Tired of Tracking Macros? Here are 4 Alternatives

Most of my clients track macros for at least some period of time. Tracking provides detailed and strategic insight into nutrient intake – insight that’s really helpful in designing an effective and personalized nutrition program. That said, if you’re tired of tracking macros but don’t want to give up the benefits completely, don’t worry. You’ve got options.

Tracking macros and meals is a great tool for leveling up your nutrition routine. At it’s simplest, macro tracking gives you important numbers with which to adjust and improve: overall caloric intake, protein, carbohydrate and fat intake, fiber and sugar. When you dig to a deeper level, macro tracking gives you insight into how nutrient quantity and quality affects your body and mood and how nutrient timing affects your behavior and energy. All of this information builds awareness and allows you to connect the dots between where you are now, and where you want to be.

But I get it. Keeping track of your meals every single day can be cumbersome, time consuming and demotivating. So before you reach that point, here are 4 alternatives to try when you’re finally tired of tracking macros.

4 Alternatives to Stay on Track with Nutrition When You’re Tired of Tracking Macros

Most women don’t need to track calories and macros forever to reach their goals or stay healthy. There are alternatives that work really well for maintaining awareness, monitoring your intake and making better choices.

Cut Back to 3 Days a Week

The fact is, calorie and macro counting does work. It’s not 100% accurate, but it’s the most accurate method outside of a lab. And it teaches you a lot. Tracking your macros for a length of time will give you a good idea of what the nutrient content of your favorite foods and meals is like. You’ll gain an understanding of what foods contain mostly protein, or mostly carbs, or mostly fats. You’ll start to be able to eyeball portion sizes.

So, if you can stand to count a few times a week rather than 7 days a week, do it!

Cutting back to 3-day-a-week tracking gives you time off from the monotony of tracking, but is still frequent enough to keep you on track and aware. If you decide to take this route, I recommend tracking 2 weekdays and 1 weekend day. This way you’ll maintain a well-rounded picture of your intake and you won’t be tempted to stay uber-strict during the week (because you’re tracking), and go buck wild on the weekends.

This is a great strategy if you’re still pretty new to the world of nutrition and you’re still learning, if your goals are more advanced or precise, or you love playing with the numbers!

Fit Plate Tracking

The Fit Plate method is an alternative way to meet your nutrient needs and stay within your nutrition goals. Here’s how it works:

Visualize a plate the is divided into 4-5 sections (see below). The largest section is for non starchy vegetables: leafy greens, peppers, mushrooms, etc. The second largest section belongs to protein. Split the last section into two and this is where you will put your starches and fats.

This method relies on two things: that you have a working understanding of macros and that you choose nutrient-dense, minimally processed foods most of the time. As you can see, this is a tough strategy to use if your trying to categorize strawberry toaster strudels.

I have some fantastic PDFs (that you can grab here in my FB group) that can help keep your macros where they belong and ensure that you’re choosing a wide array throughout the day and week.

Portion Control (not the measuring and weighing kind)

With this method you use your hand to determine the correct size and number of portions for each meal. All you need is your hand, and a working knowledge of macros.

• Protein: 1 serving is about the size of your palm.
• Veggies: 1 serving is the size of your fist.
• Starches and Grains: 1 serving fits into your cupped palm.
• Fats: 1 serving is the size of your thumb.

If you’re thinking “but everyone’s hands are different”, you’re right! But just as hand sizes differ from person to person, so do portion needs. Typically, the smaller you are the less food you need. So a smaller hand on a smaller person works!

This is a great strategy for you if you need something convenient, easy to visualize and you want to have the option of taking your control method with you wherever you go (measuring cups get cumbersome). If your goals land in the realm of get healthier, feel healthier, look healthier, live healthier…this method can really work wonders.

*Note: both the portion control method and the plate method should be considered starting points. Both will likely require some customization determined by your specific situation, goals, and needs. See below for more.

Hunger/Appetite Awareness

Many people have a hard time differentiating between hunger and appetite.

On paper the difference between the two is simple:

• Hunger is a biological response – the physical need for fuel. Your stomach growls, your energy level drops, you might get a headache or start to feel lightheaded (in extreme cases). You don’t care what you eat, you just need to eat. Hunger goes away once you eat.
  
• Appetite is the desire to eat. You want a specific food or flavor (i.e. sweet and salty) and another food won’t suffice. Appetite can be triggered by time of day, mood, the aroma of a food, the sight of food, your social environment. Appetite can last after you’re already full.

The difficulty here comes not in the fact that you can’t tell the difference (you can)…it’s that you need to remember to slow down and check in with yourself to do so!

This is where awareness comes in. Awareness is a skill. When it’s new, you have to consciously and actively participate in practicing it. Eventually, this will become more intuitive. Hence the phrases “mindful eating” and “intuitive eating“.

Feeling hungry, and pausing to acknowledge and sit with it, will help you feel less panicked…less out of control when hunger strikes. It’ll teach you to recognize those cues and to respond with intention instead of habit.

Steps to Building Awareness and Eating Mindfully:

Think of hunger levels as lying on a scale from 1-10. 1 is absolutely famished and 10 is two Thanksgiving meals later. In general, living life at a 6-7 is a pretty healthy and energized place to be.

1. Do regular hunger check ins. Set an alarm on your phone to go off every 3-4 hours. Take the interruption as a cue to pause and do a self scan. Rate your hunger level. If you’re anywhere below 5, it might be time to grab something to eat.
   
   You’ll start to learn your body’s reaction to hunger.
   
   Pay attention to physical cues such as a growling stomach or shakiness.
   Bring subconscious thoughts to the front of your brain. Do you “want it” or “need it“? Are you aware of the flavors and textures of the food or are you just mindlessly moving through bites?
   Acknowledge how you’re feeling. Are you lonely? Anxious? Sad? Stressed? Those emotions often trick us into thinking we need some sort of comfort – and food is an easy one.
   
2. Track your appetite/hunger through your meal. How hungry are you when you start the meal? How full are you when you finished? You want to finish eating before you hit 8-10.
   
3. Sit with it. Your brain is hardwired to panic at the first signs of hunger. Historically speaking, hunger is life threatening. That’s not the case for most of us anymore. Getting comfortable with hunger is not a bad thing – especially if you are trying to lose weight (because losing weight requires a caloric deficit).
   
   Feeling hungry, and pausing to acknowledge and sit with it, will help you feel less panicked…less out of control when hunger strikes. It’ll teach you to recognize those cues and to respond with intention instead of habit.

The last three alternatives of tracking intake when you’re tired of tracking macros are on the objective side of the spectrum. They rely mostly on numbers. This method is more subjective. It relies namely on you. That’s a good thing because you can learn, and grow and in doing so, gain confidence in yourself and your choices.

The #1 Tip to Level Up Your Nutrition Game No Matter You Tracking Method

The key to all of it, whether you want to track a few times a week, or pay attention to portions, workout more frequently or get more rest, is consistency.

“Data show that being 80%-89% consistent with your nutrition and lifestyle habits can result in significant—and, more importantly, sustained—losses in body weight and waist size.”

Precision Nutrition

Do you have to be perfect? No. Should you practice healthy tracking and hunger awareness most days of the week, and most meals of the day? To get the best results, yes.

*Consistency is so important that it’s really the reason I wrote this article. Because if you are tired of tracking macros, you’re not going to do it! If that’s what you’re feeling, try one of these methods and let me know what you think.