The Beginners Guide To Macros

MACROS
THE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO
Your go-to resource for learning about macronutrients and setting

yourself up for macro-tracking success.
―
Sohee Lee
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Contents
Disclaimer
Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1
What’s a Macro?
Macronutrients and Calories .............................................................................................. 4
Why Count Macros?............................................................................................................. 10
Why Not Just Follow a Meal Plan?...................................................................................... 11
Planning Your Macros

Plan to Succeed ..................................................................................................................... 15
Determine Your Current Macronutrient Intake ............................................................. 19
Determine Your Prescribed Numbers................................................................................ 24
Plan Your Meals .................................................................................................................... 30
Adjusting and Tweaking Your Numbers

Measure Progress .................................................................................................................. 44
Assess Progress .................................................................................................................... 46
Tweak Numbers (if necessary) ............................................................................................ 50
What About Exercise? .......................................................................................................... 52
Living Life
Navigating Social Situations ............................................................................................... 55
Handling Vacations/Traveling .......................................................................................... 58
Working with a Busy Schedule ........................................................................................... 59
Maintaining Sanity .............................................................................................................. 61
Practical Tips & Tricks

Trying Out New Recipes ..................................................................................................... 64
Planned Indulgences ........................................................................................................... 66
“Catching Up” on Macros ................................................................................................... 68
Weaning Yourself Off of Macro Counting 70
Putting It All Together

“Try Harder” May Not Be the Answer .............................................................................. 76
Set Up Systems for Success .................................................................................................. 77
Focus on the Process ........................................................................................................... 79
Celebrate Every Small Win.................................................................................................. 80
Stay Accountable ................................................................................................................... 81
Frequently Asked Questions ................................................................................................... 84

Stupid-Simple Go-To Recipes .................................................................................................. 96
Online Coach Recommendations .......................................................................................... 106
Recommended Resources ........................................................................................................ 112
About the Author ...................................................................................................................... 114
Introduction
W hen I wrote the first edition of this book over a year ago, I was eager to help hundreds and thou-
sands of people but found myself with limited time. And I realized that the number one obstacle
holding people back from reaching their goals was either a) lack of knowledge about nutrition, or b) lack
of the relevant nutrition skills and habits to get to their fitness goals. For many people, it was the latter.
The fact that you’re reading this now shows me that you’re curious about taking that next step. Whether
you’re never heard of macros before or you’re looking for ideas to make the process easier, I’ve created this
book to be your go-to guide for getting started on optimizing your nutrition.
There is so much more to eating for your health and for your physique than simply plugging in whatever
foods happen to fit into your numbers for the day. To that end, I’ll be teaching you more than just how to
count macros.
By the time you finish this book, I want you to understand not only what to do but also why you’re doing
it. You’ll also pick up some valuable tools that you can keep in your back pocket to whip out when the
occasion calls for them.
Let me be clear: macro counting is not necessary for everyone to become lean. Many individuals have
experienced a tremendous degree of success by practicing simple portion control and being smart about
their food choices. There are plenty of ways to live a perfectly healthy lifestyle without ever touching a
food scale.
With that being said, there are a number of valid reasons to at least be familiar with this method, which
will be covered in the coming pages.
Young or old, newbie or veteran, knowing how to count macros – and more importantly, knowing how to
make nutritious eating an everyday occurrence – will pay off in dividends. This, of all lifestyle overhauls,
may be one of the most crucial you make for your long-term health.
If you’ve been following me on social media at all recently, you may have noticed my new slogan, “eat. lift.
thrive.” I love this because I think it’s the perfect embodiment of what fitness should be about: eating for
your health and for enjoyment, lifting your way toward your goals, and thriving in all aspects of your life.
That last part is particularly crucial because I’ve found that far too many people allow themselves to get
sucked into the fitness craze and neglect their spiritual, emotional, and social lives. I hope you’ll remem-
ber throughout this journey that your quality of life should always, always matter.
The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 01

I’m all about making steady, sustainable behavior changes that you can keep up over the long haul. I want
you to be able to pick up a new habit and say to yourself, yeah, I can see myself keeping this up a year
from now.
To that end, this will require a good dose of patience and the right mindset. But I promise you, stay the
course and a year from now, you’ll be astonished at how far you’ve come.
Never forget: your body is only the place you have to live – so take care of it.
Yours in health,
Sohee Lee

What’s a Macro
MACRONUTRIENTS AND CALORIES
What is this concept of “counting macros?” What are macros?
“Macros” is short for “macronutrients.” These macronutrients are comprised of protein, carbohydrates,
and fats. These are nutrients that the body requires in large amounts. Macronutrients are not to be con-
fused with micronutrients, which are vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc, vitamin C, and vitamin D
that are needed in minute quantities.
Protein
Protein is perhaps the most essential macronutrient and is king in any fitness nut’s book. Important for
muscle repair and muscular hypertrophy, it also plays a crucial role in catalyzing biochemical reactions,
DNA repair, maintaining the structural and functional integrity of cells, and much more.
The primary sources of protein are animal-based—think meats, poultry, and eggs. As such, it is often
more difficult for vegetarians and vegans to get sufficient protein in their diet without resorting heavily to
soy-based products.
Contrary to popular belief, consuming more than the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of 0.8 grams/
kg/bw is not inherently harmful to active, healthy individuals. In fact, ample research indicates that those
who exercise on a regular basis actually need upwards of 1.4-2.0 grams/kg/bw per day.
Why is this the case? Because active individuals’ bodies undergo higher protein degradation following an
exercise bout. Extra protein is therefore needed to put the body back into a net positive protein balance
in order to support protein synthesis and recovery.
As well, those consuming a high protein diet when in a caloric deficit (ie. dieting) have been shown to lose
less muscle mass and also have greater energy expenditure than those consuming a high carbohydrate
diet .
Are all proteins the same?

Actually, not all protein sources are created equal. They differ primarily in their quality and also in diges-
tion rate.

Protein quality is dependent upon the essential amino acid (EAA) content of the protein. An essen-
tial amino acid, of which there are nine total, is an amino acid that cannot be synthesized endogenously
within the body and therefore must be consumed via diet.
Animal- and dairy-based products have been found to contain the highest percentage of EAAs and there-
fore be of highest quality. This includes milk proteins (whey and casein), eggs, and meats.
Furthermore, of the EAAs, the three branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) valine, isoleucine, and
leucine are especially unique. When orally ingested, BCAAs appear rapidly in the blood stream, which
aids in muscle protein synthesis (MPS) . And what makes leucine special is that two to three grams
alone, equivalent to approximately 25 to 35 grams of high quality protein, is sufficient to MPS.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the body’s main energy source and serve as a direct fuel source during activities
that require energy expenditure. They are important in both physical as well as mental exercises. (In other
words, the brain needs carbohydrates to function at optimal capacity!)
Carbs are often broken down into simple or complex forms. Simple carbs are easily broken down by the
digestive system and provide quick-release energy: candy, juice, soda, and the like. Complex carbs, on
the other hand, are more difficult to digest and consequently are broken down and released much more
slowly into the bloodstream: think brown rice, sweet potatoes, and quinoa.
Fats
Fats, despite their reputation, are critical for the body to function properly. Important for quality skin
and hair, they promote healthy cell function as well as provide cushioning for the body’s joints and organs.
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) cannot be synthesized by the human body and must therefore be ingested via
food. Foods high in EFAs include fish, shellfish, walnuts, and sunflower seeds.
Calories
Finally, we come to calories. The technically correct term is kilocalories, or Calories with a capital “C”,
though for the sake of colloquial speak, we’ll stick with the better-recognized spelling. A kilocalorie is

the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius.
When we measure the number of calories in a certain food, then, we are attempting to ascertain how
much energy it contains.
The three macronutrients by definition have a specific number of calories per gram.
Protein: 4 calories/gram
Carbohydrates: 4 calories/gram
Fats: 9 calories/gram
Then you also have things like fiber, which is a subset of carbohydrates, clocking in at approximately 2
calories/gram. And even alcohol, in its own separate group as a sugar alcohol, contains 7 calories/gram.
So if you consume 150g protein, 150g carbohydrates, and 50g fats on a given day, you have by definition
consumed:
150(4) + 150(4) + 50(9) = 1650 calories
To “count your macros,” then, means that you track the total number of grams of proteins, carbohydrates,
and fats you ingest over the course of an entire day. Oftentimes, people will simply use the notation
“150/180/50” as a shortcut to say that they have either consumed 150g protein, 180g carbs, and 50g fats,
or that those are the numbers they have been assigned. Macro counting is typically associated not with
simply tracking your intake, but tracking them with the intention of meeting said prescribed numbers.
Therefore, when someone claims that he or she knows how to count macros, that means that he/she has
acquired the skill of knowing how to eat in such a way that his/her macros comes within +/-5 grams of
each prescribed macronutrient number.
Now that we’ve got that covered, I’ve included for you a list of the more commonly consumed wholesome
food items categorized by macronutrient. This is by no means comprehensive, but should at least give you
a pretty good idea of what’s what.

PROTEIN
Egg whites
Whole eggs (note that whole eggs contain good fats as well)
Chicken breast
Turkey breast
Pork tenderloin
Tuna
Cottage cheese
Greek yogurt
Extra lean ground beef
Top round steak
Top sirloin steak
Flank steak
White fish (cod, halibut, haddock, mahi mahi, tilapia, etc.)
Salmon
Protein powder
CARBOHYDRATES
Old-fashioned oatmeal
Brown rice
Jasmine rice
Couscous
Quinoa
Ezekiel bread
Sweet potatoes/yams

Squash (all varieties)
White/Russet potatoes
Vegetables
Fruit
FATS
Extra virgin olive oil
Extra virgin coconut oil
Fish oil
Ghee
Grass-fed butter
Natural almond butter
Natural cashew butter
Natural peanut butter
Natural coconut butter
Mixed nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, brazil nuts, cashews, etc.)
Cheese (full fat varieties only)
Avocado
Coconut milk

Again, the list above does not include every single food item. Specifically, I’ve left out what we normally
consider junk food: gummy bears, sugary cereal, ice cream, and the like. We’ll cover in a bit how to read
nutrition labels to learn about the nutritional content of anything.
WHY COUNT MACROS?

I’ve heard all the excuses for why macro counting is a waste of time: it’s exhausting, it makes me neurotic,
I want to live my life, I don’t want to hide my food scale from my kids forever.
I understand the reservations. Hell, maybe one of these thoughts is holding you back from fully diving
in right this very second.
But here’s the thing: the whole point of learning how to count macros is to help you achieve your aesthe-
tic goals while still maintaining your quality of life. If you do it incorrectly, you’ll end up spewing one of
the above sentiments and you may swear it off for good; if you do it the right way, you’ll find that macro
counting is incredibly freeing.
There are countless ways to get from point A to point Z, after all.
The beauty of tracking your macronutrient intake is that it ensures that you’re consuming not only the
appropriate number of calories but also just the right number of grams of proteins, carbohydrates, and
fats – not too many and not too few! – that will help get you to your goal, all the while keeping your
physical health a priority at the same time.
If you want to lean out, that should mean that you’re consuming as much as you possibly can while still
losing fat. Did you get that? You don’t want to starve yourself; crash dieting is a no-no. If you feel like
you’re eating too much but you’re making good progress, then that is a very good thing. How often do you
find people starving and making themselves miserable on a fat loss program?
Conversely, if you want to build some lean muscle mass, you may want to approach your journey in a
controlled and calculated manner so as not to pile on too much fat. Consume too many calories and you
may find yourself rocking sweatpants all summer; consume too few and you’re just spinning your wheels.

As much as I love macro counting, however, I do want to make it clear that in no way do I advocate that
everyone in the world track every morsel of food they consume 24/7. There is a time and a place to be
tinkering with your food app, so be sensible.
I liken macro counting to wearing high heels (gentlemen, bear with me on this analogy): while they can
make you look good, they are typically saved for special occasions, and it’s probably best not to wear those
stilettos year-round.
Here are the times when macro counting may make sense for you:
• you have no idea how much you’re eating and you want to spend a week or so tracking your everyday
intake to get a sense of what areas of your nutrition you need to work on
• you want to shed some fat, either for yourself or maybe for an upcoming event, like a wedding, photo
shoot, or competition
• you want to build some muscle and work on improving your metabolic capacity while keeping the fat
gain to a minimum
If you just want to live your life and your physique is not your top priority, you can probably make plenty
of progress by making small tweaks in your diet. This is especially true if you have a good deal of body
fat to lose and if you have no awareness of what a healthy diet looks like. In that case, even the subtlest
changes in your nutrition can yield ample fat loss.
My recommendation is to keep this macro counting skill in your back pocket for those times when you
need it. But otherwise, you’re fine to spend the majority of the year eyeballing, practicing simple portion
control, and making moderation your friend.
WHY NOT JUST FOLLOW A MEAL PLAN?

I get this question all the time.
Why bother investing all your energies into learning how to count and track macros when you can simply
hire a coach to dole out meal plan after meal plan?

I can understand why meal plans seem appealing. They don’t require any thinking, they take all the guess-
work out of the equation for you, and all you have to do is execute.
Meal plans work just fine as a short-term strategy (and I do mean short), but problems arise when life
happens. And trust me, life will always happen.
There may be a time when you run out of chicken breast at home or when you find yourself at a restaurant
for your best friend’s birthday with limited menu options.
Or maybe you’re sick and tired of eating egg whites and oatmeal for breakfast every morning and you just
want some freakin’ pancakes.
What will you do then? Will you grit your teeth and stick to your guns? Will you shun your friends and
family for the sake of meal plan martyrdom?
How long do you think you can keep that up for?
I used to be that meal plan stickler once upon a time, and I couldn’t be prouder of it. It felt good to turn
my nose up at a plate of cookies being passed around the room and scoff, “No thanks – I can’t eat that.
That’s not on my meal plan.”
The thing is, we can’t separate physiology from psychology. Meaning that while a meal plan may be cre-
ated to supposedly optimize your physical health, it doesn’t take into account the fact that willpower is
limited, that human beings are wired to crave sugar and fats, and that at some point you’re just going to
want to eat that freakin’ cookie.
It didn’t take long for meal plans to start to negatively affect my quality of life. I found myself turning
down social events and avoiding my friends because there was zero flexibility in my meal plan.
Not only that, but it was either follow the meal plan or be completely lost. And the longer I tried to
white-knuckle my way to leanness, the more lost I became.
I know I’m not alone in this experience. I had learned absolutely nothing from my meal plan days. It also
kept me reliant on my coach – and as I said, you shouldn’t have to depend on another person for your

fitness for the rest of your days.
Macro counting utilizes a no-foods-off-limits approach: as long as you hit your protein, carb, fat, and
fiber numbers, you can (for the most part) eat what you please. And as you’ll come to learn, a judicious
sprinkling of sugar and grease in your diet every now and then is not the end of the world. Some people
call this flexible dieting.
This makes sense to me. We should absolutely be able to have the occasional scoop of ice cream and not
be ridden with guilt. We need that flexibility worked into our nutrition programs because life happens, and
life and fitness should not be mutually exclusive.
Meal plans are for those who are looking for the easy way out, who are so consumed by instant gratifica-
tion that they can’t see the bigger picture.
I encourage you to take a step back and think about where you want to be a year from now. You want to
make lasting changes to your nutrition, don’t you?
Meal plans are for the birds.
Yes, macro counting does require more upfront work, as there is a learning curve involved, but I promise
it will be worth your while.

