Quote (Greet @ May 23 2014 03:36pm)
What is this whole macros spheal that I read about?
Macros are protein, carbs, and fat.
protein and carbs have 4 cals per gram, and fat has 9 cals per gram.
An extension of carbs, alcohol, has 7 cals per gram, but is not technically a macro.
Your body requires protein above all else for proper functioning. Your body can survive on protein only, without carbs and fat, much longer and better than other other SINGLE macro. That being said, the body doesn't require THAT much protein either, approximately 1-1.5g per pound of bodyweight for an extremely athletic person on a strength training routing. For fat, the body requires a certain amount of fat for proper hormone regulation, particularly good fats for cholesterol regulation. Generally, 50-100g of fat per day is fine in anyone, as long as the total calories are in order with your diet. Lastly carbs - these are the macros you need to take care with. Once protein and fat are accounted for, the balance of your diet will most likely be with carbs (unless you are on keto or a hard cutting cycle). Carbs have two varieties, slow and fast digesting. The slow digesting carbs, aka complex carbs, come from sources such as whole grains, sweet potatoes, beans, fibrous vegetables, etc. Fast digesting carbs, aka simple carbs, come from mostly sugar based items and simple items, such as white rice, white flour, ice cream, soda, certain fruits, etc. In general, the more complex the carbs, the less insulin response, and thus the least amount of total fat gain in a set period of time. However, insulin response is desirable at certain times of the day, such as immediately post workout with protein. I could literally go on and on about this forever, but I think you must get the idea by now. Here are two of my posts below that may also help.
http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=21269614&f=60&p=463524775What macros do I need?
http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=21269614&f=60&p=414355941How to calculate exact macros based on calories and percentages