Hey! I was a beginner, too 🙋♀️
Tracking macros for the first time can be intimidating. I completely botched my first attempts at macros and made it so much harder for myself – and I was already a dietitian!
But guess what?
Even though I didn’t fully understand it, I struggled through it and did not give up. I learned as I went, made minor adjustments along the way, and most importantly, just kept at it by practicing. Here’s what I learned in my journey from macro newbie to macro expert:
>> Visualize the whole day – if you only think about the meal in front of you, you’re likely to play macro tetris to hit targets later. Consider your plans, the foods you already have on hand and your food preferences so you can “see” your day in meals to plan accordingly.
>> Log as you go – you will never remember exactly what you ate or how much. Best practice is to log ahead or right as you’re making your meal.
>> It’s a learning experience – each time you track you’re learning about the content of food which will make everything (from meal planning to estimating at restaurants) easier. Remain curious, not obsessive over perfection or accuracy.
>> Identify the PFC in your meals – learning which foods contain P, F, and C is a game changer because it allows you to easily throw together meals on the fly and hit your macros more consistently.
>> Even if you can’t measure, log it – it’s not realistic to use a food scale 100% of the time – ya gotta eyeball it sometimes! That’s almost always better than not tracking at all.
>> Log mixed dishes by each item – finding random mixed meal entries in the tracking app are never accurate and they don’t *teach* you anything about the ingredients you’re eating. Log item by item by estimating portion sizes.
What do you wish you did when you first started?
things I wish I did right away when I first started tracking
- February 20, 2022
