S2E25: Counting My Macros? (What Does That Even Mean?)

Back to the basics: what macros actually are, how to count them, and how to fine-tune them for your bio-individual needs.

Most people can recite wellness rules - hit your macros, eat the rainbow, cut carbs, eat more protein - and still cannot tell you what a macronutrient is, how it differs from a micronutrient, or how to sort a bag of groceries by protein, fat, and carbohydrate. This Body Wisdom Podcast episode with Jamie Belz, Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and Master Health Coach with the Nutritional Therapy Association, rebuilds the language of food from the ground up.

Jamie walks through nutrients vs. macronutrients vs. micronutrients, then breaks down the three macros in usable terms:

Protein and amino acids, complete vs. incomplete proteins, digestion, absorption, and why a gram on a label is not the same as what your body can use

Dietary fat, fatty acids, cholesterol, fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, satiety, and why flax ALA is not the same as EPA and DHA from seafood

Carbohydrates as sugars, starches, and fiber, gluconeogenesis, carefully selected whole-food carbs, resistant starch, and why carbs are not the enemy

You will also get a practical method for tracking macros without turning food into a lifelong spreadsheet: how to use Cronometer for a 5–7 day baseline, what 4 / 4 / 9 calories per gram actually means, a 40/30/30 starting frame versus average American intake, and how to adjust protein, fat, or carbs from your body's feedback — hunger, energy, sleep, digestion, recovery — instead of the latest diet trend.

This is a Foundations episode for anyone lost in carnivore vs. vegan arguments, protein powder debates, and influencer buzzwords who still wants to be the steward of their own health. Future Body Wisdom Basics episodes will build on this with micronutrients, vitamins and minerals, phytonutrients, zoonutrients, and bioavailability.

If you have been nodding along in nutrition conversations, start here.

In this episode:

What "nutrient," "macronutrient," and "micronutrient" actually mean

Protein, amino acids, and complete proteins from real food