Eating with Macros: A Day in the Life

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?

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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!

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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).

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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:HeidiMacrosBLOGopt

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

  1. This is awesome! Much more realistic! I have done meal plans before, much harder! I feel like this is easier to do because you aren’t binging on things later, or starving! I will have to try this! I follow cori too, I’ll check out her calculator too! Thanks for your examples! They’ve really helped me!

  2. Thank you for always being transparent!!!! I love all the tips and simply-making it easy!!! I love the waffles for dinner-we do that sometimes too!!!

  3. This was helpful! I have been counting my macros for 2 weeks now. I try to be strict but tend to have a hard time staying under my fat percentage. I feel really good eating this way but have not lost any weight. Guess I will keep pressing on!

  4. I love the easy break down you gave in this blog, Heidi! I’ve been struggling with my weight the past three years since having my third baby. Thank you for being such a great inspiration!

  5. Hey is Casi Stauffer! My husband and I have tried every fad there is when it comes to dieting! Now that we have been coached on macros I finally feel like this can be my lifestyle! I feel like I eat SO MUCH FOOD! and I’m still dropping weight! I love how much you and Chris talk about macros and help people learn about nutrition! It’s always fun to look at your recipes and try them for ourselves.

  6. Hi 🙂 My name is Dominika and I am 19 years old, 175cm tall and 75kg heavy university student. I have always been a girl who struggled with weight and appearance and tried to loose weight over and over again. 2 years ago i lost 10kilos by low-carb diet and weight-training. But i gained it back in the previous two years. My problem is definetely binging and eating properly. I really love weight training and do not have problems with kardio. ( now i am trying to weight train 4x a week and do cardio 2x 40mins a week). I would like to start with carb cycling, but i think that this non-macro tracking measurement is not for me… What macro intake would you suggest to me in low-carb and high-carb days and with which carb-cycling program should i start? 🙂 Thank you sooo much in advance! :)))))

    1. Hi Dominika: If you’re going to follow any of Chris and Heidi’s carb cycles, (and I’d recommend starting with the Extreme Cycle), here are the macro percentages to aim for: Easy, Classic, Fit, and Turbo Cycles: High Carb Meal (including EVERY breakfast): Protein: 40%, Carbs: 40%, Fats: 20%, Low Carb Meal: Protein: 40%, Carbs: 20%, Fats: 40%. Extreme Cycle: Breakfast (EVERY day): Protein: 30%, Carb: 40%, Fat: 30%, High Carb Meal: Protein: 40%, Carb: 50%, Fat: 10%, Low Carb Meal: Protein: 40%, Carb: 10%, Fat: 50%. If you’re going to follow a different plan, then it’s best to work with a macro coach who can help you figure out what will work best for you. 🙂

  7. HI! Thanks for all your really good suggestions. I have been trying the macro counting for one week and I still do not everything right (my daily balance is often not right) but I think this will come with time. My biggest issue is getting the proteins in. I do not eat meat and I have no clue what I can eat instead! I do eat tofu, but not every day and not at every meal. The same is for fish. I do not really now what to eat which is protein rich and low in fat for high carb days! thank you for any suggestion!

    1. Hi Martina: If you eat eggs, these are a great form of protein. Nonfat/low fat Greek yogurts and cottage cheeses can also be an option, as well as tempeh, and bean and soy proteins. One key to getting enough protein is to have a protein with every meal, and Chris and Heidi recommend eating 5 meals, spaced every 3 hours, every day. You can do this!

  8. Ok so following the turbo plan. A lovely friend gave me a huge box of organic beets. How do I count those? As Carbs I am guessing. I want to spiralize them. But also roasting some.

  9. I do not understand at all what to with the percentages that I have seen with the cycles. I know my daily calorie intake because of the calculator that Heidi suggested but I do not understand how to put all those numbers together for high and low carb days. I do not know how to use the percentages to figure out my meals. My calorie goal is 2177.

    1. Hi Brittany: If you’re following one of Chris and Heidi’s carb cycles, here are the recommended macro percentages for all meals: Easy, Classic, Fit, and Turbo Cycles: High Carb Meal (including EVERY breakfast): Protein: 40%, Carbs: 40%, Fats: 20%, Low Carb Meal: Protein: 40%, Carbs: 20%, Fats: 40%. Extreme Cycle: Breakfast (EVERY day): Protein: 30%, Carb: 40%, Fat: 30%, High Carb Meal: Protein: 40%, Carb: 50%, Fat: 10%, Low Carb Meal: Protein: 40%, Carb: 10%, Fat: 50%. To convert percentages to grams of macros, each gram of fat = 9 calories, and each gram of protein or carb = 4 calories. So to figure out your fat grams, for example, you’ll take the calories x fat% / 9 = grams of fat for that meal or for that day. Hope that helps! 🙂

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