Whether or not you use something to track your food, I’m sure you could use some extra time in the day – so don’t rule these tips out just yet!
The number one objection I hear to not being able to track food using an app like MyFitnessPal is “I don’t have time”.
While the smart ass in me could have a few things to say about that, I shall refrain and provide some useful tips instead.
1) Enter some or all of your food the night before.
If you know what you want for breakfast, know what you have for snacks, and know that you are going to have left overs for lunch – then take 2 minutes and enter that the night before.
This is also a great strategy to learn about how you can set up your day to fit within your macro goals.
By doing this, you are already mentally preparing yourself for what you will be eating tomorrow – and this makes your life less stressful, and honestly makes it easier to stay on plan.
2) Measure and cut portions after bulk prep
Did you grill up a bunch of chicken? Do you know that you will need 5 oz. of chicken per meal that you want to have chicken at?
Then cut up the servings into appropriate serving sizes for you.
Then when you are ready to eat them you can grab, and go – knowing that you have 5 oz. of chicken breast at that meal. No need to guess, measure, or weigh out.
3) Keep a measuring cup in any bulk prepped carbs
Similar to the above, say you make a big bowl of rice.
If you learn from tracking that 1 cup of cooked white rice is 38 grams of carbs, and you want 38 grams of carbs at a meal, then keep a 1 cup measuring cup in the big bowl of rice.
When its time to dish it up, just scoop it out, and but the bowl away.
Same thing can be done with pastas, potatoes, corn, etc.
4) Have your “go-to” meal foundations
I have been eating the “same” thing for breakfast the last 3 months (minus a few days).
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup egg whites
- 75 grams of carbs
- 10 grams of added fat
This is the foundation of my breakfast meals – but not the actual meal.
The eggs and whites usually stay the same. But sometimes they take the form of an omelet, a scramble, over easy eggs, or mixed into pancakes.
The carbs I like to play around with. By reading labels it is pretty easy to figure out “how much of this food equals 75 grams of carbohydrates – give or take 10 grams?”
My carbs have been cereals, oats, pancakes, fruit, bagels, toast, or a combo of a few of those. THEN I will also add some sort of veggies to breakfast, unless its pancake day, cause that’s nasty.
My 10 grams of added fats is usually just from cooking the eggs in coconut oil, or putting a little butter on toast or pancakes.
This is MY breakfast foundation, work on creating your own – then play around with how you sculpt it.
Hope these tips help you save some time and realize what a great tool tracking your food can be.
Once you get things dialed in, it can be pretty fun and freeing to see how you can play around with your diet – and still make progress.
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Stay healthy my friends,