Understanding Macronutrient Balance: Fats, Proteins and Carbohydrates

The macronutrients in our diet are proteins, fats, carbohydrates, (and water)

Fat is the New Healthy: Eat Fat, Get Thin.

A common imbalance in our modern day diet is the consumption of too much unhealthy fat. These fats are the refined and hydrogenated kinds.

Many of us might be consuming significant amounts of unhealthy fats due to false advertising of food or simply by eating out a lot. However there is a large percentage of our population that is so fat conscious, that we’re not eating enough fat as a result of its bad rep.

We live in a nation with the largest fat-free food industry and yet we are the most obese. Our collective weight issues lay in the quality of fats we eat, not in fat itself. Most fat free products are extremely low in quality: yogurts are filled with processed sugars, foods are filled with chemicals, and milk is chemically altered and flooded with hormones.

Headlines news- Low fat diets are passé! Science has changed. Most low fat diets are rooted in a toxic belief that fat in food equals fat in the body. This is not an absolute truth and is often a misconception.

If we are on a fat free diet and not losing weight, chances are that our bodies have gone into starvation mode. If the body does not receive the basic macronutrients it needs to function, it will consider itself in famine. Not knowing if it will receive these nutrients anytime soon, it begins to store fat and inhibits the building of muscle in order to sustain energy. 

It’s time to get over the fat phobia. The phobia itself might be making us fat.

Poor quality fats as well as the processed carbohydrates and artificial ingredients that supplement fat-free foods tend to lead us to craving more carbohydrates and more unhealthy fat. If we are low in fat and protein, we will almost definitely find ourselves binge eating.

A fat deficient diet often leads to dry hair, dry skin, brittle hair or skin, mood issues, digestive, redness around the eyes, deficiency in fat soluble vitamins A D E, and the already mentioned inability to lose weight. Fat deficiency also tampers with memory, cognition and brain function.

When adding in EFA (Essential Fatty Acids,) we will most likely see a difference in skin and hair as well as the stabilization of our mood within as little as two weeks. Within a few months, chances are we’ll be losing weight rather than gaining it. These fats are found in unrefined oil present in food such as extra virgin cold pressed olive oil, unrefined sesame oil, fish, avocado, and nuts. We can also take a fish oil (or flax oil if vegan) supplement, which tend to be most digestible when consumed during a meal.

Carbohydrates: Forget Simple; Keep it Complex

Most of the population has a diet excessive in processed carbohydrates. If the bulk of our diet contains processed carbohydrates, we will often experience symptoms such as weight gain, fatigue, binge eating, cravings, indigestion, heightened PMS and mood swings. If consumed in large quantities over a long period of time, we may develop a variety of conditions such as diabetes, depression (as insulin blocks serotonin,) yeast infections, and ADHD.

These carbohydrates appear in fast food, junk food, packaged food, breads, and all the sugars added to our pre-packed foods. Often referred to as “empty calories,” these carbohydrates are stripped of all their nutrients during a refining process. Since the body taps into its own storage of minerals and vitamins when digesting, empty calories not only provide no micronutrients (minerals and vitamins,) but we end up further depleted after using our stored ones to digest them.

Like with fat, many of us have become carbophobic. Carbohydrates are extremely important to our health! They provide us with the energy we need to function. They are not bad! They become hazardous when the majority of our carbohydrates intake is in its lowest quality versions. We have been educated through past diet fads to fear carbohydrates and often we forget that not all carbohydrates are created equally. Be sure to get complex carbohydrates in the form of vegetables, beans, and grains. When eating whole grains, try to have the majority of them in an unprocessed form. While a whole wheat bread or pasta is preferable than its white flour version, it is still a refined food that plays its effects on our blood sugar levels.

Protein Deficiency:

Often when we try to lose weight and cut down on calories, the first calories to go are breakfast calories. We may have nothing more than coffee or a bagel and work till lunch with out fueling the body with any sustenance. If lunch then is just a salad, we may not be having much protein till dinner.  

Overeating at evening and night often has to do with daytime starvation. If this could be you, reevaluate your intake of protein and healthy fats during the day. These foods help us feel grounded and satiated. If we consume little more than carbohydrates and caffeine during the day, when its time to settle down in the evening the body will gorge on anything to help it feel grounded… going from one extreme to the other.

Focus on protein earlier in the day and include meat, fish, eggs, nuts, tofu and tempeh. Beans might work for some but as they are pretty low in protein, if this is your main source and you have some health complaints, you may need to reconsider your protein resources. If you are vegan, consider adding a high quality protein shake into your diet. Hemp, pea and brown rice are all good sources.

Too little protein can lead to sugar and carbohydrate cravings, low energy, low mood, and the inability to build muscle and lose weight. Our response to stress tends to last longer and have a stronger impact.

Stress and Micronutrients:

When the body is in stress mode, it excretes nutrients. Water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C and B as well as all minerals get released through urine (as well as through perspiration.) When stressed, a urine test will reveal a 50% increase in calcium, zinc, and other vitamins and mineral that have leached.  The body releases the micronutrients and holds onto macronutrients as fat.

Quality of Food:

When it comes to macronutrients, we need to be sure that they are nutrient dense.

The basic combination of fresh, real, home cooked, and cooked/served with love all effect nutrient density.

Much of our diet is mass-produced in a way that leaves little to no nutrients in our food. This means decreased nutrition to the body, which in turn increases our appetite and cravings because the body is looking for its needed nutrients.

When we are not getting what we need from food, the body sends out more hunger signals. This increases appetite and food cravings and will lead to binging. Often at this point we beat ourselves up thinking it’s about lock of will power.

Increase the quality: upgrade meats to antibiotic and growth hormone free (grass fed is best,) free-pasture laid eggs, home made pizza with organic cheese, organic produce, etc’. Many people have reported that taking hormones out of their meat and dairy products has resulted in weight loss.

When we mostly eat out and order out, our internal body wisdom gets dumbed down (it gets dumber!) As we start to eat in a more conscious way (simply by cooking for ourselves or taking a moment to notice and appreciate our food before eating,) we start to connect to the subtle messages we receive from our body regarding our personal nutritional needs (i.e. what foods we need and when.)

The nutrition world pulls us in various dietary directions, resulting in us losing our confidence to connect to our own body wisdom. Start a dialog with your body and you will discover things on your own.

Related Articles:
The Pros of Protein
The Food Pyramid... What Should I Eat?
Understanding Digestive Rhythm
Overeating- It's Not About Willpower