There’s one minor adjustment that you can make to your macros to exponentially increase your consistency and to get better results.
It’s actually so simple that when I say it, you’ll probably roll your eyes at me.
But, we’ve seen it work over and over again.
First, let me explain the problem with macros …
Tracking macros (weighing and logging protein, carbs, and fats) is something that can be very useful for individuals who have no awareness around what or how much they’re eating.
However, in the dieting world, and when you coach individuals who have struggled with failed diets and a poor relationship with food for years (like we do at POP), tracking macros can be a slippery slope.
Mainly because of the mindset that they often facilitate …
One of perfectionism. Obsessiveness. All or nothing.
It’s the whole: I need to weigh and track every morsel of food that goes into my body and if I can’t track it perfectly than why bother doing anything at all? I might as well eat everything in sight because I couldn’t perfectly hit my macros.
By the way … that was me for YEARS.
One tiny imperfect macro and I was done.
It added so much stress to my life.
But, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Because the reality is this … macros are an imperfect tool in and of themselves.
It’s impossible to be exact … even if you use a food scale.
It’s impossible to know how much you’re eating every single day because food labels have a margin for error.
And, even if you COULD be perfectly perfect, is that really what you want for the rest of your life?
It’s pretty difficult to have a life while meticulously tracking every gram of every food that enters your piehole.
Having said that, I do think macros are a useful tool when used appropriately.
The issue is more so that the tool is often abused more than used.
But, there’s a simple tweak that we’ve been making with our 1:1 clients that has made a WORLD of difference in their consistency, adherence, enjoyment, and results.
Before I finally reveal this underwhelming piece of advice, I should also mention that most of our clients don’t track every day.
In fact, very few of them do and the ones that do actually really enjoy it so it’s their choice.
We’ve found that most people find success with a combination of tracking and not tracking that suits their lifestyle.
Introducing … macro ranges!
Anyway, the magical micro adjustment that will make macros more successful for you and remove the need to be perfect or the all or nothing mindset is …
Macro ranges.
Boom. Insert eye rolls everywhere.
It’s true though.
What if instead of needing to hit 2000 calories on the dot every day you had a range of 1800-2200?
What if instead of needing to hit 200g of carbs each day, you had a range of 180-220g of carbs?
Same for protein. Same for fat.
We can utilize ranges in a way that makes sense for each individual and completely eliminates the perfectionist or obsessive tendencies.
We have found that when we combine calorie and macro ranges along with untracked days, it’s a magical combination in creating consistency to go with food freedom.
Our clients are no longer stressed about the process and a body with less stress is a body that will physically respond better.
Now, obviously this is just one piece of a much larger puzzle, but it’s such an important piece.
Most people struggle because they’re either all in or all out.
This dramatically helps with that.
Of course, we have to layer in other important steps …
Put it all together for the ultimate plan
Like metabolic priming … making sure our clients are eating enough so their bodies feel safe to let go of unwanted body fat.
Neurotyping … incorporating a plan structure, food choices, and macro ratios that fit their personality type.
Lifestyle integration … allowing room for the things they enjoy in life.
Monitoring daily stressors and biofeedback … so we know exactly what their body responds best to.
And there you have the process that we utilize in our signature 6-month, 1:1 coaching program.
On average, it produces 20-30 lbs. of fat loss along with an improved relationship with food and the skillset to maintain those results for life.
If you’re interested in seeing if that program is a good fit for you, simply shoot me a private message on Facebook
