Whenever possible I ask clients to track daily macros.
It’s highly effective for getting in shape, is easy to report, requires engagement to do right, and demands accountability.
It also leads to a few precious “aha” moments: “I can’t believe that single mistake erased my entire calorie deficit.” 90% of these involve trail mix, peanut butter, red wine, granola, and pasta. These alone make macro counting something everyone should try at least once.
Yet it’s still a very narrow-minded way to view food, even artificial. After all, we don’t eat macros, we eat FOOD. And food is more than just the sum of its macros.
Plus the BIG question EVERY client has when asked to track their macros:
“Will I have to do this for the rest of my life?”
Short answer is, NO.
The long answer is definitely longer. Here are the bullet points:
1. EVERYONE should learn to do it and do it for at least three months. The lessons it teaches are invaluable.
2. It should be your method of choice when you want to “take your physique someplace” such as the once a year diet or bulking phase.
These are times when you want to ignore natural hunger/satiety cues; or at best take them under advisement.
3. During maintenance phases, EVERYONE should make a concerted effort to wean off tracking and rely more on their long-ignored natural signalling.
Now that can be extremely scary for some, especially those who’ve made massive progress by IGNORING their instincts.
So to make it easier:
– Start by eyeballing portion sizes for one meal a day. Make it one you tend to repeat throughout the week, such as the daily chicken salad at lunch.
– Another option is to choose the meal you eat as a family and tends to vary, such as dinner.
Use all the classic tips:
– fist or palm size portions of lean protein and starch
– fill plate with veggies
– chew slowly
– no seconds
– still track this meal in a simple food log on notes, or take photos. Be sure to note what your body was telling you before and after eating.
– macro track all other meals.
4. If successful (you don’t binge or overeat or otherwise blow it) add a second meal in a week or two.
5. Understand that this is HARD and you WILL screw up, and may have to regress and cruise at just one eyeballed meal for weeks, even months.
You might even have to go back to tracking entirely — and that’s okay. That’s why you learned the skill in the first place: to right the ship when “listening to your body” or just bad habits got you into trouble.
6. Even if you graduate to full no tracking be sure to ALWAYS measure nuts, nut butters, salad dressings, and other concentrated sources of fat.
7. Maintain a protein goal, a set minimum amount to eat most every day. A gram per pound of bodyweight works well.
8. For some a daily fruit & veggie goal is another good idea. For others it might be a fiber target or water or sleep goal.
In short, pay extra attention to the holes in your game and have confidence where you seem to do well. What gets measured gets managed.
Whether or not you track macros doesn’t speak to how healthy you are; it’s merely another tool. And a tool is only effective if it’s the right tool for the job.
Enjoy the journey, even the bumps along the way.
– Coach Bryan