I Counted My Macros for A Week & This is What Happened...

I counted my macros for a week and this is what happened…

For those of you who don’t know what counting macros is, it essentially means that you measure and count all of the food you’re intaking to not only reach a calorie goal but also individual macronutrients (i.e. carbs, proteins, fats). Many individuals use this type of eating style to help in training adaptations for physique and bodybuilding, or to even hold themselves accountable for eating proper portions and not overeating.

I was a collegiate athlete, and since I have graduated, I lift and complete cardio regularly, probably on average to 5x a week. I eat a well-balanced diet, with quality sources of protein, veggies and fruits, carbs and even sweets. I have never counted my macros before. I have always eaten when I am hungry (and times that I just want to), and I have worked hard (and I continue to work) at focusing on myself to feel comfortable with eating all types of foods, not just ones that we see as “healthy”.

With that being said, I was really interested in the concept of what counting my macros would do, not only for my diet, but my mentality about food and eating. I wanted to know was I actually eating enough or was I over-indulging? Was I going to be preoccupied about food, etc..

***A disclaimer before I get into the nitty gritty about my week:

I have a dietetics background (undergraduate degree in nutrition, and completing my MS and dietetic internship in nutrition). Although I am not an official registered dietitian, I have a solid educational background regarding nutrition where I could calculate my needs and macro splits appropriately. If in anyway counting macros is something you find yourself interested in for you own personal goals, please seek a registered dietitian!!

The night before day 1 of counting macros, I already found myself very stressed out. I was already worried about preparing my meals and portioning out what I was going to eat, questioning whether I was going to meet my macros. This to me was a red flag. I hadn’t even started the week yet! But I was already overly aware that I would need my meals to be this idea of ‘perfect’.

Day one comes and all my meals have been prepped out and portioned accordingly. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. It took me, what felt like FOREVER the night before cooking and portioning all my meals out, BUT in the morning I was able to just grab everything and head straight out the door.. Hmm not such a terrible thing.

To make my life easier, I had downloaded the MyFitnessPal app on my phone (the free version) so that everything I ate I could just keep in one location, and check on my macro levels during the day. Since I knew what I was eating on Day 1, I put my whole days worth of food in my food diary. Now, I am no pro at the tips or tricks for counting macros, I simply did this for my own ease, BUT it made my meals for that day seem so set in stone, like I couldn’t stray to have something else that I didn’t personally prep (i.e. gold fish or another snack).

By the end of day 1, I honestly felt so full because at the end of the day I hadn’t reached my macro goals and I still had almost 700 calories left in my total daily calories. 700! I tried to eat something else but I became so uncomfortably full I had to stop. Now someone I know told me that the first week you feel uncomfortably full, but by the second week you’re hungry. This is interesting logic, but I did not enjoy feeling like my stomach was going to explode. It made me think, maybe I haven’t been eating enough and maybe I should be eating more consistently throughout the day.

Day 2 was a little easier because I had at least one day under my belt. However, I still felt so restricted in what I felt I could eat. I don’t know if it was me just psyching myself out and over-complicating things, but I just kept wanting to make sure that I was at least close to my macro splits, and was especially aware that I didn’t want to go over my grams of fat I had calculated for myself. I did, however, do a better job at trying to consume foods consistently so I wasn’t trying to overeat before bed to meet my calories and macros, and it seemed to help a lot more.

By Day 3 and 4, I felt a little more routined. But, I was also eating pretty much the same thing as the two days prior. It made me feel like I could be more consistent in reaching my macros and ultimately be less work because I knew the portions I needed for my meals. But would I really want to eat the same things every...single...day? Probably not. This is not to say I couldn’t mix up my meals and eat new things every time, but for the purposes of this experiment (and my bank account), it was just easier (and cheaper) to stick with the basics; chicken, a veggie and a grain of some sort.

By Friday, or day 5, the last day I specifically counted my macros, I felt I was just starting to get the hang of everything and understand adding another half cup portion of veggies or protein wouldn’t necessarily not allow me to meet my goals, calorically or in individual macros. I am not sure by the end of my 5 day macro counting I exactly felt that much different , and I definitely didn’t see any physical changes (which I was aware I wasn’t going to see physical changes that quickly, it doesn’t happen overnight my friends), but it almost feels like it is hard to say exactly my personal conclusion on the whole experiment.

My biggest take-aways I felt I noticed in this short, 5 day time span included:

1. I initially felt restricted/boxed in about what I could consume.
2. I don’t eat as often or as much as I thought I do/need to to maintain by body through my exercise regimen.
3. I need to consume more protein, and incorporate protein not only in my meals but in my snacks.
4. Seeing portions of foods measured out made me realize I’ve been misjudging, either under portioning or over portioning foods.
5. Portioning/meal prepping doesn’t need to be specific for macro counting, it can simply help eating in moderation and making your mornings and evenings easier.

And lastly,

6. There is a time and place for macro counting, and depending on individual goals, it may or may not be necessary/beneficial.

            Being an active person, and a busy person in general, meal planning and prepping was extremely beneficial to my schedule and noticing that I needed more protein in my diet was also eye opening, and something important that I needed to realize due to the amount of resistance training I have started to focus on. However, my goals do not pair with being extremely lean or presenting a body physique often found in physique or bodybuilding competition athletes that have very regimented dietary specific goals where counting macros is beneficial.

All in all, as listed above, there are some take-aways that I will continue to consider in my food journey, but counting so specifically I am not sure if the right thing for MY personal goals. I didn’t enjoy the feeling of being preoccupied with food, I like being able to think freely about what I want to consume and when, which is not say that I couldn’t have eventually done this while still counting macros, I again just don’t feel it’s necessary for my personal goals. That’s not to say that there isn’t a time and a place where this could be helpful to individuals with the help of a registered dietitian. I personally believe that it is based on your own training goals as to whether or not this would be the best for you.

EB