If you’ve ever heard the term ‘macros’ and not been entirely sure what that means, you’re in the right place! We asked NHS Dietician, Charlie Watson, all our burning questions about macros – here’s what she said.

Just a quick trigger warning here: we will be discussing calories and numbers in this article. If that’s not for you, feel free to click away.

A runner’s guide to macros

What are macros?

Almost everything we eat is made up of macronutrients. They give us energy. Each of the three – protein, carbohydrate and fat – also has a set of properties that influences our health and supports essential bodily functions. Interestingly, alcohol is also a macronutrient – you learn something new every day! Because it’s not essential for survival, it’s not often included when discussing macros.

Each macronutrient consumed adds to your caloric total. There are 4 kcals in every gram of carbohydrate and protein. There are 9 calories in every gram of fat, and alcohol comes in at 7 calories per gram.

Do I need to track my macros?

Tracking your macros can be a good way to ensure you are getting the right balance to support your training and lifestyle. This can be through a calculated breakdown, or as a rough estimate from looking at your meals and snacks as a whole. Depending on what your goals are, you may want to be more meticulous in your calculations.

Getting the balance right can also help you feel better both on the run and afterwards. Having enough protein in your post-run meal or snack will help promote recovery and reduce muscle soreness. Eating adequate carbohydrates before, during and after your runs, as well as in your overall diet, can boost performance, recovery and day-to-day energy.

With that said, as with all ‘diets’, tracking and monitoring the foods you consume closely can can sometimes encourage an unhealthy relationship with food. Bear this in mind if you have any history of disordered eating. Counting macros may not be the best solution for you.

How much of each macronutrient should we be getting?

The optimal macronutrient breakdown of a healthy diet is a topic of much debate among scientists. Currently, the Scientific Advisory Commission on Nutrition (SACN) recommends that the UK population make up 50% of their total dietary energy from carbohydrates. However, some research suggests that endurance athletes should get up to 60-70% of their total calories from carbohydrates.

SACN recommends that adults get 0.75 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. And they suggest that up to 35% of total dietary calories come from fat (with no more than 10% of total caloric intake coming from saturated fats).

Do macros do runners need?

As runners, we want to match our macronutrient split to our training/ lifestyle needs. For example, long runs and high-intensity training require more carbohydrates and overall calories.

Breaking a diet down into actual calories/grams of macronutrient is specific to each individual. You need to take into account your activity level, body mass and goals. You might be looking to gain or lose weight, improve strength or fuel for a marathon. For those chasing strength goals, increasing protein helps support muscle recovery. Those of you with endurance goals will need a bigger skew towards carbohydrates to ensure glycogen stores are topped up.

How to calculate macros

As a rough guide, the NHS recommends that the average woman eats 2,000kcals per day, and the average man needs 2,500kcals. This is based on the UK average and does not take activity, weight/height into account.

If calculating carbs, for example, women need to then calculate 50-60% of 2,000 = 1,000-1,200kcals.

1,000-1,200kcals /4cals per g of carbohydrates = 250-300g carbs per day.

You can replicate this across each macro using the recommendations below.

How much carbohydrate do we need?

Carbohydrates are the body’s preferred source of energy. They include starches (like wheat, rice, barley, oats, potatoes), fibre (like fruits, vegetables, legumes) and sugars. All carbohydrates are broken down into glucose (sugar) by the digestive system. They’re then absorbed into the bloodstream to be used as energy, or stored in our muscles and liver.

There are two types of carbohydrates; simple and complex. They are broken down at different rates by the body. Starchy carbs and fibres releasing glucose more slowly into the bloodstream than sugars. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate. It is found naturally in fruit and milk or added to food and drinks like baked goods, breakfast cereals, and sweetened drinks. These can be useful for runners needing quick-release energy before or during runs.

According to the Eatwell plate, about a third of our diet should be made up of starchy carbohydrates. A third should be from fruits and vegetables. The other third is protein and dairy/dairy alternatives.

