ALL ABOUT TRACKING MACROS
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A few weeks ago, I talked about the steps I was taking to start focusing on my health after I noticed my pants starting to feel a little tighter.
One of those things that I have really been focusing on the past few months has been tracking my macros. I received several questions about how I track my macros that I’m going to talk about here, but I need to preface that with 2 things…
1. I am NOT a nutritionist, registered dietician, or even a health coach anymore. Please do not take my word as the gospel, and please consult a medical professional before you try tracking your macros or any other type of weight loss or exercise plan.
I DO have a background in Exercise Science and have done work in nutrition, specifically with athletes, so I do feel like I have knowledge in this area. But again, I am NOT a licensed professional here so please do not take what I am doing as a blueprint for your own life.
2. I have struggled with disordered eating in the past - and it’s probably something that I need to talk more about, but I still feel a lot of shame around it. I was VERY secretive about my struggle because of shame. I didn’t want anyone to know what I was doing or going through, but it was extremely unhealthy - both physically + mentally.
If you struggle with an eating disorder or disordered eating, please FIRST get the help you need to overcome that mental battle. It took me YEARS to finally develop a healthy relationship with food + exercise, but it is still something that I am working through even today.
Before you start counting macros, I believe you need to develop a healthy mindset around food. If you feel like you need to exercise in order to “earn” eating, there is still work that needs to be done (and this is still one of my biggest struggles). If you are obsessively counting calories or restricting your food intake, there is still work that needs to be done.
My main goal here is to share with you the BASICS of what I am doing and the resources you can use to help you get started if counting macros is something you’ve been thinking about doing in order to lose weight, fat, or fuel your body for athletic performance.
Here is my breakdown of what macro tracking is + what it looks like for me...
What the heck are macros?!
When you typically think of “counting” in terms of nutrition, you’re probably used to hearing people counting their calories or doing things like Weight Watchers and counting “points.” Counting your macros is a little different because you are looking at your 3 main sources of where your calories come from:
Carbohydrates
Protein
Fat
These 3 things are what we call Macronutrients. They provide FUEL for your body, or in other terms, CALORIES for your body. You NEED all 3 of these things in order for your body to function correctly and they all serve a different and important purpose in your body.
However, the amount each of us needs individually varies, based on our weight, age, gender, activity level, and goals.
How did you figure out what your macros are?
This is obviously one of the hardest questions to answer because there is SO MUCH information out there! A quick Google search and you’ll find 28 MILLION results on how to find your macros.
While it is easiest to use just an online calculator to find your macros, I’ve worked with enough nutritionists + registered dieticians to know that it’s NOT that easy.
There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to what combination of carbs, protein, and fat you need in your body based on the things I said above. Your weight, age, gender, activity level, and goals all play a factor in the right combo of macronutrients you need. Some people might need more protein than carbohydrates. Others might need lower fat because of inflammation in their body.
All of that to say, an online calculator might not be the best way to find the right combo of macros for you.
For me, I turned to my friend + former client Emily Field. Emily is a registered dietician who focuses solely on macronutrients for all types of people, but particularly for athletes. I bought her Personalized Macro Prescription in December of 2019 and I’ve been THRILLED with the results from her calculations for me. I think my favorite thing is that you fill out a questionnaire and she dives deep into the why and how of what your macronutrient and calorie targets should be. I got so much insight just from her feedback that it was totally worth the investment.
What app do you use to track?
There are SO many apps out there, but I was most familiar with MyFitnessPal, as you probably are too. I used to use it to (secretly) track my calories and search for every + all food I was putting into my body.
However, as much as I love the database of foods in MFP, it’s not great when it comes to macro tracking without having to pay for the app (which I wasn’t going to do).
Now I use Chronometer, which is free but also has a pro option that I don’t feel you need. They have a decent database of food to choose from, but they also give you the option to set your macros based on percent or grams or to not have a target at all. I typically set my carb, protein, and fat targets in grams, but I keep my target calories to zero so I’m NOT focusing on calories (which is what my biggest issue was in my 20s with disordered eating).
The only downfall is the Chronometer doesn’t have a desktop option, so you have to use it from your phone. But, most likely you’re reading this from your phone anyway, so it’s probably no big deal to you!
What does a typical day of tracking look like for you?
Honestly, I’m not real creative when it comes to my meals, and if you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I am 100% a creature of habit. I almost ALWAYS eat the same things for breakfast + lunch daily, which makes it super easy to track.
For breakfast, 9 times out of 10 I’m having a green smoothie with banana, chia seeds, spinach, protein powder, PB2, and milk. It’s the easiest way for me to get protein as a pescatarian and it tastes like dessert first thing in the morning, which makes my sugar cravings a little easier to handle.
Lunch is one of 2 things: I’m either eating a salad with tomatoes, red onion, cheddar, hard-boiled eggs, sunflower seeds, and ranch - OR - tuna salad with pretzel crackers. And I almost always need something sweet after my meals, so I usually have flavored Greek yogurt with trail mix for some added crunch.
Dinner is the variable every day. While Matt + I typically don’t stray from our weekly menu too much (tacos, egg rolls, pizza…), this is usually the meal that I have to account the most for because it’s the one that will put me over my carb target every single time.
But, I think my favorite thing about counting macros is that I can still eat the foods I LOVE. I love dessert + I like to drink beer occasionally. I don’t feel like anything is off-limits.
Here’s an example of a day where I hit all my targets almost perfectly…
B: Green Smoothie + coffee with creamer
L: Salad + Greek yogurt
D: Fish Tacos
S: Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal (without milk)
Do you ever get tired of tracking?
Yes and no. I don’t love tracking because it can definitely be a pain to count every single thing you put in your mouth. WHO WANTS THAT?!
But, I also know that it’s something I can be extremely flexible with. I DO NOT track every day when I am tracking. Usually, I track Monday through Thursday and take the weekend off - mostly because it’s too hard to track alcohol and because I want a break so I don’t obsess over it.
I like tracking for a season to see how I’m doing - usually 4-6 weeks of tracking - and then I take a break. I don’t want to be married to it, but I also want to be healthy.
I notice when I’m staying in those targets, my clothes fit better, I have more energy, and my workouts feel amazing. And eating pretty much the same things all the time makes it easy for me to know if I’m staying on track WITHOUT having to track everything I put in my mouth.
So, if you’ve been thinking about tracking your macros, I hope this helps you a little bit. Just remember, having a healthy relationship with your food + your body is key. If tracking causes you stress or obsessing over the numbers, it’s not worth it. Do what’s best for you! Try it for a season and see what happens!
If you’re looking to get started with macro tracking - or need more accountability as you’re learning and getting started - these are my go-to resources…
Emily Field’s Personalize Macro Prescription (obviously)
Kate Lyman Nutrition for 1:1 coaching in macros + flexible nutrition
