Build Muscle to Burn Fat: Macronutrients and their roles
Build Muscle to Burn Fat: Understanding Macronutrients and Their Roles
To truly control your body composition, you must understand the role of the three macronutrients: protein, fats, and carbohydrates. Protein is the building block of muscle and essential for repair, metabolism, and satiety. Always remember “Muscle is metabolism!” The more muscle you have the more you can eat the calories you enjoy. Fats are vital for hormone production, vitamin absorption, and sustained energy, and should be sourced from healthy options like avocados, nuts, olive oil, fish and real butter. Fats are also essential to neural functions and will help protect the nervous system from the damage caused by processed sugar and alcohol. Carbohydrates are the body's primary fuel source, and their timing should be carefully managed. Prioritizing complex, high-fiber carbs (preferably from organic fruits for their nutrient density) for most of your carb intake is crucial, saving simple sugars only for strategic refueling post-workout, if at all. Immediately after a strength training workout is when the muscles are most depleted of sugars and will therefore absorb sugars consumed from carbs before it can be stored as fat. You earned these post workout carbs, so pick something you enjoy. Managing these proportions ensures your body has the energy it needs while signaling it to utilize stored fat for energy.
Calculating Your Individualized Macros
Calculating your specific macronutrient breakdown begins with determining your target calorie intake. Most fitness apps will perform this calculation for you and provide target macro goals based on your specific metrics.
Protein Target (The Foundation): Set your protein intake high to preserve muscle mass and maximize muscle recovery. A common guideline for fat loss is 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (or 0.7 to 1.0 grams per pound).
Fat Target (Hormonal & Brain Health): Set fats to 20% - 30% of your total calorie intake to support hormonal balance. Try to consume fats from healthy sources such as avocados, olive oil, nuts, fish, and real butter. Avoid vegetable oil and seed oils as these oils tell the body to store fat instead of utilizing it as energy.
Carbohydrate Target (Fuel and Recovery): Carbohydrates fill the rest of your daily calorie budget. Subtract the calories from protein and fat from your Target Calorie Intake. Fuel your body with carbs from organic sources as many pesticides are shown to disrupt hormone function and increase body fat storage.
Using a fitness app, such as MyFitnessPal, is an easy way to get started on macro-tracking and managing your caloric intake. If you follow this macro-tracking strategy you will be more satiated and consume fewer calories, which should also help trim the fat on food costs.
