Let's Dive Deeper

Now that you know your daily goals, let's dive into exactly what macros are and how you can use this understanding to accomplish your nutrition goals. If this is your first time reading about macros, don't let it deter you. There is a lot of information here, and we understand that it can be overwhelming at first. But read it, then read it again, and try it out. Macros really aren't that complicated once you grasp the basics. So, with that said, let's start by understanding what each of the three macronutrients is.

 

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates, also known as carbs, include sugars, starches, and fibers. Almost all carbs get get broken down into glucose, or sugar, which your body uses for immediate energy or stores for use later. To keep it simple, think of carbs as short term energy.

Carbs provide 4 calories per 1 gram of carb and typically make up the largest portion of your daily calorie intake.

Carbs are found in foods like grains, vegetables, beans, dairy products, and fruits.

 

Fat

Fats have the most calories of all macronutrients, providing 9 calories per 1 gram of fat!

Your body needs fat for energy (yes, more energy) and critical functions of the body. Despite the name ‘fat’ this is not to get confused with something that is bad for you. Fat, assuming you consume the right amount and the right type, is crucial!

Fats are found in foods like oils, butter, avocado, nuts, seeds, meat, and fatty fish.

 

Protein

Proteins provide 4 calories per 1 gram of protein. Same as carbs.

Proteins are vital for a lot of processes within our body, including repairing our muscles after we workout.

Examples of protein-rich foods include meat, eggs, poultry, fish, and lentils.

 

How to Count Macros?

If you have never counted macros before it can be a little overwhelming at first. But don't worry! We are here to help you make this easy. It does not have to be complicated.

One thing a lot of people get wrong about counting macros is that they are trying to be perfect. And while this is great, it sometimes makes it a lot more complicated and we often see this is where people lose motivation and discontinue. Instead, find balance! Counting macros with 80% accuracy is totally fine and works really well to begin with and makes it much more sustainable.

“tracking macros” simply means logging the foods you eat on a website, app, or food journal. The most convenient way to track macros may be through a nutrition app like MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, or My Macros +. However, it could also easily be on a piece of paper or in your notes on your phone.

In order to track you macros you either need a Food scale or you can guesstimate (more on this later). A food scale is obviously more accurate and this is what we suggest you use when possible. But again, 80% accuracy is better than not doing anything at all.

Your goal is to hit you daily carb, fat and protein goal by the end of each day.

YES! By the end of each day, everything you have consumed should add up to the amount of carb, fat and protein that you calculated at the top of this page. Don't be scared, we'll continue to explain how you make this happen.

If you are eating out all the time then yes, counting macros are difficult as you don’t really know what the food you are eating consist off. You just got a plate of food handed to you, not knowing the ingredients that went into making this plate. However, if you eat at home most of the time counting macros is actually quite easy. And… there's few things you can do to make it even easier. It’s called ‘batch cooking’, so let’s dive into how this can help you out.

 

Batch cook

Batch cook means that instead of just cooking a single meal to be eaten right away, you cook a large batch that includes meals for multiple days, perhaps even a full week (or more if you freeze it). Batch cooking by itself is a great time saver, but if you also know the macronutrient breakdown of this batch then it can also dramatically help you track your macros and make it much easier.

Here's an example: Cook 400 grams of 90% lean ground beef, 400 grams of white rice and buy a couple of ripped avocados. From looking at food labels, Myfitnesspal.com or a simple google search you'll find that 400 grams of cooked 90% lean ground beef contains, 0 carbs, 43 fat and 101 protein, 400 grams of cooked white rice contains 112 carbs, 0 fat and 12 protein and 2 avocados 26 carbs, 44 fat and 6 protein.

Now break this into four different portion and store it in your fridge. By diving the numbers above into four portions you know that every time you eat one of these meals you're having 35 grams of carbs, 22 grams of fat and 30 grams of protein. Super easy to manage, easy to cook, very accurate and a time saver. Quadruple win right?

This is of course just an example and you can increase or decrease the amount and you can substitute for other foods as you wish.

 

Simplicity

Keeping things simply will make things easier. Yes... it might not be as exciting, but this is a good way to start out. For each meal aim for just one source of carb, one source of fat and one source of protein. This makes it easier to count and track vs making complex meals with a lot of different ingredients. As you get more used to tracking macros you can of course start introducing more fancy meals.

 

The 80% Rule

As already mentioned, aim for 80% accuracy in your counting. This means that if you can be at least 80% correct every time you track your meals then that's fantastic! Of course even better if you can do 100%, but we are looking for sustainable changes that's realistic. So don't worry if you are a couple grams off, it's okay. You don’t even have to use a food scale, you can use our simple hand guide below for portion sizes. Although not as accurate as the food scale, this can be used when out to eat or in a rush. It works well to stay on track within the 80% rule.

