It’s time to get serious with your nutrition. If you want to lose that stubborn weight, hitting it hard with the workouts isn’t enough – I wish that were the case, as I LOVE to eat! I’m here to share some tips I’ve learned, and we’re hitting the basics today.
I’ve used 2 different approaches to watching what I
eat. First is the method I’ve had the
most success with, more so because I’ve used it the longest.
1. Counting calories, logging my food, and
watching macros: Macro is short for macronutrient
and by this I mean watching your protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake. I’ve follow the ratio goal of getting 50%
protein, 30% carbs, 20% fat. When I started
nailing my nutrition and eating with that correct ratio for the entire day my
weight started falling off. (with consistent exercise of course)
I used the calorie needs calculator at the Team Beachbody
website and
then started logging everything I ate. To
log my food, I like to use the My Fitness Pal app on my phone. When I
select “nutrition” in My Fitness Pal I see the most handy feature of all. A pie chart! Amazing, right?! This little pie chart is my lifeline to
watching what I eat. As I plan my meals
and enter my foods, I’m looking for around ½ of that pie chart to be green
(protein) and the blue (carbs) and red (fat) to be as close as I can get to the
30% and 20% goal. Am I always spot
on? Nope. But I’m happy with getting pretty close!
Eating this way & following macros closely takes a lot
of trial and error. I learned so much
about food when I started this simple task of watching that pie chart. For instance, I had no idea how many carbs
were in vegetables!
When you’re first playing around with entering food, I’d highly suggest a few things.
When you’re first playing around with entering food, I’d highly suggest a few things.
- Just start by logging what you are eating now. Don’t stress about getting your macros right. Get used to logging food, and aim for your personal calorie intake goal. (I can help you figure out your calorie goals if you need me to)
- About a week later, it’s time to watch those macros. This is the time to plan ahead. I suggest sitting down one evening and entering absolutely everything you plan to eat the next day into My Fitness Pal and watch that pie chart closely. Experiment by adding/removing food that messes with your 50/30/20 ratio until you get it right – obviously still maintaining your calorie goal as close as possible.
- Stick with step 2 for another 2 weeks. Now it’s time to re-evaluate and this is where I would step in as your coach and help you figure out how things are going. Are you losing weight? If so how fast? These are all things to think about and questions I’d help you walk through this as your free coach. As your coach I can also chat about how you can get a free e-book with 3 full weeks of meal plans and recipes that will make you nail your calories/macros and help you learn how to eat this way!
What have I learned? Counting calories and watching macros takes a bit of learning. There are a few new habits that need to be formed if you’re going to make it work. (Logging your food, choosing food wisely, and planning your meals ahead) But let me tell you, it’s SO worth it in the end!
2. 21 Day Fix Container System: There’s one more method I’ve used that I don’t want to ignore. I have become a HUGE fan of the 21 Day Fix. The 21 Day Fix is a week’s worth of incredible body-changing workouts but also comes with a color-coded container nutrition system. By following the allowed number of containers for each color (protein, greens, grains, etc.) you will learn to control your portion sizes and get the foods you need to lose weight. This system overwhelmed me for the first day or two. I had no clue what I was doing. As I continued to stick with it, knowing what color container I needed, what food would go in what container, etc. became second nature. I highly recommend giving this system a try too. I even now have a cookbook that not only has delicious and healthy recipes but also tells me what containers each recipe equals up to.
So that’s it! I just
threw a lot of information at you. These
tips are the foundation of how I plan my meals, grocery shop, and choose what
food goes in my mouth.
Now it’s your turn. Make a plan and get started today! Feel lost and still not sure where to start? Reach out - I love to help.
Next time we’re going to talk “What’s for lunch?” and how lunchtime has drastically changed for me, even as a mom. Mac-n-cheese or PB&J with the kids? Not anymore!
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Want to take your goals to the next level? I’m starting a 30 Day Fit Mama Challenge and would love to have you join me. Beginning AUGUST 31 we’ll commit to 30 days of exercise & nutrition and pick away at those unwanted pounds all the while learning to eat differently.