PLANNING YOUR
MACROS
PLAN TO SUCCEED
If you get anything out of reading this book, let it be this: you absolutely must plan ahead. As someone
who may be new to the world of macro tracking and is still mastering the art of consistently adhering to
prescribed macronutrient numbers, this point cannot be overlooked.
Failing to plan ahead for a proper diet is the equivalent of waiting to do your laundry until after you’ve run
out of clean underwear, clean socks, and clean shirts. I know we’ve all been there before at some point in
our lives (hello, college days!). You likely had to make do with poor substitutes for clothes, like a bathing
suit instead of undies, and probably couldn’t go about your day quite as planned (working out in sneakers
with no socks? Yuck).
It’s far more sensible to have a fresh supply of clean undergarments ready to go at any given time so you’re
not caught off guard.
Likewise, when it comes to your diet, you want to acquire everything you need before you actually need it.
Not after.
Not when the hunger strikes.
But before.
Because the truth is this: you’re going to eat what you have readily available.
That means if your fridge is filled with nothing but ice cream and frozen dinners, it’s pretty clear what
your meals are going to look like.
If your pantry has nothing but cookies and sugary cereal, you’ve already failed before you’ve begun.
You want to set yourself up for success, right?

Here’s what you should realistically expect:
1. You will go to the grocery store and purchase produce, fresh meats, and grains twice a week.
2. You will utilize the most of your time in the kitchen and prepare your foods in bulk.
3. You will always have some type of protein sources (preferably two or more) ready to eat in your
fridge.
Let’s flesh out the above in detail.
First, you need to stock your fridge with healthy food somehow. I know some individuals genuinely enjoy
the grocery shopping experience. I for one view it as a chore, but I’ve gotten pretty good at it, so I can be
in and out of there in about 20 minutes tops. If you’re like me, you’ll want to pay attention.
There’s not much quite like standing in a 30-minute checkout line on a Sunday afternoon that makes you
wonder if this is, in fact, hell on earth. The truth is, everybody goes grocery shopping on Sunday. Which
is precisely why I don’t.
If you’re an early riser, mornings tend to be perfect for making your trip. Most people aren’t even awake
yet and most grocery stores will be pretty much empty. Otherwise, just about anytime during the week –
especially mid-day, when most individuals are work – or Saturday evenings are good times as well, if you
can swing it.
And I’m sure you’ve already heard the following advice before, but it’s worth repeating: hang out mostly
around the perimeter of the store and come prepared with a list of foods to purchase.
Refer to the food list above to help guide you with your purchases. At the bare minimum, you’ll want
some fresh meats, plenty of fruits and vegetables, carbohydrate sources, and healthy fats to cook with. Of
course, make sure that everything you buy is something that you’re actually willing to eat, and don’t forget
to toss some of your favorite treats into the cart as well.
I like to keep a running note going on my iPhone and I divide up my list by food type. For example, I’ll
lump meats and poultry together because I know I’m going to find them all in the same area; dairy and
eggs are in another section; and canned goods will be in another. See my screenshot below to see what I
mean.

Keeping this note ensures that I’m not idling in the store and wasting precious minutes trying to remem-
ber what that one item was that I needed. I simply add to the list as I think of things I need throughout
the week, and I march into the store armed and ready to go.
I know there are apps available that are designed specifically to help keep your grocery list organized, but
I’m a simple gal and I like to keep things as straightforward as possible. Feel free to browse around the app
store if you want to go this route.
And you can of course keep a pen-and-paper list if that’s what you prefer. Find the method that works for
you. The point is that you have some way to keep track of what you’re going to buy.
So why do I say grocery shop twice a week? Because fresh vegetables don’t stay fresh for long. Because
chicken can only stay refrigerated for a few days before it acquires a funky smell. Because there’s probably
going to be an item or two that you forgot to grab during your first trip (this is me, pretty much every
week).
Yes, there are workarounds if you truly don’t have the time or the desire to make a mid-week trip. You
can freeze some of your meats and thaw it out the night before you need them, and you can also purchase
frozen veggies to toss into stir-fries. Admittedly, I always keep a supply of frozen meats and veggies in my
freezer because you just never know when something’s going to come up that prevents you from re-stock-
ing.
For non-perishable items or foods with a longer shelf life, I recommend buying in larger quantities if you
know you’re going to eat them on the regular. For me, that means I buy huge bags of jasmine rice, several

pounds of russet and sweet potato, and a giant vat of coconut oil.
Next, you’re going to have to spend some time preparing your foods. What’s the use of having lean ground
beef on hand, after all, if you’re not going to cook it up first?
Listen, I get that we’re all busy and you probably don’t want to spend hours slaving away by the stove. Yes,
yes, I totally understand. Believe me, we are all busy.
But this is an absolutely crucial step that so many people try to get away with (they typically don’t fare
quite so well, if you’re wondering).
There are several ways to cook food in bulk without needing to carve out several hours at a time. I’m proof
of that.
What I strongly recommend in order to make this happen is investing in some tools and gadgets that will
make your experience infinitely less painful. Some of them include:
• crockpot
• rice cooker/ food steamer
• wok (great for stir-fries)
And of course, you’ll want to have pots, pans, a baking pan, and the rest of the basic cooking utensils.
I’m about as lazy as they come with cooking (especially when my husband’s out of town – but can you
blame me?), and I’ve become pretty good at whipping up super simple yet surprisingly delicious meals.
Refer to page 96 for some of my go-to recipes.
There are two ways to cook food in bulk: do it all at once, or double or triple a recipe when you’re prepar-
ing dinner for your family. I do a combination of both.
You may have been taught that Sundays need to be your food prep days. You can absolutely do this if you
have the time. But in our household, Sundays are our strict no-work, quality time days. With my husband
in the army, we don’t see each other much throughout the week, so we devote that one special day to just
each other.

Instead, I spend a few minutes each evening preparing food. That may mean searing pork tenderloin on
the pan (takes 8 minutes total) before sticking it in the oven, coating and breading some healthy chicken
nuggets (8 minutes), or tossing together some sesame beef (10 minutes). Whatever I make, you’ll notice
that one, protein is the main component of any meal, and two, I’m making enough to last us two to three
days.
Tonight’s dinner becomes tomorrow’s lunch, and tomorrow’s afternoon quesadilla stuffer, and the next
day’s snack.
You get the picture.
So you see, quick, healthy meals are absolutely within reach. You just need the right tools to make it hap-
pen.
Finally, you always want to have proteins ready to eat in your fridge.
Why do I say protein? Because this is the one macronutrient that many people consistently fall short on.
On top of cooking your meats in bulk like we discussed above, I recommend keeping some Greek yogurt,
cottage cheese, and/or high quality deli meat in your fridge at all times. You can even grab a rotisserie
chicken from the store if you’re really in a bind.
Again, you want to plan to do well, and that means you need to have systems in place so that you’re not
relying on willpower. You want to make this process as easy as possible. Put in the work upfront so that
success is within reach.
DETERMINE YOUR CURRENT MACRONUTRIENT INTAKE

You may or may not have your macros figured out already. If you’ve got a coach of your own providing
you with numbers, that’s great. You can skip this part. Otherwise, if you’re navigating the waters on your
own, you might find this section useful.

Where are you now?
Before you move forward with plugging in numbers, it would be wise to first find out where your intake
currently is.
There are two ways to do this: one, by memory recall, in which you try to remember everything you ate
(and in what specific quantities) over the past week; two, by tracking your food (preferably using a nutri-
tion app) for the next week.
I like the second approach because we as humans tend to be pretty terrible with memory recall. And while
knowing that you have to record everything you eat may subconsciously influence you to make healthier
food choices, it also ensures that you’re not forgetting to log any food items.
In order to do this, I would recommend that you acquire a digital food scale (or measuring cups at the
very least). You’ll also want to download the MyMacros+ app to make your food tracking infinitely easier
(unfortunately, MyMacros+ is currently only available on iPhones, so my second best recommendation
would be My Fitness Pal).
Now, try to change as little of your eating behaviors as possible. The more honest you are about what and
how much you’ve been consuming, the more accurate you’ll be when setting your macronutrient num-
bers.
I’ll be utilizing screenshots of the MyMacros+ app to show you how to go about tracking your intake for
the next week. If you don’t have this app, not to worry; you’ll still get the gist of what to do.
Let’s start with Monday. We’ll use Jane Doe as an example here.
Jane stayed up late last night watching the latest episodes of House of Cards, so her week is not off to the
greatest start. She’s slept past her alarm and is now rushing to get to work on time.
She makes a quick stop at Panera Bread and orders a cinnamon crunch bagel with two small tubs of honey
walnut cream cheese.
Once she gets to her office, she pulls up the nutrition information of her breakfast and plugs it into My-
Macros+. Here’s what she sees:

In her breakfast alone, she’s consumed 20g protein, 97g carbs, and 28g fats. This is not the time to be pass-
ing judgment or offering critiques, so hold your tongue for a minute. We’re simply observing objectively.
By the time lunch rolls around, Jane remembers that she’s got a meeting coming up in the next hour that
she completely forgot to prepare for. She wolfs down a hot dog from the hot dog stand across the street
and gets right back to work. While she doesn’t have the exact nutritional information of the particular hot
dog she’s just consumed, she makes her best estimate.
She finds herself hungry again later in the afternoon and buys an Almond Joy bar from the office vending
machine. But because she’s aware that she hasn’t made the healthiest nutritional choices throughout the
day, she pairs it with an apple.

For dinner, she’s got plans with her best friend. She orders a large chicken Caesar salad with double meat.
She notes that her salad consists of romaine lettuce, chicken breast, bacon, and one hard boiled egg, and
is drizzled with Caesar dressing. And while she can’t figure out exactly how much of everything is in her
dish, she can eyeball portion sizes to the best of her ability.
Before bed, she fishes out an ice cream sandwich from her freezer and washes it down with a tall glass of
reduced fat milk.

Her total intake for the day adds up to the following:
124g protein, 234g carbs, 98g fats, which equals 2323 calories.
She’ll continue with this logging for the next six days. Then she’ll add up all the totals and then divide by
seven to get her average intake.
I won’t repeat the above for the rest of the week, but let’s just say her days end up like so:
Monday: 124g protein 234g carbs 98g fats
Tuesday: 97g protein 297g carbs 78g fats
Wednesday: 48 protein 348g carbs 120g fats
Thursday: 104g protein 203g carbs 60g fats
Friday: 84g protein 259g carbs 84g fats
Saturday: 92g protein 295g carbs 79g fats
Sunday: 143g protein 193g carbs 94g fats
Total: 692g protein 1829g carbs 613g fats
Average: 98.8g protein 261.3g carbs 87.6g fats
Her average intake for the week is then 99g protein, 261g carbs, and 88g fats (we’re rounding to whole
numbers for simplicity’s sake).
Keeping in mind that 1g protein = 4 calories, 1g carb = 4 calories, and 1g fats = 9 calories, we calculate
that 99g(4) + 261(4) + 88(9) = 2,232 calories per day, on average.
Now, I want you to do the same with your own eating for one full week. It’s best if you track your food as
you go rather than waiting until the end of the night.

You’ll continue in this manner for seven straight days (because who knows, maybe your weekend eating
habits are vastly different from how you eat during the week) and then you’ll calculate the average num-
ber of grams of protein, carbs, and fats that you consumed.
Those will be your baseline numbers.
DETERMINE YOUR PRESCRIBED NUMBERS

Before we move onto calculating macronutrient numbers for fat loss, let one thing be clear: you want to
diet on as many calories as possible while still making progress.
I know it sounds like the opposite of what you may have been taught. Many women in particular seem to
believe that 1200 calories a day is the magic number to see fat loss happen. Where they got this number
from, I don’t know. We can blame the media, I suppose.
But think of it this way: if Jane Doe slashes her daily intake to 1,200 calories a day, she’s effectively con-
suming over 1,000 calories less than what she was before. Might sound tempting, because lower calories
means faster weight loss, right?
Just remember that the greater the calorie deficit, the greater the chance that you’ll lose precious muscle
mass. You don’t want this to happen; you want to retain as much muscle as possible so that any weight loss
is effectively all body fat loss.
Furthermore, the more extreme measures you resort to, the higher the likelihood of rebound.
Put another way, the less sustainable the methods you utilize, the less sustainable the results.
And the goal should just about always be to get to where you want to be – and stay there.
Set aside your thirst for instant gratification and recognize that those days of crash dieting never worked
for you (right?), so there’s no reason for it to start working now.

Total calorie intake
Rather than spitting out a generic calorie recommendation, it’s important to examine the individual as a
whole.
In general, calorie ranges are set to the following:
For fat loss: (bodyweight in pounds) x 10-13

For maintenance: (bodyweight in pounds) x 14-16
For mass gain/hypertrophy: (bodyweight in pounds) x 17-20
The above ranges can be influenced by a number of factors, including but not limited to: age (typically
the younger the individual, the higher the metabolism); activity level (the more active the individual, the
higher the daily calorie burn); body fat percentage (those with extremely high levels of body fat will like-
ly note that their fat loss, maintenance, and hypertrophy numbers are much lower than the above), and
genetics.
There will always be some outliers, such as the skinny hard gainer in his early 20s who needs to consume
bodyweightx18 calories simply to maintain his weight, or the professional athlete who engages in intense
exercise four hours a day. But most people will find that their bodies fall nicely with the above.
Now here is some information on Jane Doe:
32 years old
5’4”, 155lbs, bodyfat in the 25-30% range
Sedentary desk job
Relatively active lifestyle; exercises three days a week
No health complications
Average metabolism (ie. no freaky genetics)
We know her average caloric intake is 2,232, which means that she has been consuming bodyweightx14.4
calories. It makes sense that she’s been maintaining her weight on the lower end of the maintenance range
because she lives a pretty sedentary lifestyle.
For fat loss, then, we’ll take her bodyweight and multiply by 13 to keep her at the high end of the dieting
range to start off (remember, we want to eat as much as possible while still making progress). This is good

because this effectively shaves over 200 calories off her average day.
Note that if you find that you are maintaining your bodyweight at more than bodyweight x 16 calories,
then the formula above won’t apply to you. Because after all, it wouldn’t make sense to slash your calories
down to bodyweightx16. In that case, it may be more sensible to ditch the formula above and instead
simply cut down your calorie intake by 200-300 calories.
Protein intake
Alright, what you want to do now is set your protein intake. Jane Doe has been consuming an average of
99 grams of protein a day, which is not bad, actually – but she’ll have to work on getting more consistent
from day to day.
Now, you may have heard around the block that we don’t need so much protein. And it’s true – we tech-
nically can survive without it. But for someone who exercises regularly and wants to optimize body com-
position, protein requirements will be higher in order to maintain a positive protein balance in the body.
You can set your protein intake at 1 gram per pound of lean body mass. If Jane has 25% bodyfat, that
means that with this formula, she should consume 116 grams of protein per day.
Alternatively, highly active and/or leaner individuals (typically that means women with less than 20%
bodyfat and men with less than 13% bodyfat) may want to bump that intake up to 1 gram of protein per
pound of total bodyweight, and sometimes even greater. Protein, after all, has a high satiety factor, and
also will cover the daily requirements for protein turnover.
You may want to opt for the first route if your average protein intake has been very low. Most people find
that protein is the hardest macronutrient number to meet – so if this is you, feel free to stick to the lower
end.
Name Height / Weight Total # Calories Protein intake

Jane Doe 5’4” / 155lbs 155lbs x 13 = 2,015 calories 155lbs x (0.75) = 116g protein

