In my last few articles I’ve been addressing whether you should track calories or macronutrients and what to do if you determine counting them is the route for you. In summary, at Lincoln Nutrition & Fitness we believe only special circumstances require tracking and eating whole foods is the best path for most. 

However, everyone is different and has different goals, so if you decide to track we’re here to assist and support you.  

Many times you don’t have the luxury of eating food you make for every meal which can make counting difficult. Social gatherings, parties, eating out and busy schedules may bring instances of needing to estimate calories or macros without measuring or weighing food.

There are several tools you can use.

Download a food tracking app. If you’re already tracking calories or macros, chances are that you have a food tracking app, however if you don’t, consider adding one to your smartphone. My Fitness Pal is my favorite. 

Many of these apps have restaurant foods and meals already available for you to input. If you’re headed to a social gathering, you can input estimated grams of food in the app and get a pretty accurate number of calories or macros. 

Research the menu before you go. Many restaurants list the nutrition facts of the foods and meals on their website, if you don’t use an app, you can write this down and record the information. For social gatherings contact your host to see what’s on the menu and calculate your estimates before you go. Having a plan can keep you from over or under eating. 

Estimate calories using the fist measurement. For protein, one fist sized amount of meat is about 50 grams of protein and 285 calories. When estimating carbohydrates, one fist sized portion of starches averages out to equal 30 grams of carbs and 100 calories. Then finally, for fats, one handful of nuts, or one spoonful of nut butter is about 15 grams of fat and 160 calories.

Don’t count your calories or macros. Don’t forget that counting calories for every meal is not a necessity. Having a meal here and there that you don’t track will NOT undo all the work you’ve put in. It’s okay to have meals a couple times per week that you don’t track. Give yourself some love and grace, this will not deter you from your ultimate goals.
Our goal at Lincoln Nutrition & Fitness is to make your goals our goals. We’re here to support you in any way we can. A coach can be the difference between achieving those goals and not. Schedule a free nutrition consultation with one of our coaches to find out how we can help you reach your goals. SCHEDULE A FREE NUTRITION CONSULT HERE.

In my last few articles I’ve been addressing whether you should track calories or macronutrients and what to do if you determine counting them is the route for you. In summary, at Lincoln Nutrition & Fitness we believe only special circumstances require tracking and eating whole foods is the best path for most. 

However, everyone is different and has different goals, so if you decide to track we’re here to assist and support you.  

Many times you don’t have the luxury of eating food you make for every meal which can make counting difficult. Social gatherings, parties, eating out and busy schedules may bring instances of needing to estimate calories or macros without measuring or weighing food.

There are several tools you can use.

Download a food tracking app. If you’re already tracking calories or macros, chances are that you have a food tracking app, however if you don’t, consider adding one to your smartphone. My Fitness Pal is my favorite. 

Many of these apps have restaurant foods and meals already available for you to input. If you’re headed to a social gathering, you can input estimated grams of food in the app and get a pretty accurate number of calories or macros. 

Research the menu before you go. Many restaurants list the nutrition facts of the foods and meals on their website, if you don’t use an app, you can write this down and record the information. For social gatherings contact your host to see what’s on the menu and calculate your estimates before you go. Having a plan can keep you from over or under eating. 

Estimate calories using the fist measurement. For protein, one fist sized amount of meat is about 50 grams of protein and 285 calories. When estimating carbohydrates, one fist sized portion of starches averages out to equal 30 grams of carbs and 100 calories. Then finally, for fats, one handful of nuts, or one spoonful of nut butter is about 15 grams of fat and 160 calories.

Don’t count your calories or macros. Don’t forget that counting calories for every meal is not a necessity. Having a meal here and there that you don’t track will NOT undo all the work you’ve put in. It’s okay to have meals a couple times per week that you don’t track. Give yourself some love and grace, this will not deter you from your ultimate goals.
Our goal at Lincoln Nutrition & Fitness is to make your goals our goals. We’re here to support you in any way we can. A coach can be the difference between achieving those goals and not. Schedule a free nutrition consultation with one of our coaches to find out how we can help you reach your goals. SCHEDULE A FREE NUTRITION CONSULT HERE.

COACH PHIL KNIEP

Precision Nutrition L1 Coach

CrossFit Level 2 Trainer

Endurance Certified

Mobility Certified

Scaling Certified

3x CrossFit Games Qualifier