What is the best macro split for fat loss and muscle gain???
Or what is the perfect macro split or ratio???
Macros (Protein, Fats, & Carbs): These are what make up the calories you eat.
Macro Split: The percentage of calories that come from each macronutrient, (Protein, Fats, & Carbs) that you should have at every meal, or throughout the day for optimal health and performance.
First I would like to say that a"Perfect Ratio" doesn't exist. Just like there is no one-size-fits-all diet, there is no one-size-fits-all macro split. However, that doesn't mean that there isn't one macro split that works better for you. My goal here is to try to help you find it.
So let's look into a few Macro Splits that you've might have heard of:
30/20/50 which is a Moderate Protein/ Low Carb/ High Fat split
30/35/35 which is a Moderate Protein/ Moderate Carb/ Moderate Fat which is a well-balanced macro split and,
25/50/25 is a Low to Moderate Protein/ High Carb/ Low Fat split
(The first number being protein, the second number being carbs, and the third number being fats.)
Before we take a better look and these ratios I would like you to conduct a simple experiment that will help you determine what macro split is best for you. This experiment will help you understand your own body which is very important in long-term success. Once you know your body, and what it needs, reaching your goals becomes easier and you'll get the most out of your overall health and fitness.
The goal is to feel strong, energetic, and in control, so it will be a good idea to pick a macro split that does that.
The bottom line is that this experiment will require you to listen to your body. Listening to your body includes your hunger cues, energy level, cravings, mood, motivation, digestion, focus, and sleep quality.
Simple Very Effective Experiment
You'll conduct this simple experiment over the next 3 days.
What we essentially want to do here is play around with 3 different setups, and identify which one makes you feel the best.
Below, I've provided some example meals.
Everyone's portion needs will be different, especially depending on your goals, so I've included a range.
If you know what your calorie target is based on your goal, feel free to use that.
If you don't, I break down the numbers below, so don't worry too much about this right now.
Day One: You will focus on having moderate protein, low carb, high-fat meals.
Breakfast: 2-6 eggs make an omelet with 2-3 servings of veggies cooked with butter or olive oil and a couple of slices of avocado.
Lunch: 3-6 oz of Chicken with 2-3 servings of vegetables make into a salad.
Dinner: 4-6 oz of Salmon with 2-3 servings of vegetables.
(Feel free to include some Jerky, Almonds, or other nuts for a snack.)
Day Two: Your focus will be on having moderate protein, moderate carb, moderate fat meals.
Breakfast: 3-4 eggs with ham or bacon make an omelet with a bowl of fruit salad (banana, apple, and grapes for example).
Lunch: 3-6 oz of Turkey with 2-3 servings of vegetables, make into a salad, with some fruit.
Dinner: 4-6 oz of Steak with 2-3 servings of vegetables and some sweet potato or any potato of your choice.
(Feel free to snack on some fruit.)
Day Three: You'll focus on having low to moderate protein, high carb, and low-fat meals.
Breakfast: 2-3 eggs on toast with a banana or fruit of your choice.
Lunch: 3-6 oz of Shrimp with 2-3 servings of vegetables make into a salad with some fruit.
Dinner: 3-6 oz of Chicken with 2-3 servings of vegetables with 1/2 a cup of rice and/or beans.
(Feel free to snack on some fruit.)
I would like you to keep in mind that foods that resonate well with one person's body may not resonate so well with yours.
So of course, if you don’t like the meal suggestions above please feel free to swap them around and if you are allergic to any of these foods please do not eat them. Just make sure you stick to the above splits of macronutrients (protein, fats, and carbs).
But what if you don't eat breakfast, what should you do?
So if your someone who doesn’t eat breakfast that’s fine, still stick to the allotted macro suggestions the best you can.
What if you don't eat 3 meals a day, because you usually just snack throughout the day, what should you do?
If you tend to eat smaller meals throughout the day and you normally just snack throughout the day, that’s fine too, just stick to the allotted macro splits.
Note: If you can't or don't wish to stick with the suggested macro splits for each day then you'll want to at least follow the suggested macro split for your first meal of the day, regardless if it's breakfast or not or what time of day it is.
