The Truth About Calories & Macros

What you didn’t know

What are Calories?

Calories are a unit of energy found in all foods and drinks. Everything we eat and drink contains calories, except black coffee without sugar and teas without sugar. Kilojoules and calories are basically the same thing, however, different countries use one or the other. To convert kilojoules to calories, simply divide by 4.2, 100Kj / 4.2 = 24 Calories.

Depending on the ingredients/what’s in the food or drink, the number of calories it contains will vary as a whole per packet/bottle and per serving. Generally speaking, foods that are whole and unprocessed such as fruits, vegetables, and lean cuts of meats are lower in calories compared to processed/ fried foods such as corn chips, muesli bars, cookies etc.

The amount of calories in a food/drink depends on the portion of protein, carbohydrates, and fats that make up that food or drink. Furthermore, not all calories are created equal as some foods like lean meats and vegetables provide our bodies with large amounts of micronutrients such iron, magnesium, vitamin C, the list goes on. These nutrients are super important and beneficial for bodily functions.

Eg: Consuming 200 calories from cupcakes will provide you with minimal nutrients and give you a huge sugar rush, causing you to crash soon after. Whilst consuming 200 calories of red meat will keep you full for much longer and provide your body will great amounts of protein, good fats, iron, and zinc. Which is going to be more beneficial for your health and goals?

Eg: A pizza has 8 slices in it. Each slice of pizza has 100 calories in it. The recommended serving size is 2 slices.

Eating 2 slices of pizza (recommended serving size) = Consuming 200 calories.

Eating the whole pizza (8 slices) = Consuming 800 calories.

How Many Calories Should You Eat?

If I had a dollar for every time I’d heard that, I’d be very rich. Anyways, the amount of energy/calories individuals should eat daily varies greatly depending on many factors such as their biological sex, age, goals, muscle mass, activity levels, and occupation. Our bodies lose fat or gain muscle/weight based on energy balance, which refers to the amount of energy being consumed from food and drinks and the amount of energy being expended by the body via daily movements and exercise.

You can calculate your calorie needs in multiple ways. Firstly, message us on Instagram @relentless.strength and we can do it for you or use multiple online calorie calculators and use that as a baseline, monitor your weight, and adjust accordingly.

If we want our weight to remain the same we should eat at maintenance calories meaning the amount of food/energy coming in is equal to the amount of energy our body expends.

Eg: We need 2500 calories to be alive, keep our heart pumping, our digestion smooth, our brain and bodily function plus considering how much we move/train/work/daily steps. To keep our weight the same we could consume 2500 calories. SAME IN / SAME OUT

If we're looking to reduce body fat/reduce weight we must be in a deficit of energy/negative energy balance, meaning we are burning more energy/calories than we are consuming. This negative balance can be created by reducing the amount we eating and/or increasing our activity to expend more energy. LESS IN / MORE OUT.

Eg: Maintenance = 2500 calories. 15% decrease = 2125 calories = 375 calorie deficit. Now our body has a greater ability to utilise body fat stores for energy to drive to weight/fat loss.

If we are looking to grow muscle we need to eat a surplus of energy / positive energy balance to allow our body to repair and grow muscle tissue along with adequate protein, training, and recovery.

Eg: maintenance = 2500 calories. 15% increase/surplus = 2875 calories = 375 calorie surplus. Eating in a surplus along with adequate protein and training stimulus will help repair and grow more muscle.

What Are Macros?

Macronutrients (Macros) are 3 nutrients that make up our total calories for the day and are eaten in the largest amounts. These nutrients are Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fats, they all play vital roles in our bodies in terms of health, function, training performance, and body composition.

Each macronutrient has a different caloric value per gram. Both carbohydrates and protein have 4 calories per 1 gram whilst fats contain 9 calories per 1 gram and alcohol have 7 calories per gram.

Alcohol is a macro as well, but it doesn’t have any nutritional value and is 7 calories per gram

Eg: 50g of protein multiplied by 4 calories per gram = 200 calories.

Don’t forget about your fruits and vegetables for their micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals

Protein is needed for body tissue repair, growth, bodily functions, cell structure/function, and recovery. It has many roles in the body, these are the main ones.

Carbohydrates are our body's preferred source of fuel to convert into energy for daily tasks and when we are training intensely, it’s also needed for many metabolic processes in the body. Carbs can be stored in the liver and the muscles for a later source of energy when needed.

Fats are needed for the structure and function of cells within our body, hormone regulations, brain function, helps absorb fat-soluble vitamins. Fat is also our largest form of stored energy in the body.

Where To Find Your Macros

The highest quality complete proteins come from animal meats. Depending on your diet, preferences, and amount of calories your consuming you may have more variety. Foods that are high in protein per gram and also high quality include

• Chicken — breast is the leanest cut with the least fat. Can be consumed in fillets, with bones, or even mince. Chicken thighs are also great but have higher fat contents

• Red Meats including beef, lamb, kangaroo, and pork. Pork and lamb usually have higher fat contents compared to beef and kangaroo. Depending on the cut of meat, they can be lean or have more fat, as long as it fits within your diet, eat your preferred choice. Organs such as the liver are very nutrient-dense and high in protein

Foods rich in protein include:

• All types of fish, including tuna, barramundi, salmon, whiting, and sardines. Salmon is usually higher in fats compared to white fish.

• Vegan protein options include tofu, tempeh, beans, and lentils

• Protein powders can help increase daily protein intake if you struggle to consume it through whole foods.

Most foods we consume daily have some carbs in them, they can be simple carbs that digest quickly like white rice and bread. Some carbs like sweet potato, brown rice, and wholemeal bread are slower digesting and may help keep us fuller.

Foods that are high in carbohydrates include:

• All bread varieties including, slice, rye, wholemeal, bagels pita, raisin bread, English muffins, Turkish, and wraps. Usually, Turkish bread, raisin, and muffins are higher in calories compared to standard pita or sliced bread.

• All types of Rice including, basmati, jasmine, white, brown. Calories will vary depending on the brand and type of rice used but the amount of carbs per serving is similar

• All pasta varieties including, spiral, penne, spaghetti, gnocchi, fettuccini ravioli, linguine. Depending on brand and type, calories and amount of carbs will vary per serving. Consume the ones that fit best to your diet and preferences

• All types of cereal, eat the ones that you enjoy most, however, be mindful of the sugar content.

Foods with high-fat content include:

• All types of fish are good sources of healthy fats such as omega 3 and omega 6

• Nuts — All types of nuts including, peanuts, cashews, pistachios, almonds, and walnuts

• Peanut Butter

• Avocados

• Different types of oils and animal fats like coconut oil, ghee and olive Oil

How To Track Your Food

This can be done by eating the same meals every day and monitoring your weight. If it goes up decrease your food and if it goes down change it depending on your goals

You can use the hand plan from precision nutrition

• There are multiple apps to do this. The most common is MyFitnessPal

• We can input our food by searching for it and matching it with the packet or simply scanning the bar code, then inputting the amount you consumed. You can also make your own recipes and save them for later if you make food from scratch.

• In Australia, most food packets state the energy content in Kilojoules (kJ). To convert kJ into calories, just divide by 4.2.

• Eg: 100kJ divide by 4.2 = 23.8 Calories

No one is perfect, we won’t always hit our macros/calories exactly, we want to try and aim to be within 10g either way of the targets. However, no matter your goals. Calories are king, we use/consume macros to ensure we hit our total calorie goals. Aim to consume nutrient-dense whole foods that are unprocessed and keep you full

Eg: MyFitnessPal

•Total daily calories — 2000

•Total Carbs — 55 % / 275g

•Total Protein — 30% / 150g

•Total Fats — 15% / 33g

This means, 55% of your calories are coming from carbohydrates. We know carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram. 275g multiplied by 4 = 1100 calories = 55% of total daily 2000 calories.

• Be mindful that these tracking apps have some errors in their databases, so not all foods will be accurate.

Eat Your Heart Out

Now that you know how to calculate your daily caloric needs and track them accurately to best align with your goals, it is time to enjoy high-quality foods and move forwards. If you need any further help or have any questions, shoot us a message on Instagram and we will happily help you! Happy eating.