Wherever you look, there’s another seemingly perfect diet popping up, promising to solve all your eating troubles and help you fit into your college jeans. From paleo, keto, to intermittent fasting and vegan, different diets come with various challenges, especially if you want to lead a healthy, balanced life, shed a few pounds, and still retain your energy.
Although some diet systems are indeed healthy, especially when they are designed for a specific purpose such as boosting heart health, there are some core principles to each diet that make sense, and that includes being mindful of your macronutrient intake. To help you understand what macronutrients are and how you can create a balanced eating regime by taking care of consuming enough of each, we’ve created this simple, but practical guide.
Understanding Our Three Macronutrients
There are three macronutrients that make up all our meals: carbs, protein, and fats. Your daily macronutrient needs will depend heavily on your age, gender, activity levels, but also your current health and any preexisting issues, as well as your goals.
- Carbs are your main source of energy, as your body breaks down carbs into glucose and uses it to keep you functioning. Healthy carbs come from veggies, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and it’s always best to reach for whole food sources instead of processed goods.
- Proteins are made of amino acids, the building blocks of life, and your body uses them to build lean muscle as well as organs, bones, hair, to keep you strong, and many other essential processes.
- Fats are vital for brain development, and they help your body absorb micronutrients such as fat-soluble vitamins (vitamin E, A, D, and K). Since they are the most caloric of all three, they help you feel full for longer, and you don’t need to consume too much to reach your daily needs.
Apps To The Rescue
Knowing what macros are is a great place to start, now it’s time to put them to use. When you prepare your meals and you create a plan for your weekly eating regime, you also need to keep yourself in check – it gets too easy to much on something sweet when you’re in a hurry, right?
So, using an app to track your macros is one of the easiest ways to follow your diet plan and see how your macronutrient intake is impacting your energy and wellbeing. You can adapt your meals in quantity and quality, introduce or eliminate snacks and beverages, all to accommodate your daily energy needs and fitness goals, when you have an overview of your food choices.
Delivered Meals For More Convenience
In the modern world, few people have the time or the energy to spend hours each week preparing home-cooked meals that match their macronutrient needs. It’s hard enough to track them to begin with, let alone worry about the right ingredients. To avoid this hassle, many people go for a dedicated meal plan delivery with all the right meals prepared to provide the perfect, balanced macronutrients from organic, fresh foods.
Unlike old-school fast-food meals, these healthy alternatives are designed to help you track your calories and macros alike, and they help you stay on track with your health goals. Ever since the pandemic has started, this has become an increasingly popular choice for busy people doing their best to stay healthy and resilient, while saving a lot of time in the process.
Sources Matter Too
Whether you decide to have all your weekly meals delivered, or you choose to cook some of them yourself, finding the right food sources matters, too. Not all protein is created equal, much like not all fats are healthy, and not all carbs will give you the same kind of steady energy release that you need.
For instance, healthy protein sources vary from fatty fish such as salmon, but also dairy for those who can tolerate it, and eggs, in addition to lean chicken, beef, and other meats. As for carbs, go for fresh veggies, fruits, and grains that aren’t processed, which means they retain more of their nutritional value. Healthy fats are found in fatty fish, but also nuts and seeds such as walnuts and cashews, which can be a great snack between your meals.
Divide And Conquer
Now that you have a clear idea as to how much of each macronutrient you need to incorporate in your diet, and you’ve found the perfect ideas to do so, you should also time your meals well. If you exercise regularly and have all kinds of energy-demanding tasks during the day, leading a healthy life starts with providing your body with enough fuel throughout the day.
Instead of pouring all of your daily carb needs into your early morning, you should find a way to incorporate more protein and a bit of healthy fats in your breakfast, too. There are all kinds of simple and delicious recipes to allow you to just that, and then divide the rest of your macros evenly throughout the day to keep your energy levels high.
Leading a fast-paced life can make it a little more challenging for you to keep track of when and how much you eat, let alone pick every single ingredient with care. Thankfully, we have simpler ways to fill our nutritional gaps and still manage to track our macros, no matter the diet we choose. Use this knowledge to build up a healthy lifestyle that will help you feel good, burst with energy, and achieve any goal you set your mind to.
Author Bio
Sophia Smith is an Australian based fashion, beauty and lifestyle blogger. She is very passionate about organic beauty products, yoga and healthy lifestyle. Sophia writes mostly in beauty and lifestyle related topics, mainly through blogs and articles. She is regular contributor at High Style Life and Ripped.
