Counting macros and counting calories, both are frequently seen around the internet. Many people swear by it, but you just are not convinced. Or maybe you have thoughts similar to those below.
"I want to enjoy my food."
"I'm too busy to count calories!"
"I hate weighing out all my food."
Well I have great news for you...counting your macros and calories IS NOT NEEDED to earn yourself a healthy body.
Macro counting is definitely a great
strategy for the elite athlete or figure competitor, but for the average person it just isn't the best nutrition strategy. Why? Well for most people, it isn't sustainable over time.
The goal if your nutrition plan should be sustainability. You want to eat well for the rest of your life. Are you really going to weigh and measure your food until your 90? What happens when you stop weighing your food? Will "Myfitness Pal" be around forever? Will you know how much to eat without your smartphone telling you the amount? What happens when you don't know the exact breakdown of your food, or you forgot your scale? Will you actually remember what it feels like to feel full or hungry?
It's important to develop skills in which allow you to eat in the amounts you need. It's also important to understand internal cues of when you're full or when you may be hungry.
Here is a simple way you can estimate portions without calculating numbers.
Use your hand.
Palm = Amount of protein dense foods.
Fist = amount of veggies (green leafy, non starches)
Cupped hand = Starchy vegetables (potatoes, root veggies), Fruit, or carb rich foods (rice, oats, bread, etc)
Thumb = Amount of fat (almond butter, butter, peanut butter, coconut oil, olive oil..etc
For the active male / female , Eat 6-8 / 4-6 servings of each per day.
Combine these strategies with eating quality sustainable sourced foods and learning to pay attention to your hunger and full cues.
If you begin losing weight (but you don't want to) or you feel extremely hungry after giving this a try, try increasing the amount of hand servings by 1-2 per day.
If you begin gaining weight and you really don't want to gain weight, try taking away 1-2 hand servings per day.
This strategy is a easy strategy to follow and will help you improve your health, improve your body weight, improve the way you feel, and improve your performance in the gym. If you have goals of single digit body fat percentages, elite athletic performance, or very specific body composition goals, then you will probably need a more detailed approach. This is when counting macros would be appropriate. But remember, your goals will change over time. When you shift from elite performance and extremely low body composition goals to just wanting to be a healthy weight (be lean) and feel good, the hand portion size strategy is an excellent strategy to adopt.
The #1, absolutely most important thing that affects body composition and overall health is nutrition. You need to optimize your nutrition to meet your body composition goals, working out will not do it alone! There are a lot of myths floating out there on the internet. No carbs, high carbs, no fat, high fat, high protein, intermittent fasting, keto, paleo....Which one is the best? And most importantly, which one is the best for you? Many individuals "spin their wheels", fall victim to Fad diets, and make little real progress towards their goals. They may lose a little weight but they feel drained, depleted, and hungry. They miss their favorite foods and they hate their new restricted diet! They decide to cheat with their favorite snack...next thing they know, they've fallen off the wagon and reversed any progress they previously made. Does this sound familiar?
What's the solution to this problem? Easy, hire a coach!
Whats the PRO's in hiring a nutrition coach?
1) You are able to weed through all the myths on the internet. This means no more confusion and no more guessing!
2) Develop an effective, sustainable plan thats 100% tailored to your goals and your life. Your schedule, your training, your likes and dislikes, your job, and your stress levels all factor in to developing the best nutrition plan for you.
3) Accountability. Your coach holds you accountable to the goals you have set for yourself!
4) Support! Your coach is able to help you overcome the challenges you experience along the way. Keeping you on track even when times get tough. 5) Results! Plain and simple. A nutrition coach will be the catalyst helping you achieve results you want. 6) Working with a coach for 6-months can absolutely change your life. You learn all the skills you need, you develop a sustainable nutrition program that works, and you create a complete lifestyle change which enables you to continually see results.
Interested in learning more about how a nutrition coach could help you?
Send me an email by clicking here to learn more!
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