days that I know I'm operating a lot, I tend to get my water in at the end of the day {but not so late that i'm going to the bathroom all night}. On normal days, I carry my 33oz Camelbak and try to refill it twice (so about 100oz daily). My goal is 0.5 oz per lb of body weight and 100oz is well over that for me. I don't drink soda often, but my weakness is mango juice which I try to limit to a few indulgences here and there.

The number of meals per day is again something that varies drastically for me.  It just depends on what my work schedule is like that day — if it’s a busy day where I’m nin the OR a lot, I try to eat a big breakfast and I eat a LOT more snacks. On a regular day, I try to eat my 3 main meals and 3 snacks. I have an alarm on my phone that goes off every 2 hours just to remind me because even clinic days can get hectic. I also always have a protein snack or shake within an hour after my workout, usually on my way out the door.

Last but not least, a word about the tea detoxes that are all over social media. These are all a marketing ploy. Your body already has a liver which is an organ entirely devoted to detoxing so there is no need for an exogenous "detox" supplement. Secondly, the "teatoxs" only work because you are asked to replace a meal with the tea which effectively puts you in a caloric deficit {as long as you're not making up for it with your other meals}. The caloric deficit is what eventually leads to the weight loss, not the tea. You could honestly just buy some regular tea from the grocery store and do your own teatox without the markup. I hate that these teas try to sell the idea that the tea itself is somehow magic when it definitely is not. Obviously, to each their own but just do your research before spending the money on these--and definitely read their ingredients. I will now get off my soap box on this matter lol.

If y’all have any other questions for me, just let me know!