Last week I shared some of my tips for staying on track throughout the weekend, and one of the biggest struggles people shared was navigating eating at restaurants. ⁣

While I know this is challenging, I wanted to share some of my favorite tips to navigate it a little easier, along with a mini cheat sheet to save and help you track. ⁣

⁣𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬: ⁣

𝟷. Plan Ahead. Have a general idea of what you’re getting before you go, and prepare your macros for the full day around that meal. Having a game plan for your next meal can be huge too. ⁣

2. If you’re at a restaurant without information online, find a similar option that would be comparable.

3. Choose options that you can track piece by piece instead of mixed items that may be harder to track. ⁣

⁣Some examples of easy to track options:  ⁣

• Lean Proteins (go for grilled or steamed) ⁣
• Veggie sides ⁣
• Salads with a lean protein on top (order dressing on the side and along with things like dried fruit, nuts, tortilla strips, bacon bits etc… ⁣
• Fajitas which are usually grilled protein and veggies and come with separate ingredients ⁣

⁣Some examples of difficult to track options:⁣

• Mayo based chicken, tuna salads etc… ⁣
• Soups, stews, Chili’s, etc…⁣
• Pasta dishes ⁣
• Fried, breaded, or coated options ⁣
• Things with lots of dressings, sauces etc…. ⁣

4. Put a placeholder in for your meal. If you’re not quite sure what you’ll be getting, set aside a good chunk of calories so you can go with what you feel like when you get there. For example, if you’re going for a heavier meal, setting aside 1000 calories for later. If you know that you’ll be making a fairly healthy choice of a lean protein and a veggie, maybe it’s only 500 calories. ⁣

5. Account for extra fats, as most restaurants cook with lots of oils. ⁣

Helpful?! 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴? 𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 & 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨?⁣

I know macro counting is a very trendy topic right now, and while it was the key for me, I also know that it’s a bit complicated to understand. I see so many people giving it a try, struggling for a week or two, getting overwhelmed and then giving up or feeling like they failed. If that is you, you most certainly are not alone. ⁣

1. Y𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺. If macro counting is done right, it should take a long time. Reason being, we want it to lead to slow sustainable weight loss (𝘐’𝘮 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 ¼ 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝟸 𝘭𝘣𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬). It also may take a while in the beginning to figure out what your true deficit is and to do that we need to track consistently for AT LEAST a month.⁣
2. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢. Every single body is different and everyone’s needs, functions, and calorie burn will vary. That being said, in order to see what the best macro split for you is, you need to start with a generic formula, track how your body responds, and make changes from there. This takes TIME.⁣
3. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬. Building off of the two reasons above, if you are constantly making changes to your macros, you’ll never allow your body a chance to adjust AND you won’t track things long enough to see whether or not what you’re doing is working. You or your coach should NOT be switching up your macros every week, or even two weeks.⁣
4. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. If you’re catching on to the trend here, the key is time and consistency. The only way to know if something is actually working is to be consistent with it for at least a month. If you are never actually hitting your macro goals or being at least 80% compliant, there’s no way to know whether it’s actually working or not ⁣ 𝘗.𝘚. 𝘈 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘜𝘔𝘉𝘌𝘙 𝘖𝘕𝘌 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘳𝘦-𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘨. 𝘐 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥. ⁣
5. ⁣𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 “𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴”. While quantity is key when it comes to macro tracking, food quality is equally as important when it comes to actually being able to stick to your macros AND keep your body healthy. If your diet consists of poptarts and protein shakes, you’ll likely feel hungry often AND you’re setting your body up for higher insulin, stress, and lots of health problems down the road. Not only that, you’ll probably feel pretty crappy and have a harder time sticking with any sort of plan. One hack to solve this, try to focus on good whole foods 80-90 percent of the time. I’m also a huge fan of prioritizing a daily protein goal, including 1-3 healthy whole fat sources a day (oil, avocado, nuts, seeds, etc…) and aim to hit a daily fiber goal. This will ensure you’re choosing higher fiber, whole grain carbs, fruits and vegetables to reach that goal.⁣
6. ⁣𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥. This can be a huge one especially if you’ve never tracked portions before. It can be really difficult to estimate portion sizes and you may be grossly under or over estimating the amount of food you’re consuming, simply because you genuinely haven’t learned what 4 ounces of chicken looks like yet. It doesn’t mean you have to weigh and measure forever, BUT the best way to learn how to eat intuitively is to actually understand what your body needs. ⁣
7. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 “𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺”. There is absolutely NO WAY to fall off track with macros, unless you simply just stop, but here’s the reality. Even if you’re over or under, or not positive on your foods that day, just track something. The best way to learn is to fail, and if you keep just stopping every time you think you “failed”, you’ll never actually learn enough to follow through.⁣
8. ⁣𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴. If you can’t be consistent with macros, start with simply logging your food. Get really good at that. Then maybe you track your calories and a protein goal AND then track your macros. Understand that there’s a learning curve and it will take time and practice, and just like with anything you may need to start with a more beginner approach so have patience with yourself. ⁣

