Coach Tips: What Should Your Macro Split Be?

If you’ve started taking a look at macros, then you may have heard of a macro split. A macro split is the % of your total calories for a day allocated to each macronutrient; namely protein, carbohydrates and fat. This short article will present the best macro split for beginners.

Losing Weight

1. 30% protein
2. 40% carbs
3. 30% fats.

This is a good macro split to start if you're trying to lose weight.

Gaining Muscle

As your goal shifts towards more performance and building muscle, I would suggest to lower the protein and fat and increase the carbohydrates; something like 

1. 25% protein
2. 45% carbs
3. 30% fat.

You may be wondering, why are we lowering the percentage of protein, when we’re trying to gain muscle and support performance?

Well, it's because your overall calories are gonna be higher. So, the percentage needs to be adjusted in your macro split to ensure that you're not eating a huge amount of protein.

Once you hit a threshold of around 1.6-2.2 grams of protein per kilo of body weight, there isn't any real kind of further benefit for performance. If you struggle to get enough protein in your diet from food, then be sure to take a look at our plant protein and our grass fed whey protein powder.

You need to make room for a higher carbohydrate, it's your higher fat intake. But when you're trying to lose weight, you're in a deficit. So preserving muscle mass is key and protein is filling. So a higher percentage of your calories coming from this will help the difference to your diet with a macro split that supports adherence. For muscle gain, the macro split shifts to allow more carbs while keeping protein sufficient.

Remember, all of these splits are a starting point. Small adjustments and tweaks based on your training performance, your progress, your recovery and your body composition is what's needed.