With Jane Doe, we’re going to opt for the first option since her average intake has not been that high. We
want to set her up for success, so we’ll start with something we know she can achieve.
Carbohydrate intake
Carbohydrate intake seems to be the most controversial in the world of health and fat loss.
Do you carb cycle? Cut carbs out completely? Only have them once a week?
The fact of the matter is, carbs are not the devil that they’ve been made out to be. They will not, in other
words, automatically make you gain fat.
Here’s the truth: just about any kind of carb intake will work for you as long as 1) you can realistically stick
to it for an appreciable length of time, and 2) it’s your preferred way of eating.
Point number two very closely ties in with number one, of course. If you don’t enjoy your diet, you won’t
be sticking to it for long – that much I can guarantee.
With that said, you want to strike a balance between what your body needs and feels best with and what
works best for your lifestyle.
Your carbohydrate number here will depend on a multitude of factors, including how well your body tol-
erates carbs, how much you like carbohydrates relative to fats, your body type, and how physically active
you are. The more exercise you’re doing, the more carbs you’re going to need.
Depending on the individual, numbers can be set at the following ranges:
Sedentary lifestyle/extremely high bodyfat: 0.6-1.0g carbohydrate per pound of bodyweight
Moderately active lifestyle: 1.0-1.3g carbohydrate per pound of bodyweight
Highly active lifestyle: 1.3-2.0g carbohydrate per pound of bodyweight
But again, if you know for a fact that you feel better on higher fats and lower carbs, then by all means

tweak the numbers as you see fit.
You can opt for linear carbs, in which case every day your carbohydrate intake will be the same, regardless
of whether or not you’re getting in a workout. Otherwise, you can carb cycle.
I like carb cycling because in general, when carbs are high, fats are low, and vice versa. That means I get
to enjoy more carbs on my training day, and on my off days, I have more fats to toy around with (hello,
whole eggs!).
Jane Doe isn’t doing anything crazy in the gym—just the basic heavy lifting plus a few shorter metabolic
sessions thrown in here and there—so I would go ahead and give her 1.1xbw grams of carbohydrates for
her training days.
155lbs x 1.1 = 170g carbohydrates
And on her days off, we’ll set her intake at 0.8xbw grams of carbohydrates so she’s not chewing her arm
off (she does, after all, like her carbs).
155lbs x 0.8 = 124g carbohydrates
Training Days Off Days
2,015 calories 2,015 calories

116g protein 116g protein
170g carbohydrates 124g carbohydrates
??? fats (TBD) ??? fats (TBD)

So far, we’ve established her total calories, her protein and her carbohydrate intake.
Fat intake
That leaves us with fats. Actually, the hard part is done, and all you have to do now is figure out how many
calories are left and then divide by 9 (since 1g fat = 9 calories).
For Jane’s training days, we get:
Total intake = 2,015 calories

Calories from protein = 116g x (4 cal/gram) = 464 calories
Calories from carbs = 170g x (4 cal/gram) = 680 calories
Leftover calories for fats = 2,015 calories – 464 calories – 680 calories = 871 calories
Fat intake = 871 calories / (9 calories/gram) = 97g fats
And for her off days:
Total intake = 2,015 calories

Calories from protein = 116g x (4 cal/gram) = 464 calories
Calories from carbs = 124g x (4 cal/gram) = 496 calories
Leftover calories for fats = 2,015 calories – 464 calories – 496 calories = 1,055 calories
Fat intake = 1,055 calories / (9 calories/gram) = 117g fats
And her macronutrient numbers have now been finalized.
Training Days Off Days
2,015 calories 2,015 calories

116g protein 116g protein
170g carbohydrates 124g carbohydrates
97g fats 117g fats

You may now be wondering: but isn’t her fat intake too high?
That depends on whom you ask. I believe it comes down to personal preference.
If you know for a fact that you can’t consume that much fat in one day, then you can push your carb intake
or even your protein numbers a little higher. See how that changes your fat intake.
While there technically isn’t a ceiling for how high you can take your fats, you want to ensure that you’re
consuming a bare minimum of 30g fats per day.
Finally, you also want to ensure that you’re getting in sufficient fiber. The general recommendation is 20-
40g fiber per day.
Note: The same approach above can be used for calculating mass gain numbers. You’ll just have to set a
higher total calorie intake first, which will in turn yield higher macronutrient numbers for you. While I
recommend that you increase your carb intake more than your fats for hypertrophy, again, it all comes
down to personal preference.
PLAN YOUR MEALS

This section used to be called, “track your intake,” but I’ve since realized that it can be incredibly mislead-
ing.
There’s a big difference between knowing how to actually track your intake – which simply means that
you keep a food journal of some kind as you consume your meals throughout the day, typically logging
after you’ve already eaten – versus planning your intake so that your total protein, carbohydrate, and fat
numbers fall within +/-5 grams of each prescribed number. The former is simple and straightforward; the
latter is a skill that must be acquired through deliberate practice.
I don’t mean to intimidate you. Really, I promise that it’s not as difficult as it may seem. You simply need
to put in some work upfront.

There are many ways to go about this, but I’ll walk you through the steps that I use.
1. Figure out how many meals you’ll be consuming.
2. Plug in any “fun” treats you want to enjoy.
3. Divide up your protein intake into each meal, then pair each meal with a carbohydrate and/or fat
source.
4. Adjust food quantities, working one macronutrient at a time, until you are within range of your
target numbers.
We’ll say that +/-5 gram of each prescribed macronutrient number is considered compliant.
1. Figure out how many meals you’ll be consuming.
Most of you should have this figured out by now. After having tracked your food intake for a week, you
should have a pretty good idea of how many meals that you consume on any given day.
For some of you, that may be three larger meals; for others, maybe it’s something more like four meals
and two snacks.
Whatever your meal frequency has been, stick with that for now.
Let’s go back to our example of Jane Doe. Remember that her nutrition intake from the previous section
for her training days came out to 116g protein, 170g carbohydrates, and 97g fats.
With the +/-5 grams of wiggle room that we’ve provided, that means that by the time we’re done planning
her meals for tomorrow, her numbers should be in the following range:
111-121g protein
165-175g carbohydrates
92-102g fats
Alright, now let’s get to work.
If you may recall, Jane Doe has a sedentary desk job and trains three days a week. Everyday, she consumes

four square meals and one evening snack before bed. She also prefers to train after her workday is done
at around 5:30p.m.
For the sake of simplicity, we’ll say she consumes five meals a day, and we’ll label them Meal 1, Meal 2,
Meal 3, Meal 4, and Meal 5.
2. Plug in any “fun” treats you want to enjoy.
A fun treat is anything you want it to be, but it’s typically going to be something that you would not con-
sider nutrient dense. That may be some m&m’s or maybe a Snickers bar or even some goldfish crackers.
Whatever the case, you get to allot up to 20% of your total calories for the day towards this indulgence.
With Jane, we know that she likes ice cream, so we’ll stick with that for now.
We also know that she likes to enjoy it as part of her last meal of the day, so we’ll plug it into Meal 5.
It’ll become much more obvious the more you practice this, but the reason why you want to plug in your
treat first is to make certain that you actually have room for it in your day. If you leave it until last, you’ll
likely be dismayed to realize that you’ve actually run out of carbs and fats.
(If you’re wondering why we’re bothering to eat treats at all, here is the short explanation: Willpower is
limited, and we can only stick to a diet for so long if we don’t enjoy it. And since the point of this is to
actually stay on plan over the long-term, we incorporate treats into our diet to help take the edge off and
make this a more enjoyable process. Is it mandatory to eat ice cream everyday? Of course not. But know
that you absolutely have the freedom to, and that a small serving every now and then is not going to derail

your fitness goals.)
As far as the leaving-treats-for-last part, this is designing for laziness. We want to leave the “easy” parts
of our diet (indulging in our favorite ice cream, maybe snacking on a serving or two of potato chips) for
when we are naturally less disciplined and are more inclined to be lazy.
Willpower is like a battery that drains throughout each day every time we make a decision, say no to
something we want, listen to that chatty coworker, and generally do the harder thing. So after a full day
of slowly depleting our ego, the last thing we should have to do is come home and continue to deprive
ourselves and utilize that self-control that we’ve effectively run out of.
That means that in the evening, you shouldn’t have to say no to that candy bar.
Dive right in and enjoy every bite – just make sure you track it first.
Makes sense, right?
3. Take it meal by meal. First divide up your protein intake into each meal, then
pair each meal with a carbohydrate and/or fat source.
Hitting the prescribed protein intake tends to be the trickiest part for most people, particularly for those
who are not accustomed to consuming much protein in the first place.
That’s why we make this the next priority.
With five meals a day, Jane will need to consume an average of 116g / 5 meals = 23.2g protein per meal.
Now, we won’t require her to hit that exact number for every meal, because that would be virtually im-
possible and would surely drive her mad. Instead, let’s say that anything in the ballpark of 20-35g protein
per meal is sufficient.
Going back to Jane Doe’s week of honest food logging, we know that she probably doesn’t have much time
in the mornings to be cooking up any kind of gourmet breakfast (we’ll pretend that her whole week is
similar to day one’s meals).

Again, remember, we want to set her up for success, not failure, so we want to come up with a way to make
this work for her.
If a typical morning meal for her is something quick, like bagels and cream cheese, then we’ll need to
modify her breakfast so that we can squeeze some protein in there while not eating up her time.
Right off the bat, I can think of four ways to accomplish this: 1) blend up a protein shake, 2) grab some
deli meat on her way to work, 3) munch on a protein bar, and 4) pre-cook some portable breakfast pro-
teins, such as turkey meatloaf muffins or egg bake muffins.
For Jane, we’ll choose option 1. She can either spend 20 seconds whipping up a shake, or she can make it
the night before and keep it in the fridge overnight.
Let’s give her 35 grams of Cellucor’s molten chocolate whey protein powder (mostly because that’s my
favorite).
So Meal 1 is set with 25 solid grams of protein.
Then we ask, what carbohydrate and/or fat source would go well with chocolate whey in a shake? I like the
pairing of chocolate with bananas, so let’s toss in one large banana. We’ll blend it up with ice and make it
nice and frothy.
For her next meal, her usual hot dog with ketchup and mustard simply won’t do. It’s woefully lacking in

protein, and plus, hot dog meat is not the best choice she can be making. There’s a lot of room for im-
provement here.
Jane’s going to spend some time over the weekend cooking up her proteins in bulk. For lunch, she wants
buffalo chicken nuggets, so that’s what she plugs into Meal 2. A little bit of trial and error of playing around
with numbers, and she’s plugged in 100g of chicken nuggets, which will yield 24.8 grams of protein.
She’s going to pair that with a salad that consists of romaine lettuce, bacon, sliced cucumbers, carrots, and
a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette.
Here’s what we’ve got planned for her day so far. We’re two meals in and we’re right at 56 grams of protein
for the day. We’re staying within our target protein range of 20-35 grams per meal, and we’re also making
each meal tasty.
That’s pretty good.

Next is Meal 3, also known as Jane’s mid-afternoon snack. Before, she ate a candy bar and an apple. Let’s
replace that candy bar with a quality protein bar, and we can leave in the apple.
With 20 grams of protein per Think Thin high protein bar, that’s right at the low end of our target intake
of 20-35 grams of protein per meal. This is fine – and remember, this is just our “rough draft,” so to speak.
We can always come back and make tweaks later.
Meal 4, which is going to be the post-workout meal for Jane, is going to happen mostly at home during the
week. Let’s say she cooks up some pork tenderloin for dinner. She’s going to pair that with some jasmine
rice as well as some steamed broccoli.

Don’t worry if you’ve already exceeded your target macros for the day at this time. The important part
right now is to plug in all the foods that we’ll be eating tomorrow; we’ll adjust quantities later.
And finally, for her last meal of the day, we know that we’ve already plugged in her ice cream, so maybe
we can add in the low-fat milk that she was originally consuming. The milk has quality protein and we do
want to afford her some room for treats, after all. And while milk does have carbs and fats, that’s fine for
the time being since nothing is set in stone just yet.
Okay, now that we’ve finished logging all her meals, let’s see where her numbers are. Here’s what Jane sees
on her MyMacros+ app:
The top row consists of her current macro numbers, and the bottom row consists of her target numbers.
It looks like we’re a tad over on protein, a good bit over on carbs, and woefully under on fats.
This is all okay. Since we’re still in the planning stages, we can fix this easily.
4. Adjust food quantities, working one macronutrient at a time, until you are within
range of your target numbers.

First, let’s add some more fats in there in a way that will complement her current meals.
Here are some ideas: toss in some peanut butter with her morning shake, and throw in a handful of al-
monds with her afternoon protein bar and apple. We’ll start there and see how that changes her numbers.
This is better! But not quite there yet. You may notice that we’ve now brought up both our protein and
carb intake as well, but we won’t worry about that for now. We’re just taking it one macronutrient at a
time.
To meet our fat intake, we’ll throw in a tablespoon of coconut oil into dinner so Jane can sauté her broc-
coli.
Ah, looks much better.
Now let’s move onto carbohydrates.
Right now, our numbers tell us that she’s approximately 40 grams over her target number.
The simplest ways to manipulate carbohydrate intake is to find the most carbohydrate dense foods we’ve
logged. A carbohydrate dense food refers to a food has virtually only carbohydrate and no trace protein
or fats.
A quick scan tells us that those foods for the day are the jasmine rice, banana, and apple. Let’s focus on the
jasmine rice and banana for now (because really, who wants to eat 8/10th of an apple?).
We’ll cut the 150 grams of banana down to 80 grams and decrease her jasmine rice portion to 80 grams
as well.

Her carbohydrate intake is starting to look a little better, but it’s still not where it should be.
The next carbohydrate-dense foods are the ice cream sandwich and the apple.
At this point, Jane can do one of two things. One, she can decide between the apple or the ice cream sand-
wich. This one’s tough, because apples are obviously healthy for you, but she also really wants to keep in
that evening treat so she can enjoy her diet. Or two, she can nix a meal altogether so she can afford more
macros per meal. After all, 80 grams of banana isn’t very much.
For the sake of this example, we’ll settle on the latter. Condensing to four meals will allow Jane more flex-
ibility with every meal, and the bigger meals can also help her feel more satiated. And remember, we’re
flexible here; if Jane tries out four meals a day and feels terrible on it, she can always go back to five meals.
Let’s cut out Meal 3 (protein bar, apple, and almonds) and get to tinkering again.
We take out the protein bar and apple, move the almonds to Meal 2 with the chicken salad, and bump up
the banana and jasmine rice again.
Not too shabby! We’re almost there.
We need more fats again, so we’ll bump up her peanut butter from 30 grams to 45 grams. That brings us
to 94.6 grams of fats for the day, which falls nicely in our 92-102 gram target range.
Next, looking at carbohydrates, we’ll allot just 5 more grams of jasmine rice to bring up her carbohydrate
intake to 170 grams. Presto.

Finally, we’ve got protein. At 125.5 grams, we’re a few grams over where we want to be.
Look for the protein sources in her meals and cut away from there. It’ll be easiest to target the pro-
tein-dense foods (the foods that are highest in protein with little to no trace carbs or fats) because manip-
ulating those numbers won’t affect the total carb and fat numbers much.
Let’s shave off some protein powder from Meal 1 and cut down on the chicken nuggets in Meal 2.
Here are Jane’s finalized meals:

We’re missing Meal 3 because we cut it out, so don’t worry about that.
Notice where our final numbers fall. We’re all within 5 grams of each target number – this is exactly where
want to be. As well, if you look above Meal 1, you’ll see that MyMacros+ tells us precisely how close we
are to where we should be.
It’s a beauty, ain’t it?
And that’s how it’s done.
*drops mic*
Now it’s your turn. Follow the steps above to plan out your own meals for tomorrow.
If you find yourself stuck on any one step, just go back and start again. Re-read Jane’s example if you need
to.
It may take you 20 or so minutes to plan your first time through, but over time, you’ll grow increasingly
competent. Relying on the same meals over and over (my breakfast and evening treats pretty much never
change, for example) can really help to automate this process as well.

