There legit looks like there is absolutely no difference between these two images above.
I mean maybe if you look really closely you can see the peanut butter is spread thinner on one…or the bananas are cut a bit thicker.
But if you were making this for yourself, you can see how it would be so easy to make the second and THINK it was the same portion size if you didn’t measure it.
And that’s EXACTLY the problem.
Most of us aren’t as good at “eyeballing” our portion sizes as we think.
And our hunger levels, as well as our stress levels, can dramatically impact exactly how big or small a portion looks….trust me.
Now with general weight loss, you may be able to “get away with” a little more deviation in your portions, especially if you’ve started your journey by cutting out specific foods.
But for fat loss…well you can’t.
We NEED to track if we have specific goals because it’s just so easy for our portions to become distorted.
Something that literally can look exactly the same can have 100 calories more and double the fat. (And heck, if you’re a nut butter fiend like me, that extra tbsp can EASILY become 2 or 3 more…)
And this is exactly why we can FEEL like we’re doing all of the right things yet not seeing the results we want.
Small portion distortions at each meal can add up.
And let’s face it too…the portions that usually become distorted aren’t generally the lean meats or even veggies….
It’s usually the nuts or the dried fruit or the crackers we have “just a couple extra of.”
It’s not that we are even eating “unclean,” whatever “clean” means to you.
But those little things we tend to want to have “extra” of are usually calorically more dense and not as “macro friendly.”
We have to remember that fat loss requires a calorie deficit AND tweaks to our macro ratios…both of which can easily become skewed by “just a few more” constantly being added in.
Tracking may be annoying. It may be tedious. Heck, you may even think it sucks.
But it not only gets easier, it’s truly key to results.
Plus, is 5 minutes of logging a day or an extra few minutes weighing out your food at each meal really worse than not reaching your goals?
MACROS – You may have heard this word recently when someone mentioned a new diet they were starting. But what the heck are macros and how do you “hit” or “fit” something into them?
I wanted to give you a little “cheat sheet” guide to macros and why paying attention to them may help you get better results FASTER!
So first…
What is a macro?
A macro is a macronutrient or protein, carbs and fats. It is the nutrients your body needs in large quantities.
Almost every popular diet out there manipulates the amount of each macro you consume to get results whether it is promoting low or no carbs, low fat, high protein, or some balance in between!
And all of the foods we consume have a certain amount of each macronutrient.
Animal proteins such as chicken, fish, eggs and beef all have a different amount of protein, and fat. Some are very low in fat, like chicken breast, while some can be higher in fat like say Salmon.
This doesn’t mean one food is BETTER than another.
It just means you can include a variety of protein sources based on your specific needs and goals and even “work around” different fat contents by the foods you include at other times!
For instance, if you’re doing a diet that is lower in fat and higher in protein, you may start to realize that eggs, while protein, also increase your fat intake.
So you may still include eggs, but you may eliminate a less healthy source of fat from somewhere else OR include a leaner protein source at another time.
Or if you’re doing Keto, you may start to look at which foods are higher in fat to focus on those while eliminating some foods that are higher in carbs.
Or if you’re a vegetarian looking to increase protein, you may realize that you need to not only combine certain foods for a completely protein, a complete amino acid chain, but that many of your protein sources also contain more carbs too.
The key is understanding what our food is made of so we can eat according to our goals!
To often we start a diet, dial in our diet with whole, natural foods and then wonder WHY we aren’t getting the results we want.
And it may be because while we think we are following the principles of the diet, we aren’t actually hitting the macronutrient ratios the diet suggests because we don’t actually KNOW what the macros are.
That is where this quick cheat sheet can come in handy!
And it is also important for us to realize that while the quality of our food is key for optimal functioning and better health…for some aesthetic goals…well it kind of doesn’t matter!
Quality Doesn’t Matter!?
This isn’t meant as an excuse to just go eat crap.
BUT I think it is an important fact to recognize because it is a frustration I often hear from clients trying to lose weight.
“Well I cut out all of the processed stuff and am eating one ingredient foods, but I’ve stopped losing weight and I have 10 more pounds!”
It’s because the quality of our food doesn’t fully matter to weight loss.
Because calories in vs calories out is at the heart of what matters, and how we dial in your macros CAN affect how we create a deficit, but you can still OVEREAT even eating only healthy foods.
While the quality of our food does help our body function optimally, I think often the fact that we cut out all of the foods we love to eat “cleaner,” ends up backfiring.
Often I even see clients overeating because they have a craving they aren’t satisfying.
So they hold themselves back from getting the results they want instead of striking a balance.
Instead of also including the foods they love while focusing on whole natural foods, they completely cut them out, and, all too often, end up binging on them at some point and falling off the restrictive diet they’ve created.