Carbohydrates found naturally in plants are known as dietary fibre. They help keep our digestive system healthy, reduce our risk of some diseases and can help prevent constipation. They are found in wholegrains, nuts, seeds, pulses, fruit and vegetables. It’s recommended that adults consume 30g of dietary fibre per day. Runners need to be mindful of when they choose higher fibre foods as they can cause gastrointestinal issues on the run.

Do runners need extra carbohydrates?

It takes around 500g of carbs to fill glycogen stores before a run, which should keep you going for 60-90 minutes of moderate running. Any longer than 60-70ish minutes and you are going to want to start taking on extra carbs during your run.

Prior to an endurance event such as a half, full or ultra marathon, or a big training session, you need to ensure your glycogen (carbohydrate) stores are topped up. This is known as ‘carb loading’ and is a scaled-up carbohydrate intake. Quantity recommendations range from between 7-12g per kg bodyweight per day.

How much protein do we need?

Proteins are made up of chains of amino acids, known as chemical ‘building blocks’. Your body uses amino acids for a number of functions, including muscle repair, growth, brain development, production of hormones and bone health.

Research currently suggests that we can only utilise a certain amount of protein for muscle protein synthesis at a time. Having three or four meals with 20-30g of protein in each, plus snacks, distributed through the day can help maximise this.

The human body needs 22 amino acids. Nine of these are ‘essential’ amino acids that can’t be made by our bodies, so need to be included in our diets. Animal-derived proteins including meat, fish and dairy contain all of the essential amino acids, Only a few plant-based sources contain all nine. However, mixing complementary plant-based proteins such as rice and beans enables you to get enough of each essential amino acid to be considered a complete protein.

The ‘recommended daily allowance’ (RDA) for the general population for protein is 0.8g protein per kg of bodyweight.

Do runners need extra protein?

Athletes (and yes, that includes recreational athletes!) have increased needs to aid muscle recovery. Guidance for endurance athletes says that we should have between 1.2-2g per kg bodyweight per day. Research shows that those with a higher training load – like runners – may have even higher protein needs. And that’s not just marathon and ultramarathon runners. Anyone training distances over 5K is considered an endurance athlete!

• A 60kg runner may need between 72g and 120g of protein per day.
• 72-120g x 4kcals per g of protein = between 288 and 480kcals of protein a day.
• This equates roughly to 14-24% of your total caloric intake.

If you’re over 40 years old and a runner, it’s time to focus even more on protein. Runners typically lose less muscle mass as we age than our sedentary counterparts. But after 40 our response to protein reduces and capacity for adaptation from training decreases. To combat this, we need more protein to stimulate muscle protein synthesis in our recovery meals and snacks as well as our overall diet.

Older adults need up to 40g of protein to stimulate muscle recovery.  That might mean consuming more protein powder, or aiming to have a protein-rich meal plus snack after your run.

How much fat do we need?

Fat is vital to our bodies. It provides energy that can be stored for future use. Fat is needed to make nerve tissues and hormones, build cell membranes, and aid absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E and K). Additionally, fats provide Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids, which are key for keeping our nervous system and brain healthy.

There are two main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Many foods contain both saturated and unsaturated fats. They are classed as whichever is the highest proportion.

Unsaturated fats are generally found in plant sources like avocado, olives, nuts and seeds. They are split into polyunsaturated (sunflower, soya, sesame, corn oils) and monounsaturated (olive and rapeseed oils).

Fatty acids, Omega 6 and Omega 3 are polyunsaturated fats that can be made by the body but are also a vital part of our diet. Current guidance says to include two portions of fish per week in your diet, one of which should be oily fish. Plant sources of Omega 3 and 6 include walnuts and leafy veggies, but this might be something you consider supplementing if you don’t get enough in your diet.

Saturated fats are mainly found in animal products, for example meat, butter, cheese as well as products made with these, such as cakes and pastries. There are also some plant-based saturated fats including cocoa butter, coconut oil and palm oil.

