1. See each obstacle as a learning opportunity, it WILL get easier!
When you come in as a complete newbie, there is a lot to learn! BUT you will pick it up and I promise once it clicks for you.. It clicks! Take it one step at a time, look at it all as a valuable learning experience and give yourself grace as you learn!
2. Look at the day as a whole, not just each meal individually.
Your goals are set for a full day, so focus on spreading your calories and macros out over the day as a whole! You have the whole day, every meal doesn’t have to be perfectly balanced. This can also make your targets (especially protein) look less daunting. Looking at needing 150g of protein is big!! Looking at it as 5 servings of 30g of protein makes it much easier to process!
3. Identify my fave protein, fat & carbs to throw together meals easily.
Everything became immensely easier once I knew my favorite isolated sources of each macronutrient - carbs, fat, protein. This makes throwing meals together simple and gives you the ability to diversify meals so not to be stuck eating the same things every day! It also helps when the day may not go as planned and the numbers you end up with at the end of the day don’t make much sense for an actual meal (10/10 don’t recommend, but it happens!), I always have an isolated source of each macronutrient on hand to fill in these gaps and sometimes weird leftover numbers.
4. Set meal goals, and follow along during the day, always logging BEFORE eating!
Meal goals are super helpful in planning your day and also for those who may not be pre-planners. It gives you small goals (stepping stones if you will) to follow along with each meal to make sure you’re staying on track to finish out the day successfully on plan. Logging BEFORE eating… ALWAYS log the foods before you eat them (or order them) to see how this will impact your day.
5. It's okay to have to estimate, but always log it... even all of those BLTs (bites, licks & tastes)!!
Estimating is better than nothing at all! As you continue to weigh common foods, you will get better at your estimates. But it's always better to log something, even if it isn't perfect, rather than nothing at all. At least you have an idea of where you're at and it could help keep you on track (mentally as well)!
And oh how those BLTs add up quickly!! You can mindlessly eat an extra several hundred calories through these BLTs throughout the day! This doesn’t mean you cannot eat the Goldfish cracker your toddler is so graciously sharing with you, it means do your best to account for it. Calories still count whether you log them or not.. You’re not doing yourself any favors by not counting them :)