The idea is that after every meal and especially at the end of the day I just want you to assess how you feel, based on these 4 factors:
1. How satiated did you feel?
2. Did you feel energetic or lethargic?
3. How was your concentration, was it good or not so good?
4. Did you have any strong cravings, 1-2 hours afterward?
(I mean strong cravings, we all get cravings here and there. You just don't want to find yourself with cravings that are so strong that you end up binging on donuts.)
What you are looking for is the macro split that gives you the most positive outcome. The meals that made you feel satiated, satisfied, gave you good energy, and allowed for good concentration with no cravings is the meal that I would like you to identify.
Foods that you eat should make you feel good, happy, and satiated. This experiment should help you identify the food combination that generally makes you feel on top of the world so you can build the rest of your diet based on your energy response from this experiment.
Let's Break Down The Numbers
Now trying to figure out your macros can be super confusing (it was for me at first), so I'm going to break this down for you.
Day 1 Example
If you felt your best with the Day 1 Example which was moderate protein, low carb, and high-fat meals that's more of a 30/20/50 split.
First, you'll set a calorie target based on your goal.
We are going to use a quick and easy formula to set up the calories and we will use a goal weight of 130 lbs for this example.
(Your Goal Body Weight x 12 = Calories.)
130 x 12 = 1,560
30% of the calories will come from protein, 20% will come from carbs, and 50% will come from fats.
So this macro split will look like this 117g/ protein, 78g/ carbs, 87g/ fats.
Something I would like you to keep in mind is that even though lowering your carbs can help with fat loss (if you are in a calorie deficit), just be careful to not lower them so much that you end up increasing your appetite, lowering your energy levels, and your cravings are so strong that you end up binging on Oreos and Ice Cream.
The Oreos aren't the problem, the ice cream isn't the problem. It's when they start controlling your thoughts, that's when you should know something is off. At this point you should look into adjusting your macros by looking at the type of carbs you're eating, increasing your protein and/ or adjusting your fat intake, or improve your micronutrient intake, (yes micros matter!).
Carbs help with energy and having more carbs on days you workout can be beneficial because you'll have more energy to be able to lift. Now you don't have to eat carbs around your workout, but in some cases, it might help, depending on the type of workout you will be doing. If fat loss is your goal, try eating those carbs after your workout and preferably higher quality carb sources like fruit, sweet potatoes, etc. Now if you want to have a brownie, then this is the time to have it because the carbs you eat right after a workout will more than likely be used up by your muscles.
I do want you to keep in mind that the amounts of carbs you need to support your health, happiness, and fitness goals are unique to you.
Day 2 Example
If you felt your best with the Day 2 Example which was moderate protein, moderate carb, moderate fat meals that's more of a 30/35/35 which is a pretty well-balanced macro split.
Using the same example as above:
(Your Goal Body Weight x 12 = Calories.)
130 x 12 = 1,560
30% of the calories will come from protein, 35% will come from carbs, and 35% will come from fats.
The macro split will look like this 117g/ protein, 137g/ carbs, 61g/ fats.
Day 3 Example
If you felt your best with the Day 3 Example which was low to moderate protein, high carb, and low carb meals that's more of a 25/50/25 split.
Using the same example as above:
(Your Goal Body Weight x 12 = Calories.)
130 x 12 = 1,560
25% of the calories will come from protein, 50% will come from carbs, and 25% will come from fats.
The macro split will look like this 98g/ protein, 195g/ carbs, 43g/ fats
I want you to keep in mind that fats are important for overall health so you don't want to avoid or eliminate them completely, they are beneficial for your hormone regulation.
Now regardless of whichever one of these macro splits you felt best on you’ll be making modifications using feedback from the progress your making, not on your initial calculations. This is how you’ll optimize your food intake for your individual needs.
Should You Track Macros
The cool part about tracking your macros is you can educate yourself and find out what percentage of what is coming from which foods. And this is where you can start understanding your own body and bring awareness to your food choices.
If you had more carbs on one day and you felt really good, then you can have a higher carb diet, you’ll still need to keep your calories in check though. Or maybe you noticed that on the day you had more carbs you felt more lethargic and in general you didn't feel that good, then maybe you'd want to try to have a higher fat diet. Either way, keep in mind that as long your calories and protein are in check then you're good.
