I’ve been coaching people with macros for about 2 years, and while that doesn’t make me an expert in the field, I have learned quite a few things in the last two years as well as during this time of being quarantined. Some of these things might be helpful for you as well, or they might be painfully obvious. Either way. I’m certain that they could be of help to someone out there working toward bettering their health with nutrition.
I have found both personally and through working with clients that planning ahead is paramount! There are many different ways of doing this, from planning out all your meals for the week ahead or just planning dinners for the week, or planning just for the following day. For me personally, planning 3 meals a day for the week and then filling in the gaps in my macros with my snacks works best with my lifestyle. That may not work for you. The key is to find the way of planning that works best for you and stay consistent with it. With any option I would suggest starting with your biggest or most important meal, or your “focus” meal and work backwards from or around that meal. I will explain what I mean by that by using myself as an example. Dinner is an important meal in my house. We come together as a family and eat together. We all eat the same meal, so I plan that out every week. When logging into Myfitnesspal(that’s the app I use to track macros), I start with dinner and then I’ll add my breakfast and lunch. These are “on your own” meals where everyone fixes and eats or packs their own meal choices. That gives me the freedom to fix what and how much I want. Once the three meals are entered, I figure out how much of each macro is left and then I start filling in the gaps and manipulating my serving sizes to get as close to triple zero as possible within 5-6 grams per macro. When I’m really on my game, this can prove to be quite economical. I shop the sales in the meat department and frozen section and then I can shop and menu plan from my pantry and freezer. I have in the past planned meals 2 weeks in advance. I really need to be at the top of my A game for that, as it does take work, but once you find your rhythm it’s pretty easy. Many people think that “eating healthy” is expensive. I find the exact opposite to be true. Going through the stores in the first few weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak and the grocery store shelves were completely empty proved my point. Instead of planning a weekly menu and then a grocery list (I actually had someone laugh at the fact that I still made and shopped with a grocery list – joke’s on them. Please tell me I’m not the only person who still shops with a grocery list). I had to just go to the store and get what I could get and plan a menu around that. Obviously my planning 2 weeks out A game was not in full effect, but I can tell you 100% that grocery bill was way more expensive than it’s been in quite a long time, AND I am the Mom to a 17yo girl and a 15yo boy AKA human garbage disposals with hollow legs.
Along with menu planning usually comes meal prepping. I know that most people dread this part as either too time consuming, or they make the meals and then don’t want to eat what they’ve made. I get it. Try batch prepping instead of meal prepping. I usually batch prep 2 times a week. 1) because I find it easier and 2) because I have the time and flexibility in my schedule, though I would argue that batch prepping is less time consuming than meal prepping. As an example, I will cook up a pound of ground turkey or ground bison and make some mashed sweet potatoes on a Sunday. I can then portion out the amount I want and use those ingredients however I want through the first part of the week. Then, on Wednesday I’ll cook up some chicken breasts in the Instantpot and maybe some boiled eggs. I can shred the chicken or slice it up and use it however I choose. I will usually prepare a vegetable like broccoli or green beans or saute some onion and bell pepper to throw on any of those dishes. For me, this is just easier and more flexible than a full-on meal prep. I will occasionally do a meal prep, usually for a breakfast type meal. Again, the key is consistency. Find what works best for you, start small if you need to, and stick with it.
Another key ingredient (see what I did there) to your success is to find an accountability partner. This is true for any goal or life change, but if you have a coach or a supportive friend or family member to help you stay consistent and cheer you on when things get tough it really helps. It works even better if they’re doing it with you, but that’s not a requirement. They help keep you on track and moving one step at a time towards your goal. They can remind you of your why during tough times, when extra macros are calling your name from the pantry. My accountability partner (yes, even coaches need them) and I like to play Macro Tetris; she or I will text the other with nothing other than, “10P/22C/6F” or whatever the day’s remaining macros happen to be, and together we brainstorm what to eat to fill those macros. This helps get out of the rut of eating the same foods over and over too.
I’m pretty sure that there are probably tons of social media groups out there that can not only play Macro Tetris with you, but also serve as a great source for macro friendly recipes and products to look for in the stores (once the shelves are fully stocked that is). One would hope that these communities are supportive, but in the cyber age you sometimes never know what you’ll get.
Lastly, in times of uncertainty, stress levels start to rise which can lead to emotional eating and binging. Just be kind to yourself and have patience with where you are in the moment or season. Remember that consistency is key and know that one meal or even one day isn’t going to ruin months of hard work. Give yourself some grace and get back on track.
If you find that during this time you’re moving less and therefore in a surplus of macros, look at manipulating them or having your coach change things up until life goes back to it’s new “normal”. If you do change things and manipulate macros, remember to stay consistent and allow your body to respond. Macro manipulation takes time and patience to reach your goals. Right now, getting through this time is the goal and coming out the other side with a better understanding of how to accomplish your goals is my hope for you.
Alkemy with Coach Kristin 