The One Way to Simplify Macronutrient Tracking

Focus on what matters to make macros fast and easy

Macronutrient targets can be used in several ways to help improve nutrition intake.

Macronutrient tracking involves setting targets for carbohydrates, proteins and fat and monitoring actual intake to try and hit them. This real-time monitoring approach allows flexibility with the foods you consume but requires rigidity to ensure you track intake as you go.

Macronutrient targets can also be used to develop a nutrition strategy to guide your intake. This uses forward planning to identify meals and foods aligned with your target macronutrient intake and then consume those meals during the day. The food intake is rigid, but there is less requirement for recording intake compared to real-time tracking.

The difference between forward planning and real-time tracking for macronutrients is similar to managing your budget. Some people prefer to work out what they will buy for the week, while others prefer just to head out and spend up to a certain limit. There are pros and cons to each approach. Forward planning can lead to missed opportunities while managing on the go might lead to overspending or running out of money. 

The biggest downside to macronutrient tracking is that it can be hard to balance things out. If your protein intake is low, but your fat intake is high, it can be hard to find foods that are high in protein but low in fat to hit all three macronutrient targets. The more food that has been consumed throughout the day, the fewer options that are left to hit those macronutrient targets.

Balancing these through forward planning or real-time tracking can overhelm many people. However, a simple way to utilise macronutrient targets without complication is to focus on a single macronutrient target only.

Instead of setting a target for protein, carbohydrate and fat, only set a target for one of them. A good way to do this is to focus on the macronutrient that challenges you the most, whether insufficient or excessive intake.

Many people new to resistance training or body recomposition strategies require additional protein to their current intake. Focusing solely on achieving this protein intake allows them to build a nutrition strategy with sufficient protein intake for their goals and experience.

Once the target intake is met, additional changes can be made to the nutrition intake to hit other macronutrient targets.

This is an approach I’ve used with many clients over the years. Protein intake is important for protein synthesis, supporting recovery and building muscle tissue. Giving people time to adjust to a higher protein intake when required allows them to change their food intake progressively.

Protein can also have a displacing effect on other nutrients due to higher satiety between meals. Feeling fuller for longer can help reduce the onset of meals later in the day. While it doesn’t sound like much, feeling full for 45 minutes after each meal can add up, push meals later into the day, and eliminate snacking after dinner.

Over the past 18 months, I’ve also had clients try out setting targets for carbohydrates or fats. This has successfully controlled carbohydrate intake by setting a carbohydrate target and not exceeding it. Interestingly, setting a fat intake that had to be reached was also effective at controlling carbohydrate intake without a carbohydrate target, as fat intake can displace carbohydrate intake. 

If tracking macronutrients isn’t working well for you, consider picking one to macronutrient to track for 4-6 weeks and see how it goes. It might not work for you, especially if you overconsume the other nutrients that aren’t being tracked. However, it may be a simple approach that combines with your nutrition knowledge to manage your intake differently.