ADJUSTING AND
TWEAKING YOUR
NUMBERS
MEASURE PROGRESS
First things first: you need to be objectively measuring your progress.
I suggest doing this every two weeks.
Here are the methods that I recommend:
• Daily tracking of macronutrient intake (this one is a given)
• Scale weight
• Body circumference measurements (waist, hips, and thighs at the bare minimum)
• Progress pictures
You can also utilize other tools, such as the fit of your favorite pair of jeans, to help gauge how you’re
moving along.
Daily Tracking of Macronutrient Intake

If you’re not keeping track of your progress, your dieting efforts will be for naught. Whether it be us-
ing the mirror, your bodyweight (in combination with body measurements, especially the waist), body
fat calipers (which are by and large inaccurate for the most part, by the way), or that dress you wore at
prom all those years ago, find some way to assess how you’re trucking along. I very strongly urge you to
take progress pictures at least every month—this will keep you honest.
The one method that you must be utilizing daily is the first: you must be tracking your macronutrient
intake everyday. That means that everything that you consume throughout the day gets logged. There’s
nothing that goes unaccounted for.
Why is this so important? Because you can’t manage what you don’t measure.
And while you may think that a small handful of m&m’s here and an extra dollop of ranch dressing
there simply isn’t a big deal, unless you’re keeping yourself accountable for it, your nutrition tracking
efforts will be for naught. Even a mere 200-calorie discrepancy between what you’ve actually consumed
vs. what you’ve logged can mean the difference between seeing the progress that you’re looking for and

observing no change at all.
There are lots of ways to go about this. My recommended approach, again, is to utilize a mobile app –
MyMacros+ for iPhone users and MyFitnessPal as a secondary option. The food database is comprehen-
sive, and it automatically adds up your protein, carbohydrate, fat, and calorie totals as you log.
Scale Weight
As far as weighing yourself, if you are someone who gets hung up on small fluctuations in scale weight,
then you probably don’t want to jump on the device everyday.
Daily fluctuations are completely normal, after all, and a 0.4lb bump isn’t always indicative of true fat
gain.
At the very least, I would recommend weighing yourself every two weeks in the same condition: first
thing in the morning after doing your bathroom business, preferably naked or in minimal clothing.
Body Circumference Measurements

Next comes body circumference measurements. Make sure you have a tape measurer, and measure
yourself the same way every time. For the waist, find the narrowest part of your torso. For hips, I like to
measure around the biggest part of the booty. And for the thighs, the meatiest section is probably best.
Progress Pictures
Lastly, you want to take progress pictures. Trust me on this one. I understand that some of you may
cringe at the thought of getting half-naked and capturing yourself at anything less than bangin’-chis-
eled-shredded shape, but this is important. Skip this step and it’ll be much harder to tell how far you
have truly come when you look back in three months.
The standard approach is this: for women, you want to be in a sports bra and shorts (or even a bikini
will do); for men, shirtless in your boxers or shorts will suffice. Whatever you choose to wear, do your
best to stay consistent with the same outfit every time you take pictures. Next, find an area of the house
that has good lighting with preferably not many distractions in the background. You also want to be
able to get a full body shot, so make sure that there’s enough space.
As far as the photos themselves, I recommend taking front, side, and back photos, all in the relaxed po-

sition. You can choose to leave your head in or cut it out – up to you.
Each time you set up to take progress pictures, make sure you do them in the same conditions every
time.
To reiterate: same outfit, same lighting, same section of the house, same full-body front, side, and back
relaxed positions. And of course, you always want to take them first thing in the morning on an empty
stomach.
ASSESS PROGRESS
After you’ve recorded your dietary adherence and taken measurements as well as progress photos, it’s
time to take an objective look at how you’ve done.
Dietary Adherence
First things first, if your dietary adherence has been off, then stop right there. Ask yourself:
Is this due to a lack of skill (ie. still learning how to count macros and adhere to prescribed numbers)? If
so, spend more time on the above pages. Maybe break down the sequence and focus on mastering just
one step at a time. Remember, we want to set you up for success, not failure – and if that means taking
baby steps to get there, then so be it.
Is this due to the numbers being unrealistic? You may find that you really, really love carbohydrates and
don’t care much for fats, and you’re consequently finding yourself feeling pretty miserable on the low-
carb, high-fat numbers you’ve calculated for yourself. Or maybe your protein intake is simply too high
and you’re finding yourself with 60 grams of whey protein to choke down at the end of every evening.
If this is happening to you, maybe swap out some fats in exchange for more carbs and bump down your
protein intake by 30 or 40 grams, all the while keeping your total calorie intake the same.
It may not be ideal, but ideal doesn’t matter if you can’t apply it consistently.
Over time, you can gradually increase your protein intake by 10 or 15 grams every two or so weeks.

Is this due to a lack of planning? If you’re finding yourself trying to wing your meals throughout the day
and crossing your fingers that your macronutrient numbers will perfectly align, only to find yourself
consistently over on carbs, over on fats, and grossly under on protein, then the answer is pretty simple.
This is your weak spot. Are you going grocery shopping at the beginning of the week? Are you prepar-
ing macro-friendly meals? Are you pre-planning your meals for the next day? No? Then let’s go back to
the first steps. Plan for success.
Is this due to a lack of focus? Maybe you’re a skilled macro counter and you’ve already got your meals
prepped and planned out, but something always seems to get in the way of spot-on dietary adherence.
You have an unexpected meeting at work and you miss a meal; your kid offers you a bite of his ice cream
and you can’t say no; you have other life responsibilities that are pulling you every which way, leaving
you with little in the tank to even think about your nutrition.
If this is you, then you have to be brutally honest with yourself. Is macro counting a top priority in my life
right now, and if it’s not, am I willing to make it so? If the answer is no – and it’s completely alright if it is –
then make the active decision to shelf this for the time being until your life settles down. If the answer is
yes, then find ways to cut away the clutter in your life.
If you have 10 “top priorities,” then you don’t actually have priorities at all.
If you’re stuck on one of the above, then spend another two weeks brushing up on your dietary adher-
ence.
Scale Weight and Body Circumference Measurements

I’ve lumped scale weight and body circumference measurements into the same section this time because
you really can’t accurately assess one without taking the other into account. This is all assuming that
your dietary adherence has been on point, of course.
For fat loss:
If the scale weight has gone up, stayed the same, or moved down, yet your body circumference measure-
ments have decreased (namely, your waist measurement) and you are looking or feeling leaner, then you
have made progress. There’s no need to change your macronutrient numbers.

If scale weight has gone up or stayed the same and measurements have not changed, then it may be time
for a drop in macros.
If scale weight has decreased and measurements have not changed, I’d recommend staying at the same
macronutrient numbers for another two weeks. Fat loss happens at more than the few points at which
you’re taking measurements, so it may simply be a matter of staying consistent for your waist measure-
ment to drop.
For maintenance:
The scale weight will likely fluctuate +/- 3 or so pounds on any given day. This is completely normal and
nothing to panic over. Measurements should also stay relatively stable.
If you’re up half an inch somewhere at one check-in, I would make a note of it, but don’t be too quick to
change your program. If, at your second check-in, that measurement has gone up again or has not come
back down, you may have set your maintenance calories too high. We’ll discuss how to adjust them
below.
For reverse dieting/strength gain:
This is probably the most misunderstood phase and the one with the most variable results. In general,
most individuals should expect scale weight to go up at a slow rate – around 0.5-1.0 pound every two
weeks – and body circumference measurements may also creep up slowly during this time as well.
After all, you are consuming more calories.
There are some folks who can actually maintain their measurements and sometimes even get leaner, but
they’re not the norm. Don’t worry about the kind of results that other people are getting and just focus
on you.
If the scale weight has gone down or stayed the same and measurements have gone down or stayed the
same, it’s time to bump up your macros.

If you feel that you are gaining weight too rapidly and you’re growing increasingly uncomfortable in
your skin, you may slow down the reverse dieting process by either staying at the same macronutrient
numbers for another two weeks or bumping your numbers up in smaller increments. It’s up to you what
you want to do.
Progress Pictures
I’m going to say this right off the bat: progress pictures don’t always do justice to true, real-life progress.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a client submit a check-in to me, ecstatic about the visual im-
provements she’s been seeing, only to tell me, “Oh, but you can’t see it in these photos – I swear I look
better in real life!” And it’s true.
As great as technology is nowadays, no iPhone photo can accurately capture the subtle physique chang-
es that happen from week to week.
That doesn’t mean that they’re not valuable, however.
Keep your photos in a folder somewhere and organize them by front, side, and back shot.
Every time you take progress pictures, compare them to not only the previous check-in pictures, but
also your starting pictures.
Biweekly by biweekly, you may not see much change, but over time, subtle improvements will add up to
some astonishing transformations.
Other Ways to Assess Progress

Don’t discount the feedback that you receive from other individuals.
Friends, family, coworkers – they will likely start to comment on your changing physique. Typically this
happens a few months into your program.
If others are seeing change, then the change is definitely happening.

As well, you may find that your clothes are fitting a little differently. If you’re dieting, your regular jeans
may be a little loose at the waist, and if you’re trying to put on some muscle, maybe your shirts are start-
ing to feel tight at the lats.
Pay attention to these external cues. They are all signs that tell you whether or not you’re moving in the
right direction.
TWEAK NUMBERS (IF NECESSARY)

To summarize, here’s the kind of progress you want to be seeing (once again, assuming that your dietary
adherence is on point):
For fat loss:
Scale weight loss of 0.25-1.0lb/week and a gradual drop in measurements over time. The more bodyfat
you have to lose, the faster progress you may observe; and conversely, the leaner you are, the slower the
weight will come off. Keep in mind, too, that you may look and feel leaner but the scale weight may not
reflect that. If this happens, you may be building muscle and losing fat at the same time. This is good.
For maintenance:
Scale weight should stay in the range of +/- 3 pounds on any given day, and measurements should stay
relatively stable.
For reverse dieting/strength gain:
Scale weight may decrease, stay the same, or increase anywhere between 0.25-1.0lbs/week, and measure-
ments may also slowly increase. If you are gaining more quickly than this, consider slowing down your
caloric increases or stay at your current numbers for a few more weeks. If, however, you are completely
comfortable with gaining weight at a faster rate, then by all means, have at it.
As you have probably noticed, there are numerous caveats and exceptions to the above scenarios. Frus-

trating, right?
(This is why many people opt to outsource this fitness programs to coaches who can do the job for
them. Yes, even coaches have coaches, too! Why? Because it’s incredibly difficult to be subjective when it
comes to coaching yourself, so having an outside set of eyes calling the shots may be well worth it. Refer
to page 106 for online coach recommendations.)
Now let’s move on to how to actually manipulate your numbers.
To decrease macros:
Protein number may stay the same – unless it’s been set at below 0.8 grams per pound of lean body
mass, in which case you may want to bump it up 10-15 grams every two weeks.
Carbohydrate number may decrease by anywhere between 10-20%.
Fat number may decrease by anywhere between 10-20%. The one caveat I will say here is that you prob-
ably don’t want to dip below 30g per day for health reasons. If you find that you are getting close to this
point, you may alternatively opt to chip away more of your carbohydrate intake instead.
In general, the higher your total calorie intake and the higher your bodyfat level, the more you can cut
away calories.
For men with bodyfat less than 15% and for women with bodyfat less than 25%, I would not recom-
mend dipping calories below bodyweight x 10. (So if you’re a female with 16% body fat and you are
115lbs, your lower caloric limit will be 1150 calories per day.)
For men with bodyfat higher than 15% and for women with bodyfat higher than 25%, I would not rec-
ommend dipping calories below bodyweight x 8.
To increase macros:
Protein number may stay the same. If your number has been higher than 1 gram per pound of body-
weight, you may decrease your protein intake to make more room for carbohydrate and/or fats.

Carbohydrate number may increase by anywhere between 5-10%. If you wish, you may be more aggres-
sive with your number increases.
Fat number may increase by anywhere between 5-10%. If you wish, you may be more aggressive with
your number increases.
WHAT ABOUT EXERCISE?

I understand that you may be wondering where and how exercise fits into this equation.
The truth is that yes, exercise absolutely matters – but not as much as your nutrition does.
The most important type of exercise you want to be doing is proper strength training.
By strength training, I mean that you are utilizing the basic movement patterns (squat, hinge, pushup,
row) and implementing progressive overload over time. This can be accomplished in a number of ways,
including increasing the reps performed in a prescribed rep range, increasing the weight for a given
number of reps, or even improving quality of form.
I won’t dabble too much with training specifics – since this is a nutrition book, after all.
For fat loss, I’d recommend a training frequency of anywhere between two to five days a week. I think
three to four days a week is the sweet spot.
For strength/mass gain, I’d recommend a training frequency of anywhere between four to six days a
week.
Don’t think of utilizing exercise as a means to burn calories; rather, strength training’s primary purpose
is to retain muscle mass (if you are in a caloric deficit) or help gain muscle mass (if you are in a caloric
surplus). Be careful not to become an exercise fiend, and don’t get too hung up on the number of calo-
ries you think you’ve burnt.

Again, nutrition is the most important factor. So if you’re not making the kind of progress you want, I’d
take a good, hard look at your diet first before changing anything about your exercise regimen.
If you need help with setting up a proper training program, I offer coaching services for 1-on-1 training
and nutrition consulting, group coaching, and group training only. You can fill out my coaching appli-
cation to find out more.

Living life
In an ideal world, circumstances would always perfectly align so as to allow us to nail our macros with
each, time and time again.
But life happens.
Our coworkers throw birthday parties, our best friends invite us out for happy hour, and we take
last-minute weekend getaways to Savannah. Sometimes our perfectly planned afternoon of weekend
meal cooking becomes rush-your-dog-to-the-vet Sunday after he inhales a chocolate bar.
When life throws us curveballs, we can do one of two things:
1. Declare that if you can’t do it perfectly, then it’s not worth doing at all – and jump ship for the
rest of the day, the week, or even the month. You’re going to wait until circumstances are per-
fect before attempting to track macros again. We’re all black and white here, baby. Go hard or go
home… or something like that.
2. Do the best we can with the cards we’re dealt. We understand that if we constantly wait until ev-
erything is perfect, then nothing will get done. Besides, if we want to be in this for the long haul,
then we need to figure out strategies to make our fitness work with, not against, our lives.
If you’ve read this far, then it should be clear by now that the second option is the way to go.
I’ll address the most common situations below.
NAVIGATING SOCIAL SITUATIONS

This is probably the most common issue that people want help with.
Let me tell you straight up that it is absolutely possible to maintain a healthy social life and still make
progress with your fitness goals.
It takes some careful forethought, but it can be done.

