Prospre: Meal Planner
Meal plans based on macros
Prospre: Meal Planner
Meal plans based on macros
Prospre: Meal Planner
Meal plans based on macros, macro tracking, and more
FREE
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November 23, 2023
Macro-based dieting is extremely popular these days, and with good reason. Tracking macros is an easy way to focus on the high-level nutrition profile of the foods that you eat. Depending on the fitness results that you are looking for, you might be looking for a different macro split, whether that is low carb, high protein, low fat, or so on. However, if you are new to the concept and looking to get started, then this is the article for you.
The word macronutrient literally means “big nutrient” and, put simply, macronutrients are the nutrients that you need a lot of. This generally refers to protein, fat, and carbohydrates (water is also sometimes included - read more on that here). These three nutrients all provide your body with energy, better known as calories. Because of this, macros diets are often defined in terms of percentages of each macro, which is the percentage of your total calories that come from each. For instance, the Zone Diet advocates 40% carbs, 30% fat, and 30% protein. Other times, the diets will be described just in terms of the number of grams of each macro eaten in a day, such as 150g protein, 250g carbs, and 50g fat. Both methods work and you can use whichever makes more sense to you.
Side note: Before we move on, we should mention that there is one other nutrient that provides calories, and that is alcohol - however, on a healthy diet, you should be drinking as little alcohol as possible.
Protein is probably the macro that most people who track macros care about the most. This is for good reason - protein is the essential building block for muscles and other body tissue. So, if you are looking to build or maintain muscle, sufficient protein is critical. Protein also can be helpful for weight loss, as many people find it to help with satiety, and also because protein burns about twice as many calories while being digested compared to fat and carbs.
Protein is really more than just a single nutrient, but instead can be thought of as a group of nutrients, known as amino acids. All protein is built using chains of amino acids. Most of the amino acids that your body needs can be created (synthesized) by your body from basic chemicals. However, there are also some which cannot be created and must be consumed in your diet. These are the essential amino acids, and it is important that you get enough of each of these in order to build muscle and repair tissue. However, under normal circumstances, it is not necessary to keep track of individual amino acids in your diet, as a well-rounded diet with sufficient protein will generally have enough of each of the amino acids.
Fat is the most calorically dense of the macronutrients, at roughly 9 calories per gram. However, that doesn’t mean that you should just try to cut fat out of your diet to lose weight. Some fat is needed in your diet, to ensure you get enough of the essential fatty acids that your body needs, and to aid with the absorption of fat soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, and K).
However, not all fat is equally healthy, and the type of fat that you eat matters. Trans fats can raise “bad” LDL cholesterol and lower “good” HDL cholesterol - dieticians generally recommend you eat as little trans fats as possible. Saturated fats, while not as harmful as trans fats, are also best to be eaten in smaller quantities. These are the fats that are solid at room temperature - think coconut oil or butter. Too much saturated fat can be harmful to heart health, and it is therefore recommended you cap saturated fat to about 5% of your daily calories.
Finally we have unsaturated fats - the fats that are liquid at room temperature. These fats are generally the healthiest fats. In particular, fats such as the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish like salmon, have been shown to help reduce heart problems.
Carbs make up the bulk of most of the calories that people eat in the course of a day. However, similar to with fats, the type of carbohydrates that are consumed makes a big difference in the health impacts. Refined carbs, such as those found in sugary foods or in highly refined grains (e.g., white rice or white flour) tend to provide excess calories with minimal extra nutrients. More complex carbohydrates, such as whole wheat or brown rice are considered a healthier, more nutrient-dense alternative.
Fiber is also considered a carbohydrate, but it is much different nutritionally than sugar or starch. While sugars and starches have roughly 4 calories per gram, soluble fiber has roughly 2 calories per gram, and insoluble fiber has close to 0 calories. Both types of fiber also come with benefits: soluble fiber has benefits for heart health, and insoluble fiber aids with proper digestion.
Determining what macro split is best for you will depend on several factors, including your fitness goals, your activity level and metabolism, and more. Ideally, you would have someone experienced with nutrition to assist you with this, such as a nutritionist or a fitness trainer. However, if you can’t afford that, don’t worry - we have a customizable macro calculator you can use as a starting point. However, if you have special medical requirements, remember that you should consult a qualified medical professional, and not follow dietary advice that you find on the internet.
The easiest way to count macros is by using a macro tracking app such as Prospre, MyFitnessPal, or LifeSum. Each of these apps will let you effortlessly enter the foods that you eat and they will keep track of your daily nutrition info for you. Which to use is up to you, and you should try them all and use the one which you find the best.
To get the most out of macro tracking apps, you will need to be accurate with the foods you enter into your log. First, you need the amounts to be accurate, and the best way to do this for items such as meat is to use a kitchen scale. They are easy to use, and can be purchased fairly cheap. It will also help you a lot if you are into baking, as you can start following recipes by weight. A second important point to keeping your food log accurate is to log everything you eat. No, you can’t skip entering the late night snack you had, or the cookies that you ate at a business conference - at least, not if you want your log to be a true account of your daily nutrition.
So, now that you’ve got your macro targets, and you know how to keep track of them, how do you make sure you actually hit your targets? Meal planning and meal prep are the most reliable way to do that. Instead of being reactive, and trying to find foods to hit your macros at the end of the day, it is much easier to be proactive and plan meals in advance that you know will hit your targets. Making meal plans that fit your macros can be a challenge, and this is where the Prospre app really shines, as it will create a meal plan for your specific macros, along with a grocery list for the week, and a macro tracker. When we made Prospre, the macro tracking beginner like you is exactly who we had in mind when designing the app.
