Most dietitians will encourage their clients to eat meals and snacks with all three macronutrients (macros): protein, fats, and carbs. This is a great way to help you feel energized, satiated, and nourished. But if your goal is to lose weight, what should that macro breakdown be?
"Just like everyone needs different calorie levels, you also need different macros," said registered dietitian Leslie Langevin, MS, author of The Anti-Inflammatory Kitchen Cookbook. To make things simple and easy to implement, she usually tells clients to "eat half your plate of veggies, one-quarter protein, one-quarter carbs, and use fat in cooking or with foods in the meal like avocado, olive oil, or a little cheese."
No meticulous measuring or weighing — just use your plate as the guide! You can always tweak this macro breakdown to suit your needs. Maybe you're training for a half marathon and need more carbs, or maybe you have an injury that's keeping you more sedentary, so you need to decrease your carbs. You can always meet with a registered dietitian to get a more individualized plan for you. Keep reading to see why each macronutrient is important for weight loss.