I’m curious? What is your biggest struggle when it comes to nutrition? Is it the all or nothing mindset? Knowing what to do? Following through? Fill me in! ⁣

𝐄𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨 & 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬! ⁣

⁣I know summer weekends get tricky. In fact, weekends used to be the one thing that held me back from seeing the results I was working so hard for. I’d do so well and be so restrictive Monday through Friday, then the weekend would hit and so would the train wreck… 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳?! ⁣

⁣BUT it doesn’t have to be your downfall. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬: ⁣

1. 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵. This is where calorie cycling can really come in handy. Think of your calories like a bank account. If you know you’ll be taking a lot out over the weekend, you’ll probably want to save some up during the week. ⁣

2. 𝘍𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 & 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘴/𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘴. Skip the macros for the day and just hit your protein goals and calories. ⁣

3. 𝘗𝘙𝘌 𝘓𝘖𝘎! If you know you’re going to a restaurant, look at the menu ahead and pre plan and log what you’re going to have. ⁣

4. 𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘈𝘛𝘌𝘙 throughout the day, before, during and after. I always bring a big water bottle with me everywhere I go. ⁣

5. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴/𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝟷𝟶𝟶% 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. I almost always pack food when I head to my sister’s for the day on Sunday. She expects it so it’s become normal and no one bugs me about it. Remember the first time you do it, you may get questions, but the more CONSISTENT you are with it, the less questions you’ll get and the more expected the behavior becomes. ⁣

6. 𝘎𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘛𝘈𝘒𝘌. If you really want dessert, have it, but understand that may mean you skip the wine or the bread. If it’s something special you only have one time a year, of course enjoy, but if it’s a store bought cookie you won’t even really enjoy, maybe it’s not worth it. ⁣
7. 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭𝘴. Some weeks you may fully want to accept that you won’t lose weight and you really want to relax and indulge and that is FINE. Some weeks you may want to consider that this will set your progress back, the scale may be up for a week, you may wake up the next morning puffy, and with a little regret. If that’s worth it for you, go for it, but other weeks you may decide it’s not, and try to keep remembering how your choices are going to make you feel for the LONG TERM and not just in that moment. ⁣

8. Understand that it is 100% in your CONTROL. No one is forcing you to diet, and no one is forcing you to indulge. You always have a choice and are in control, the more you view it in this manner, the easier it becomes to make the choice that you want the most. ⁣

⁣One last piece, try not to compare. Sometimes it can be tough to look around, see everyone else indulging and feel like you can’t, but you don’t know where they’re at. Maybe they’re incredibly unhappy in their own skin, maybe they’re struggling with health issues you know nothing about (𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺), maybe they haven’t eaten all day and this is the only thing they’ll have, maybe they’ve restricted all week. We’re all on our own journeys so we cannot compare and we never know the whole picture! ⁣

𝐁𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: you do you boo ⁣

⁣Is this helpful?! 𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶? ⁣