Nutrition Tip - How To Manage Your Macronutrients

Today’s Nutrition Tip is about ways to track what you’re eating. You may not feel like you need to track every single calorie or macronutrient that you eat, but it’s good to at least check up on it every now and then to see if you’re on track or not. I’ve used FitDay.com off and on for years and its a great tool. Here are some other recommendations from John Berardi.

How To Manage Your Macronutrients
by Dr. John Berardi

Are you more likely to be able to decipher ancient Greek texts than figure out how to construct a diet containing 30% protein, 50% carbohydrate, and 20% fat? Well then check out the following resources.

  1. www.nal.usda.gov/fnic is the National Agriculture Library’s Food and Nutrition Information Center. Here you can find basic information on dietary supplements, an advanced food composition database, information about the food guide, and a listing of interesting resources about special needs, food allergies, etc.
  2. www.nutritiondata.com is a fantastic resource and although it uses the food database above, may actually offer a better presentation of the food composition data. It doesn’t offer the other information, though.
  3. www.fitday.com is another great food composition site that offers much more including online diet and fitness journals.
  4. www.calorieking.com offers many of the same resources as fitday.com but has several excellent additional features such as an online ‘university’ (weekly education about the physiological and behavioral sides of nutrition). The extras cost money but are worth checking into.

This tip is provided by Dr. John Berardi of Precision Nutrition.

Enjoy this Post? Spread the Word: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Furl
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • YahooMyWeb
  • Technorati
  • Netscape
  • StumbleUpon

Related Posts
Nutrition Tip - Food Displacement
Nutrition Tip - The Ratio Diet
Weekly Nutrition Tip - Skip the Cheat Meal, Fatty
More Online Coupons
Plan Your Meals in Advance

rss 22 comments
  1. January 10th, 2008 | 2:49 pm

    Thanks for sharing all those links to help get on track with recording what I eat. I started a healthy eating plan for the new year and my records are a mess. When things are messy its easy to get off track. I’m hoping the sites you listed help me stick to a plan for once!

  2. January 17th, 2008 | 7:18 am

    Great article since all i know is how to devour my food in less than 5 minutes..

    next time i eat - i’ll make sure that it is in proportion.. cheers!

  3. February 18th, 2008 | 10:32 am

    There are quite a few free software programs that will do all of the calculations for you. It really makes things alot easier when you use them!

  4. March 17th, 2008 | 11:58 am

    I have people tell me all the time how they hate to write so it is hard to get them to keep up on a journel but they will plug away at the PC, any help we can give them helps.

  5. June 12th, 2008 | 12:42 pm

    The 50/30/20 rule is important to remember - we need to get people off the low carb diets! I do believe it’s important to keep track of what you’re eating.

    Sometimes I get off track (like yesterday I had 2 ice cream sandwiches and a bunch of cookies!). Granted it was wonderful (haha), but today’s a new day.

    This happens to a lot of people - but it’s not the end of the world! We’re allowed to eat high-glycemic stuff every now and then - problems arise when we do this too much! Periodically tracking what you eat is a great tip to keep us out of that rut!

  6. August 13th, 2008 | 3:18 am

    good tip, i’ll start usinng it

  7. August 21st, 2008 | 3:19 am

    i checked the sites and looks good and for sure this will help people who are concern with their health. i just want to share this bone health calculator - http://www.algaecal.com/bone-health-calculator.php?a=doStep1 - i found it while surfing the net. you might visit my blog as well if you have time, i hope you find it informative like yours. - http://health-full-articles.blogspot.com/

  8. September 9th, 2008 | 12:04 am

    thanks for the leads…nothing beats a balanced diet, right nutrients and right amount…right amounts are crucial because we should only take in as much as our body actually needs, nothing more nothing less…the moment we take in more, our body will react to it and thus the balance is disrupted and that’s when all sorts of diseases and disorders come in…just take a look at osteoporosis, the main causes of it is of course lack of calcium intake which is the first thing we will consider..but studies have shown that majority of cases is not so much because of low calcium intake but of our high and excessive intake of protein. we have always been told that get as much protein as u can because your body needs it…our body needs protein but only to a certain amount depending on our daily activities or lifestyle…protein is a complex nutrient and is hard to digest or process…our body actually needs calcium in order to assimilate this complex nutrient…and the more protein we have in excess, means that our body outsources our calcium stock in our bones which leads to bone loss or - Osteoporosis. Eating right as well as exercising regularly is what we really need.

  9. October 6th, 2008 | 3:09 pm

    I think Calorie King is the best resource you have provided. I am now using it religiously and hoping to lose 10lbs!

  10. March 17th, 2009 | 2:03 pm

    Great resources! I’m going to have to try them out.

  11. Chris
    March 18th, 2009 | 5:26 am

    Hey some great resources here! I also agree with the comment made by Ryan that you really have to regulate how much sugar you are taking in, and that it’s all about having a good balance. Check out my short squidoo lens for some good information I wrote about the Glycemic Index. http://www.squidoo.com/glycemic-index-and-your-diet

  12. November 18th, 2010 | 1:41 pm

    I really don’t think it is that complicated. I doubt if the mighty Cro-Magnon men, Neanderthals, or Cavemen of the past, worried about the mathematics behind their caloric intake and they could most likely have kicked our spoiled, supplement-taking soft asses of today!

  13. December 2nd, 2010 | 3:19 am

    Before utilize think . thank you for this article. Remy Hair, Natural Remy Hair, Machine weft hair, Hand-tied Weft Hair, Indian Remy Hand-tied Weft, Natural Hair Hand-tied Weft. We Are the Manufacturers and Exporters of Remy Hair
    Remy Hair.

  14. December 13th, 2010 | 12:33 pm

    Thanks for the website and information. Tracking your calorie and nutrient intake can be very tedious. I try to take a more general “just watch the type of food you eat” approach rather than counting individual calories. I find that too time consuming and discouraging. But, more power to those who can find the time and have the will power to to that!

  15. December 15th, 2010 | 6:44 am

    I never could get into having to count calories and keep tally of everything I put in my mouth. Just really makes everything into an unpleasant chore, and honestly, makes me destined to fail. Good luck to those of you who can live in those tight of walls, though!

  16. December 30th, 2010 | 6:49 am

    Those are some good tips. Thanks!

  17. January 11th, 2011 | 12:47 pm

    Nutrition tip? How to manage your macro-nutrients? Really? …Well, as long as I get enough calories to support my body mass and potential gains from exertion, eat a diet that consists somewhat of a variety, and get enough protein and/or meat, I don’t micro-manage my diet down to the macro-nutrient level of overly analytical proportions. Eat, drink, and be merry… Cheers!

  18. hgh
    May 10th, 2011 | 4:26 am

    awesome article shared by you and thanks for posting such a great article

  19. May 20th, 2011 | 12:24 pm

    I’m all about the protein and healthy fats, I think the people that think we should get most of our calories from carbs should have their heads examined.

  20. July 19th, 2011 | 11:59 pm

    I beloved as much as you’ll obtain performed proper here. I’ve had a tough time clearing my mind in getting my thoughts out. I do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are lost simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any ideas or hints? Kudos!

  21. October 15th, 2011 | 8:07 am

    Thank you for these amazing tips. I´m trying to live healthy lifestyle so I find this site very helpful and interesting.rainer letenky

  22. B
    January 28th, 2012 | 2:49 am

    Thanks for providing those websites and links for more information on micro nutrients.That’s really useful

comment on this article

Notice: All comments are moderated. Your comment will appear once approved.