 

6 Days On, 1 Day Off

As already mentioned, aim for 80% accuracy in your counting. This means that if you can be at least 80% correct every time you track your meals then that's fantastic! Of course even better if you can do 100%, but we are looking for sustainable changes that's realistic. So don't worry if you are a couple grams off, it's okay. You don’t even have to use a food scale, you can use our simple hand guide below for portion sizes. Although not as accurate as the food scale, this can be used when out to eat or in a rush. It works well to stay on track within the 80% rule.

 

What am I tracking?

Good question! During this challenge you are tracking your intake of carbs, fats and protein. Keep in mind that what you are drinking contains macros as well and should be tracked. So a glass of wine with your dinner is okay (unless one of your self-chosen goals is to cu out alcohol), but make sure to look at the label and log it. Sometimes you might find certain food or drink items that does not have the nutrient breakdown listed on there, this is also true when eating out, but a quick Google search or look at MyFitnessPal app, you’ll find most of your answers quickly.

 

Free Food!

Bet that caught your attention. But it's true, during this challenge there is one thing that you can consume without worry about tracking. Can you guess what it is??? Leafy greens and other veggies low in calories. We don't want to limit your intake of healthy veggies and therefore these are ‘free foods’ that you do NOT need to track. Broccoli, kale, Cabbage, spinach, beets, Arugula, bell peppers, carrots are all okay to eat without tracking.

 

What about Oils & Other Fats for Cooking?

Great question! As we mentioned, everything you consume has macronutrients and that includes the oils and other fats we use when cooking. We suggest you go light on the grease and to keep it simple just add 4 grams of fat to your daily tracking whenever you cook in oil or other fats. Or you can of course weigh it and track it accurately, that’s up to you.

 

Raw vs. Cooked Food

Want to perform a little experiment of your own? Try to weigh a certain food raw, then cook it, and weigh it again. You’ll notice that foods cook down about 25%. Some foods, like fatty meat will cook down more and lean food will remain closer to its original weight. What you need to know is that food weigh differently when cooked vs uncooked.

Why are we even worrying about raw vs cooked food? You might think that it seems like a small detail that doesn’t matter. It’s true, getting this wrong once or twice doesn’t matter, but over time this inaccuracy can add up to quite a bit of calories. A 6 ounce cooked steak is much different than a 6 ounce raw steak!

This challenge isn’t meant to drive you crazy with weighing and measuring. We’re just looking to do better over the 42 days. Create new habits and carry them forward. So here is a simple tip and an easy way to go about this during this challenge - the 25% rule.

Take the cooked weight in ounces or grams divided by 0.75, that is your uncooked weight. Or opposite, uncooked weight multiplied by 0.75 is your cooked weight. 75 grams cooked = 100 grams raw. The most accurate for tracking is measuring the uncooked weight, however for this challenge you can track either, just make sure you keep the raw vs cooked weight in mind.

 

What can I Eat?

You can eat whatever you want. Kind of. As long as you keep track of what you eat and you hit your daily macro goal. So eating a large piece of cake and ice cream is probably not your best bet as this is going to be very high in carbs and fat leaving you with only little bit for the rest of the day.

Additionally, a piece of cake and ice cream does not give you a very good ‘bank for your buck’. You'll find that this is not going to give you sustainable energy but yet it eats up a large chunk of your daily carbs and fats.

Instead, we suggest you choose your food sources from our grocery list provided further down this page. These items are going to provide you with high macronutrients quality and a much better ‘bank for your buck’. You can even choose many of these foods when you are out to eat, and by learning the portion sizes first at home, you’ll be much better equipped to make the best choices when you are trying to choose something from a menu at a restaurant.

 

What if I Want to Eat a Food Not in the Food Guide?

That is completely fine. Just remember, this is a learning experience and we want to make sure you see results! You won’t need to be eating food from the food guide forever, however, during this challenge we want to keep things simple and encourage you to eat majority of your intake from food within this guide. It ensures that you are eating high quality whole food. Choosing food not included in the guide a few times it won’t make a big difference, but if you consistently venture off this guide there’s a higher chance of find yourself eating food that are less ideal and thus hindering good results. Either way, remember to track it!

 

Meal Timing and Number of Meals

When eating closer to a workout, think about placing more protein (lean) and carbohydrates (like starches) in these meals. Place more of your higher fat and fiber foods at other times of the day. Fat and fiber will slow digestion, which is great, but not so much if you’re eating within an hour of a workout. If you have ever done burpees or thrusters with a belly full of food, you probably remember thinking it was a bad idea.