To get a better idea of how much you are eating and of what foods, then diving into your macros will definitely give you a better idea.
I want you to know that counting your macros or following a certain macro split isn’t a “type of diet”. All this does is give you more knowledge, more tools in your toolbox, and gives you a better idea of what your overall nutrition looks like.
This should and will empower you to make the right choices for your overall health and fitness goals.
A tool is only as good as the job it does. So, if tracking your macros truly works for you, you genuinely enjoy it, you find it empowering and interesting, and your meeting your goals with ease, then keep doing it.
Calorie Counting Vs Macro Counting
With macro counting, calories are divided between three main macronutrients: protein, fats, and carbs. (Alcohol is also a macronutrient and could be tracked if desired.) Rather than counting calories specifically, you keep track of how many grams of each macronutrient you’re eating. (This indirectly tracks calories too, since macronutrients make up the calories in food and drinks.)
When your tracking calories your tracking 1 number when your tracking macros you’re tracking 3 numbers.
With either method, you’d ideally use a food scale and/or measuring tools (like cups and/or measuring spoons) to weigh and measure your food at nearly every meal. You’d also be searching a calorie database (like MyFitness Pal, Cronometer, or Mike’s Macros, etc.) to find and log the nutritional value of what you’re eating or you might use nutrition labels to manually calculate your food intake.
Calorie and macro tracking aren’t 100% accurate, but they’re the most precise methods available outside of a lab.
(Important note: If you decide to estimate your serving sizes instead of weighing and measuring your food this method becomes less accurate.)
By tracking macros or calories, you become more aware of how many calories are in everything you eat and drink.
When you're just starting out it's usually easier to first track the overall calories you are eating because in order to lose fat you'll need to be in a calorie deficit.
Second, you’ll want to track your protein intake because out of all three macronutrients, protein is the only one that helps build and maintain your muscle mass and strength while you are on a calorie deficit. This is super important when you are losing fat because protein will help you feel fuller for longer than carbs and fats do which will prevent you from overeating while you are in a calorie deficit and like I just mentioned it will help keep your strength up as well. These are some of the reasons that out of the three macronutrients, you'll at least want to focus on your protein intake to ensure you're eating an adequate amount for your goals.
The remainder of your calories can be filled with a mixture of carbs or fats, however, you prefer. If you prefer to have more carbs that's fine or if you prefer to have more fats that's fine too. Sticking to an exact ratio of carbs and fats isn't super important here. My suggestion would be to eat more of whichever one you like and whichever your body does best on. For example: If you prefer fats eat higher fats and lower carbs, if you like carbs more eat more carbs and fewer fats. After you’ve conducted the above experiment you’ll have a better understanding of what is best for you, your body, and your goals.
So which one is right for you?
It is important to understand the nutritional value of food. For example, if you compare 100 calories of a donut and 100 calories of chicken you'll come to find out that the donut has more carbs and the chicken has more protein. So even though the calories might be the same, the macronutrient is not.
If you're a numbers person and want to be more specific then keeping track of all three macros, not just protein but also keeping track of your fats and your carbs seems like a good idea, by all means, you can and should if that works for you.
Whether you decide to go with a certain macro split, count macros or not, or maybe you decide to just count your calories and your protein intake, keep in mind that these are just different ways to track your calories.
Neither one is right or wrong, there's only what's right for you.
Recap
You’ll be setting your overall calories based on your goals. Keep in mind you’ll still need to be in a calorie deficit if your goal is fat loss. Because eating too much of any macronutrient can still lead to excess storage of body fat.
If you decide to just track calories and protein set your protein based on your goal weight (.08 - 1.5/ lbs of Lean Body Mass). The remaining of your calories will be filled with carbs and fats, however, you prefer. Just remember not to take your fats too low and also be mindful of how your energy levels are when you eat carbs. And getting clear about how much protein you are getting and ensuring that you're getting the right amount for you, your goals, and where you are right now in your life is the one thing that will help you with your overall long-term fitness success.
Please keep in mind that a "Perfect Ratio" doesn't exist. It doesn't matter what diet framework you follow, being aware of and getting the nutritional knowledge necessary will help you tremendously, to achieve long-term success.
Don't let this confuse you, don't let this keep you from taking action.
So please reach out if you have any questions.
