I tracked my macros for 3 YEARS— here’s why you shouldn’t
I lost 20lbs, but I would change it if I could…
In 2020, I crossed over 200lbs for the first time.
I’d always been a little bigger, but this was a wake up call for me.
I was officially the “big guy” in my group of friends…
I looked into a few diets, and decided to try macro tracking.
It gave me the most flexibility, so I thought it would be the easiest.
I picked a lower-carb / higher protein and fat diet and started tracking.
And within a year, I lost 20lbs!
Not what you expected, huh?
I lost 20lbs, and I’m telling you that you shouldn’t track macros. Why?
Because, it wasn’t the macro tracking that got me to lose to the weight.
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In fact, over the following 12 months I GAINED ALL THE WEIGHT BACK — Despite still tracking my macros.
Here’s the first lesson…
Macro Tracking doesn’t lead to long-term weight loss.
I had this grand idea that I could lose weight by tracking what I put in my mouth.
And at first I did, because I was holding me accountable with what I ate.
I really didn’t want to log that I ate an entire pint of ben and jerrys…
But after a year of those “newbie losses”, my metabolism dropped and my body got use to this new normal.
That’s when the weight gain happened.
I was eating the same amount of food, and I was now gaining weight…
Simply tracking your macros won’t lead to weight loss if it’s not paired with a plan to put yourself in a calorie deficit.
But in the long run, simply tracking your macros won’t lead to weight loss if it’s not paired with a plan to put yourself in a calorie deficit.
It’s the calorie deficit — not the macro tracking — that causes the weight loss.
Macro tracking helps, because it forces you to be accountable and when you’re accountable, you naturally eat less.
But in the long term, it doesn’t lead to the weight loss.
If all you’re doing is tracking macros, you’ll likely gain the weight back.
Point and case — I started working with a coach who put me in a calorie deficit, and I’m below 170lb for the first time in a decade.
Macro tracking doesn’t lead to long-term weight loss.
It’s the combination of macro tracking with a calorie deficit diet that does.
If I could go back and change what I did, I would.
I would go back and focus on calorie deficit over tracking macros — that way I could sustain the weight loss instead of entering the yo-yo weight…
Where to find a nutrition coach?
I hired my first nutrition coach for $100/mth.
We had an agreement: He would customize my nutrition, and would teach my way he customized it in the way he does so that long-term, I could do it myself.
After 2 months, I had lost 5lbs while my lifts in the gym were getting stronger.
He said he based his nutrition coaching off of the book “Fat Loss Forever: How to Lose Fat and KEEP IT OFF” by Dr. Layne Norton and Peter Baker.
So I bought the book and read it (phenomenal book, btw).
I learned to calculate my own calorie deficit, identify the macro-balance that works for me, and determine how much to add based on my exercise level.
So if you want to save yourself $100/mth, I’d recommend picking up that book.
Now, fast forward a few months and I just learned that Dr. Layne Norton (one of the above authors) created a maco-tracking and calorie-calculating app, that uses the algorithms he outlined in his book.
Basically, you tell it some basic info (your goal, age, sex, exercise level, etc).
It gives you the calories you should be eating as well as the macro break-down (you can customize this).
You weigh yourself daily, and check in with a coach once a week.
If you’re on track for your goal, hooray!
If not, the coach will adjust your calories and macros.
I just started with this App, so comment below and I’ll let you know how it goes in a few months.
But I have high hopes.
Best of luck!
