Firefighter Fat Loss: How to Start Tracking Macros

Congratulations! You’re finally done messing around and finding out that fat loss isn’t easy. You've tried the fad diets from steroid-popping influencers, and maybe even dabbled in super shady supplements recommended by chiropractors. Good, fun times over. Let’s get after it.  If you want more general nutrition guidance for firefighters, START HERE. 

I heard some smart guy say:

“It is no more necessary to count your calories to lose fat as it is to count your money to become wealthy.” 

If you're making millions and can’t spend it all, don’t worry about counting your bands. Similarly, if you’re already losing weight and feeling great, keep doing what you’re doing. 

BUT, If you’re struggling to lose body fat and you want the tried and true, nearly undefeated technique, count your calories.

Disclaimer: We are not doctors or dieticians. We’re firefighters trying to help firefighters navigate all the overly complex nutrition information. We are not responsible for what you wild bastards put in or around your mouth.

Don’t Waste My Time - TLDR:

Start with Step 1 and progress through each step as you adjust to the changes.

Step 1: Don’t change what you’re eating, just start tracking your calories. All of our clients use the MyFitnessPal app. This is hard at first but gets easier everyday.

Step 2:  Find out your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). An estimate of how many calories you burn.

Step 3: Set your goal calories. If you need to lose weight subtract 10% from TDEE .If you need to gain weight add 10%. 

Step 4: Set a Protein Goal. Eat 1 gram of protein per pound of desired body weight. You want to be 180 pounds. Eat 180g of protein.

Step 5: Set Fats & Carbs: Set fats at 25% of total calories. Fill the rest of your calories with carbs.

Step 6: Adjust Over Time.

Step 7: Eat Better Food. Food closer to the source, in more variety. Food outside the aisles of the grocery store. More vegetables. More fruit. More lean meat.

This is how you lose body fat. Boring as shit, and completely worth it. Now a little more detail.

How much weight will/should I lose?

A goal of 1 pound of fat loss per week is solid. If you’re over 200 pounds it may be closer to 1.5-2 pounds per week. The more drastic the weight loss the harder it is to maintain. So start small.

In 1 year at 1 pound per week you’d be down ~50 pounds, which (if needed) is a MASSIVE improvement on how you look and feel.

Step 1: Tracking Your Calories

When you start tracking your calories it is MASSIVELY frustrating. 

This app sucks! 

What do I do if the food isn’t already in the system!? 

It’s so time consuming!

All of this is true, and like all things, it gets easier every day. You figure out how the app works. You get faster at using it. It's all downhill from here.

Weighing your food:

You’ll need a $10 food scale. There is really no way around it. Weigh your food in ounces. Just like tracking. It’s a pain in the ass, then it’s second nature.

Calories and Macros:

Calories are a measurement of energy. The tried and true method for weight loss is “calories in, calories out”. For weight loss this means: you are consuming(eating) less calories than you are spending (exercise and normal body stuff). 

Step 2 & 3: How many calories should I be eating?

Find out your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is an estimate of how many calories you burn. For weight loss, the number of calories you will aim to eat in the day will start at 10% below your TDEE. If your TDEE is 3000 calories you will aim to eat 2700 calories.

This might be too healthy…

Macronutrients

The three macros are: Protein, Fat, and Carbohydrates (carbs). We measure macros in GRAMS and then convert it to CALORIES. Protein and carbs have 4 calories per gram. Fats have 9 calories per gram. So if you have eaten 20 grams of protein you’ve eaten 80 calories. 10 grams of fat is 90 calories. 30 grams of carbs is 120 calories. Understand this math before you move on.

Setting Macronutrients

Macronutrient goals are typically expressed as a percentage of your total calorie intake. For example, 30% Protein, 30% Fat, and 40% Carbs means 30% of your calories come from protein, 30% from fat, and 40% from carbs. You might see this written as 30p/30f/40c. There are many different ratios out there, and the difference of 5-10% in any of these isn't crucial for our purposes. The most important thing is balancing your calories in and out, and ensuring a reasonable distribution of the three macros. Our suggested breakdown is what makes the most sense to us, but feel free to adjust.

Step 4: Protein Goal

Recommendations vary, but we suggest 1g per pound of desired body weight. For 180 pounds, that's 180 grams of protein (720 calories from protein). If you’re supposed to be eating 2700 calories per day that's ~27% from protein.

Step 5a: Fat Goal

We recommend 25% from fat. For a 2700-calorie diet, that’s 675 calories from fat (75 grams). This is probably the most challenging to stay under. Lean (low fat) sources of meat like chicken breast will help a ton in keeping your total fats down.

Step 5b: Carbs Goal

After setting protein and fat, use the remaining calories for carbs. In our scenario we have 720 calories(180g) from protein and 675 calories(75g) from fat. This leaves us 1305 calories(325g) for carbs in our 2700 calorie plan.

How to Eat Better

Eat The Same Things!

Repetition simplifies tracking. Start with the same breakfast, then the same lunch. Rotate 2-4 dinners for variety. Change things up after a couple of months if needed.

Step 6: Adjust Over Time

As time passes you will lose weight. If and when you stop losing weight, adjust your calorie intake by recalculating your TDEE and/or reducing by another 10%.

Step 7: Eat Better Food

“Macronutrients determine how you look. Micronutrients determine how you feel.” This is overly simplistic but it does highlight that where your food is coming from will matter. 

The simplest way to eat better food with more micronutrients is to eat food closer to the source, in more variety.

Food outside the aisles of the grocery store. More vegetables. More fruit. Simply eating different colors of food will mean you are getting a wide variety of micronutrients without having to track them.

Conclusion

No bullshit, just results. Track your food, hit your macros, and you will lose weight. Stick to the plan, adapt when needed, and watch the changes. It might not be flashy, but it gets the job done.