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MyFitnessPal Community

Macro Pattern Meal Planning

KristiMMM

I have meal prepped for a while now, but never paid very close attention to my macros & the patterns in which I ate them. This is week one for me of macro pattern meal planning. Does anyone else have experience with this way of eating? I am worried that I will stick to the same exact stuff each cycle and I will burn out. I would appreciate any advice or sharing of personal experience/wisdom on this topic.

Replies

Old_Cat_Lady

I found macros to complicate my life. The only one I watch is Protein (making sure I reach at least 63g/day). If you make this too complicated, you are more likely to give up.
I like to watch my sodium, calcium, sugar, and total calories. That's complicated enough for me!

dieselbyte

Do you mean that every meal has a set ratio of P/F/C? That's overkill and totally unnecessary.

sijomial

Why?
What are you hoping to gain from it?

Seems like a very unnecessary complication which will work against one of the major success factors - adherence.

quiksylver296

I plan all my meals around my protein to insure I meet that macro. Fats and carbs tend to fall into place pretty well when I do this.

dieselbyte

quiksylver296 wrote: »

I plan all my meals around my protein to insure I meet that macro. Fats and carbs tend to fall into place pretty well when I do this.

I think OP is referring to set macros per meal i.e. Meal 1 - 20g P/40g C/10G F, and must adhere to this format.

KristyDonovan

That sounds like a lot of work! I eat almost the same stuff everyday except for dinner so keeping my macros in place isn't too difficult. Good luck!

KristiMMM

It is a lot of work FOR SURE, but I am hopeful it will help get me in the habit of eating leaner and eating higher on protein/lower in carbs. Im currently in ketosis, which wasnt the original goal but I will take it. My goal is to get my way of eating together to help me lose some weight, then incorporate healthier carbs (moderately) back into my diet in order to help me to became faster as a runner and more lean and toned physically.
Its not a set macro count per meal that I adhere to, but per total counts for P/C/F per day. Im going to attach the file for the second week of the plan that I am on. Im not sure if it will open though.

https://dochub.com/kristipashia/8kxQa1/weeks-2-4-macro-patterning-meal-plans?dt=75uya2pvte4qzy1i

cmriverside

But what we're saying is that you can make this as complicated or as simple as you want.

I have a spreadsheet. It used to have all manner of unnecessary columns of tracked stuff. Now I have Calories, Exercise, Net calories, weekly average, weekly totals, and my weight.

On MFP I try to hit protein and calories. Over many years I made that "protein and five vegetables a day in my calories." That has been the most helpful thing I've done, I think.

I'm not a proponent of eating the same thing every day or using supplements, and I have about thirty different meals I switch around.

Keep it simple.

quiksylver296

dieselbyte wrote: »

quiksylver296 wrote: »

I plan all my meals around my protein to insure I meet that macro. Fats and carbs tend to fall into place pretty well when I do this.

I think OP is referring to set macros per meal i.e. Meal 1 - 20g P/40g C/10G F, and must adhere to this format.

That sounds horrible, and awful, and hard, and annoying, and....

Cahgetsfit

lots of work. I am conscious of getting a decent amount of protein in each meal but not anal with each meal P/C/F - I leave that for overall day.

KristiMMM

Thank You for the feedback everybody! I know that this will be tough, but it will get easier the longer I adhere to it. Meal prepping every Sunday for the week, going into every day with a plan, sticking to my plan and focusing on my goals will help me stay committed.

kommodevaran

It's just that it won't get easier, it will get harder, if it's week one and you're already worried about burnout.

KristiMMM

I personally think it will get easier as I go along if I know what I am supposed to be doing each day and I have a plan. I was just asking others for advice on how to address/get past burnout, because I am being realistic that it may be something I will face and have to work through. I wont eat exactly the same thing each day. Ill try out new recipes as I go along. Also, it gets easier to stick to something the longer you work at it. Its hard now because it is new.

cs2thecox

I track my macros, and almost find too much planning to be the enemy.
What if I accept an office snack in the morning, and that means my prepared lunch is now too carby?

I track as I go.
If I have a coffee and a pastry for breakfast, I balance out by having a chicken salad or something for lunch, to leave me with sensible macros to have a fairly normal dinner with my boyfriend in the evening.
I do 3 meals + 2 snacks, and my snacks are protein heavy to make sure I hit that.
I also try and have flexible food in the house so I can tweak my dinner macros if I need to - we'll plan the main meat dish, plus veg, but I can add the exact amount of pasta/cous cous etc that I have left in my carbs for the day, or skip it completely if I had something crazy earlier.

Then there's the concept of a "flex bowl" to use things up at the end of the day - for me, normally random combinations of 0% fat greek yogurt (or Skyr), peanut butter, jelly beans... It's fun!

I used to meal plan for breakfast and lunch much more than I do now, but I found I was eating really odd dinners based around what I had left.
The way I do it now means I can flex my lunch to leave me with a "normal" dinner to enjoy.

cmriverside

KristiMMM wrote: »

I personally think it will get easier as I go along if I know what I am supposed to be doing each day and I have a plan. I was just asking others for advice on how to address/get past burnout, because I am being realistic that it may be something I will face and have to work through. I wont eat exactly the same thing each day. Ill try out new recipes as I go along. Also, it gets easier to stick to something the longer you work at it. Its hard now because it is new.

That's true, repetition creates mastery.

However, why borrow trouble from the future? That sounds exhausting! Just worry about one week at a time on your prep day. If I start worrying about things that haven't even happened yet I'll have a nervous breakdown!

sgt1372

I have a macro goal of 40P/40C/20F on 2100 cals/day.

I seldom reach this goal exactly during any particular day but I come pretty close overall.

My breakfast each day is pretty much the same - - protein powder, soymilk and a banana shake.

If I plan to eat lunch and dinner at home, I preplan the meals so that I meet my protein goal while staying below my cal limit w/what I have available in the house or buy at the store for the meaks that I want to prepare.

If I eat out for lunch, I plan dinner based on what I ate for breakfast and lunch.

If I plan to eat out for dinner, I try to maximize my protein intake earlier in the day while keeping my cal intake as low as possible to allow more food/drink flexibility during dinner and then choose what 2 eat for dinner based on how many cals that I have available and how many grams of protein that I still need.

If I'm low on protein and high on cals, I row for 15 mins to burn 150 cals which allow me to drink a whey protein beverage that provides 42g of protein in just 190 cals do that I can stsy under or at leadt close to my cal limit.

The carbs and fat take care of themselves. I always make low fat choices, so excess fat intake is seldom a problem.

This approach may sound complicated to others but I've done it so long now that it's 2nd nature to me.

wolfpack2113

If u havent tried it take a look at this site :

Eatthismuch.com