How To Start Tracking Macros
IIFYM. Counting Macros. Flexible dieting. All are terms that mean you count your protein fat and carbs in a day, burn calories, and reach goals those numbers are calculated for and customized to. Macro counting allows you to hit your goals without feeling entirely restricted, which is truly the beauty of learning this method. I encourage you to follow the 80/20 rule: 80% clean, healthy foods and 20% fun foods, desserts, sweets, pudding. While these things shouldn’t make up the majority of your macro budget for the day, I ENCOURAGE you to incorporate at least 1 sweet or treat in your day. In the long run, this MENTALLY gives you the ability to not feel restricted or deprived, and ALLOWS you to give yourself some grace, and help you to stick to your new macro journey in the long haul. It also removes the feeling of wanting to binge, because you are fulfilling your bodies nutritional needs with your protein fats and carbs during the day, and mentally not restricting foods as long as they fit your macros.
So, what are MACROS? Macros is short for macronutrients which are a category of nutrients that provide calories or energy. These nutrients are PROTEIN, CARBOHYDRATES and dietary FATS. All food labels will have these listed on them, as well as SERVING SIZES. If you are using MyFitnessPal they will automatically populate when you add in your food. Important note to help understand where your numbers are coming from and how they add up:
Protein= 4cal/gram so 25g protein= 100 calories (25x4)
Carbohydrates= 4cal/gram so 25g carbs= 100 calories (25x4)
Fats= 9cal/gram so 25g fats= 225 calories (25x9)
Counting macros is like learning a love language, it can be complicated and complex, multi layered, and how you learn what your boundaries are will be different from me, your neighbor or even your partner. But once you have it down, figure out your portions, your food favorites, and how to custom tailor your days and meals to your macros, it’s a lifelong lesson and habit you can refer to for years to come. Be patient. Give yourself grace, and keep moving forward even when imperfect. You DO NOT have to be perfect to reach the goal. You just have to be determined, committed and consistent, remember 80:20! Nothing comes easy, it will not be fast, this is not a crash diet, it will be work, it will alter your lifestyle, but it will be worth it!
Because with macro counting, there are no “restricted” foods, here is my best advice when it comes to choosing what do eat:
Make sure your meals are always high in protein and composed of sources that you like to eat. Most of the foods I thought I had to eat in order to be fit were things I wouldn't have eaten in my day to day life. Ground turkey, (I do not like ground turkey. Like at all), juicing, smoothies and like drinking flipping egg whites (no thanks.) What I didn't realize is that in order to stick to improving my health and make it a long-term success, I needed to have some balance, make some compromises, and learn to actually read labels to know if I what I wanted to eat was high or low fat/protein/sodium/sugar. Over time you will become more and more aware of what foods will fit into your macros AND make you feel great.
I would recommend starting with meals you already eat or variations on those meals and adjusting some ingredients to make them fit your macros. This is an amazing way to learn about portion sizes, where you can increase protein and decrease carbs and fat. Adding color to my plate with fruits and vegetables was and is a quick way to increase the volume of food I could eat rather than small amounts of pastas or grains. Reducing quantity and frequency of alcohol and high sugar, high fat foods quickly began to help me reach my goals. I had salads and turkey burgers, sure, but I added guacamole, and big cobb salads loaded with veggies, and had flatbread pizzas with buffalo chicken and veggies on top, desserts with fresh strawberries on the side, peanut butter on toast with bananas, homemade soups, BACON, and I never said never. As in no foods were off limits. BUT I committed to truthfully and honestly picking and choosing when and where I really wanted something sweet or fried, or If i was having it to have it.
With weightloss, and maintenance for that matter, it's not so much about all the things you can't have. It's really easy for us to obsess over the "can'ts". My last tip when you’re beginning to macro count is to focus on the fuel foods. Think about what's in that fuel wheelhouse that is satisfying and delicious!