First things first, it’ll help you to be sensible about how often you’re going out. I’m of the belief that you
should be picky about your social events anyway, but that’s a story for another time.
Eating at Restaurants
If you typically go out for dinner five days of the week, you can either A) choose healthier dinner op-
tions, or B) eat out less frequently and exercise portion control. In general, I find that the second route is
easier to accomplish – plus, it’s better for your wallet.
If you’re going out to eat at a restaurant, then you’ll typically have a lot of choices to choose from. As a
rule of thumb, you should try to pick a meal that’s centered around a protein – chicken breast, steak, or
fish, for example. Don’t be afraid to ask for double meat if you know the portions are going to be small.
(Remember, you’re fitness-minded now; protein is king!)
Then, depending on where your macros are, you can order a salad or some steamed veggies for a lighter
day, or maybe even a sandwich or some pasta if you’re feelin’ frisky.
When it comes to logging your meal, you can find the nutrition information if the restaurant provides
that (score!), and if not, then eyeballing portion sizes will be your best bet.
I don’t expect you to carry around a food scale in your purse, nor would I recommend it. This is life,
remember?
If you’re unsure about the ingredients that went into preparing your meal, don’t be afraid to ask. Other-
wise, make a guess. Does your chicken look particularly greasy? Then there was probably some oil in-
volved in the cooking progress – plug in a tablespoon of olive oil into your macro tracker, just to be safe.
You should also be practicing estimating portion sizes whenever you get the chance. Pay attention each
time you weigh out 100 grams of chicken breast on your kitchen scale. What does that look like?
Probably around the size of a closed fist.
Over time, you’ll get better at this.
You’re also going to have to get comfortable with not being entirely certain about the nutritional value

of your meal. If you’re a perfectionist, you may find this particularly difficult. (As a recovering perfec-
tionist myself, I can completely empathize.) But for the sake of your sanity, let’s let good enough be good
enough and move on. You can do it.
Alcohol
Technically speaking, alcohol is a fourth macronutrient. But that doesn’t help us much because no coach
in his or her right mind is going to prescribe you alcohol to drink.
….Right?
In all seriousness, I know some of you are super curious about how alcohol fits into the equation.
Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram. Remember that.
Now, when it comes to tracking it into your nutrition for the day, those alcohol calories can either count
toward your carb or fat intake – you choose.
So for example, if you consumed 180 calories’ worth of alcohol, that would be the equivalent of either
45 grams of carbs (since 1 gram of carbohydrate has 4 calories) or 20 grams of fats (since 1 gram of fat
has 9 calories).
See? It’s simple.
Obviously, if you’re consuming a cocktail that has added juices and other ingredients, you’ll have to
track those as well. Sorry to burst your bubble.
But don’t overcomplicate it beyond that.
Other Social Events

There may be other times when you’re invited to a friend’s home for a meal, for example, and you won’t
necessarily have control over what you get to eat.
It’s always a good idea in these situations to prepare for the worst. Most social events tend to be very
carb and fat heavy in their food offerings, so fill up on protein and vegetables as much as you can during
the day.

Depending on the event, I like to save up anywhere between 60 to 100 grams of carbohydrates and 20 to
30 grams of fats for the evening, and I’ll plan the rest of my macros around that.
After all, you do want to be able to enjoy yourself, right? You don’t want to be pouting in the corner be-
cause you didn’t plan ahead.
You can also stash a protein bar (or even a protein shake) in your purse if you want to be safe.
HANDLING VACATIONS/TRAVELING
Perhaps you have to travel a lot for work and you don’t want to get off track.
You’ll utilize many of the principles we discussed in the above section, plus a few more preliminary
steps.
Depending on where you’re traveling to and what you’ll have access to, you may want to prepare some
physique-friendly protein meals and pack them in your bag: turkey meatballs, protein pancakes, and so
on.
It’s also a good idea to pack some protein bars. You just never know when you’re going to find yourself
ravenously hungry or in dire need of some protein.
If you’re going on vacation, I don’t know that it’s worth being a stickler to your diet during this time.
Unless you’re preparing for a competition, leave the food scale at home. I’m of the belief that it’s com-
pletely okay to loosen the reins a little bit every now and then.
Note that I’m not at all condoning a no-holds-barred, eat-everything-in-sight approach. There’s a differ-
ence between being neurotic and mindful; I’m advocating the latter.
You can eat what you want, but maybe not as much as you want. If that chocolate cake at your hotel re-
sort is scrumptious, enjoy a slice. If it’s really that good, you can always come back tomorrow for anoth-
er slice.
I think it makes the most sense to simply try and maintain your current weight and measurements

while on vacation, particularly if it’s anything less than two weeks. Allow yourself to indulge a little
more than you usually would – just keep in mind that calories on vacation still count, and portion sizes
still matter. You’ll likely come back maybe a few pounds heavier, but as long as you ate sensibly, it’s
probably just water weight and should come right off with a few days of solid dietary adherence back
under your belt.
But hey, at the end of the day, this is all just advice. If you’d rather continue tracking all your meals while
on vacation, then go right ahead.
Just remember: quality of life above all else.
WORKING WITH A BUSY SCHEDULE

Maybe you clock an 80-hour-a-week job and you’re hardly ever home. Or perhaps you’re a full-time
mother with three kids running around the house at all times (and truly, your job never actually stops).
Whatever the case may be, you’re busy.
And I get that.
Because trust me, we are all busy.
I’ve worked with clients with the most insane schedules, and it all boils down to this: be smart about
how you utilize your time.
Note that busy isn’t the same thing as productive.
Let me use myself as an example.
I could sit at my laptop all day pounding away at the keyboard trying to write this chapter while getting
up every ten minutes to tend to my dogs, or I could remove distractions and focus on the task at hand
for two solid hours. Either way, the same work gets done, though the second route is much quicker –
and the quality of my writing is probably a whole lot better as well.

If I could cut away all the “fluff ” in my day – all the times I spend idling about, mindless scrolling
through social media, even wasting time in the kitchen trying to cook up a meal from scratch whenever
it’s time to eat – that would add up to several extra hours I’ve just saved myself. And I’m always, always
working toward clearing away the fluff.
The key to working with a busy schedule is this:
Be smart about how you channel your energies and take advantage of downtime.
For example, if I’m hovering over the stove trying to cook myself an omelet on one pan, why can’t I
whip out another pan and whip up some stir-fry beef at the same time? Better yet, why not pull out the
rice cooker and steam some jasmine rice for the week ahead, and also roast some russet potatoes in the
oven? It’ll all take the same amount or time, more or less – but instead of preparing just one meal in 15
minutes, I’ve now effectively made enough food to stretch through several meals.
I hardly ever cook just one thing at a time anymore. (I’m a functional cook, remember?) And I use the
exact strategy I outlined above to streamline my time in the kitchen.
I should note, as well, that I never do any “busy work” in the mornings when my creativity is highest.
I save the mornings for projects that require my utmost focus (such as writing this book), and I leave
the mindless tasks (such as cooking, sorting through the mail, paying bills) for the afternoons or the
evenings. I also like to intersperse periods of high work with ample downtime all throughout the day,
so my productivity levels stay high and I constantly give myself opportunities to rejuvenate. Typically
this ends up being two to three hours of work followed by one to two hours of downtime (to eat a meal,
lift weights, play with the dogs, and/or run errands), and I’ll repeat this back and forth until the day is
done. This is what I mean by energy management.
Wait, you may be thinking by now, but what does this have to do with my nutrition? A whole lot, actually –
and you’ll understand in a minute.
There are so many parallels that can be drawn between your work life and your fitness life, you see.
If you were able to catch the primary theme in my workday above, you’ll notice that I actively work to
avoid depleting my willpower. As important as willpower is, it’s wildly misunderstood. If you want to
make lasting behavior change, you want to rely on willpower as little as possible.

Did you catch that?
You don’t need a lot of willpower to execute a behavior over and over again – that is a huge misconcep-
tion.
Rather, use it to your advantage.
When willpower is high, do the harder work. When it comes to your nutrition, that may mean getting
your groceries and planning your meals out for the week – this is the equivalent of my focusing on my
writing.
Conversely, when willpower is low, do the easy tasks. This may mean chomping on that quiche you
cooked up earlier or noshing on a protein bar.
No matter how busy you are, there are ways to automate the process.
No, you don’t need more self-control. And no, you do not need more willpower.
You need to be smart about energy management.
MAINTAINING SANITY
I’m being a little facetious by including this section, but in all honesty, I think it’s worth mentioning.
I understand that some of you may be worried that you won’t be able to live a “normal” life if you’re
busy counting macros. It’s a valid concern, but hear me out.
A lot of behavior change seems difficult at first – and it very well may be. But don’t misinterpret that as a
sign that it’s going to stay hard forever.
The point of learning how to count macros is not to make you neurotic and obsessive about your diet
for the rest of your days; it’s to help you get to your fitness goal in the most efficient means possible.

If you know how many grams of protein, carbohydrates, and fats you’re consuming, it becomes much
easier to assess progress and make the appropriate changes to your program, after all.
But far more than that, it teaches you how to think like a fitness-minded individual. Namely, you no
longer turn a blind eye to the nutritional content of what you eat (who knew that a croissant could be so
alarmingly high in fat?), you prioritize protein at all times, and you understand portion control.
And remember, everything that we’re discussing here – these are simply guidelines. They’re not strict
rules.
I encourage you to be flexible with your nutrition. If, one day, you eat a meal with zero protein in it, no
biggie. If you consume three cookies instead of one on Easter, don’t sweat it.
What you do everyday is far more important than what you do every once in a while.
Modify the guidelines to suit your needs. But don’t bullshit yourself. If you’re not getting the results that
you want even though you’re on a sound program, you need to be able to call yourself out if you know
you’re cutting corners.
Know that ultimately, you’re doing this because you’re invested in your long-term health. Taking the
time to learn how to count macros – even if just for a few weeks – and familiarize yourself with prop-
er nutrition is a gift to your future self. You may not realize it now, but with a little bit of work upfront,
you’ll be far better equipped to navigate your way around any food situation in the future.
If you view this as a chore, I want to remind you that you are ultimately in control of your own attitude.
Many of my clients say that planning out their macros for the next day is like a game. I personally liken
it to a game of nutritional Tetris, so to speak: Plug in the right foods in the right amounts over several
meals to align with your target numbers. And what’s not fun about that?

PRACTICAL TIPS
& TRICKS
What’s the point of counting macros if you can’t put it into practice and live your life?
I’m all about practicality. Let me equip you with some of my most practical tools to help you on your
macro journey.
TRYING OUT NEW RECIPES

If you like to experiment in the kitchen and enjoy whipping together new and exciting recipes, all is not
lost. Just because a recipe calls for numerous ingredients doesn’t mean that you can’t fit into your mac-
ros; it just requires a few extra steps.
First things first, I recommend that you weigh out what you can with a food scale. If one of the ingredi-
ents is one cup of old-fashioned oats, for example, the nutritional label will tell you that that’s equivalent
to 80 grams – so weigh it out.
You don’t have to worry about weighing ingredients that don’t come in volume measurements, such as
eggs. As well, ultra-low calorie ingredients, like spices and extracts, you can disregard.
You’ll want to track everything that goes into the total recipe first, and then divide by however many
servings you want.
Let’s use the chocolate chip pancakes I had the other day as an example.
The recipe that I wanted to make called for one cup of pancake mix, one egg, and about half a cup of
milk.
In a medium-size bowl, I weighed out 100 grams of pancake mix, then I cracked in a single egg and
poured in 4.4 ounces of reduced fat milk. After mixing thoroughly, I then carefully sprinkled in 30
grams of chocolate chips.

In the MyMacros+, I pulled up the Recipe section and plugged in all of the above. It looked like this:
The entire batter ended up making four medium-sized pancakes for me, which was just enough for two
servings. So I took half the recipe and plugged it into Meal 1.
The meal was a little lacking in protein, so I added in a side of buffalo chicken nuggets.

Now, obviously, there was no way I could split the batter into exactly two servings, down to the gram.
Each pancake size was slightly different and there was some batter left in the bowl.
Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Some things are simply not worth splitting hairs over; this is one of them. Make your best approxima-
tions and let that be good enough. There are more important things to worry about.
PLANNING INDULGENCES
There will be times when you want to eat something that you either cannot feasibly track (such as

Grandma’s homemade lasagna) or simply does not fit your macros (such as a block of chocolate fudge at
your local theme park).
In these situations, you can do one of two things:
1. guestimate nutrition information to the best of your ability – so for grandma’s lasagna, you may
just want to look up generic lasagna and plug that into your day
2. make the active decision to not track a meal and just enjoy yourself
You should be opting for the first option more times than not. But every now and then, it’s perfectly
acceptable to indulge and move on.
I don’t like to call them cheat meals for many reasons. In a nutshell: Cheating implies that you are
breaking rules (and you know there are no strict rules around here); cheating has a negative connota-
tion and suggests that what you are doing is bad; labeling a meal as a “cheat” begets feelings of guilt,
which can lead to self-sabotage.
Meddling over minutiae? Not really. The words we use, whether we realize it or not, have powerful ef-
fects on our psyche.
I prefer calling it a mindful, non-tracked meal. And note that you should always, always be mindful
when it comes to what you eat.
Here are general guidelines to adhere to when it comes to these planned indulgences:
• Be picky about how often you indulge. I think once a week is a good rate. And you should proba-
bly save these meals for when you’re eating out with friends.
• Try to get in 25 to 40 grams of protein with that meal if possible. If not, don’t sweat it; it’s just one
meal in the grand scheme of things.
• Eat well in all your other meals that day. If you know that you’re going to have a sugar- and
fat-laden meal in the evening, then frontload your protein and vegetables.

• Eat slowly. Pay attention to every bite.
• Stop eating when you feel satisfied or when the meal is no longer delicious, not when you feel
physically sick and on the verge of throwing up.
• When the meal is over, the meal is over. Don’t dwell on it or try to “make up” for it later. Just get
right back to your usual nutritional strategies and move on.
What’s important with these planned indulgences is that you actually allow yourself to enjoy the experi-
ence rather than fretting over it after the fact.
You’re the one who made the decision to indulge, which means that you are the one in control.
One mindful, non-tracked meal is not going to hurt you in the grand scheme of things.
Was it delicious? Did you listen to your body? Did you satiate a craving?
Then it was worth it.
“CATCHING UP” ON MACROS

Playing macro “catch up” is perhaps my favorite way to end the day.
This essentially involves throwing together a bowl of morsels of food to fill in the macro gaps as needed.
Of course, the first prerequisite for this is that you actually have leftover macros to work with. You can
intentionally designate your last meal of the day as your “catch up” meal or you can leave it just for those
days when you’re short on some carbs and fats.
For me, I’ve been enjoying a serving of Greek yogurt (as my “base,” so to speak) and sprinkling in mini
m&m’s, a crumbled chocolate chunk cookie, and/or some cookie butter, depending on how my macros
are looking. Given my sweet tooth, I like to end the day on a sweet note, both to help me unwind and
also to take the edge off my craving for sweets. Doing so – frequently and in small doses – prevents the

cravings from spiraling out of control and consequently also keeps me far, far away from binge eating.
Watch this video to see what I mean.
You’ll notice that I leave my “catch up” meal ingredients intentionally flexible. If I need more protein for
the day, then I’ll serve myself some more Greek yogurt. If I need more carbs and fats, then I get more
m&m’s. Furthermore, all the ingredients mesh together well, and I know my meal will taste good no
matter how much of each ingredient is in the bowl.
You don’t have to do this with Greek yogurt, of course. Maybe if your macros are high and you typically
struggle to meet your carb and fat intake for the day, then you can opt for a serving or two of ice cream
instead of Greek yogurt with appropriate toppings.
Or if you’re like my husband and prefer savory treats, you can whip up a homemade quesadilla on the
stove with however much cheese and meat you want. Like my Greek yogurt bowl, quesadillas are in-
credibly versatile because you can essentially include either a small or large quantity of cheese, plus
virtually any kind of leftover meat that you have on hand, and it’ll still taste delicious.
Some of my clients prefer to make a protein mug cake, while others like to make sandwiches and toss in
whatever ingredients they can.
As you can see, there are lots of ways to approach this. The most important thing here is that you are
doing what works best for you and your unique, individual needs.
Again, don’t be afraid to experiment with different methods. Some trial and error is a normal and ex-
pected part of this process.

