Understanding Macro- and Micro-nutrients | Fat Loss Nutrients

Micronutrients and macronutrients are extremely important for your body. Those are things that make your body function as intended. Macronutrients include carbohydrates, protein, and fats while micronutrients are vitamins and minerals.

There are plenty of diets that cut fat and\or carbohydrates. While an excess of anything is bad, you need all three components to function. Cutting fat completely is a huge mistake since fat is responsible for a variety of functions including hormonal production. If you screw up your hormonal profile, your diet will become harder and your life will become miserable.

Cutting carbs somewhat is good because generally excess carbs are responsible for weight gain. However, in addition to a low carb diet, there is a zero carb diet, such as a keto diet or a carnivore diet. I have mixed feelings about those diets. While the keto diet, for example, combined with intermittent fasting can do wonders to weight loss, different people react differently to it.

Some people can handle no carbs better than others. I felt pretty sick on the second or third day of keto, which I was able to easily mitigate with sugar-free, calorie-free Powerade/Gatorade (also a good thing after a heavy workout or a night of alcohol consumption). However, keto is not sustainable for me in the long run. I would recommend you to try the keto diet to see if it works for you, but if it is not, don’t be discouraged, you can lose weight without cutting carbs out completely.

Keep in mind what keto diet, as well as a carnivore diet, can be a means to an end, but those are not life long eating plans. Humans evolved to be eating carbs and carbs are necessary for the body to function. While some people depending on their ancestry can function better on low carbs or no carbs than others, it doesn't make zero carbs an optimum lifelong choice. While at the time of me writing this there are plenty of proponents of carnivore diet, it is a fad that hopefully will go away soon without leaving too many people with health issues behind.

While there are many recommendations on how to eat and precise calculations of macros, I prefer to follow two principles in my day to day life.

The first one is to eat a variety of different foods. If I put vegetables on my plate, I pick a variety of different types and colors. This will help you get the most nutrients. The same goes for a protein source. Don’t just eat steak, eat steak, fish, chicken breasts, oysters, eggs, etc. You get the idea.

The second guideline is to aim for eating healthier. If you can pick mashed potatoes over fries do it. If you can pick spaghetti salad with vegetables and chicken breasts over Mac-n-Cheese, do it. While this is far from being precise for an optimum weight loss, those principles will help you lead a healthier lifestyle and get better performance out of your body.

Make sure you eat a balanced diet, but everything boils down to energy in and energy out. It is possible to gain weight while eating good food and lose weight while eating bad food. While diet on 7/11 meals is not optimal, it is possible.

The bottom line is to remember the main concept, energy in energy out. Macronutrients help, but you can’t compensate for overeating and calorie surplus.