Not All Macros Are Equal: Quality Over Quantity in Tracking
Learning to play macro Tetris without wrecking your digestion, energy, or goals.
You hit your macros perfectly… but your digestion sucks, your pumps are flat, and you’re always hungry.
In this week’s fix, we’re breaking down why macro quality matters just as much (if not more) as hitting the numbers — and how to adjust your tracking to fuel real results.
What Each Macro Actually Does
We have three macronutrients — protein, carbs, and fats. Each one does something different in your body, which is why tracking macros gives you way more clarity than tracking calories. Now, if you want to feel good, look good, and recover well? The quality of those macros matters just as much as hitting your numbers.
Protein = your repair + recovery bestie 🦴💪
It’s what your body uses to build and repair — muscle, skin, hair, hormones, enzymes, all of it. If you’re training hard, protein is non-negotiable for recovery and keeping (or building) lean muscle. It also keeps you full longer and helps regulate blood sugar.
TLDR: you need enough, and you need quality sources — think lean meats, eggs, fish, whey > protein bars and low-quality blends.
Carbs = your energy + performance bestie ⚡🏃♀️
Carbs are your body’s preferred energy source — especially for training. They replenish glycogen (stored energy in your muscles), support recovery, and help keep hormones like cortisol (big stress guy here) in check. The right carbs also help with digestion, sleep, and mood.
TLDR: you don’t need to fear them — you just need to choose smart ones. Think fruit, potatoes, rice > granola bars and sugary sh*t.
Fats = your hormone + glow bestie ✨🧠
Fats are essential for hormone production, brain health, and absorbing vitamins like A, D, E, and K. They also help keep your skin glowing, your cycles regular (for those of us menstruating humans), and your hunger more stable by slowing digestion. Cutting fats too low can mess with hormones, energy, and recovery — especially if you’re active or coming off hormonal birth control.
TLDR: don’t fear fats — just focus on quality. Think olive oil, avocado, fatty fish, egg yolks, coconut, and nuts > processed oils or greasy fast food.
“If It Fits Your Macros”… Might Wreck Your Digestion, Skin, and Sanity
Your body knows the difference in food quality — and your skin, digestion, and cravings will remind you. Ever wonder why you feel bloated like a beached whale after a protein bar? Or why your acne flares up even though you're hitting your macro goals? It’s time to look at the quality of your food — not just the macros.
There’s a reason you bloat after a protein treat, feel sluggish after a carb-heavy meal, or feel “heavy” after fried food. Not all foods are created equal.
Food is fuel — but only when you’re smart about the source.
Protein treats are usually packed with gums, fillers, and low-quality blends. There’s a reason they can squeeze 20g of protein into a tiny bar — it’s because the rest of it is BS.
Same goes for fats: choosing coconut oil or avocado will leave you feeling strong and satisfied. Deep-fried Oreos? You’ll eat twice the calories and be hungry again in an hour. Why? Because quality matters.
Highly processed (and let’s be real, highly addictive) foods aren’t designed to nourish your body — they’re designed to keep you coming back for more.
And babe, I hate to break it to you, but America’s favorite peanut butter? One of the least healthy nut butters in the aisle.
Let’s talk carbs — 20g of carbs from Gushers vs 20g from sweet potato… Same macros, same effect, right? 20C is 20C? NAUR!!! Let’s break it down:
🍬 20g Carbs: Gushers vs Sweet Potato
Gushers (about 1 pack / 28g)
~90 calories
11g added sugar
0g fiber
Micronutrients: basically none 🫠
Satiety: gone in 5 seconds
Blood sugar: spikes, crashes, crave more
Sweet Potato (about ⅓ medium / 85g)
~80 calories
4g natural sugar
3g fiber
Micronutrients: vitamin A, C, potassium, magnesium
Satiety: actually fills you up
Blood sugar: stable, slow-releasing energy
TLDR: 20C of Gushers ≠ 20C of sweet potato. 20P of a bar ≠ 20P of chicken. 20F of walnuts ≠ 20F of canola oil.
Three fuel you, the others fool you.
Don’t believe me? Try tracking quality this week, not just quantity — your gut, skin, and lifts will notice.
Don’t Be Gaslit By Good Marketing
Ever heard a catchy slogan from a big-name brand? Something like…
“Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.”
“Eat Fresh.”
“Taste the Rainbow.”
Okay, now I’m going to hold your hand when I say this…
Papa John’s sells 800+ calorie personal pies with enough cholesterol to have your HDL packing its bags.
Subway serves up processed meats and soggy veggies stored in bags filled with additives — all to “preserve freshness.”
And Skittles? One pack is basically artificial dye and corn syrup disguised as a rainbow.
But don’t worry — I’m not here to break your heart and leave you label-shocked. I’m here to help you learn.
The key to eating (and shopping) smart is understanding ingredients and labels. The earlier something appears on the label, the more of it is in the product. So if your orange juice says “contains 10% juice” but lists sugar before orange — it’s not juice, it’s sugar water.
Bonus rule: If you can’t pronounce it, you probably shouldn’t eat it.
TLDR: Reading nutrition labels ≠ orthorexia. It’s education.
Balance is great — but blindly eating things you don’t understand shouldn’t be the norm.
Macro Tracking: Smarter, Not Harder
I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent hours playing macro Tetris at the end of the day, not knowing how to hit 60g of protein when I’ve got -30g carbs and 2g fats left. It wasn’t until I started being intentional with tracking that the light bulb went off.
PRE-PLAN YOUR DAY.
Unless you’ve been tracking for a while, you probably should map out your FDOE (Full Day of Eating) the night before or morning of — before the pizzawingssodacookie deluxe takes over.
Notice how it feels off when you only hit 20g of your 150g protein goal with a bar... but you’ve already used up 12g of your 45g fat goal? That’s because those bars are meal replacements — not meals.
I cannot stress this enough: start thinking of foods by their dominant macro.
Examples:
PROTEINS: lean meats, whey isolate, egg whites, fat-free yogurt
CARBS: fruits, veggies, rice, oats, sourdough bread
FATS: avocado, nuts, oils, egg yolks
Now figure out how many meals you want to eat. I usually suggest a pre- and post-workout meal, plus 2–3 others. Go for 5 meals a day if you’ve got the time and appetite, or 4 meals if you're tighter on time or tend to feel full fast.
From there, plug in your protein source first, then add fruit, veg, or both. Add a starchy carb source (if needed), and finish with your fat source.
Numbers not perfect? All good.
Just play around with them. You’re not stuck eating exactly 40g of oats or 4oz of meat. Do 20g, do 6oz — hell, do 4g and 1.11oz if you want.
The best part? You’re tracking macro sources, not random meals. You’re no longer hitting your protein and accidentally blowing past your fat goal — because you’re choosing smarter. Your protein source is just that — not a protein/fat/carb blend mystery bar.
See what I mean? Efficient. Smart. Convenient.
TLDR: Fitness and tracking don’t have to be difficult. Once you get the hang of it, they’re actually kinda fun.
It takes time, effort, and consistency to learn — and about 66 days to build a habit.
If you fail, get back up.
Nobody remembers how many times you fall — they remember how many times you rise.
So fail. It doesn’t make you stupid — it makes you human.
Btw… this is my bloat baby Saint! Poor baby had worms but at least his photo came in handy for this week’s fix. 😂 See y’all next week, let’s get smarter and healthier together. 💞