Additionally, Remember to try and eat the pre-workout meal slow! although we should be mindful of eating slow, prioritize specifically this meal. The more we chew our food, the more we are helping our body with the digestion process, and as you imagine, this becomes even more important before a workout. Tip: Mashed. pureed foods or smoothies work very well around workout times because these foods are already somewhat broken down and easy to digest.

For your post workout meal we suggest a whole food source or a protein shake. Here we are looking to have about 20-25 grams of protein and at least 30 grams of carbohydrates. Studies have shown that muscle protein synthesis is stimulated by a minimum of approximately 25 grams of protein. So we want to take advantage in this post workout time frame to get in protein. Carbohydrates will help you replenish what you just burned and boost you recovery.

 

Let's Talk About the Scale

That darn thing is a liar! We may not see big changes on the scale but that doesn’t mean body composition isn’t changing and instead you might see differences in your shape and measurements. This could be partly due to you gaining some lean muscle while decreasing body fat. While this typically only occurs with people who are newer to lifting weights and paying closer attention to their nutrition and training in general, it doesn’t mean we won’t see this even if you’ve been at it for awhile.

For women, weight also fluctuates up and down based off where you are in your cycle and some days you might retain more water from that alone, thus increasing your weight. And muscle is also more dense than fat so that means if you gain muscle your weight on the scale goes up even as you’re slimming down. The goal for this challenge is to try and stop looking at your weight every day and instead notice the changes in your body from the mirror and how you feel.

So take your before photos and save them on your phone as a reminder to see where you started and where you will go at the end of this. Even better, post them on social media to make everyone aware that you are doing a challenge. This will keep you more committed and less likely to drop off. This challenge isn’t meant to drive you crazy with weighing and measuring. We’re just looking to do better over the the 42 days!

 

Where to Begin?

Okay, you now have a basic understanding of what macronutrients are and how you track them. But still... Where should you begin? Don't worry, we have made a step by step plan for you that you can follow any time you need to.

STEP 1: Grocery Shop

Put together a grocery list of 2-3 food sources of each macronutrient and 2-3 types of veggies (get colorful). Later in this guide you'll find examples of foods within each category. Make sure to check this out before putting together your grocery list.

Here’s an example of what that list might look like. With these food sources it's super simple to create meals for the week that's easy to track:

Carbs: Oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and blueberries.

Fats: Avocado and almonds.

Protein: Eggs, 90% lean ground beef, and chicken breast.

Veggies: Squash, cauliflower, and zucchini.

You should always aim for fresh food sources, but sometimes it's helpful to have some staples stashed at your house that can last a little bit longer. Here are some suggestions within each category:

Carbs: Oats, beans, lentil pasta, and rice.

Fats: Coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, ghee, grassed fed butter, and nut butters.

Protein: Tuna or salmon packets, beef or turkey jerky, smoked salmon, beans, liquid egg whites. And some protein for the freezer: Ground meat, shrimp, and chicken breast.

Veggies and Fruits: Frozen veggies and fruits are perfectly fine, we suggest having a couple of each in the freezer.

STEP 2: Cook your Bulk Items

The more you do this, the more efficient you’ll get. A good way to save time is to throw meat in the crockpot with any seasoning or flavors you’d like. You can simultaneously toss potatoes and squash in the oven while cooking up a big pot of rice. We suggest cooking 2 meat sources, 2 starchy carbs, and 1-2 veggies in bulk. You can either put the meals together right away and store in Tupperware ready to be eaten or you can store the food separately and make different combos each day of the week. Remember to keep track of the macros throughout the cooking.

STEP 3: Keep the Breakfast Consistent Each Day for a Week

Plan out a go-to breakfast so you are on autopilot in the morning and can start the day off well. Even better, cook in bulk and prepare a couple days worth of breakfast all at once. Make sure it is something you like and want to eat, otherwise chances are you won’t stick with it.

With these 3 steps, you should be off to a good start. Consider doing this consistently every Sunday for a good habit.

 

What's Next?

First off, good job! You made it all the way to the bottom of the page, and you should have a solid understanding of your daily macro goals and how you can achieve these goals. Now it's time to get started!

Below you'll find a link to our comprehensive Food Guide. In this guide, you'll find a variety of options for carbs, fat, protein, vegetables, and other quick bonus information to help you navigate the grocery store. We suggest you print this out, take your time to look at all the options, and then put together your grocery shopping list.

If you have any questions, you can always ask in the Facebook group, and we'll be there right away to help you out.

Good luck! Now, go crush your nutrition goals!

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