WEANING
YOURSELF OFF OF
MACRO COUNTING
This is a new topic that I think is worth considering – because after all, you shouldn’t have to count
macros everyday for the rest of your life.
There are lots of ways to wean yourself off of macro counting. Note that I say “wean” rather than “quit
cold turkey.” The thing is, we are actually pretty terrible when it comes to estimating how much we eat
on any given day if we’re not actually tracking our intake. And I can imagine that it can be pretty terri-
fying to go from weighing and tracking every morsel of food one day to essentially throwing your food
scale out the window the next.
Here’s the approach that I use to wean myself off of macro counting. I like to spend anywhere between
three to seven days on one step before moving onto the next.
1. Stop tracking vegetables.
This is probably the easiest step to accomplish, which is why it comes first. I choose vegetables because
they are the least calorically dense foods of everything we eat, and the calories in them are typically
pretty low.
Note that the amount of vegetables you’re consuming shouldn’t actually change. If you typically eat
three cups of fibrous vegetables per day (which is fantastic, by the way) then keep it up. All you’re doing
differently now is that you’re no longer plugging it into your food tracker.
Seems simple enough, right? Good. We want things to feel easy and doable.
I especially like this step to come first because it can help ease any potential mental discomfort that may
come with the uncertainty of not tracking. If it’s just 50-100 calories that you’re no longer logging, that
can be easier to deal with than, say, 500 calories’ worth of food.
The more you do this, the more you’ll realize that you’re not going to gain 20lbs overnight just because
you didn’t track your veggies, and that in turn will help build trust and confident in this weaning prog-
ress.
Once you get to this point, then it’s time for step two.

2. Learn what different serving sizes look like.
This may not seem like much of an actionable step, but it’s actually a very important one.
How are you going to eat according to your body’s needs if you don’t actually know what 100 grams of
chicken breast looks like?
The best way to get good at this practice is simply to pay attention.
Use your hand as a guide. Each time you use your food scale, make a mental note. When you weigh
out your chicken, notice the serving size. When you weigh out your jasmine rice, how much does 100
grams look like relative to your palm?
Then you can start making estimations of your food: portion out what you think is 28 grams of cheddar
cheese, for example, and then weigh it out to see how close you got.
Use this method of trial-and-error to get really, really good at guessing serving sizes. And if you find
yourself getting neurotic with this practice, just remember: let good enough be good enough.
3. Stop tracking, one meal at a time.
Woohoo! This is where the real fun part begins.
I like to let go of tracking my meals in reverse order. What I mean by that is that I’ll first stop tracking
my last meal of the day for a few days, and then the last two meals, and so on.
This reverse approach allows me to get a good handle on what the first part of my day’s nutrition is
looking like so I can then make my best estimations (see step 2) as I fill in my meals for the rest of the
day.
You should notice that you typically eat similar meals in similar quantities at similar times of the day.
This is a good thing and will help you with this step.
Going back to my Greek yogurt “catch up” meal as an example, it’s not difficult for me to scoop out a
quarter of the tub of Greek yogurt, sprinkle in a few teaspoons of mini m&m’s, and maybe scoop out a

tablespoon of cookie butter. These are all my typical serving sizes and, after going through the motions
enough times, I’ve gotten pretty good at portioning out the same amounts of food (more or less) each
night. It’ll be the same for you.
Stick with each non-tracked meal for up to a week at a time. Again, we’re aiming for small wins here,
and we’re taking baby steps.
If you need the reassurance, you can keep an eye on how the scale is moving, if at all, and also pay atten-
tion to your measurements as well as the fit of your clothes and what you see in the mirror. You should
notice that, even after one week of not tracking one meal, you’re doing just fine. You haven’t gone up a
pants size, you’re not busting out of your jeans, and everything is A-Okay.
When you feel confident with that, you can then move onto not tracking the last two meals of the day.
Continue in this manner until you’ve effectively stopped using the food scale and you’re eyeballing all of
your meals.
Do your best to mimic what you eat when you’re weighing everything out. If you normally like to have
a giant chicken salad with a drizzle of ranch dressing for lunch, who’s to say you can’t enjoy the same
thing even now?
Seek comfort in the fact that nothing that you do nutritionally is irreversible. Strive to consume ample
protein, get in your veggies, and be sensible about your portion sizes, and you should be fine.
4. Do an audit every few weeks
Over time, it can be very easy to allow your portion sizes to slowly grow larger without even realizing
it. Or maybe you’re the opposite – maybe you always like to err on the side of caution and you typically
undereat.
Whatever the case may be, I would recommend doing a nutritional audit every four to six weeks.
Wipe the dust off your food scale and get back to tracking for about two days. Try not to change your
current eating habits in order to get the most honest picture of what’s going on.

You may be surprised to find that you’re not eating nearly enough protein anymore, or maybe your car-
bohydrate intake has shot through the roof. You may also find that these nutritional differences reflect
in the scale weight and in your measurements.
Before you freak out, know that this is all fine.
No nutrition strategy is permanent; nothing is unfixable.
Besides, if it’s only been four to six weeks and you didn’t even notice any kind of change until you did
your audit, then your numbers are probably not off by that much.
It’s a simple fix.
If you find that your protein intake has been too low, then bump up your protein servings at each meal
or throw in an extra protein shake everyday.
If your carbohydrate intake has been high, maybe cut back on your rice portions or skip the potatoes at
dinner.
If your fat intake has been through the roof, perhaps take away one egg yolk here and a pat of butter
there.
And so on.
Now that you’ve done your audit, you can objectively determine what the culprit is. Target that one
change for the next two weeks and re-assess again.
You can continue in this manner until you find a unique formula that works just for you. Whatever
method you settle on is one that should allow you to live your life to your fullest while simultaneously
meeting all of your nutritional needs.

PUTTING IT ALL
TOGETHER
I hope that by this point, you’re feeling a little more confident about your macro journey. I’ve given you
plenty of tools to work with; now it’s just a matter of execution.
You might be feeling frustrated because you’re realizing that there’s no one strict, black-and-white way
to do this. The beauty of macro counting, however, is that it’s so easily customizable to your needs and
your lifestyle.
There are no rules here – only guidelines. And even those are flexible.
And that’s what’s most important. I can’t emphasize that enough. If you’re not utilizing a strategy that
works specifically for you, you’re essentially trying to jam a round peg into a square hole. It’ll feel awk-
ward and unpleasant, and eventually, you’ll give up.
“TRY HARDER” MAY NOT BE THE ANSWER

If you’re feeling stuck, and if you’re getting upset that you’re spinning your wheels, know that the answer
is rarely ever “try harder.” This is a huge misconception about behavior change that I want to clear up.
Yes, a certain amount of desire and motivation need to be there to instigate change, but you need to
know how to turn that one-time behavior into a habit in order to be truly successful.
Sometimes you should absolutely question your efforts. I’m not saying otherwise. But a simple “you
gotta wanna!” is irrelevant if you’re on track A when you should be on track B.
Oftentimes, the biggest problem is that you are simply trying to make too much change at one time. The
harder a behavior is, the more motivation is required to keep that behavior going. And since motivation
is unreliable – sometimes it’s high, sometimes it’s low – why would you depend so heavily on something
that you know is eventually going to let you down? You’re essentially setting yourself up for failure.
The solution, then, is to break the behavior down into one that is small enough that you can still get it
done even on your worst days.
Let’s say that you’ve been struggling for weeks to meet your protein intake, for example. Your target is

150 grams per day (whereas your previous intake was 50 grams per day) and you’ve been routinely find-
ing yourself trying to choke down egg whites and protein shakes in the evening.
If a behavior is unpleasant, how much longer do you think you’ll be able to keep trying before you
throw in the towel? It’s a ticking time bomb.
The answer is clear: Trying to increase your protein intake by 100 whopping grams is too big of a
change. Sometimes you’ll get it, but most days you won’t, and you’ll find yourself feeling discouraged
more days than not.
To break it down, why not set your target protein intake at something far more manageable – say, 75
grams per day?
It may be not optimal, but optimal doesn’t matter if it’s not working for you.
Ask yourself: What am I willing to do? What change to my lifestyle am I at least 90% confident I can
keep up for the next few weeks?
Small behavior changes are far, far more manageable. Slow yet consistent progress will beat hit-or-miss
lifestyle overhauls any day.
SET UP SYSTEMS FOR SUCCESS

Despite what you may have been told, achieving a difficult goal is not about willpower.
And contrary to popular belief, the people who seem to have it “all figured out” and manage to eat well,
exercise regularly, and rock bangin’ physiques don’t actually have more self-control than you do.
Let go of the idea that the magic solution to your dreams is more willpower.
In order to make lasting change, you need to set up systems for success that avoid the use of willpower as
much as possible.
We’ve discussed this a little bit in the pages above, but it’s so important that we should flesh it out some
more.

Relying on willpower and motivation to make lasting change is a losing strategy.
Rather, long-term change is based upon tasks that are so easy to do that it would almost be harder not to
do that thing. This requires proper energy management.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying that motivation is completely useless. Motivation can absolutely be
valuable when you need to accomplish a difficult feat just one time (such as rushing your dog to the
hospital), and it’s oftentimes the impetus to get a behavior started.
How can we use the ever-fluctuating nature of motivation, then, to our advantage?
When motivation is high, do the more difficult tasks. Use this time to set up systems for when your mo-
tivation necessarily dips later on.
Leave the easier, mindless tasks for when motivation is low and willpower is depleted.
Here are some ways to do this:
Make a trip to the grocery store when you’re well rested and well fed. Stock up on primarily whole, min-
imally processed foods (refer to the food list in the pages above), and be sure to grab some convenient
protein sources as well, such as Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, protein bars, and/or deli meat. When you
get home, immediately cook up multiple batches of protein and carbohydrates so that you’re prepared
for the week ahead. (This is the difficult task.)
Then, when it’s time to eat, you’ll open your fridge and find staring back at you: Greek yogurt, deli meat,
turkey meatloaf muffins, and quiche, plus jasmine rice and baked sweet potatoes all ready to go. You
may be feeling tired and worn down, but it’s actually easier at this point to heat up a meatloaf muffin
(protein source) with a side of sweet potatoes (carbohydrates) rather than dig through the pantry to pull
out that bag of chips. (This is the mindless task.)
You see what we did there? We steered clear of having to rely on willpower to make the harder choice
because we’d put in the work upfront. We set up a system that made it difficult to fail; we set up a system
for nutritional success.

Let me take you through another example that I think many of you will be able to relate to.
When the day is winding to an end and you find yourself with some downtime in the evening, grab
your trusty smartphone and plop down on the couch. Make sure you’ve done a quick inventory of what
foods you have readily available first. Pull up MyMacros+ and spend a few minutes planning everything
you’re going to eat for the next day. Be sure to toss in a small treat for yourself in there as well. Tweak
around with different food quantities until you’re within +/- 5 grams of each target macronutrient num-
ber. Then head over to the kitchen and make sure your meals are measured out and ready to go. Portion
them out into separate Tupperware containers if you need to. (This is the difficult task.)
When the next day rolls around, simply refer to your planned menu for the day and execute. There’s
really no thinking involved. You don’t have to worry about whether that mini Snickers bar will fit into
your macros for the day because you will have already planned for that. As well, you’ve ensured that you
won’t roll through dinner with 80 grams of protein still to go (not fun), and you can end the day with a
win under your belt. (This is the mindless task.)
Is this starting to make sense?
The people who stay fit and healthy year-round have made the above a part of their everyday lives, no
questions asked. They have similar systems set in place to help them get to the gym and otherwise help
them succeed in all aspects of their fitness lives. I even know a few people who actually sleep in their
workout clothes so all they have to do is roll out of bed for their early morning sweat sessions.
The point is that you need to figure out systems that help set you up for success, not failure, and make
them work for your lifestyle.
FOCUS ON THE PROCESS

Most of us embark on a fitness journey with a clear end goal in mind: compete in our first bikini com-
petition, drop 20 pounds in time for summer, get our pre-baby bodies back, or get our six-packs to
make an appearance.

These are all wonderful, respectable goals.
However, if there’s one thing you’ll learn, it’s that focusing solely on the end result and overlooking the
entire process along the way is going to bring you a whole lot of frustration and disappointment.
Trust me, I’ve been there. My clients have been there. You’ve probably been there.
The I-can’t-be-happy-until-I-reach-my-goal thought process may seem heroic in some way, as though
you’re making some huge sacrifice for the sake of excellence. But don’t make things difficult for the sake
of being difficult. There’s nothing good that will come out of it.
A positive attitude is your best friend.
Focus on what you can do today to bring you a little closer to where you want to be. Pay attention to the
specific behaviors. Can you maybe eat a tad slower? Can you consume more vegetables at lunch?
These are all tangible behaviors that you can work on.
Then tomorrow, do the same thing.
Many times, people become so consumed with getting to the end goal that they completely overlook
all the progress they’ve made. If it’s time to do their biweekly measurements and they still don’t see a
sixpack, they’ll beat themselves up – even though they’ve dropped an inch off their waist, even though
they’ve improved their dietary adherence.
Huh?
Focus on the process.
CELEBRATE EVERY SMALL WIN

Any kind of success, no matter how seemingly miniscule, is a good thing.
Don’t wait until you’re at the finish line to be proud of your accomplishments.

If you spent part of your Sunday afternoon in the kitchen cooking up meals for the next week, that’s
something to celebrate. If you were able to increase your daily protein intake by 20 grams last week,
that’s great. If you went a month without binging for the first time in years, wow, that is a huge deal!
Give yourself some credit.
Fitness is not black and white.
All those fitness models and fitness professionals you look up to and respect – do you know how they
got to where they are? By taking it one step at a time. By being proud of every incremental progress they
made.
The more small wins you acknowledge, the more confidence that builds. And it feels good to ride on a
string of successes, doesn’t it?
When you have more confidence, you’re more willing to try newer, bigger things, and you’ll be more
likely to succeed. Then, when you do well, that’ll beget even more confidence.
Do you see how this is a win-win-win cycle?
STAY ACCOUNTABLE TO YOURSELF

At the end of the day, your tracking efforts will be an exercise in futility if you’re only logging in half
your foods, either because you’re lazy or because you think that a bite here and there can go untracked
and not affect anything.
I never thought this to be an issue until watching my now-husband track his macros over the past year.
As a beginner, he certainly stumbled quite a bit in the beginning. Here are some mistakes he made that
you may be able to relate to:
• He wouldn’t plan his meals ahead of time, thinking time and time again that he was skilled
enough to “wing it”. It took him about two months of doing this daily to finally realize that he
couldn’t get away with not planning.

• He would inhale two thirds of his allotted fat intake at breakfast, and then come home and an-
nounce, quite dejectedly, that he had only 3 grams of fats left for the evening. (This usually ended
up in his blowing his fats completely out of the water, in case you’re wondering.) This relates to
the first mistake above.
• He would drown his salad in ranch dressing (he really, really likes his ranch) and then conve-
niently forget to log said dressing into MyMacros+. He would do the same with sauces, cooking
oils, and butter, and would let out an audible groan whenever I’d gently remind him that honey,
that grilled cheese had at least two tablespoons of butter on the pan – log it. This happened surprisingly
often, and it’s made me wonder if this is more of a common phenomenon than I think.
• He would sneak in a cookie (or tablespoon of peanut butter, or handful of gummy bears) at night
and then trying to pretend it never happened. This one’s especially amusing to me because it
reminds me of that thought experiment, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear
it, does it make a sound?” When it comes to your nutrition, yes, the body knows, regardless of
whether or not anyone was around to see you eat.
• He would eat a giant meal out at a restaurant, not paying attention to what was on his plate, and
then turn to me in a panic after the plate’s been wiped clean to ask, “What all did I eat and in
what quantities?” Um, sorry sweetie, I really wasn’t paying attention to your meal.
I know, I know. It’s easier to live in denial. It’s easier to proclaim that you’ve been nailing your macros to
the gram and blame your lack of progress on the program itself.
But before you point the finger at your coach, some online calculator, or this book, check yourself.
Are you sneaking in little bites, licks, and tastes thinking that they’re not going to make a difference?
This includes things like half & half in your coffee. Sure, one tablespoon may only have 20 calories, and
that may not seem like anything significant. But if you’re actually pouring two or three tablespoons of
half & half into your cup of joe and you’re consuming five or six cups a day, suddenly that’s several hun-
dreds of calories that have snuck into your diet that you’re not tracking.

