Using Macro Calculator For Weight Loss

Weight Loss is Not Easy But it is Simple

Many people have a very hard time losing weight. It is very easy to say “exercise more and eat less” and when you really boil down weight loss to the basics it is true that the thing that matters the most is calories. See more about using our free macro calculator.

However, what many people have a tendency to forget about is that human beings are not robots. Most people can’t simply decide that they are going to exercise for 60 minutes at medium intensity for a set number of times each week and eat exactly 2,000 calories every day.

We get sick, we get cravings, we get tired, and we are bombarded constantly with temptations everywhere we go, whether it is at the store, at work, or at home.

Even if you are able to manage to eat a certain number of calories per day over a specific period of time you may lose weight but will it result in the body that you truly desire? If you eat the wrong types of foods, you might end up losing muscle along with fat.

In general, losing weight may be useful for a person who is obese or overweight, but having lots of lean mass and a low (yet still healthy) percentage of body fat is better for your looks, well-being, and health.

Macros Are Important

Calories really matter when it comes to losing weight. However, calories are not the only important thing. Macros and Macronutrients matter too!

When you determine the right amount of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins for your body goals and lifestyle you can run on a calorie deficit in order to lose weight but still maintain your muscle mass, have plenty of energy, and feel full.

Is there an Ideal Macro Split?

You might be wondering if there is one ideal macro ratio that can work for everybody. Unfortunately, there is not. The best macro ratio for you will depend on many different factors, which include what your specific goals are and your activity level.

If you have a good amount of muscle that you want to maintain, then you should eat plenty of protein. Protein is a major building block for muscles, and if you do not consume a sufficient amount of protein then your body will start breaking down muscle tissue to use for energy as well as to repair muscle tissues that are damaged.

Many builders when they are attempting to get very lean, use what is called a ‘protein sparing modified fat.’ That involves eating a very low amount of calories with most of the calories coming from protein.

It isn’t a good idea for the average individual to eat just protein. However, increasing your intake of protein while running a calorie deficit can help to improve your satiety as well as helping you maintain your lean body mass and strength.

If you are a performance athlete or endurance athlete then you will want to have carbohydrates incorporated in your diet, since carbs are a good ‘rapid energy’ source.

Compared to simple sugars, complex carbohydrates are superior at providing steady energy while helping you to avoid a sugar crash as well.

Fats are essential for hormone production, and also can be used as an energy source. It takes longer to digest fats compared to carbohydrates and can also help to improve satiety.

Some diets, like the Atkins diet and Keto diet, use fats as their primary energy source instead of carbohydrates. Although some people swear by Keto, it doesn’t suit every lifestyle.

After you have found the proper balance of macronutrients, you will be able to eat whatever foods you want as long as it fits in with your calorie allowance and your macros.

What is IF It Fits Your Macros or IIFYM?

The concept behind IIFYM is just because you are following diet doesn’t mean you need to give up ice cream or pizza.

With this type of diet, you may be telling yourself that you have to eat 150 grams a day with an 1800 calorie allowance per day (running a calorie deficit).

You may choose to eat a tuna salad with a bit of oil in order to hit your fat and protein allowance, and know that you have reached your daily macros and can treat yourself with a large ice cream serving at the movies that night.

You make room for your ice cream by not having ranch dressing or croutons on your salad, so you can enjoy yourself since it fits in with your macros.

How Can You Tell What Macro Ratio You Should Follow To Lose Weight?

Finding the proper macronutrient ratio that you should follow will depend on your fitness goals and lifestyle. You might want to try out a couple of different macronutrient ratios in order to determine what works the best for your activity level and help you to avoid cravings.

However, it is very important to have a certain macro ratio. If you only count calories you may end up not eating enough protein or not enough healthy fats while you are still running at a calorie deficit.

At IIFYM.com, there are macronutrient calculators that can help you understand what macros work the best for various lifestyles.

The calculators can ask you for your sex (men and women have different nutritional needs), height, weight, and wage, and also your activity level and how frequently you do cardiovascular exercise and lift weights.

The calculator also will ask you about any medical conditions you have that could impact your diet, along with the kind of diet you are following currently and what your weight loss goals are.

Based on all of your information, it will provide you with recommendations on macronutrients to sustain your body and also allow you to retain lean muscle mass, promote satiety, reduce cravings, and lose weight.

The recommendations are tailored specifically to you based on the information you have entered into the weight loss calculator.

A relative or friend might get a very different recommendation due to the fact that they have really different goals and lifestyles.

Make sure you track, measure, and weigh your food intake, and then re-evaluate your calorie and macro goals every few months based on what your progress is and how you are feeling.

Keep in mind that losing weight takes a lot of discipline and patient, but it is possible!