Trans fats are typically industrially produced unsaturated fatty acids and are often found in partially hydrogenated vegetable fats/oil. Think margarines, biscuits, cakes and fast food. Designed to prolong products’ shelf life, UK food manufacturers are being encouraged to reduce the amount of trans fat added to food due to their associated negative health risks.

UK guidelines recommend that about a third of your total calories come from fat. No more than 10% should come from saturated fat, and trans fat should make up no more than 2% of your total energy intake. The WHO actually suggests only 1% of an adult caloric intake is from trans fat.

Using the average 2,000kcal intake, 30-35% of the intake would convert to around 700kcals and 78g of fat. Less than 8g of this should be from saturated fats. Look out for green and amber labels on food; these mean there is less than 5g of saturated fat per 100g.

Pre-run macros

While there has been evidence to support fasted running as a tool to help endurance athletes use fat for fuel, there has also been research which shows that doing so increases cortisol (stress hormone) levels and may lead to negative long-term impact on women’s hormone and bone health.

Most sports dietitians agree that fuelled training is beneficial for overall health, performance and body composition. And when it comes to fuelled training, carbs are king! They are our main and most efficient energy source. We can eat pre-run carbs for quick energy alongside glycogen (our carb stores) to fuel our runs.

For runs lasting under an hour, aim for 20-30g of carbs before you go (with or without fat and protein depending on what your body can tolerate). Easy options include toast, crumpet with honey, hot cross buns, Rice Krispie Bars or a sports drink. Alternatively, ensure that your meal is carb heavy, such as rice, potatoes, bread etc alongside your protein and fats.

Longer runs or higher-intensity sessions require more carbs; aim for 1-1.2g carbs per kg bodyweight, and combine carbs like oats with fruit and yogurt or pasta, tomato sauce and a side of bread.

When to eat depends on your digestive system – some runners are able to shovel down a cereal bar, piece of toast or gel as they head out the door while others need 2+ hours to ensure proper digestion before they lace up.

Macros while running

Carbs, carbs, carbs! For runs over 70 minutes, the recommendations are for 30-90g of carbs per hour. This can be from sports nutrition like energy gels, carb drinks, bars or chews, or from real food like dates, potatoes and cereal bars.

Post-run macros

Regardless of the length or intensity of your run, you should ideally be eating a combination of protein and carbs after finishing your run to help your body start to repair your muscles and make adaptations from your training session.

It has long been protein that has been lauded as the key macronutrient post workout. But runners’ bodies most need carbs, especially after a hard session. Carbohydrates are needed to replenish glycogen stores in our muscles and liver, and help prepare us for our next training run. Research tells us that we should aim for between 0.9 and 1.2g of carb per kg bodyweight, plus 0.3-0.4g per kg bodyweight of protein. This is roughly 20-40g protein and 50-90g carbohydrates post run for most runners.

The first 30 minutes post-run are optimum for refuelling and beginning your recovery. But remember that your body is able to refuel, repair and recover through the day. It’s not only that immediate post-run nutrition we want to focus on, but our subsequent meals and snacks too.

If it works timing-wise, having a meal after your run is an easy way of combining all three macros. Choose a mix of eggs, smoked salmon and toast or Greek yogurt, fruit and granola with some nut butter, or chicken, potatoes and veggies. If it doesn’t work to eat a meal within 90 minutes, then a protein/carb snack within 30 minutes is the best option. You can then have a balanced meal about two to three hours later.

Protein shakes or bars may be something more commonly associated with gym goers, but they can be a really useful tool for endurance runners to ensure they get in the recommended protein dose on-the-go. Most protein powders contain 15-25g protein per serving, and can be mixed with milk or plant-based drinks to increase the protein and carb content. Alternatively, you can add a scoop of powder to a homemade smoothie, or choose a pre-mixed protein drink for convenience.

Delaying recovery nutrition slows down glycogen replenishment and can hinder muscle repair, leaving you feeling increasingly sore and tired. It can also decrease muscle mass, impact your immunity and worsen your mood (hello hanger!). And over the long term, it has even worse effects. Chronic inadequate or frequently delayed recovery nutrition increases risks of injury and can mimic the effects of overtraining.