You CAN indulge in those foods you love while still dialing in the overall quality of your diet for results.
But realize that no matter how “clean” you eat, the bottom line is that if you want to lose or gain weight, the amount and type (aka macros) of calories that you consume matters most.
What’s Right For Me?
The most confusing part of this is where to start. What ratios or diets do you choose?
How do you create a calorie deficit without cutting out too much?
How can you get fast results without restricting yourself so much you end up binging?
Where is the balance that will work for you!?
The one key to figuring out what is right for YOU since one size doesn’t really fit all with dieting?
START TRACKING!
Learn about the different diets, experiment with different ratios and then track what you eat so you can truly see your calories, your macros and even what may be working or NOT working!
If you don’t track, you don’t know.
And tracking, while annoying yes, not only becomes easier and a HABIT, but it also helps you stop feeling like nothing will work!
What’s worse, not knowing what is or isn’t working and therefore constantly struggling to see the results you want OR taking a few minutes each day to weigh and measure and log?
Coat a medium (10″) non-stick pan with olive oil or coconut spray and heat over medium heat.
While the pan is heating up, cut the jalapeno in half, remove the seeds and chop very finely. Also chop your sun-dried tomatoes and place it all to the side.
Add the egg whites to the now hot pan and swirl it around a bit to spread the egg whites evenly over the entire surface of the pan. Sprinkle in the jalapeno, tomatoes, salt and pepper, covering the entire surface of the omelet.
Swirl a bit more then lower the heat and cover loosely while cooking for 3-4 minutes. You want the egg whites almost completely set and opaque.
While your omelet is cooking, chop up your spinach finely and even put the leaves in the microwave for about 25-30 seconds to wilt slightly. Now would also be a good time to toast your bread if you want it toasted.
When your omelet is fully cooked, remove it from the heat and add in the spinach, placing it in the center. Fold the omelet over the spinach to create a little “package.”
You can then cut the omelet and spread evenly over the 3 pieces of toast to enjoy!
* If you are gluten-free you may select a gluten-free bread or even place over sweet potatoes. Just make sure to adjust your macros for any swaps!
Want more delicious macro-friendly meals to help you increase your protein and get the lean, strong body you’ve always wanted? Learn more about Macro Cycling HERE!
We need to instead realize that it is all about balance and finding something we can do consistently.
Dieting doesn’t have to suck; however, just like everything in life, there will be times we have to do things we don’t fully want to do!
AND I think it is important to recognize that there will be periods where we will be more diligent and times we will…well…”fall off.”
Everything goes in cycles. Here are 5 tips though to help you make dieting suck less!
5 Tips To Make Dieting Suck Less:
1. Find meals you love. Plan those in first.
Dieting has come to mean bland, boring foods. Chicken and broccoli. Bland white fish and asparagus.
But A. These things don’t have to be bland and boring. And B. There has to be a balance which includes foods you enjoy.
If you want to stick with a diet and make it something you actually ENJOY doing, you have to be able to make meals you love.
I always tell people starting my Macro Cycling programs that they should plan in meals with their family or meals they really love first. If you really crave salmon or steak, plan it in. And work your other meals around it.
Really crave chocolate or something sweet at the end of the night? Plan it in first. That way you can work everything else around it!
Remember it is 80/20 not perfection that gets results. Perfection might lead to faster results, but it generally also leads to incredibly short-term results!
2. Stop making it about perfection. Give yourself one focus.
We go in with this all or nothing attitude that often leads to us “falling off” before we really even start.
And if we do get in a routine, at the first sign of life getting in the way, aka work stresses, family pressures, the HOLIDAYS, our goals and diet go completely out the window.
We struggle to stay consistent because we’ve put so much pressure on ourselves to be “perfect.” To only eat whole natural foods. To be within a gram of our goal. To always be under our calories.
Especially during those busy times, don’t worry about the details. Give yourself just ONE THING to focus on to keep you on track.
I always tell clients that if they can do just one thing, make protein your focus. If you make protein your focus, you’ll see results.
Or if they’ve even struggled with that, I’ll tell them to simply start by LOGGING. There is accountability in that AND it can help us then slowly make changes as we feel ready.
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Those small tweaks, that consistency adds up!
3. Stop cutting out foods you love first.
Ok we all know certain foods are bad for us. But we love them anyway.
Those foods that we love are often also the first things we cut out. And then all we can think about is how much we want those foods.
So what happens?
We end up binging and then struggle to get back on track.
But what if we didn’t first cut out those foods we love the most?
What if instead we first focused on adding in other things? Or making tweaks to those foods we love so they fit our macros better?
