What Are Macros? Protein, Carbs and Fat Explained
Macros, short for macronutrients, are the three nutrients your body needs in large amounts: protein, carbohydrates and fat.
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Macros, short for macronutrients, are the three nutrients your body needs in large amounts: protein, carbohydrates and fat.
Read more →A balanced plate is a simple way to build meals: fill about half your plate with vegetables and fruit, about a quarter with whole grains or other starchy foods, and about a quarter with protein, then add a little healthy fat and a drink like water or milk.
Read more →A calorie deficit happens when you take in fewer calories than your body uses over time, so it draws on stored energy and weight tends to go down.
Read more →BMR, or basal metabolic rate, is the number of calories your body needs to keep basic functions running at complete rest, such as breathing, circulating blood, regulating temperature and maintaining organs.
Read more →Food tracking means recording what you eat and drink, either briefly or in detail, to understand your habits.
Read more →Meal prep means planning and preparing some or all of your meals ahead of time, such as cooking grains and proteins in batches, chopping vegetables or packing ready-to-go lunches.
Read more →Nutrient density describes how many vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and other beneficial nutrients a food provides relative to its calories.
Read more →Portion control means choosing how much of a food you eat so it matches your hunger, energy needs and goals.
Read more →TDEE, or total daily energy expenditure, is the total number of calories your body uses in a day.
Read more →Healthy fats are mainly unsaturated fats, found in olive and canola oil, avocados, nuts, seeds and fatty fish.
Read more →Most healthy adults need at least 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, the Recommended Dietary Allowance.
Read more →The Dietary Guidelines for Americans advise adults to keep sodium under 2,300 milligrams a day, about the amount in one teaspoon of table salt.
Read more →The National Academies set adequate total water intakes of about 3.7 liters a day for men and 2.7 liters for women, counting water from all drinks and foods.
Read more →Probiotics are live microorganisms, such as certain bacteria and yeasts, that may benefit health when consumed in adequate amounts, and they're found in some yogurts, kefir and other fermented foods.
Read more →Complex carbohydrates are starches and fibers made of long chains of sugar molecules.
Read more →Electrolytes are minerals that carry an electric charge when dissolved in body fluids, including sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, phosphate and bicarbonate.
Read more →Micronutrients are the vitamins and minerals your body needs in small amounts to make energy, build bones and blood, support immunity and keep cells working.
Read more →Added sugars are sugars and syrups put into foods during processing or preparation, or added at the table, such as table sugar, honey, syrups and fruit juice concentrates.
Read more →Dietary fiber is the part of plant foods that your body can't fully digest.
Read more →Total carbs are all the carbohydrates in a food, including starch, sugars and fiber, and on US labels sugar alcohols too.
Read more →Ultra-processed foods are industrial products made mostly from substances extracted or refined from foods, often with additives such as flavorings, emulsifiers or colors that you wouldn't use in a home kitchen.
Read more →Clean eating is an informal way of describing a diet built mostly on whole or minimally processed foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, fish and lean proteins, with fewer heavily processed products.
Read more →Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between set periods of eating and fasting.
Read more →Mindful eating means paying full, non-judgmental attention to the experience of eating: noticing hunger and fullness cues, the taste and texture of food, and the feelings that come up around meals.
Read more →Plant-based eating means building most of your meals around foods from plants: vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds.
Read more →DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.
Read more →The glycemic index (GI) ranks carbohydrate foods from 0 to 100 by how quickly they raise blood sugar compared with pure glucose.
Read more →The keto, or ketogenic, diet is a very low-carbohydrate, high-fat eating plan that typically limits carbs to about 20 to 50 grams a day.
Read more →The Mediterranean diet is an eating pattern inspired by traditional cooking in countries around the Mediterranean Sea.
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