When I started posting about my macro tracking journey a while back, the questions started coming. Then after answering a few questions and posting in detail about my macro lifestyle (yes, I said “lifestyle,” NOT “diet”), the questions actually started?pouring?in! Among all of the requests, the most common was for a visual example of exactly what a day in the macros life looks like. HOW do I (and you) actually translate the principles of this way of eating into what to eat?
I was asked to do a news segment on the topic for a local station and figured what better way to teach than to show EXACTLY what my foods look like. Since I Facebook LIVEd the segment, you all can watch it too. Yay?love technology! Click HERE if you want to watch. It?s long (but super cute because Cash came along to help out!), so if you don?t want to watch, and you want the full breakdown of what and how-to, just keep reading?
So, we’ve already covered the basics of the macros way of eating in my previous post.? But just to quickly recap before we get to the “meat and potatoes” of the post (pun intended), let’s talk about what a Macro Diet is.?Well, it?s not really a DIET, per se, but it?s the best?way to fine tune?a diet for your own wants and needs. I STILL carb cycle, and Chris STILL carb cycles, but we’ve actually taken carb cycling to?another level by tracking our daily macronutrient intake while carb cycling.
The plain and simple of it is that it is?NOT “clean eating,” but it’s not “unclean eating” either. Clean eating diets require you ONLY eat foods on the “healthy” list and deprivation is the name of the game. This is hard for most?people to follow, myself included.?The idea behind a macro-based plan, however, is that no foods are off limits, but instead we track our proteins, carbs, and fats for each day until we reach our?goal macronutrient numbers. So if I want a donut, I eat a donut. But I am aware (thanks to MyFitnessPal) of the exact macronutrient breakdown of that donut (high fat and carb content) and plan accordingly for the rest of my day.
This begs the question, “Is this easier or harder than clean eating?” While the food part is easier (because c’mon…allowing yourself pizza every now and then is MUCH easier than saying you can never eat it again), the actual calculating part is harder and much more tedious. I happen to love math, and I love treats…so this is a (marshmallow) dream (bar) come true for me. If you aren’t too keen on math?like Chris (ha!)?we can help you out. Download our free Macro Counting 101 Ebook now. Our simple guide will give you the basics of macro tracking and will help you figure out the appropriate macros for you and your goals.
Alright, so on to my sample day. This particular day’s goal for me is 120g protein, 250g carbohydrate, and 50g fat. While this happens to be my lower carb day, it actually has wonderfully balanced macros for the average person (about 50% carb, 25% protein, 25% fat). I’m not saying this is right for you, just giving an example. I’ll share info at the bottom of this post on how you can calculate your own macronutrient needs, but here’s a little breakdown of exactly what one of my recent days looked like.
Meal 1 (every single day for me, no joke) consists of a protein shake (1 scoop) and a Marshmallow Dream Bar. Starbucks should send me free MDBs for life with all the promo I give them. 😉 Ha!
This meal contains 25g protein, 49g carb, 5g fat. Soooo, let’s do some math here and subtract those macros from my macros that I started with?remember, they were 120g P, 250g C, and 50g F. After meal 1, I have 95g P, 201g C, and 45g F left in my macro bank. You follow how I am doing that? Easy!
Okay, now on to meal 2. A few hours later I am eating 5.3 ounces nonfat plain Greek yogurt, 1 cup of strawberries, topped with 1/4 cup of THE best low-fat granola by KIND (Banana Nut Clusters).
This meal has 18g P, 37g C, and 2g F. Back to math class here…subtracting these numbers from my macro bank means I now have 77g P, 164g C, and 43g F left over for the rest of the day.
Next up, one of my favorite convenience meals?1 cup of brown rice pasta with 3 ounces extra-lean ground turkey, 1/4 cup marinara, and 1 1/2 cups of steamed broccoli to keep me full. This meal is SO easy to make if you have the brown rice pasta and ground turkey meal prepped in advance like we like to do.
My pasta perfection has 26g P, 52g C, and 3g F. Macro bank, after subtracting these numbers, is now at 51g P, 112g C, and 40g F.
Early afternoon, I will eat some more meat and veggies?this time with rice?to keep my hunger minimized and my blood sugar levels stable. This meal is 3 1/2 ounces grilled chicken, 1/2 cup jasmine rice, 1 ounce teriyaki sauce, and some mixed veggies.
This meal has 25g P, 34g C, and 3g F.?After mowing this down in 3 seconds flat (okay, I’m not that fast), I have 26g P, 78g C, and 37g F left for the day.
Now you will notice I have been going super low fat for most of the day. Yes, I am aware of this…and this isn’t THE way to do macro counting, this is MY way of doing it. I do this because I want to bank my fats and a decent amount of carbs for my last meal of the day. I know that by saving these macros for night, I can enjoy a perfectly calculated, on-plan indulgence meal.
