Especially when calories are getting low, paying attention to your food choices and macronutrients can really make a difference in your level of adherence and success.
Many times we don’t really pay attention to the accuracy or details of our food log entries; we kind of just plug it in and be on with our day.
Calories can add up quickly and we don’t realize it until it’s brought to our attention. So here I am, bringing this to your attention to help you out.
As a coach, I like to view my clients’ food log entries on My Macros+. My clients used MM and MyFitnessPal (MFP) - I just don’t actively use MFP. I notice a lot of little errors that can account for missing literally hundreds of calories in a day.
These examples are real entries from my clients to give you a more honest representation of miscalculated budgeting:
Olive oil is almost 1g of fat for 1g of weight - this 15g serving should be 14-15g of fats (not the 6g of fats shown in this entry.)
Look at the protein ratios from chicken to flaked tuna. It’s almost half the protein amount (because chicken breast is a lot more dense.) This chicken entry should have more fats too (double.)
100g of frozen banana is 23g of carbs and could be replaced for frozen strawberries that are a fraction of that (about 9g of carbs for 100g of weight.) Plus, berries have some fibre.
Coffee and sweetener isn’t bad at all, but consuming 2P 5C 2F on a 14oz drink; in my honest opinion, that’s not worth it when calories are getting lower (this current client is in a deficit.)
These little things add up to BIG things. For example, this client, if making the recommended substitutions:
Isn’t accounting for: 11g of fats (100 calories)
And could save: 16 protein, 19 carbs, 2 fats (160 calories)
And if we have this every day for a week, we can see how that changes a client from thinking they are in a caloric deficit and really hungry, to actually being in a deficit and feeling satiated.
If you liked this post, you’re going to love my FREE cheat sheet called The macro currency & balancing your budget (click for the link)
Our coaches here at CFL are here to help you with things like this. We teach you the honest (and simple!) basics of nutrition awareness so that you can be confident in your choices and finally see results in your body composition that you've been grinding over for years. Send an email (courtney.u@live.ca) or complete the inquiry form on www.courtneyforlife.com/coaching