What Is A Macronutrient?

And why they matter for nutrition success

A macronutrient is simply the composition of the foods we eat. They are protein, fat, and carbohydrates and form the nutrient makeup of everything we consume.

They are often villainized for their role in the obesity epidemic, but the macronutrient makeup of food is nothing more than what it is. There are very few types of macronutrients that are inherently bad for you, such as trans fats. For most people, the poison is in the dose, as overeating any single type of macronutrient can lead to poor overall health outcomes. Understanding how they affect total caloric intake, personal eating preferences, and behavioral patterns is the key to controlling obesity. Many people lose weight and remain lean without fully understanding macronutrients.

However, as you’ll read below, learning about what they are and where they come from will help control and direct the types and amount of macronutrients you consume daily.

“Combinations of different foods, macronutrients, and fiber (which costs calories to process, too) will influence how much energy is required to digest the meal and what your net caloric profit actually is.” — Shawn Stevenson, Eat Smarter: Use the Power of Food to Reboot Your Metabolism, Upgrade Your Brain, and Transform Your Life

Protein: The King Maker

Protein is the most important macronutrient because of how it benefits your body in relation to the calories consumed. It also has a caloric burn due to digestion, which means a lower net intake of calories when compared to carbohydrates and fat. Lastly, protein is the most satiating macronutrient, so you’ll feel fuller for longer following protein consumption. At its most basic level, you can think of protein as the building material for the body because the amino acids in protein are used for cell and tissue construction and maintenance. Protein, such as those lean sources from chicken, turkey, red meat, and fish, helps maintain a lean and well-built body.

When I talk about macros, the first thing I address is the amount and type of protein consumed.

Fat and carbohydrates come second to protein, which seems to be the reverse due to the mainstream popularity of diets eliminating them.

“Calories count, but a calorie is not just a calorie, especially when it comes to protein calories.” — Tom Venuto, in The Body Fat Solution

Lean Protein Sources

• Animal sources: Lean beef, chicken, pork, turkey, bison, fish, shrimp, and eggs
• Dairy sources: Greek yogurt, milk, cottage cheese, low-calorie cheese, and Ratio protein products
• Alternative sources: Tofu, edamame, lentils, beans, and quinoa

Try my 28-Day Nutrition Skills Challenge to learn how to calculate the amount of protein you should be eating!

Carbohydrates: Horsepower

Carbohydrates like rice, grains, and potatoes are where you get fast energy (i.e., horsepower). There is nothing inherently wrong with getting some fast energy, but it is important to understand that these types of carbs are among the easiest of all foods to overeat and are often “trigger” foods for so many people. Being wary of the volume of starchy carbs you consume is one of the main nutrition principles most lean people abide by. If you are an athlete or work out a lot, then starchy carbs are essential for fueling high-quality performances.

The other sources of carbohydrates come in non-starchy forms, such as fruits and vegetables, and are much more macro-friendly overall. Fruits and veggies also provide you with numerous vitamins and minerals that you won’t get when eating a more standard American diet. It is important to consume lots of vegetables and some fruit with at least two of your main meals. For most non-elite level athletes, eating less starchy carbs and more non-starchy carbs with the total carbs at or less than 40% of our total caloric intake will go a long way for fat loss and maintenance.

Also, avoiding highly processed carbs most of the time is another foundational principle in a healthy, lean lifestyle.

Types of Carbohydrates

• Starchy carbs: Grains, rice, potatoes, cereal, corn, beans, oatmeal, yam, and plantains
• Non-starchy carbs: Vegetables and fruits

Fats: Sustainment

Fats are important for sustainment and provide some of the most healthful and essential nutrients in EFAs or Essential Fatty Acids. The richest source of EFAs comes from fatty fish such as Salmon. These types of omega-3 fats are highly heart-healthy and help optimize many of the body’s processes, including fat-burning.

Being mindful of consuming high-quality omega-3s has become increasingly prevalent due to the high quantities of omega-6 fatty acids that are found in modern diets. We evolved to eat a ratio higher in omega-3s but now consume a diet with ratios as high as 20:1 in favor of omega-6s. The inclusion of refined oils in the Western diet is primarily responsible for this shift and even more reason to monitor the types and amount of fat we consume.

The best types of fat are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, which also provide the critical omega-3s we need. Saturated fat has been villanized in the past in the same way carbohydrates have, but it is likely that cutting back on saturated fats won’t have any noticeable benefit. If anything, replacing saturated fats with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats will yield the best long-term benefit.

Finally, the worst type of fat that should be mostly avoided is trans fats. An article by the Harvard School of Public Health noted that:

“Trans fats are the worst type of fat for the heart, blood vessels, and rest of the body because they:

Raise bad LDL and lower good HDL;

Create inflammation— a reaction related to immunity — which has been implicated in heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other chronic conditions;

Contribute to insulin resistance;

Can have harmful health effects even in small amounts — for each additional 2 percent of calories from trans fat consumed daily, the risk of coronary heart disease increases by 23 percent.”

Types of Fats

• Monounsaturated fats: Olive, peanut, and canola oils; nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans; seeds such as pumpkin and sesame seeds; avocados
• Polyunsaturated fats: Sunflower, corn, soybean, and flaxseed oils, walnuts, flax seeds, and fish
• Saturated fats: Pizza and cheese; whole and reduced fat milk, butter and dairy desserts; meat products (sausage, bacon, beef, hamburgers); cookies and other grain-based desserts; a variety of mixed fast-food dishes
• Trans fats: Partially hydrogenated oils; ideal for frying fast foods, a mainstay in restaurants and the food industry — for frying, baked goods, and processed snack foods, and margarine.

Learning about the types of macronutrients can go a long way in helping you decide what and how much to eat. However, knowing about them is not enough.

You must also learn how to calculate the amount of calories you need to eat every day to reach your goals and how each macronutrient factors into that number. Then, you must learn how to eat in a way that allows you to stick to those numbers.

This is the genesis of nutrition coaching and why so many people hire someone to help them navigate the process.

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