What if we got rid of the other fluff so we could even still indulge in those foods we love?
A. Consistency is about balance. It isn’t all or nothing and even unhealthy foods can have a place in our lifestyle!
B. When we make those other changes FIRST, often making the bigger changes. aka sometimes reducing or even eliminating those unhealthy foods we feel we “need,” becomes EASIER because we aren’t then cutting out the things we love first. We don’t feel as DEPRIVED because we’ve made other changes that have created new habits.
So when you’re getting started, start with easy and small tweaks. And even consider how you can make meals more macro friendly!
4. Fuel your body instead. Less isn’t always more.
A big reason why we think diets suck is because we are ALWAYS hungry.
There is legitimately a term for this hunger, and the resulting ANGER from it…HANGER.
So of course feeling hungry and low energy all of the time isn’t going to make us want to stick with our eating plan.
Nope! But it may make you reach for the quickest and most unhealthy thing in sight!
And not only can this constant starvation cause us to fall off our diet, but it can also actually cause our results to stall or plateau. LESS ISN’T ALWAYS MORE!
Yes, a calorie deficit is key. But too little and you can’t workout hard and your body starts to try to conserve energy.
Even though you may want to lose weight quickly, don’t starve yourself. Make sure to fuel your activity and it will not only make eating well more pleasant but help you stay consistent long term!
5. Plan for the worst.
It’s easy to eat well and stick to your goals when you aren’t stressed, have full control of your schedule and are 100% motivated and even getting results.
However, that all happens at the same time like maybe 5% of the time if we’re lucky.
Most of the time we are stressed, or tired, or have family obligations…Or heck…we just want to go out and have fun!
But most often we only PLAN for the times that it is easy. We don’t prepare for the times that we are going to have other things going on that may make it seem impossible to prep or stay on track.
That is why it is key that we consider and plan for the “worst.”
How can we provide ourselves with guidance to stay on track even when things aren’t easy? How can we create consistency and balance so we can keep ourselves moving forward or maintaining even when “dieting” isn’t our main focus?
Often I think this means giving ourselves one thing to focus on. One clear and easy goal that we know will keep us on track enough.
I also think it is about remembering it is about CONSISTENCY and not perfection that truly matters in the long run.
And I think it is important that we come up with ways that allow us to diet with balance. Find easy meals out. Plan around the things you love and enjoy.
Find quick snacks that, while maybe not perfect, are way better than the alternative and will keep you feeling fueled and on track.
Dieting may not always be fun but it shouldn’t detract from your life. There will be periods where you will want to be stricter and others you will do the bare minimum. The key is finding a way to make it “not suck” so you can remain consistent and find balance!
And it is also about remembering EVERYTHING goes in cycles. Don’t feel guilty or beat yourself up. Just make small little tweaks to always be getting better and preparing yourself to make the most out of what you can!
With these 5 tips you can get on track and make dieting…well…suck less!
I LOVE the flavor of Buffalo Chicken. I literally could make myself some sort of Buffalo Chicken something EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! (Heck, I actually have for the last month hehe!)
That is why it was love at first sight when one of my trainers shared this Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wrap she made as part of her Macro Cycling Plan.
It has that awesome little kick that Frank’s hot sauce has, but is still light and refreshing and perfect for Summer.
Try this macro-friendly Buffalo Chicken recipe. Delicious and full of protein! It actually even makes a great dish for a picnic or BBQ!
Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Lettuce Wraps
SERVINGS 3
***NOTE: This makes approximately 2 wraps per serving
INGREDIENTS:
6 leaves Romaine or Iceberg Lettuce
1/2 cup Diced Onion
1 pound Ground Chicken
1/4 cup Frank’s Hot Sauce
1/2 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
1 cup Cooked Quinoa
1/4 cup Green Onions Chopped
DIRECTIONS:
Cook quinoa according to package and let cool.
Combine all ingredients (including quinoa, excluding green onions) in a bowl and mix well.
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. You can form mixture into balls and make meat balls or cook as a meat crumble by just adding the mixture directly to the skillet.
Cook until meat is throughly cooked through.
Add mixture into lettuce pieces. Top evenly with green onions.
If you’re storing for later on, divide the meat mixture evenly into containers and then only add to the lettuce when you are planning to eat.
**To make this gluten-free you could omit the breadcrumbs or sub in ground up gluten-free oats or even a rice cereal or almonds if preferred. Vegetarians may even sub in tofu or tempeh or even eggs for the chicken! Please note though any subs may change the macros!
But A. These things don’t have to be bland and boring. And B. There has to be a balance which includes foods you enjoy.
But what if we didn’t first cut out those foods we love the most?