You may or may not make the same mistakes that my husband did over the past year. If you do, it’s
nothing to beat yourself up over – just call yourself out and make the necessary correction.
I’m happy to report that Evan has come a long, long way since last summer. He’s no longer a beginner
macro tracker, and he can nail his macros (within +/-5 grams) with ease. All it took was enough prac-
tice and some brutal honesty.
If he can do it, so can you.
You can stay accountable to a friend or your coach – and that’s all fine and well. But most importantly,
you have to stay accountable to yourself.

FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS
Do I really have to buy and prep my own food all the time?
Technically, you can get away with not having to prepare your own food.
Maybe you’d rather nice a meal prep service that delivers freshly made food right to your door, or
you’re fine with grabbing a rotisserie chicken and ready-made veggies.
If you have the means and the desire to go that route, then by all means, have at it.
Most people will not fall into the above categories, however.
My best recommendation is to learn to make regular grocery shopping and food preparation a normal
part of your life. Get your friends and family involved if that’ll help. Remember, it doesn’t have to be
super complicated.
Just look at me – I’m the most functional cook out there, and I make it work.
You mention that we should consume our treats in the post-workout win-
dow or in the evening before bed. Is it bad to eat sugar or grease at any oth-
er time? Will I get fat?
Not at all. Remember that all the recommendations in this book are simply that – recommenda-
tions. Not rules. If you find that you experience greater dietary success by plugging in your treat at
some other part of the day – say, mid-afternoon – then go right ahead.
When is the best time for me to count macros? I don’t want to do it year-
round.
I understand the sentiment. You definitely aren’t expected to count macros everyday for the rest of
your life, nor would I recommend it.
Where’s the fun in that?
As I mentioned before, macro counting is a skill that you should keep in your back pocket for those
special times. If you’re trying to shed some fat and you’ve got a timeline (for a wedding or a photo

shoot, for example), then you might want to count macros for a few months. Likewise, if you are
preparing to compete in a bodybuilding show, then you’ll definitely want to be super meticulous
about what and how much you’re eating to really dial in that physique.
When it comes to the off-season, I’d say it’s up to you whether you want to continue counting mac-
ros or not. There’s definitely going to be a trade-off either way: if you do count macros, you may find
that it’s a little more of a hassle; if you don’t count macros, you may risk either putting on too much
fat too quickly or not making the kind of gains that you want.
The decision is yours to make. There is no right or wrong answer.
I’ve heard that it’s bad to combine carbs and fats in the same meal. Is this
true?
Be careful with the words you use when talking about nutrition – we don’t use “good” or “bad” to
label food around here.
With that said, no, it’s not true – particularly if you are an otherwise healthy, active individual. The
few studies to date on food combining have found no statistical difference between individuals who
separate their carbohydrate and fat consumption and those who eat them together.
Suffice to say, as long as you are hitting your total macronutrient numbers for the day, there is noth-
ing to worry about.
Can I do intermittent fasting?
You can utilize whatever nutrition timing protocol is most practical for you. As long as it allows you
to meet your total target macros for the day and it is not negatively affecting your quality of life, then
go for it.
That means that if you feel yourself getting cranky all the time because you’re going too long be-
tween meals, it’s not working for you. If you start binging, it’s not working for you.
If you’re curious about some nutrition strategy, I say try it out for two or three weeks. What’s the
worse that could happen? You realize that you don’t love it after all and you simply go back to what

you were doing before.
What are your thoughts on cheat meals?
I’m not a fan. I think the term “cheat” implies that what you are doing is breaking some set of “rules,”
and we don’t go by rules around here. I’ve also found that prescribing or taking cheat meals can cre-
ate a lot of guilt and anxiety in individuals, which are precisely the emotions we are trying to move
away from.
If you want to take a mindful, non-tracked meal every now and then, that’s something entirely dif-
ferent. You don’t attach any emotions or judgment to the event, and you may find that it provides
some psychological relief, especially if you’ve been adhering to macros for a long time.
Just be careful not to binge. That’s the last thing you want to have happen for any reason at all.
Do I have to weigh and track everything that I eat? What about things like
coffee and tea?
The answer will depend on who you’re asking and what coach you’re working with, but my approach
is this: if you’re consuming ultra-low calorie beverages (such as coffee, tea, water infused with Crys-
tal Light), then there’s no need to track it. Even if you like to enjoy several cups of black coffee per
day, that’s going to add up to hardly anything. I’ve even gone through contest prep without logging
my daily cup of coffee, and it’s never been an issue.
For sauces and oils that may be difficult to weigh out, I’d say do your best to eyeball portions. Just be
aware that these tend to be relatively calorically dense.
When it comes to low-calorie fibrous vegetables, such as spinach or lettuce, I’m of the belief that
you’re fine eyeballing by volume (eg. 2 cups lettuce) rather than weighing with a food scale.
For everything else – including starches, meats, and heck, even nut butters – your best bet is to
weigh out your portions whenever possible.

Is there a sugar limit?
Sometimes sugar comes from perfectly healthy sources, such as fruits. I don’t set sugar limits be-
cause it can get confusing to group added sugars and natural sugars into the same category. I like to
say that on average, a maximum of 20% of your total calories can come from junk food – things like
kids’ cereal, cookies, and chips.
What about fiber?
Try to get in 20-40 grams a day, as we discussed above. Ideally you’d get this in primarily through
vegetables, but supplements will work fine as well. You can even get in your daily Quest bar, which
can have up to 17 grams of fiber per bar.
I’m so overwhelmed. This all seems too daunting for me. Do you think that
maybe I’m simply not cut out for this?
Believe me when I say you’re not alone in feeling that way. This is a lot of information to digest.
Break this process down into smaller steps if you need to. Focus on just one change at a time.
Maybe one week you’ll aim to hit just your protein intake just three days a week. Once that gets easy,
then you can bump that up to five days a week, and then eventually all seven days a week. After that,
you can strive to hit your protein intake and your carb intake. You get the gist here.
The point is that you’re making some kind of progress, even if you feel like you’re merely crawling
forward. This is far preferable to trying to take on too much too soon and then failing over and over.
I have a history of disordered eating. Is macro counting okay for me?
This is a sensitive topic and one that should not be treated lightly. If you are still dealing with disor-
dered eating behavior – particularly binge eating – then I would recommend that you see a therapist
first.
For some people, resorting to macro counting before they are mentally ready for it can exacerbate

disordered eating symptoms.
On the other hand, if you have a history of chronic undereating and have lost touch with your
hunger signals, macro counting may be a good option for you in that it can help ensure that you’re
eating enough food.
Unfortunately there’s no straightforward answer for this question, so my best advice is this: Use your
best judgment and approach macro counting with caution. If at any point you feel as though your
quality of life has been compromised, or if you find yourself obsessing over your diet more than
before, then it’s time to stop.
You say that we should avoid relying on willpower as much as possible, but
sometimes I feel like I really have no other choice, such as when I’m waist-
deep into my figure prep. Am I doing it wrong?
No, there will definitely be circumstances when the only thing you can do is dig your heels into the
ground and grind it out – especially when you’re nearing contest-lean body fat levels. The curious
thing about willpower is that there is only one source that helps us deal with everything that hap-
pens throughout the day.
Think of it like a can of hairspray. When your toddler is screaming at the mall and everyone is star-
ing, the can drains a little bit as you grit your teeth and try to act pleasant. When your coworker is
talking your ear off and you have to pretend to be interested in the conversation, that takes willpow-
er. When the cable company puts you on hold for an hour and you have a dozen other things to get
done, that can of hairspray is being sprayed every which way, I can guarantee it.
Essentially, any time your patience, tolerance, and self-control are tested, that can of willpower will
empty a little more. And by the end of the day, your willpower will be at its lowest. (This is why I
recommend leaving your treats for the evenings – you’ll have less willpower to say no, but you won’t
have to because you’ll have planned for the indulgence.)
When you’re juggling responsibilities – full-time mother, full-time job, full-time contest prep, for
example – you’ll almost necessarily have to rely on your willpower more. This is why I don’t suggest
dieting when you’ve got many other priorities in your life. You’ll stretch yourself thin, you’ll feel
burnt out, and your chances of success will be drastically reduced.

The point is, you should avoid having to use willpower whenever you have a choice – and you will
almost always have a choice. But sometimes you won’t. Sometimes you’ll just have to put on your big
girl (or big boy) panties and just do the harder thing.
What’s the optimal meal frequency? I heard that I should be eating six
meals a day.
To date, there have been no studies indicating that consuming more frequent, smaller meals have
any statistically significant benefit for fat loss efforts than consuming less frequent, larger meals.
That’s a myth that’s been debunked time and time again (and yet refuses to die!).
From a satiety standpoint, you may find that anywhere between three to five square meals a day suits
you much better. Doing so will allow you to eat until you’re comfortably satisfied and get right back
to your life rather than staring at the clock, waiting for the next meal time to come.
For optimal muscle protein synthesis (MPS), Dr. Layne Norton and colleagues found that four to
five meals per day spaced four to five hours apart was best. As well, supplementing with 2-3 grams of
leucine (that can be found in branched chain amino acids) was found to help maximize MPS.
Am I allowed to eat carbs after 6p.m.?
Absolutely. You can eat carbs whenever it’s best for you.
The idea that any carbs consumed after 6p.m. will immediately turn into fat is a complete myth.
I recommend centering your carbs around your workout. You can alternatively spread them out
evenly throughout the day, or you may want to carb backload (ie. consume most of your carbs in the
evening). Different methods work for different people. Play around with different approaches and
stick to whatever makes you feel your best and keeps you strongest in the gym.
I didn’t see you mention anything about supplements. Care to shed some
light on that?
Supplements in general tend to be overrated. Many times, people get focused on shelling out hun-

dreds and hundreds of dollars on supplements when what they really need to do, first and foremost,
is to tackle their actual nutrition.
My favorite supplement is fish oil. These omega-3s have a myriad of benefits, including: inflam-
mation regulation, reduced risk of atherosclerosis, increased brain function (intelligence, vision,
mood), decreased risk of depression, muscle growth, etc. I recommend *1-2g combined EHA and
DHA per day. Note that these are to be included in your macro totals.
Vitamin D is a good supplement to aid with bone density, strength, muscle mass, immunity, and
more. I’d recommend 1000-2000 IU per day, especially in the winter months.
You can take a multivitamin everyday just to cover your bases if you’d like. Any generic brand will
do.
But again, above all, the foods you consume on a daily basis should be your biggest concern. A mul-
tivitamin isn’t going to do anything if all you’re eating is pizza, pasta, and sugary cereal.
For most other supplements, you can save your money.
Do I have to measure my meats raw? What about other foods like rice and
potatoes?
You can measure your food however you’d like. Yes, raw measures tend to be more accurate, but it’s
also not the most practical.
I measure all of my food cooked, and it’s never been a problem, even during contest prep.
Just be sure that you track it correctly – so if you’re measuring raw chicken breast, then log it as raw,
and if it’s cooked, then log it as cooked.
What do I do if I accidentally blow my macros out of the water? Should I

rein it in the next day? Do extra cardio?
The first thing to understand is that you’re human, and it’s completely okay to slip up every now and
then. You’re not expected to be perfect in your everyday life, so why be so hard on yourself when it

comes to your diet?
Do not panic. Do not beat yourself up. There’s no need to feel guilty. Quit that negative self-talk.
There’s nothing good that can come out of doing so.
Know that all is not lost. One day of overindulgence is not the end of the world.
That’s not to say that I’m giving you permission to make this a regular occurrence by any means.
Rather, I’m telling you that no, you haven’t hit rock bottom, and nothing is unsalvageable.
Instead of jumping straight into React Mode, take some time to reflect on what happened. What
caused the overindulgence? How were you feeling emotionally? Maybe you’d just had a huge fight
with your significant other and you were seeking comfort in the kitchen. How were you feeling
physically? Maybe you accidentally skipped a meal and were ravenous later in the day.
Then go into Proactive Mode. What did you learn from this? How can you use this incident to help
you do better next time? Every mistake is an opportunity to learn. Be open to that.
Finally, be kind to yourself. Resist that urge to “punish” yourself by slaving away on the treadmill
to burn off the extra calories (which won’t really do much of anything, by the way). Don’t do extra
workouts. Don’t slash your calories in half.
Just get right back on track. Drink some extra water the next day and maybe go out for an extra long
walk, but besides that, commit to doing better moving forward.
The last thing you want to do is to push yourself back into feeling deprived because that’ll push you
to overindulge again. Then if you deprive yourself (again!), then you’ll overindulge once more. You
see how you can easily let yourself get sucked into this negative cycle?
Have the courage to be gentle.
I’m dieting, and I’m at the point now where I’m so petite and lean that I’m
essentially on poverty macros. I’m finding it increasingly difficult to fit in
even the smallest amount of treats into any given day now. What can I do?

I can empathize. Trying to get from lean to even leaner is going to hurt to some degree, no matter
how you slice it. When your carb and fat allotments are low, that doesn’t leave you with much wiggle
room to toss in your usual fun treats.
Consider consuming fewer, larger meals. If you’ve been eating five meals a day, maybe condense it
into three. Doing so will allow you to feel more satiated and you’ll have more carbs and fats per meal
to play with.
You can also find alternative variations of treats you normally consume. If you typically like full-fat
cheese, for example, consider switching to low-fat for a while. It may not taste quite as great, but it
may be enough to keep you going, just until the fat loss phase is over.
Understand that getting shredded is no easy task. You’re going to feel depleted; you’re going to feel
hungry a lot; you’re going to feel like crap. There will be times when you’re going to want to give up.
You’re going to have to put in an increasing amount of work (via more time in the gym and fewer
calories) for increasingly smaller return, and that might be frustrating. And you will necessarily have
to rely on your willpower more to stay focused and disciplined this deep into your program.
Are those things that you’re willing to keep up until you get to the finish line? That’s up to you to de-
cide. Yes, it hurts – but it’s only temporary. Yes, you are incredibly hungry – but it’s only temporary.
If you feel as though the sacrifices you’re making are no longer worth it, then you’ve reached your
stopping point. Switch gears to reverse dieting and focus on strength and muscle gain.
There’s no right or wrong answer here. Ultimately, it’s up to you what you want to do, and no one
else can make that decision for you.
Do I have to plan my macros ahead of time forever? What if I’ve been do-
ing this for a long time?
Until you’re an advanced macro tracker, yes, you will have to continue to put in work upfront and
pre-plan your meals.
When you’ve reached the point where you can wing your meals throughout the day and still land
within +/-5 grams of each target macro number, I call that Macro Tracking 2.0. And the only way

you know you’re there is if you try it out for yourself and see how you do. If you go more than two
days in a row without coming close to your targets, you’re still at level 1.0.
There’s no set length of time that will guarantee that you’re ready to graduate to the next level. Some
people are fast learners or have better intuition when it comes to their nutrition, and they can move
onto Macro Tracking 2.0 in a matter of days. Doing so typically requires having a good sense of how
much protein should go with each meal and being proficient at taking the remaining day’s meals
into account before eating.
Others stay at Macro Tracking 1.0 for a number of months before they have built up enough of a
skillset. This might be you, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Stay consistent, and soon
enough you’ll be an Advanced Macro Tracker. I encourage you to be proactive about learning from
your prior mistakes and applying those lessons right away.
I’m working with a coach, and his nutrition guidelines are different from
yours. Whose should I follow?
Assuming that your coach is a sensible, science-based coach with your best interests in mind, you
should listen to your coach. Little nuances here and there won’t make a big difference, and since you
are paying him/her, you don’t want to waste that opportunity.
Here are just a few warning signs that you should watch out for, however, that you should not have
to adhere to: omitting certain foods (unless you are allergic/intolerant), consuming protein at up-
wards of 2.0 grams per pound of bodyweight, strict meal times and meal frequencies, elimination of
sodium, and a laundry list of “required” supplements.
I have a question that hasn’t been covered in this book. I’ve even used the
Search function and my keyword is not coming up. Can I ask follow-up
questions? If so, what’s the best way to get in touch?
I’ve created a Facebook group just for that. This is a closed community exclusively for The Beginner’s
Guide to Macros product customers.
I encourage you to use this place to ask questions, share insights, and get to know other like-minded
individuals.

