welcome to the blog
join our weekly newsletter & stay up to date with the latest posts
AI FOR MEAL IDEAS, GROCERY LISTS, AND MORE
In the ever-evolving landscape of nutrition, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a potential ally in the pursuit of our health and nutrition goals. However, it's crucial to approach this technology with a healthy dose of skepticism. From my (admittedly biased) viewpoint, AI's capabilities, while promising, cannot completely replace the nuanced guidance provided by a human nutrition coach.
HOW TO TRACK YOUR MACROS: THE ULTIMATE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO THE BASICS
At first, tracking macros can seem cumbersome or obsessive, but there are so many benefits that arise from learning to track your food! Whether your goal is weight loss, muscle gain, athletic performance, or improved health, tracking macros empowers you to make informed choices about what you eat to help you reach your goals.
REVERSE DIETING AND TRACKING MACROS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AND WHY IT’S NOT MAGIC
Reverse diets may also be helpful if you’ve been eating a deficit for a long period of time and want to get an idea for what your current maintenance calorie needs are. It can be beneficial to slowly increase calories to make sure you’re keeping the habits you established while in your calorie deficit, rather than just considering the end of your deficit to be a signal to just stop being mindful of your nutrition altogether. Chances are that your ideal maintenance nutrition doesn’t look much different than your deficit nutrition – just slightly larger meals and a little extra flexibility.
MACRO FRIENDLY SUSHI: TRACKING SUSHI, GO TO MENU ITEMS, AND ENJOYING A HEALTHY MEAL
When I started tracking macros years ago, I avoided certain foods. Rice was one choice that I tended to avoid. Consequently, sushi ended up being a close follow. When I stopped fear-mongering certain foods and sought to embark on flexibility, I reintegrated rice and enjoyed sushi again. And I'm going to encourage you to do the same. So grab your chopsticks, and let's roll, queens.
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO EATING OUT WHILE TRACKING YOUR MACROS
Eating out is an important part of our lifestyle, but when it comes to work lunches, social events with friends, and family dinners, it often feels like we need to compromise our nutrition goals in order to enjoy a meal out. It doesn’t have to be that way! Today’s post will help you find strategies that will keep you on track in situations that are not totally in your control. It’s chock full of our best tips and tricks for how to approach eating out while tracking your macros or simply working towards your specific nutrition goals.
CRONOMETER VS. MYFITNESSPAL FOR TRACKING MACROS
Tracking calories has been largely utilized for various health and physique-related goals, and it is a tool we use often with our clients to help bring awareness to our eating habits. When it comes to tracking our macronutrients or calories, one of the first (and often overwhelming) steps is finding a tracking app that suits your needs. There are many apps out there that track the calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients in the foods we eat. Today we’re going to talk about the two most popular, MyFitnessPal and Cronometer.
MACRO FRIENDLY TRADER JOE’S SHOPPING LIST: NO-cook MEALS AND EASY SIDES
The goal of this post is to share with you some of our favorites but, more importantly, give you some ideas of how you can use these pre-made, ready to go foods to simplify the process of feeding your body and, ideally, save some time while you’re at it.
HOW TO TRANSITION AWAY FROM TRACKING YOUR MACROs
Eventually, there comes a time when you don’t want to or need to be tracking your macros all the time and it’s certainly not something you want to do forever. So, what’s the next step? In today’s post, I’m sharing how you can use what you’ve learned from the process of tracking your macros and transition to more mindful eating practices.
MAINTENANCE PHASES: WHY YOU NEED THEM & HOW WE CAN ADDRESS METABOLIC ADAPTATION
When considering fat loss, the number one thing we talk about is energy balance. In order to lose fat, it’s necessary to eat a calorie deficit (eating less calories than you expend). However, our bodies aren’t made to exist in a calorie deficit forever. Enter: the maintenance phase.
HOLIDAY COCKTAILS: MACRO-FRIENDLY DRINKS AND HOW TO TRACK ALCOHOL
When you think of holiday treats, a cocktail may not be the first thing that comes to mind. But between more dinners with family or friends and other holiday celebrations, chances are you’ll run into a cocktail or two. Whether you’re hosting Christmas brunch or having a cozy snow day at home, here are some of our favorite winter cocktails.
MACRO FRIENDLY COFFEE IDEAS AND RECIPES
A big part of diet culture that plagued me for a majority of my life was a fear of liquid calories. There is no need to fear liquid calories, period. For those who love a high calorie latte, mocha, etc., here are a few tips for how you can make a generally calorie-packed drink a little more “macro friendly.”
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE FOR NAVIGATING YOUR NUTRITION THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS
With the holidays around the corner, there’s no doubt that our calendars will start to fill up with extra social events these next two months. Whether you’re at a family gathering, a work party, or a gift exchange with friends, there’s a good chance food will be involved. This week’s post pulls together our most tried and true nutrition tips and tricks that we’ve shared with our clients over the years for how to approach the holidays while continuing to work towards your nutrition and fitness goals.
HOW TO (ACTUALLY) HIT YOUR PROTEIN TARGET WHEN TRACKING MACROS
I know that getting adequate protein take can be really challenging. But I also know it can absolutely be done. And it can be done in a way that fits our eating preferences, that doesn’t require us to double our grocery bill, and that helps us build positive long-term habits.
HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR PROTEIN NEEDS (& WHY YOUR PROTEIN INTAKE IS IMPORTANT)
We talk so much about protein that it can feel like a gimmick - something that isn’t actually that important or necessary. But the importance of protein for our overall health as well as any aesthetic or performance goals we may have is so very real.
The Calorie Deficit Checklist: Am I Ready for Fat Loss?
We already know that a calorie deficit is the most important factor at play when it comes to pursuing fat loss goals. But, for most, staying in a consistent calorie deficit is a lot more challenging (and far more complex) than just “eating less and moving more.” One roadblock I see hindering progress over and over is not being in the right place to commit to these goals from the start.
Convenient High-Protein Snacks for On The Go
Eating enough protein is very important for maintaining muscle and burning fat, especially when tracking macros with the goal of being in a calorie deficit. Eating higher protein snacks throughout the day has two major benefits: (1) high protein snacks help us eat enough protein (duh), and (2) they help us manage hunger levels. Here are some easy high protein snacks that require minimal or no prep, are widely available, and are easy to pack and take with you anywhere.
How to Track a Recipe in Cronometer for Accurate Macros
Weighing and logging food is a super helpful tool in training our eyeballs to recognize more specific portion sizes. During food logging adventures, we are bound to begin diving into recipes rather than individual food items. Logging recipes can be extremely helpful for switching up typical meals each week or grouping together similar daily food items to make logging even quicker. We like the app Cronometer as it’s by far the most accurate tracking database and provides a lot of data that can be helpful along your macro tracking journey.
How to Track a Recipe in MyFitnessPal for Accurate Macros
If you are new to tracking your macros, the idea of tracking recipes can seem overwhelming. Adding a recipe into MFP is neither impossible nor time consuming. It can seem daunting at first, but is faster after some practice. I enjoy MFP for its ease of use, especially when it comes to adding recipes or repeat meals. We’re teaching you exactly how to do it in this post!