GOING OUT TO EAT

I get this question often, which is why I wanted to do a full length deep dive. I'm a huge fan of date night and it's good to be able to be able to get outside of our own kitchens to eat.

Let me start with why macros alone provide flexibility versus just sticking to a calorie in goal and/or being restricted to only eating specific foods. With a macros baseline however, if I recommend 145g protein, 170g carbs, 60g fat, it’s a lot more specific. This helps individuals know they are hitting their ideal targets based on their goals.

It also maximizes flexibility, because utilizing a food log, individuals can pick and choose the foods and the amounts based on their preferences. Sure, it takes a bit of practice, trials and work to get to the point where this comes easy, but once there, it opens up an endless amount of possibilities.

So another question I often get is it realistic to hit every macro right on the button 100%? While it is, there certainly is some margin. My recommendation and expectation is to be within single digits of each macro. From a calorie standpoint, this can adjust it to as much as 150 calories.

But there is some flexibility built into this. Depending on your goals, you might be able to vary while still targeting your goals. Here are four tips to do this.

First, it’s important to log your food, this goes without saying as otherwise you won’t know where you stand or where things are at.

Second, when doing this, you need to still hit your target calorie levels. In the prior example, we’ll use 1800 as a calorie target.

Third, you need to hit the protein target. Only protein can protein. It’s also not beneficial to go over the amount as our body doesn’t convert excess protein to energy very efficiently.

Fourth, with calorie levels targeted and protein hit, we need to balance the ratios of carbs and fats to hit the calorie level. So in the example above, let’s say Betty’s fat intake is way over due to not getting her hand out of the nut jar.

Her 60g target and she’s at 75g. This means she needs to bring carbs down to 135g to hit her calorie targets. Let’s say Bob’s carbs are at 215g because he loves bagels. That would put his fat at 40g.

As you can tell above, these scenarios still require tracking, still require portion accuracy, it doesn’t take that away.

Also, if you have specific needs or extreme goals, your macro targets are likely much more specific, but the above examples are ways to again, navigate being social, enjoying a meal and not falling off the rails.