HOW TO TRANSITION AWAY FROM TRACKING YOUR MACROS
When working with clients, we use tracking macros as a tool for many things - like learning more about the makeup of your food; for understanding how to make choices that align with your goals; for building confidence while eating meals out or enjoying things like vacations and holidays.
Eventually, there comes a time when you don’t want to or need to be tracking your macros all the time and it’s certainly not something you want to do forever. So, what’s the next step? In today’s post, I’m sharing how you can use what you’ve learned from the process of tracking your macros and transition to more mindful eating practices.
HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU’RE READY TO STOP TRACKING YOUR MACROS?
As you have spent time tracking your macros as a temporary tool, you have learned important skills that can positively influence your eating habits even when you aren’t tracking. You have probably experienced the difference in how you feel and progress when you are tracking diligently and preparing your own food versus when you are tracking loosely and eating out frequently. You know that neither situation is wrong or right, but that consistency is the biggest factor in reaching your goals. As the time comes to move away from tracking and toward less structured eating, it can be helpful to practice some mindful eating habits so you can maintain the progress and habits you have created while tracking.
Thoughtfully read through the questions below for some guidance on your readiness to transition away from tracking your macros and towards a more mindful eating approach.
REACHING GOALS:
Have you reached or exceeded your initial goal(s)?
Do you feel confident in the changes you have made - both mental and physical - while tracking your macros?
Do you still find tracking your macros helpful and enjoyable, or does it feel like an extra stressor in your life?
Have you spent time tracking your macros consistently (hitting your numbers accurately 90+% of the time)?
Does tracking macros contribute to your personal sense of well-being?
We are not meant to be in fat-loss mode forever. If you have reached your initial goals and are feeling confident in the changes you have made, it is probably time to step away from tracking macros and practice eating mindfully!
MASTERING SKILLS:
Can you identify foods that are a main source of protein, carbohydrates, and fats without using a macronutrient calculator such as MFP?
Do you feel confident in your ability to estimate accurate portion sizes?
Do you feel confident in your ability to create a balanced meal without the help of MFP?
Do you feel comfortable indulging in a treat or meal out while keeping the rest of your day balanced (and avoiding the “all or nothing” mentality)?
Do you feel confident in your ability to navigate social events while keeping your day balanced?
Tracking macros helps us build awareness, skills, and habits that we can continue to practice without weighing our food. If you feel confident in the skills you’ve built, it may be time to practice them without the guidance of a food scale and a tracking app.
RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD:
Do you feel you have a healthy relationship with food?
Can you recognize when you are hungry? Do you eat when you are hungry or do you allow food rules and tracking to dictate when you eat?
Can you recognize when you are full? Do you stop eating when you experience this fullness?
Do you feel in control and conscious of your food choices when eating an untracked meal?
Can you identify personal trigger foods?
Tracking your macros should help you become more confident in your food choices and build a healthier relationship with food as you recognize that food is neither “clean” nor “bad.” If you feel you have mastered the concept of balance and how to enjoy the foods you love while working towards your goals, mindful eating can help you continue to work on building a positive relationship with food.
ASSESS HOW YOU’RE FEELING
I’M NOT FEELING TOTALLY READY. If you are still working toward some solid goals or have more skills to practice, know you will get there! Tracking can be a helpful tool that aids us in building awareness around our food choices as we work toward those goals.
MAYBE I’M A LITTLE READY? Tracking your macros isn’t something you have to quit cold turkey. Talk to your coach about adding a mindful meal into your week so you can continue to practice building important skills, and then work towards adding in more and more untracked days where you focus on habits over tracking.
LET’S DO THIS! Not tracking your food is not necessarily mindful eating. Proper mindful eating requires building new skills. Now that you know you’re ready, you can continue practicing these new skills and working towards brand new goals. Continue reading!
MINDFUL EATING VS. INTENTIONAL EATING
As humans, we’re always looking for the quickest fix: the one thing we can do to solve all of our problems and make life easier. Hopefully, you don’t need me to tell you that one thing doesn’t exist (because it doesn’t). However, when it comes to addressing challenges we may face with feeling in control of our nutrition - overcoming a cycle of restricting and binging, being able to enjoy foods we love without overdoing it, removing guilt and the idea of “good” and “bad” foods, etc. -
DEVELOPING INTENTIONAL EATING HABITS IS ABOUT AS CLOSE AS WE CAN GET TO A MAGIC SOLUTION.
It’s easy to overlook intentional eating habits as something boring and unimportant when compared to the wealth of other nutrition information available to us. But the truth is that when situations arise where you can’t follow your normal routine or don’t have any control over your food choices, intentional eating skills are the one thing you will always have in your toolbox, no matter where you are.
MINDFUL EATING: is keeping an in-the-moment awareness of the food and drink you consume. Mindful eating focuses on observing how food makes you feel as you are eating it, and making observations without judgment.
INTENTIONAL EATING: is the term we prefer to use. Intentional eating draws on mindful eating habits and also focuses on being intentional with your eating habits rather than automatic. Many of our meals or snacks are impulsive or automatic - we feel a tinge of hunger so we grab what is in front of us and eat. Being intentional also includes being more in tune with your hunger and fullness signals before and after you eat.
The majority of meals today are eaten at a desk while typing on a computer, in a car while driving in traffic, or taking hurried bites in between helping kids with various tasks. Slowing down and focusing on eating an intentional meal is challenging, but also crucial to developing a healthy relationship with food.
Cultivating these eating habits does not need to happen independently of tracking your macros or working towards your body composition or performance goals. Focusing on developing and practicing intentional eating skills is not only something that will help you as you work toward your specific goals; it is also what will allow you to maintain progress long term as the time comes to move away from tracking and toward less structured eating.
HOW TO PRACTICE INTENTIONAL MEALS
As is the case with cultivating any skill, this takes time. You probably won’t go from eating a 3-minute meal in your car while also talking on the phone to a peaceful, seated 10-minute meal right away. In fact, you may never get to that point! But we can take steps to make each meal more intentional than the last.
MINDFUL EATING HABITS TO PRACTICE
Reading this list all at once will result in overwhelm. The goal is not to do all of the things and practice all of these skills at once, but to build on these skills week by week.
Eat undistracted - without the TV, your phone, or an audiobook on. No multitasking
Eat your meal sitting down at a table and using a real plate and utensils
Set down your utensils, take a deep breath, or take a sip of water between bites
Savor your food: pay attention to how your food tastes, the textures, the smells, and how your body feels while eating
Check in with your hunger and your fullness between bites or portions
Make each meal last one minute longer than the last. Try to take 10-20 minutes to enjoy each meal.
Bringing intentionality into the equation includes practicing the mindful eating habits above, and also being more aware of why you are even eating. Are you eating because this is your scheduled meal time, even though you may not actually feel hungry? Or are you eating because you feel emotional and that emotion is driving cravings?
As cheesy as it seems, enjoying an intentional, mindful meal requires some self-evaluation and reflection. And just as an intentional meal takes time to enjoy, these eating skills take time to build.
If you want to start practicing enjoying one Intentional Meal at a time, we have a free download to help you walk through the process. And if you’re interested in working with a coach, we are committed coaches who work with committed clients and love nothing more than helping our clients find a sustainable approach to nutrition that allows them to work towards their goals without white-knuckling their way through yo-yo diets. Learn more about our KLN team here!