And my indulgence meal is….gluten-free, peanut butter-topped Eggo waffles. Yes…I am serious. The kid in me will never go away. I legit lick every. single. spot. off of this plate.
To be exact, this meal consists of 3 gluten-free Eggo waffles, 3 tablespoons all-natural chunky peanut butter, 1/8 cup pure maple syrup, and 1 low fat mozzarella string cheese. Macros for the heaven-on-a-plate are 26g P, 78g C, and 37g F…which is EXACTLY what my macro bank had left!! Bingo, bango, bongo, baby. To summarize, I’ve put it all in one handy dandy printable graphic for you:
Now in full transparency, I rarely finish a day spot on. This happened to work out perfectly, but usually I am 1 gram over or under on each of the macros. Give it a try and be patient with yourself. I remember at the beginning I would literally be OVER my carb allowance by noon because I still hadn’t figured out the balance and proper way to divvy up my macros. Over time, I feel like I’ve become a macro queen, and you can too!
Now about that macro calculating and tracking for those of you who would like to get nerdy with me and start calculating macros…and eating peanut butter waffles at night. ;)?The Transform App?2.0 finally has macro tracking capabilities! ?So now you can track the foods that YOU eat.
And to help you calculate the appropriate macros for you, we?ve created our Macro Counting 101 ebook?available for FREE download now. ?Pick it up while you can because this baby won?t be free for long! ;-)? Click here to download!
Now that I’ve made us all hungry, let’s end this blog now and go eat some delicious, nutritious, and possibly-indulgent macros.
Hugs and (chocolate) kisses,
Heidi
Related reading:
Macro Tracking for the Win! All of Your Questions Answered
Carb Cycling 101
Heidi-Approved (& Macro-Friendly) Fast Food Picks
It Really Is All About the Promise
And click HERE for the GMAZ Facebook Live Segment in case you missed it above. 😉
210 Responses
Hi,
I’m new to “tracking macros”, so I have to say THANK YOU, a LOT, for showing this, now I getting to know how does this thing about macros works. I’ve been using MFP app since 2 months ago. I’m eating 3 meals a day (well, I guess 4 because I take a little snack after my workout) but my BIGGEST confusion is: Do I need to eat the same amount of carbs-protein-fat grams in every meal? or I can consume more grams of these, for example, in my breakfast? and less in the dinner, and so on, etc…? I weight 143, I’m 27 yo, my height is 5’4, and I want to lose 20 pounds, I’ve been eating well since 2 months and a half, (I’ve lost 11 pounds) and I’ve been working out (cardio+strength) for 3 weeks now, 6 days a week, 90 minutes or so in total. I’ve been consuming 1,200 calories, but since I’m not sure I’ve been doing “researches” about macros and I’ve been changing them (like 4 times). Today I changed them into 137gr carbs- 106gr protein- 27 gr fat and added 20 extra calories to my calories deficit. I feel that I don’t really want to complicate about all this, I just want to lose weight, burn fat and have a lean body. Today I weighted myself (do it every week) but I did not lose even a pound, but I look thinner, I think it is because I have gained muscles (maybe because of the strength workouts 3 times a week) but the THING is that I really want to lower the numbers in my scale. Hope you can help e with the macros distribution, plus some advice, I’d really APPRECIATE IT. Thanks for reading me.
Hope you can HELP me!
Hi Se: Congrats on losing 11 pounds – that’s awesome! It sounds like you’re definitely on the right track to achieve your goals. There’s an awesome macros calculator in this post, and it can help you figure out your macro numbers: https://heidipowell.net/10990. As far as spreading your macros out throughout your day, you can do that in whatever way fits best, and you don’t have to split them evenly between each meal. And Chris and Heidi’s new app, Transform with Chris and Heidi (http://thetransformapp.com) can figure out your numbers for you, as well as offer a totally customized nutrition and workout program (and you can do your own workout program too). And your plan will change as you progress towards your goals also, so you don’t have to figure out anything! Your first week is free if you want to check it out. If not, check out the macros calculator in the post link I shared, and go from there. You can do this! 🙂
Hey team Powell
I’ve been macro counting for the pat 3 weeks now! Loving it!!
I do however struggle to meet my protein amount everyday.
I’m training 4 times a week at the moment and I am slowly starting to feel the strain on my body for not eating enough protein. You know we’re not 26 anymore!!(almost 37!?)
I want to know if and when I can use Protein Casein. I read it’s better to use in between meals and before bed as to Whei protein that should be taking after training.
Any advice or suggestions would be great!
Thanks
Hi Liz: You can use whichever protein powders you like. In general, Chris and Heidi recommend low-fat, low-carb powders with around 20 grams of protein/serving, but again, use what you like that will help you get that protein. 🙂
Hi Heidi!
What marinara sauce do you recommend?
Thanks so much!
Hello I have been doing the extreme and then I contacted pro physiques to calculate my macros. I’m confused because she has my fat and protein staying the same every day and just rotates my carbs up and down between 120 low carb days and 190 high carb days. I gained a lb this week and I’m logging everything in my fitness pal. Does this sound right to only switch carbs. I paid for the workouts and the nutrition part.
Hi Emily: If you’re working with Pro Physiques, I’d follow their numbers since they’ve based them on you, your body composition, your workout routine, and your goals. You can do this! 🙂
I gained 2 lbs this week. Do you think this seems like a lot of carbs? I don’t think 120 carbs a day is low carb.
Hi Emily: Did you get this carb number from the macros calculator? Your daily macro recommendations are based on your goals and body composition, and if you did use the calculator, please remember that it is a bit more generalized than if you were working with a macros coach who would base your recommendations specifically on your body composition, your workout schedule (day-to-day including intensity and duration), and some other factors unique to you. I hope that makes sense, and I hope this answers your question. If not, please reply! 🙂
I got the macros from the pro physiques trainer. I’m not sure if it just takes a while for your body to adjust to eating more carbs or what I have going on, but I have been on a steady gain since I started adding carbs in. I have been a low carb eater for several years. I’m just confused about the carb cycling I think because in the book it suggest only carbs for breakfast 2 days a week and the rest of the day just fat and protein on your low carb days. Then when you start doing the macro counting it’s a lot more carbs on the low carb days. I’m just trying to figure out if I should keep on this program or go with a lower carb high fat diet. I always get my protein in. That’s never a problem. It is just this crazy carb business and gaining weight that I’m concerned about.
Hi Emily: I’d suggest you discuss your concerns with your Pro Physiques trainer and go from there. And remember, like you said, it can take your body a bit of time to adjust to a new way of doing things, especially if you’ve been on low carbs for that long. I hope you can find the answers you’re seeking!
Heidi, I used the calculator that you suggested and it says that I should be taking in 1,798 calories, 126 protein, and 50 fat per day. I am about to start the Turbo Carb Cycle from the book. Should I be implementing these numbers into that cycle or stick to the 1500 on the high days and 1200 on the low days? x, Aalyhia
Hi Aalyhia: If you’re going to follow any of our carb cycles, your macros are all figured out for you. You just have to follow the program, so stick to the 1200 cals on low carb days and 1500 cals on high carb days. You can totally do this!
Hey where can I get recipes with macro counts because I though the book will give you the macros counts
Hi Elida: If you’re talking about “Extreme Transformation,” all of the macros are included with each recipe. All of the recipes on this blog also have the macro counts. 🙂
Hi, I’m starting to carb cycle and trying to figure out what my high and low day should be? I have my everyday macros, but how do I know what high carb days should be and low carb days?
Hi Brittany: If you’re following any of Chris and Heidi’s carb cycles, everything is figured out for you. If not, then we’d suggest you work with a macros coach since what will work best for you is based on some very individual things with carb cycling. 🙂
This has been a God-send for me! For a planner and organizer this way of eating is awesome!
One question I have is in regards to sugars for the day. I have heard and read that sugars should be kept to 50 g or lower. With eating fruit, how do you keep that below 50 g? Is this even a “true” statement?
Hi Amy: Yes, this is a solid recommendation. You can incorporate fruit and other healthy carbs into your day to hit that number. It does take some planning, but it can be done. 🙂
Any recommendations on a macro coach?
Hi Amanda: Yes! There are a couple of links to coaches in this post: https://heidipowell.net/10990. 🙂
Hi there! I’ve been on the macro lifestyle for about 11 months. It’s probably the most affective plan I have ever been on. I have been able to stay under or at my goal weight the whole time. Even through the holidays. My question is how long is it safe to stay on a 3500 calorie plan? My weight fluctuates 2-4 pounds every once in a while but my body doesn’t look as good as it did in the beginning. I’m also starting to feel physically tired and my muscles kind of feel fatigued a lot. I work out 4 days a week. I do a mixture of cardio and weight training and my sessions last about an hour. I’m a massage therapist 5 days a week and I do about 3-4 clients a day. I’m still I. The “lose weight” option on my macro count. Should I be switching to the “maintain weight” macro count? If I switch then my app will want me to eat more and I’m just afraid I’ll start to gain fat. 🙁
Hi Ashley: Since macro tracking is a very individual thing based on your body composition, workout routine, goals, etc., you might want to talk to a macros coach who can help you put together a plan going forward to help you achieve your specific goals. Sometimes, the smallest tweaks can make all the difference! If a macro coach isn’t in the cards, you might want to try switching to maintenance and see how it goes. We wish you all the best!