Strategies in macronutrient counting

Through my experience of more than 10 years and having helped more than 3,000 people over the years with scientific evidence, I have been able to help many people discover where their mistakes are when counting macros, but for this it is totally necessary and essential that people are at a high level of awareness and really want to discover their mistakes, otherwise this will never happen.

The first thing that is necessary to understand is that the energy balance is a law of physics, it is totally irrefutable, it is as if we were talking about gravity, you simply cannot go against a universal law that has also been proven through hundreds of years of research under the scientific method, therefore, if something is not happening in your body composition under a nutrition plan based on macronutrients and/or calories, you simply must assume that you are doing something wrong... When you assume this, you are already closer to finding the mistake, because you are assuming that you are doing something wrong, but you don't know how, where or when...

We could focus on trying to find the mistake, but it is much more efficient to focus on how things should be done. It is at that moment that you will find the mistakes, realizing that there are some practices that you are not doing as indicated. So it is important to review them specifically and, no less important, watch the video on success counting macros.

Here is the video, don't miss it:

Now, let's list the most important guidelines for success in counting macros, in no particular order, all are equally important:

1. 1. Be absolutely sure of the nutritional information of the food you are going to use, that is, the information must be verified. Use the information in my mobile application, even for any food you have in your hands and have the label. For example, if you are going to use skimmed liquid milk, use the one I have registered in the application with the brand "JulioValeroV".

2. 2. Weigh foods raw or cooked, but make one decision. The most accurate way to do this is to always weigh raw, except for very specific exceptions like grains (drained) and rice, or a sporadic exception where you couldn't weigh raw what you ate, but used the information in its cooked version. Remember that different cooking methods, temperatures, and preparations can alter the volume of the food, but not its macronutrients, so if you weigh the food cooked, you are likely to end up eating more or less, to a greater or lesser extent. However, if for reasons of practicality or necessity you must weigh cooked, make sure it is always the same, choosing the cooked version in the application.

3. 3. Avoid ultra-processed foods to a large extent, not because they are bad, but because they often have errors in the nutritional labeling, and because, being ultra-processed, they lack fiber, micronutrients and are easy to digest, which can cause a decrease in the involuntary energy expenditure produced during digestion.

4. 4. Prioritize and emphasize foods dense/rich in micronutrients and fiber, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, tubers, sources of animal and/or plant protein, etc. Not because they have something magical, but because, being rich in micronutrients and fiber, they provide greater satiety, thermal effect/energy expenditure during their digestion and, in addition, vitamins and minerals act as catalysts in numerous physiological processes that interest us, such as energy expression, recovery, muscle gain, etc. Remember that it is about being flexible, not terrible, the energy balance is closely related to the source of the foods and not only to their energy contribution.

5. 5. Eat out sporadically and planned, not because it is bad, but because food outside the home is usually highly energetic and difficult to estimate accurately, so eating out can result in an unconscious mistake, even if you think it isn't... Also, when you do, you need to know in advance what you are going to choose and how you are going to add it, with awareness and common sense and not with hunger just before ordering your plate.

6. 6. Habits in meal timing and distribution of macronutrients throughout the day; it is not totally essential, but it is a very good idea to try to eat at the same times, preferably with the same amount of macronutrients and ideally relatively the same sources of food... This is a more specific strategy to try to regulate the digestion process roughly, that is, to make a constant, so that your body can respond in a 'more or less similar' way day by day. Ideally, divide the total goal of macronutrients and fiber equally into the number of meals you plan to have throughout the day, select the food sources with which you are going to meet those macronutrients and fiber, and try to have a similar schedule day by day.

7. 7. Do not underestimate the contribution of small snacks; many people are "nibbling" food throughout the day and, being very small, decide not to add it, consciously or unconsciously, these small nibbles added throughout the day, days, weeks and months, can become an unconscious mistake in your goals.

8. 8. Avoid foods with magical nutritional information; there are many ultra-processed, delicious foods... that have very suspicious nutritional information, even if they claim to be "fitness" or low in anything, in general terms, if something is very tasty and you can eat it without satiating yourself, with very generous nutritional information, believe me, it is almost 100% certain that this information is wrong.

9. 9. Do not assume nutritional information based on your own perception; many people believe they have a good perception of what a food can provide and, based on their own perception, decide to give values to a food or add them as another option, this usually and demonstrably in studies, can result in an error between 20% to 100%, so it is better to ask or search and make sure.

10. 10. Counting macros is a daily practice and there are no free meals: although it seems logical and understood, many people believe that counting macros during the week they can stop doing it on the weekend and simply eat based on their own perception and tastes on the weekend, this is not the case, a single meal on the weekend can hinder your goals, now imagine a whole weekend with 6 or more meals to your own taste and perception. You would dramatically err, plus there is no reason to have a free meal, because you can add any meal to your macros if you organize yourself.

11. 11. Do not believe that there are free foods, regardless of their source, any food will provide you with energy and, eating in excess, you can err your goals either up or down.

12. 12. Alcohol also provides energy in a dramatic and easy to exceed way, but in addition to this, even if you could fit it into your goals, it has numerous negative effects on your physiological processes, both in terms of health and aesthetics, so try to regulate it as much as possible and, of course, always within your goals adding it to the application.

13. 13. Hydration is extremely essential and important, from any point of view you want to see it... to summarize this, think that almost 100% of the physiological processes of the body are hydro-dependent, that is, they need water, if you are not consuming enough water, believe me, you are going to affect your process a lot, in terms of health and body composition.

14. 14. Although this point is not precisely about counting macros, it is very important... Make sure to weigh yourself always on an empty stomach, preferably without clothes, after going to the bathroom, on the same scale, in the same place, and relatively at the same time, also remember to be very precise where you take the measurements, in the same point of the body, with the same measuring tape and on an empty stomach, if the measurement differs a lot, verify the point where you are taking it and repeat it... Also, keep in mind that if the day or night before you ate food that you don't usually eat or a large amount of macros and/or volume of food, drank alcohol and/or stayed up late, this can temporarily affect the measurements and body weight the next day.

In general terms, these points, along with the video, should help you find the mistake you are making and, therefore, help you improve it. Remember that you are facing the best nutrition strategy that has ever existed over time, but of course no strategy in any field will work if you do not apply it well and if you do not feel comfortable with it.

A hug.