Understanding macros is the key to healthy eating!
If you ever tried to lose weight, you’ve probably heard of counting macros. We use this approach to make sure we're getting the right balance of nutrients in our diet. But what exactly are Macros?
Food can be categorized into three groups.
- Water: An essential for proper hydration
- Micronutrients: These include all vitamins and minerals
- Macronutrients: These are proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
All foods are either one or or a combination of proteins, fats, and/or carbohydrates. We're going to take a closer look at the difference between a protein, fat, and carbohydrate, and most importantly, discuss why they’re important.
Here is a quick overview of the three macronutrients:
- Protein: Protein builds muscle mass for large muscle groups and even your heart. Proteins comes from animal foods such as meat, dairy, and eggs, as well as plant sources like tofu, legumes, and whole grains.
- Fats: This macronutrient falls into two categories - good and bad fats. Avoid bad fats like trans fat, and opt for good fats like olive oil, avocado, salmon, and nuts.
- Carbohydrates: These macronutrients grow in the ground. Although often demonized for weight gain and other health issues, we can't survive with "carbs": the good ones contain fiber, which is essential for providing a steady release of glucose into the bloodstream to provide energy for the body.
It's essential to eat a proper balance of macros to ensure that your body receives all the nutrition it needs to function well. A Juno nutritionist can help you determine the exact breakdown for your needs, but generally we advise eating 10-30% carbs, 40-50% protein, and 30-40% fat.
Master macros with a custom meal plan!
Eating the right balance of proteins, fats and carbs, AKA macros, is essential for your health and for any long-term weight loss or weight management plan To help you prepare each week and leave nothing to chance when it comes to your health, we offer custom meal plans that we tailor to your exact macro needs.
Start by taking our survey to provide us information on your lifestyle and food preferences/restrictions. We then analyze your data and create the right combinations and food pairings. You then receive a personalized 1-week meal plan (up to 7 weeks total), a shopping list for each week, and easy-to-follow recipes for all dishes.
Look for those crossover hits!
Some foods offer an assortment of macros. This is great news, since these types of foods are delicious ways to get a variety of macros at once.
- Legumes offer protein and carbohydrates
- Nuts offer both protein and fat
- Avocados have fat, carbohydrates, and even some protein!
The takeaway? Eat a variety of foods to ensure you get the full balance of Macros every day.
Hit your targets with a custom meal plan
We simplify counting your macros by creating a Weekly Meal Plan that takes all of your personalized caloric intake requirements into account. Begin by taking our survey!
