Tracking Macros
When it comes to tracking your macro’s, it’s important to do it for the right reasons. Tracking/counting macro’s has become a very trendy and popular topic. I think that many people try it out thinking that this is the key to reaching their goals and/or that they might have to do it forever in order to maintain their goals. And others might think that it’s way too restrictive and diet-culture oriented. Here’s the thing about both of these frames of thought - they are two different extremes and neither one is true. When you come across something (a trend, diet, etc) that seems extreme, walk the other way.
The truth about tracking macronutrients is that for many people it can be an excellent skill to learn more about food and understand portioning in a way that's right for their body and goals. For the majority, I don’t believe it's meant to be used chronically but I do believe it's a skill and tool to come back to every once in a while to make sure things are in check. For some - there might need to be a couple of important steps that come before learning the skill of tracking macro’s (depending on the person’s history and relationship with food). However, in general, so many can learn alot from this strategy. It doesn’t have to be restrictive at all or even be something that defines you. Be aware of your mindset when using this strategy and take the steps to shift it when necessary.
I think one thing that many people don’t realize or consider is that our entire food culture is very different today than it was even just 100 years ago. We have an absurd abundance of grocery stores, convenience stores with non-perishable snacks and treats, fast food restaurants, regular restaurants, coffee shops, commercials advertising food/eating, billboards and magazines and marketing ads of various types of food.
I mean food is quite literally in our faces ALL. THE. TIME.
And this evolved rather quickly in the last 100 years since the processing and preserving of food has changed.
I truly don’t believe that we as humans were equipped with the skills and knowledge it takes to self-regulate in this type of environment and culture. So these are things that we have to work on developing. And unfortunately for some people, this is a much more challenging journey than for others (depending on how food was approached in childhood, etc).
Tracking macro’s is one of many skills that you can learn to help you self-regulate in a world where one of the main forms of entertainment we have is eating food.
I want to give a personal example of how tracking macro’s has been periodically useful and helpful for me and my goals. I am the type of person where, when stressed and/or busy, I tend to accidentally undereat. I also constantly have a goal to add/maintain lean muscle mass because of how important it is for the body and as we age. I need to periodically track to make sure that I am consuming enough calories for my lifestyle and goals. When I’m able to track and achieve a certain caloric goal, I can then…
Visually see how much food that looks like (“ohhh so that’s what 30g of protein from chicken looks like”)
I can actively tune into how a meal makes me feel (still hungry, full, just right) and compare it to the portioning and decide whether I need more or less
I can learn more about what foods consist of mostly protein OR carb OR fats (you start to memorize this with repetition aka knowing that turkey is mostly protein and avocado is mostly fat)
I can plan meals ahead and make sure they are well rounded and meeting macronutrient AND micronutrient needs.
With repetition and consistency and ACTIVELY attempting to understand, you are able to repeat meals and know that it’s right for you without actually tracking it. Tracking macro’s will not work in your favor long term if you continue to do it mindlessly. Don’t become a slave to your tracking app. Use it to learn and tune in!
** The other thing to keep in mind is that we are not burning the exact same amount of calories every single day. This will fluctuate and you may have an average trend week to week if your routine is pretty consistent. So look at daily macro’s this way as well. Maybe you don’t hit the exact same numbers every day but at the end of the week, did you average out close to your goal? And of course I don’t mean that it would be good to fluctuate drastically from day to day. You must still create a level of consistency and stability for your body.
Your mindset is everything.
I see so many people embrace food and eating from a place of fear and scarcity. And it really makes me sad because I feel that this is a result from years of dieting, undereating and generally fearing what to actually eat.
We have got to shift this.
One mindset that I really embrace when it comes to food and/or tracking is
**What do I need to nourish my body best today?**
I don’t just focus on the macro numbers but also the variety and density of vitamins and minerals in my food. This ultimately is what leads to looking and feeling my best.