What Does a Macro Coach Do? Is One Worth It?

A macro coach sets your daily calorie, protein, carbohydrate and fat targets, then reviews how each week went and adjusts those numbers as your body responds. That ongoing adjustment, and the judgement behind it, is what separates a macro coach from the numbers an app or calculator gives you. It is worth paying for when you have already tried tracking on your own and keep stalling, have a deadline, or need someone to report to. It is not worth it if you have not tried the basics yet.

The short answer

• A macro coach sets your starting targets, checks in with you regularly (usually weekly), and changes your numbers for reasons they explain.
• An app's numbers come from an equation. They are a fair first guess, but an app cannot see your sleep, your hunger, your training or a week that went wrong.
• It suits people who have tracked before and stalled, people with a show or other deadline, people who know what to do but drift without someone to answer to, and people who want to learn to set their own numbers.
• It does not suit anyone with a medical condition that diet affects (see a registered dietitian), or anyone who has not yet tried tracking their food and weight for a month. Try that first: it is free, and you may find you do not need help.
• Prices vary widely. Judge what is included, not just the price.

What a macro coach does

1. Sets your starting numbers. Most coaches estimate your maintenance calories from your sex, weight, height, age and activity, then set calories for your goal, protein first, and fat and carbohydrate from what is left. A good coach also uses what you tell them about your training, schedule and dieting history. Macros for cutting shows how those numbers are worked out.
2. Collects your data. Usually daily weigh-ins judged as a weekly average, how closely you hit your targets, and how your training, steps, sleep, hunger and energy went.
3. Adjusts. If progress is on track, nothing changes. If your weekly average weight has stalled for a couple of weeks with honest tracking, a small change is made, usually to carbohydrate, fat or steps, and given time to work.
4. Solves the problems the numbers do not show. Constant hunger, a holiday, shift work, training that has started to suffer.
5. Explains why. The aim should be that you understand your own numbers by the end.

Macro coach vs an app's automatic numbers

Most calculators and apps start from an equation that estimates your resting metabolic rate, then multiply it by an activity factor. Our own calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. A 2005 systematic review by Frankenfield and colleagues (Journal of the American Dietetic Association) found it the most reliable of the four equations they compared, predicting resting metabolic rate within 10% of the measured value in more people than the others. The same review warned that noteworthy errors remain when any of these equations is applied to one individual.

That is fine for a starting point. The problem is what happens next. Your maintenance falls as you lose weight, your logging can drift, and life changes week to week.

	App or calculator	Macro coach
Starting numbers	An equation	An equation, then adjusted for your history and goal
Updates	None, or automatic from your logged food and weight	A person reviews each check-in
What it sees	The numbers you enter	Your numbers plus sleep, hunger, stress and training
Bad weeks, events, travel	Not considered	Part of the plan
Cost	Free or low	A regular fee

Some apps now adjust your targets automatically from your logged weight and food. They can work well for people who log honestly and consistently. What they cannot do is notice that your logging has slipped, your sleep has fallen apart or your training is suffering, and change the plan for that reason rather than just cutting calories.

Macro coach vs dietitian

A macro coach works with healthy people who have a body composition goal: losing fat, building muscle, or getting ready for a show. Dietitians are different. The British Dietetic Association explains that in the UK "dietitian" is a title protected by law, that dietitians must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, and that they assess, diagnose and treat dietary and nutritional problems, working with both healthy and sick people.

If you have a condition such as diabetes or kidney disease, are pregnant, take medicine that affects your diet, or have a history of an eating disorder, speak to your doctor or GP first, and ask about a referral to a registered dietitian. Do I need a nutrition coach? goes through the signs either way.

What drives the cost of a macro coach

Prices for macro coaching vary too much to be worth quoting, and the price alone tells you little. These are the things that usually make one service cost more than another:

• How often you check in, and whether a person actually reads it and writes back, or you get an automated reply.
• Whether a training program is included, or only nutrition.
• How you can reach the coach between check-ins, and how quickly they reply.
• Extras, such as form-check videos or in-person sessions.
• Contest prep, which usually needs closer contact as the show gets near.
• Personal or template. A plan written for you takes more time than a template with your numbers dropped in.
• The coach's experience and how many clients they take on.

Is online coaching worth it? lists what you should get for your money, whatever you pay.

Questions to ask a macro coach

• How do you set my starting numbers?
• What makes you change them, and how long do you wait before judging a change?
• Do you look at anything beyond my weight?
• Will you explain the reasons, so I can do this myself one day?
• What do you do if I mention a health problem? The right answer is that they will send you to your doctor.

How coaching with CoachAk works

With one-to-one coaching from CoachAk, your application is read personally, and your calorie and macro targets sit in a private app alongside your training program. You log your weight daily. Each week you send a check-in that takes about three minutes, covering your weight, training and nutrition adherence, steps, sleep, energy, hunger and stress; body measurements and photos are optional. Your coach replies with written feedback on what went well and what changes next week and why, adjusts your targets as your body responds, and you can message your coach directly between check-ins.

If you want a macro coach who explains every change, apply for coaching.