If I told my 17-year-old self that I would be blogging about ‘What I Ate In a Day,’ I would probably have serious concerns about my future 25-year-old-self. But here I am, and here you are, so I guess you’re interested?
DISCLAIMER: Macros are individual and based on things completely unique to YOU, YOUR BODY, YOUR ACTIVITY LEVELS, YOUR DIET HISTORY, YOUR GENETICS, YOUR GOALS so using my macro numbers will likely not help you too much. I’ve done quite a bit of research and trial and error to get here and would be happy to help some of you do the same, but these are not your numbers. Just an example! (this post gives more info)
MY MACRO GOALS:
Protein- 150 Grams Carbs- 140 Grams Fat- 40-45 Grams
Counting Macros (carbs, fats, and proteins) is overwhelming at first….even like a foreign language at times, so I thought walking through a day’s worth might make it less daunting. I completely understand if many of you say things like:
“I really don’t have the time or care enough to do that….."What’s the point of weighing out my food?” "Isn’t having a general idea of calories enough?” I’m going to answer each of those questions at the end, but first I’d like to prove to you how simple it CAN be:
Let's EAT!
This particular day was Saturday, and my macro goals typically don’t change too much from day to day because I exercise 6 days a week so I don’t really adjust them at all. If you were consistently working out 3 days a week, I would suggest having slightly higher carbs on those days to fuel your workouts.
Saturday: I planned to meet a friend for a run at 6:30, and I typically don’t like to eat too much before a run, so I opted for:
Snack 1 (Pre/Post Workout)
6:15 AM- ½ Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Quest Bar + ½ When I got home post-run
Calories: 190 - 22C/8F/20P
We had a great run and I finished the morning with 13.1 miles (that last .1 was just to make it a half marathon lol). It was extremely humid and I had a grand time trying to get the knots out my hair in the shower.
Breakfast
Calories: 289- 21C/4F/40P
I love sweet and savory combinations, so it may seem odd to pair pancakes with vegetables, but it’s yummy!
Protein Pancakes- Full Post on this recipe is available here, but here’s the quick version:
- 1 Scoop EAS Vanilla Protein
- 1 Scoop Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides
- 2 TBS Coconut Flour
- 4 oz Liquid Egg Whites
- ½ TSP Baking Soda
- ½ TSP Vanilla Extract
- Walden Farms Sugar-Free Syrup
Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts
- 150g Brussel Sprouts
Preparation: I cut them in half, spray them with coconut oil, season with Trader Joe’s “Everything but the Bagel” seasoning and cook them at 375 for 25 minutes and the broil them at the end for a little added crunch!
Lunch
Calories 210- 21C/4F/24P
Chicken Salad with Coconut Curry Hummus
- 120g- Romain Lettuce
- 50g- English Cucumber
- 25g- Shredded Carrots
- 50g- Red Bell Pepper
- 50g- Sugar Snap Peas
- 3.5oz- Grilled Chicken
- 28g (1 serving)- Thai Coconut Curry Hummus (Hope Foods)
Snack 1
Calories: 120 8C/9F/3.5P
Sorry I didn’t take a picture of this, but I had some chocolate, coconut trail mix from Ingles and I tracked it with a similar mix listed in My Fitness Pal.
¼ Cup Chocolate Chip Coconut Trail Mix
Snack 2
Calories: 86 13C/0f/15P
- 1 Oikos 0% Fat Greek Yogurt Cup
- 25g Frozen Berries
- Stevia to Taste
Dinner
Calories: 135 15C/2F/19P
Asian Chicken & Veggie Stirfry
When people ask me for “recipes” I kind of chuckle because 85% of my meals are so simple they don’t deserve to be categorized as a recipe. I love to eat, but don’t love to spend tons of time cooking and cleaning up, so this is how a lot of dinners go. Drew also had a stomach ache this night so he made a smoothie and I had this (so it’s 1 serving size):
- 70g- Frozen Riced Cauliflower
- 100g- Zucchini Sliced
- 25g- Shredded Carrots
- 70g- Asparagus
- 35g- Red Bell Pepper
- 2.5 oz Grilled Chicken
Directions:
I just sliced vegetables while the frozen cauliflower was in a saucepan with some coconut oil. There really is no rhyme or reason to the amounts of each, I just weight it out after I chop it then add it to the cauliflower. While that is sauteeing, I add garlic powder, soy sauce, pepper and a little ginger. Add it all together, sprinkle some black sesame seeds on top and we were in business!
Tip: I typically grill chicken twice week and add it to different meals each day. The chicken was already cooked, so I weighed out 2.5oz because I was already getting close to my goal (150g) so I didn’t need too much in this meal.
Macro Cap
Calories (Ice Cream + toppings + pb/chocolate dessert munching) 332- 34C/13F/23P
“Macro Cap”- I have nicknamed whatever the last meal I eat as a “macro cap” because I am trying to fill in anything I have left for the day. I just check my numbers and see how much of each nutrient (carb, fat, and protein) is remaining and go from there.
And if I’m being completely honest, I usually just start my day by logging this meal because it’s my favorite and I will rearrange portions throughout earlier meals to make it work (it’s that yummy to me).
Protein Ice Cream
- 50ML (mililters is the serving unit, so I use that)- Unsweetened Almond Cashew Milk
- .5tsp- Xantham Gum
- 30g- Liquid Egg Whites
- 1 Tbs- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- ¾ Scoop- EAS Vanilla Protein Powder
- 2 Cups Ice
- Stevia to Taste
- 1 TBS Cool Whip Lite
- ½ Good2Go Protein Bar ("moves" discount code saves you 20% here)
CONFESSION
Also, I made a peanut butter chocolate dessert for some friends who came over this night and while I opted for my ice cream over the dessert, I did my fair share of “quality control” and licking the beaters, so I went ahead and used the barcode scanner on the app to log one half a serving. The things about macros is they add up whether you log them or not, so if you pick and snack and munch, but don’t log it--don’t be surprised if you don’t get the results or benefits from it that you are desiring :)
Daily Totals: 1400 Calories: Protein: 146 Carbohydrates: 137 Fats: 41
Again, this is for me and my body. I eat a lot of vegetables, and get plenty of fiber to fill me up. If I'm still hungry at the end of the day, I will EAT and listen to my body, but I'm usually satisfied with these ratios.
Pretty close to the goals! I don't stress if I'm a little off, especially within 5 grams of the goal. The longer you track, the easier it gets. I PROMISE
My Fitness Pal Tips:
These numbers (totals) show up for each meal and cumulatively if you turn your phone sideways on the My Fitness Pal’s App
Or
Nutrition Tab → Nutrients (I set all my “goals” to zero so I can hit my individual numbers without having to deal with the percentage constraints when it asks you to set goals.