The Busy Mama’s guide to macro tracking: Even you have time for this!
Moms may be the busiest people alive. I can say this with authority! As moms, we are constantly juggling our own schedules, our kids’ schedules, our spouses’ schedules, and a million other schedules for all the groups we’re a part of. Because we’re so busy it makes it easy to ignore our own nutritional needs. When I talk to moms about starting their macro tracking journey, they say they don’t have the time to track everything they eat, but I think macro tracking can save you time in the long run!
As a business owner, a busy mom of three kids and wife to a firefighter, I know that it’s hard to find time to spend on yourself, but I’ve created a program that helps you make time to plan, prep and protect your nutrition. Once you get these skills down, it becomes easier than ever to keep track of your food and to lose weight!
Make a plan for your nutrition
The absolute first thing you must-do if you want to be a successful macro tracker is to make a plan. I know that meal planning isn’t everyone’s favorite thing to do, but it’s a habit that’s well worth learning!
When you meal plan ahead of time, it frees up so much time on a daily basis because you’re not constantly thinking - and honestly, obsessing - about what you’re going to eat. Instead of stressing about every meal during your day, you can sit down and spend 30 minutes planning out a whole week’s worth of meals. Then you don’t have to think about it again!
I use the backward meal planning method to help me quickly meal plan! You can learn this method for free in my mini-course, The Busy Mama’s Guide to Weight Loss Success. I’ve found that this method makes meal planning and prepping so much easier!
Once you have your meal plan ready, it’s time to prep it!
Prepare your food so ready to go when you need it
Meal prepping is probably the most time-consuming part of being a macro tracker, but spending an hour or two upfront saves you so much time on a daily basis!
Once you have your meal plan, start to prep food by category, not by meal! I like to start prepping protein first because it usually takes the most time to prep and you can prep other food while it’s cooking. I like to make my meat in bulk so I can use it more than once throughout the week. I’ll usually use the crockpot, grill or oven to prep my meats.
While the meat is cooking, I look at what produce I need for each meal and chop it all up! Having it all cut up will save you so much time when you’re cooking throughout the week! You can even portion it out ahead of time if you want! I love having my produce portioned out saves me an extra step so that I don’t have to weigh up each item when I’m cooking!
Usually, the carb portion of the meal can be prepared the day of, but if it’s something that will take extra time, feel free to prep ahead of time! Casseroles, lasagnas and soups are all great to prep ahead of time and put in the freezer. Then you can pull them out whenever you know you won’t have time to cook a full meal!
Prepping snacks ahead of time is also a great habit! It’s so easy to grab a handful of Goldfish when you’re in the pantry because it’s convenient. If you can make your healthier snack choices just as convenient then, there’s no reason for mindless snacking!
Protect your plans
Protecting your plans is an essential part of macro tracking. If you can’t protect the work you’ve put in, then you won’t see results. You’ll need to protect your plans from other people a lot, but most of the time you have to protect your plans from yourself.
Protecting your plans from other people is slightly easier, so let’s start there. When you start macro tracking, you’re going to hear a lot of other people’s opinions. Remember this gem from Rachel Hollis, ”Other people’s opinions of you are none of your business” and brush those opinions off.
Sticking up for yourself can be hard, and if you don’t feel like you can defend your choices just yet, then avoid the people who won’t be supportive. You can also opt for non-food activities with friends and family to make it easier on yourself.
Now, protecting your nutrition from yourself is going to take some mindset work! A lot of times we sabotage ourselves without realizing it! Here are a few things you need to be on the lookout to protect yourself.
Negative self talk
Giving in to urges
Unclear goals or unclear plans
Not holding yourself accountable to your plans
Not thinking you’re worthy of happiness
If you need help with protecting your nutrition, then do not hesitate to get help. An accountability partner is a great tool! If you don’t have anyone in your life to hold you accountable, then get a coach. In my Macros Made Easy program, I’m available to my clients when they are struggling,
and when they need to celebrate! Both of these are important to successful macro tracking!
The tools you need for tracking food
Finally, if you want to be successful, then you need the right tools! Macro tracking requires you to be exact with your measurements. If you don’t know what you’re eating and how much of it you’re eating, then you can’t be accountable!
Measurement tools
Macro tracking requires you to track your food to the gram! You’ll need a food scale in order to get accurate numbers. I suggest getting a scale with a detachable face to make measuring easy, but any food scale can do the trick!
A lot of people will try to measure their food using measuring cups, while this is better than not measuring at all, it’s not going to be accurate enough. When you use a measuring cup it’s more of an estimation than an exact number. If you can’t get a scale just yet, then go ahead and start with measuring cups. It’s better than nothing!
Food tracking system
Lastly, you’re going to need a way to keep track of your food. I use MyFitnessPal because it has so many helpful features! I recommend getting the paid version because it’s much easier to use for macro tracking, but you can make the free version work too.
MyFitnessPal is a great tool because there are so many different ways to enter food in. You can scan barcodes, search their extensive library of foods and enter your own recipes. One way or another you’re going to be able to track everything you put in your mouth! Once you enter enough of your favorite foods in, it gets so fast to find what you need in the app!
If you’re ready to dive into your own macro tracking journey, you can go at it alone with my Macros Made Easy ebook, or if you need more coaching my Macros Made Easy Program is a great choice. Both options will provide you with the knowledge and tools to see success. If you’re not sure which is right for you, then schedule a free discovery call with me and I can point you in the right direction!