How To Calculate Macros For Weight Loss

Weight Loss is Simple But Not Easy

Losing weight is not an easy proposition for a lot of people. It’s easy to say “eat less and move more” and when you boil weight loss down to its core it’s true that calories are the thing that really matters.

What many people forget is that humans are not robots. Most of us can’t just decide that they’re going to eat precisely 2,000 calories per day and exercise at medium intensity for 60 minutes a certain number of times per week.

We get tired, we get cravings, we get sick, and we are constantly bombarded with temptations at home, at work, and when we go to the store.

Even if we were able to simply ‘eat X number of calories’, over a given period of time we might lose weight, but will we get the body that we want? If we’re eating the wrong foods, then we could end up losing muscle as well as fat.

Losing weight in general might be useful for someone who is overweight or obese, but having a low (but still in the healthy range) body fat percentage and plenty of lean mass is better for health, well-being, and aesthetics.

Macros Matter

Calories are important for weight loss, but calories aren’t the only thing that matters. Macros matter too!

By working out the right range of proteins, carbohydrates and fats for your lifestyle and body goals you can run a calorie deficit to lose fat while still feeling full, having energy, and holding on to muscle mass.

Is there A Perfect Macro Split?

You may be wondering if there’s one perfect macro ratio that will work for everyone. Unfortunately, there isn’t. Your macro ratio depends on a number of factors, including how active you are and what your goals are.

If you have a decent amount of muscle and you want to maintain it then you will want to eat lots of protein. Proteins are the building blocks of muscles, and if you are starved of protein then you will find that your body breaks down muscle tissue for energy and to repair other damaged muscle tissues.

Indeed, many bodybuilders, when trying to get super-lean, run what is known as a ‘protein sparing modified fast’ where they eat very few calories but consume most of their calories from protein.

It’s not a great idea for the average person to eat ‘only protein’, but upping your protein intake while you are running a calorie deficit can improve satiety and help you to maintain your strength and your lean body mass.

If you’re an endurance athlete or a performance athlete then you’ll want some carbohydrates in your diet, because carbs are a good source of ‘rapid energy’.

Complex carbohydrates are better than simple sugars for providing a steady source of energy while also avoiding the ‘sugar crash’.

Fats are vital for hormone production, and can also be used as a source of energy. Fats take longer to digest than carbohydrates and therefore can improve satiety too.

Some diets, such as the Keto diet and Atkins diet, use fats instead of carbohydrates for the primary energy source. While Keto advocates swear by this practice, it doesn’t work well for everyone’s lifestyle.

Once you’ve found the right balance of macronutrients, you can eat whatever you like as long as it fits your macros and your calorie allowance.

What is If It Fits Your Macros?

If it Fits Your Macros, or “IIFYM” is the idea that just because you’re on a diet it doesn’t mean you have to give up pizza or ice cream.

With this kind of diet, you might tell yourself that you absolutely must eat 150g of protein per day, and that you have a daily calorie allowance of 1800 (while running at a calorie deficit).

You might opt to eat tuna salad with a little oil to hit your protein and fat allowance, then, knowing you’ve hit those macros for the day decide that you are going to treat yourself to a big serving of ice cream at the cinema that night.

You made room for the ice cream by having no croutons or ranch dressing on your salad, and you can enjoy yourself because it fits your macros.

How Do You Know What Macro Ratio to Follow For Weight Loss?

Finding the right macronutrient ratio to follow depends on your lifestyle and fitness goals. You may want to try a few different macronutrient ratios to find out what helps you avoid cravings, and what works for your activity level.

It is important that you have a macro ratio in mind, though, since if you just count calories by themselves you could end up eating too little protein or too few healthy fats while running a calorie deficit.

There are macronutrient calculators on IIFYM.com that will help you to understand what works best for different lifestyles. The calculators will ask you for your age, weight, height and sex (women and men do have different needs in terms of nutrition), and will also ask for your activity level as well as how often you lift weights and how often you do cardiovascular exercises.

The calculator will also ask you for information about any medical conditions that might impact on your diet, as well as your weight loss goals, and the type of diet that you currently follow.

Based on this information, it will offer recommendations for macronutrients that will sustain your body while reducing cravings, promoting satiety, retaining lean muscle mass and allowing weight loss.

These recommendations are tailored to you based on the information that you enter, and it may be that a friend or relative will get a rather different recommendation because their lifestyle and goals are different.

Be sure to weigh, measure and track your food intake, and re-evaluate your macro and calorie goals every month or two based on your progress and how you are currently feeling. Weight loss takes patience and discipline, but it can be done!

Getting The Most From The IIFYM Macro Diet

The IIFYM Diet: All You Need To Know

If you were told that you could eat all the pizza, lasagna and tacos that you want, and lose weight while doing so, would you believe it?

This may be hard to believe, but it is possible! You can eat whatever you want to and lose weight in the process. All you need to do is to eat it in the right amounts. How so, you ask. This is where IIFYM or “If It Fits Your Macros” comes in. It is a flexible dieting technique that helps people lose weight without being restricted.

It focuses on the macronutrients, rather than calories, as many diets do. So, what does IIFYM entail, and does it work? Read on to find out.

If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM)

This dieting technique works on tracking one’s macronutrients (proteins, fats, and carbohydrates), rather than the calories that one is consuming. It is quite flexible, as opposed to other diets that need one to make drastic changes to their eating habits. It focuses on the three main macronutrients, which include; proteins, fat, and carbohydrates.

Fiber is also considered as it is a significant component when one is tracking their macros. It is essential for fast weight loss. IIFYM works on allowing people to eat all the foods that they love, with no restrictions such as healthy eating. You can eat your pizza, as long as you stay within your weight loss macros. The fat will soon start melting off as you will lose weight at a steady rate.

How To Start

IIFYM involves three steps:

• You will need to calculate the calories you need to maintain your current weight. (TDEE)

• You will also need to know the number of calories you need to cut for the desired weight loss. (Weight loss deficit)

• The calories will then be grouped by macronutrients and ensure that you have adequate fiber intake.

Step 1: Calculate Your Macros (from our Free IIFYM Calculator)

There are many online macro calculators that you can use, with the most popular one being on the IIFYM website. You can either use the calculator or calculate your calories manually, which will be a longer process. Both ways are efficient, and it depends on what you are most comfortable with.

• Determining Your Basic Metabolic Rate (BMR)

It is the first step when it comes to tracking macros. If you are using the online calculator, all you need is to key in important details such as your weight, height, and sex. Your BMR represents the number of calories that your body burns while it is at rest.

• Determining Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)

Once the BMR has been calculated, it is multiplied by a factor determined by your activity levels. It is added to the calories that you burn through all the activities that you partake in during the day. Once all this is added up, you will have TDEE, which is a rough estimate of how many calories you burn in the day.

Step 2: Adjusting Your Calorie Needs For Weight Loss.

If you desire to lose weight, then you will have to ensure that your daily calorie intake is about 10 to 25 % lower than your TDEE. On the other hand, if you want to gain weight, then your day to day calorie intake should be around 5-15 % higher than your TDEE. It will ensure that you build the desired muscle that you want.

Step 3: Determining Your Macro Needs Per Day.

Once you have done all the above, you will then need to calculate your macros based on your goals. For weight loss, once you have subtracted the 10-25% off your TDEE, you can then split the weight loss calories into their macros, as shown below.

• You should set your proteins at 0.8-1.15 grams per lb of your body weight. Afterward, you can subtract the protein calories from the weight loss calories.

• For fat, calculate it at around 0.25-0.4g per lb of body weight. Subtract the fat calories from your weight loss calories.

• For carbohydrates, this will be the value remaining from the adjusted score.

Once all this is done, and you have determined your daily macro goals, then you can begin your diet. If you are serious about it and stick to it daily, then you will see some positive results in a short time. It is, however, advised that you need to be as active as you had claimed to be when you were calculating your macros.

If you do not do that, then you will not get the expected results that you were waiting for.

The Benefits Of the IIFYM Diet.

• It Is Flexible.

IIFYM is very flexible, and you do not have to let go of those foods that you love; all you need is to eat them in moderation.

You do not need to do the traditional dieting to lose weight. You are also encouraged to eat diverse foods, as long as you meet your daily macro goals, and do not exceed them.

Amazing, right? This will make you more likely to stick to it as opposed to other diets that you may find yourself quitting in a few weeks.

• It Helps With Weight Loss.

Weight loss is possible through a calorie deficit, and IIFYM will help you with that. Similarly, if you want to gain weight, IIFYM can guide you through it effortlessly.

• It Helps Those People That Are Unable To Exercise.

When calculating macros, IIFYM takes into account one’s activity levels, therefore, it is useful for those people who cannot exercise due to some restrictions.

Is Macro Diet For You?

You may be asking yourself if this is something that will benefit you. The truth is that macro diets work if people stick to them. The only problem is that people tend to be dishonest when using the calculator by not giving the correct details. Also, some do not stick to their daily macro goals. For this to work, you need to follow it daily.

The best part about a macro plan such as IIFYM is that it ensures weight loss, without restrictions on food choices.

IIFYM is a flexible method of weight loss, with its focus on macronutrients, instead of calories. However, it is crucial for people following this diet to consume their micro-nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals.

If you think this is the plan for you, it is advised to follow a guide on macro dieting to help you through this process.