Join us here.
Once you ask to join the group, we will accept your request within two business days.
If your Facebook name is different from the name with which you purchased this book, you must let
us know at info@soheefit.com so we know to look out for your name.
There are a few rules for continued membership in this group:
1. Don’t be an asshole.
2. Don’t be an asshole.
3. Respect the privacy of the individuals in this group.
4. Do not post promotional items. This is not the place for that.

STUPID SIMPLE
GO-TO RECIPES
Before we dive into the recipes below, I should preface this by reminding you that these recipes are by
no means fancy. I’m no chef, and I’m far from the best amateur cook out there. I’m simply a gal who
likes to eat good food but is also incredibly lazy in the kitchen, and consequently loves recipes that are
easy to whip up.
Do you know how to turn on the oven?

Do you know how to mix ingredients into a bowl?
Do you know how to find and purchase food at the grocery store?
Then you’re good to go.
That’s all it takes, really. Because these recipes are stuuuupid simple.
You’ll notice that I provide just a handful of recipes for you. This is for three reasons:
1. I’m a functional cook. That much has been established. I’m also not the most creative when it
comes to the kitchen.
2. These recipes are incredibly versatile, and you can substitute different kinds of meats and veggies
and they will still taste great.
3. This is not a recipe book. As such, these recipes have been provided for you merely as a starting
point. For more free recipes, check out the Recommended Sources section at the end of this book,
where I list some of my favorite healthy recipe bloggers.
The meals below are my staples, and I make just about all of them on a weekly basis.
I encourage you to double or triple the recipe if you’re cooking for more than just yourself and if you
want to stretch the meals out. It’s also incredibly easy to re-purpose the meals: tonight’s leftover buffa-
lo chicken nuggets can be chopped up and folded into a quesadilla tomorrow, or maybe you’ll want to
enjoy it by itself as an afternoon snack.
Listen, if I can make these meals, so can you. Promise.

Buffalo Chicken Nuggets
Goodbye, deep-frying. Goodbye, grease.
These healthy buffalo chicken nuggets are perfect by themselves as a snack or can be easily paired with
jasmine rice or russet potatoes to round out a full meal.
Prep time: 5-10 minutes

Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients
2 lbs raw chicken breast, cut into 2-inch cubes

6 oz hot sauce, such as Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
40 g Panko bread crumbs
40 g Italian bread crumbs
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt

1. Set oven to broil.
2. In a large bowl, stir together chicken breast and Frank’s red hot sauce.
3. In a separate medium bowl, mix together Panko bread crumbs, Italian bread crumbs, chili pow-
der, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
4. Take each cube of chicken, coat well in breadcrumb mixture, and place on baking pan.
5. Broil for 16-20 minutes.
Approximate macros for entire batch
1247 calories
190 g protein
59 g carbs
27 g fat
Approximate macros per serving (yields 8)
156 calories
24 g protein
7 g carbs
3 g fats

Turkey Meatballs
You can easily use a different kind of lean ground meat for this recipe, and finely chopped onion or even
cucumber will make a fine substitute for the zucchini. Omit the chili powder and jalapeño if you’re not
wild about spicy food, or toss in more if you like that kick.
These are great eaten with a side of Sriracha and can easily be incorporated into a pasta dish or with a
side of rice.
Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
2 lbs raw lean ground turkey breast

60 g tapioca flour
3 egg whites
1 tbsp mustard
1 cup shredded zucchini
2 tbsp finely chopped jalapeño
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp sea salt

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. (I recommend you use your hands for this so you can mix
everything in thoroughly.)
3. Roll mixture into racquet-sized balls and place evenly on baking pan. The entire batch should yield
16 meatballs.
4. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until done.
Macros for entire batch
1099 calories
212 g protein
55 g carbs
4 g fats
Macros per meatball (yields 16 total)
69 calories
13 g fats
0.3 g fat
3.4 g carbs

Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry
This has become my new favorite meal. Don’t be intimidated by the long ingredient list; the whole reci-
pe is actually really simple.
If you like Thai food, you’ll love this dish. Feel free to toss in different vegetables: broccoli and cauliflow-
er, for example, would make a fine addition to this meal.
This actually tastes amazing just by itself (especially if you have fewer carbs allotted for the day) or you
can serve over a bed of jasmine rice.
I recommend that you portion out what you’re going to eat in the next 3-5 days for the fridge, and scoop
out the rest into individual Pyrex containers and put them in the freezer.

Cook time: 4-8 hours
Ingredients
2 lbs raw chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp minced ginger

1 13.66-oz can coconut milk
4 oz Thai curry paste (red or green)
4 oz tomato paste
2 tbsp fish sauce
30 grams peanuts
1 cup chopped red, yellow, and green peppers
2 cups sugar snap peas
2 cups baby carrots
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
1. Place chicken breast into bottom of slow cooker.
2. Over medium heat, sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger in coconut oil for 3 minutes or until onion
is lightly browned.
3. Pour in coconut milk and stir well, breaking up any chunks.
4. Mix in Thai curry paste, tomato paste, and fish sauce.
5. Pour everything into slow cooker on top of chicken.
6. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.
7. Approximately 60-90 minutes prior to serving, add the peanuts, peppers, sugar snap peas, and
baby carrots to the mixture. Stir well.
8. Serve by itself or over a bed of jasmine rice with fresh cilantro.
2425 calories
222 g protein
108 g carbs
123 g fats
303 calories
28 g protein
13 g carbs
15 g fats

Korean Ground Beef
This is an incredibly fast meal that you can whip up if you find yourself in a bind. If I’m cooking just one
pound of beef, this meal will take me about 12 minutes to put together from start to finish.
I like to eat this with jasmine rice. I’ve also been known to fold some leftover sesame beef into quesadil-
las to put an Asian twist on an afternoon snack.

Ingredients
2 lbs lean ground beef

1 tbsp sesame oil
4 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp chopped green onions, for garnish
1 tsp sesame seeds, for garnish
1. In a skillet over medium high heat, brown beef with sesame soil, garlic, and ginger for approxi-
mately 5-7 minutes.
2. Add in fish sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Mix well.
3. Top with green onions and sesame seeds and serve.
1593 calories
188 g protein
25 g carbs
78 g fats
199 calories
23 g protein
3 g carbs
10 g fats

ONLINE COACH
RECOMMENDATIONS
Below I’ve provided a list of online coaches who utilize a macronutrient-based approach who are more
than qualified to help you with your fitness goals. If you’re looking to outsource your macro calculations
and want the extra accountability, this is your place to start.
Each coach on this list has been hand picked by me. I can personally vouch for them, both as great peo-
ple and as quality professionals who have your best interest in mind.
As far as I know, the coaches below work with clients exclusively online, not in person. You may want to
ask about in-person coaching if you’re looking for someone local.
In general, here’s what you want to look for in a coach:
• Is familiar with macro-counting and utilizes a macros-based approach
• Does not limit any foods
• Relies on science-backed methods
• Understands that quality of life is important
• Understand that “try harder” is not always the answer, and that different methods work for dif-
ferent people
• Demonstrates that he/she can obtain stellar short-term and long-term transformations with his/
her clients (in other words, the clients can actually maintain results)
• Truly cares about the best interests of his/her clients and wants the best for them
Yes, there are other quality coaches out there that are not listed here. But I can’t vouch for them.
If you feel like you’ve found a coach that you want to work with who is not mentioned here, proceed at
your own risk.
SOHEE LEE (SOHEEFIT)

Hey, that’s me! Okay, call me biased, but I think I’m a pretty good coach. So here I am.
I graduated from Stanford University in 2012 with a degree in Human Biology. Other certifications

include: Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Condition-
ing Association (NSCA-CSCS), Certified Sports Nutritionist through the International Society of Sports
Nutrition (CISSN), and by the time this book comes out, I will have (hopefully!) obtained my Strong
First Girya Level 1 kettlebell certification.
I work primarily with females ages 20-45 who are looking to repair their relationship with food and fig-
ure out a lifestyle change that will keep them lean and happy for life. Generally, my clients end up being
everyday people simply looking to fall back in love with food, the gym, and their bodies, though I do
have a handful of bikini competitors as well.
I currently offer the following coaching options: 1-on-1 training and nutrition coaching, 1-on-1 nu-
trition coaching, group coaching (training and nutrition), group training only, and a one-time macro
calculating service.
To get started with any of the above, you can fill out the coaching form on my website.
www.SoheeFit.com
DR. LAYNE NORTON (BIOLAYNE)

Full disclosure: Layne is a really good friend and mentor of mine, and I’m including him here out of utmost respect
more than anything. He’s a really popular coach and he’s pretty much always full – plus his prices ain’t cheap. If
you’re a serious athlete who competes at a high level, though, there’s no one better to work with than Layne.
Dr. Layne Norton received his Ph.D. in nutritional sciences from the University of Illinois in 2010. He is
a natural pro bodybuilder through the IFPA and NGA as well as a professional powerlifter.
Dr. Norton is a highly sought-after online coach who works primarily with high-level competitors
(bodybuilders, physique athletes, figure athletes, and bikini athletes). He offers prep coaching packages
(training and nutrition), off-season coaching packages (training and nutrition), as well as separate train-
ing only or nutrition only services.
To apply to work with him, fill out his contact form. Be sure to include information about your compe-
tition background, your familiarity with macro tracking, and anything else you deem relevant to stand
out as a viable candidate for coaching. www.BioLayne.com

PAUL REVELIA (PRO PHYSIQUE)
Paul Revelia’s passion for fitness began over 20 years ago and still gets him excited every day. Pro Phy-
sique was started at the recommendation of Dr. Layne Norton who became his friend and mentor more
than five years ago. Although he completed his MBA in 2009, he is still pursuing his education to this
day at the University of South Florida studying Exercise Science.
Paul’s primary focus when he began working with clients was competitors who wanted guidance
through contest prep. Today working with clients in all walks of life from fat loss, muscle gain, and met-
abolic building keeps him excited. He prides himself on the individual attention he gives to each person
he works with in helping to shape a plan to reach their goals in the most effective and safest manner
possible.
Paul is proud to be a part of the positive evidence-based fitness movement that is taking place. If you
would like to reach him, please go use the contact form at his website.
www.ProPhysique.com
WILLIAM GRAZIONE (METABOLIC EVOLUTION)

Will Grazione earned his Bachelors degree in Exercise Science from Bacone College in 2009. Since find-
ing his passion in life, he has been self-educated since then.
Will works with a wide array of people spanning across the world. From general population to profes-
sional athletes, he can help guide and educate you towards achieving complete control over your body.
Please see the client testimonials section on his website.
His services include reverse dieting for increased overall health, contest preparation for the physique
athlete, training programing for bodybuilding and power lifting, nutritional consultations, and posing
consultations for physique athletes.
www.MetabolicEvolution.com

JENNIFER JEWELL (INNERJEWELL ATHLETICS)
Jennifer Jewell has nearly twenty years in the fitness industry as a personal trainer, group fitness in-
structor and competitor. As a competitor, she holds two overall fitness and figure provincial titles and
a national title in figure, along with being a credited provincial level judge for the province of British
Columbia.
She began teaching and training fitness at the age of 16, becoming one of the youngest trainers on Van-
couver Island, where she currently resides in British Columbia, Canada.
Jen is currently certified through International Sports Sciences as a fitness trainer, fitness nutritional
specialist and sports nutrition specialist. She is also a professional member and student of the NSCA.
Her clients range from lifestyle clients who are looking to find sustainability in weight loss through
flexible dieting and training, to professional fitness/figure/bikini competitors. Her main focus as a coach
is helping women find balance among the chaotic information, and teaching the science behind weight
loss.
www.InnerJewellAthletics.com
LAURIN CONLIN (LOCOFIT)

Laurin Conlin graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Exercise Science, Magna Cum Laude from Flor-
ida State University in 2014. She holds a certification with the American Council on Exercise as a certi-
fied personal trainer (ACE CPT). She is currently a Masters candidate at the University of South Florida
in Exercise Science and a research assistant in the Physique Enhancement Laboratory.
Laurin is an IFBB Bikini Pro who earned her pro status after winning the overall title at the 2014 NPC
Nationals. Her competitive history also includes national level NPC Figure competitions.
As an online coach, Laurin specializes in competition preparation for the physique and power athlete.
Other specializations include off-season and non-competition training to improve metabolism, health
and performance for both competitive and non-competitive athletes.

She currently offers the following coaching options: off season/non-competition nutrition consultation
with or without training and pre-contest competition nutrition consultation with or without training.
She also offers online Skype posing sessions for NPC/IFBB Bikini and Figure athletes and competition
consultations for any athlete in the NPC/IFBB.
If you are interested with any of the coaching options mentioned above, please email her at laurincon-
lin@gmail.com for more information on LoCoFit services.

RECOMMENDED
RESOURCES
In this section, you’ll find the exact products I use to help me stay on point with my nutrition as well as
links to purchase.
I’ve relied on all products listed for a long time and, in my opinion, they’re the best out there.
Nutrition tracking application
MyMacros+ (available as a mobile app, currently for iPhones only)

MyFitnessPal
Flexible measuring tape
MyoTape Body Tape Measure
Digital bodyweight scale
BalanceFrom Digital High Accuracy Bathroom Scale
Kitchen food scale
Ozero Pronto Multifunction Digital Kitchen and Food Scale
Recipe Blogs (free)
www.SkinnyTaste.com
www.PaleOMG.com
www.AgainstAllGrain.com
www.HowSweetEats.com
Protein Bars
Quest Nutrition bars (also available at Bodybuilding.com)

Think Thin high protein bars (also available at most grocery stores)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sohee Lee is a health coach and fitness writer specializing in helping women develop healthy relation-
ships with food and their bodies while getting them to their fitness goals.
Having fought through both anorexia and bulimia, Sohee knows firsthand the toll that it can take on
your life. Her mission is to empower women to practice compassion and grace with themselves in the
gym, in the kitchen, and in life.
She currently resides in Savannah, Georgia with her husband, pug, and lab mix.
www.SoheeFit.com

Biologo G, Tipton KD, Klein S. An abundant supply of amino acids enhances the metabolic effect of
exercise on muscle protein. Am J Physiol, 1997;273:122-9.
Baba NJ, Sawaya S, Torbay N, Habbal Z, Azar S, Hashim SA. High protein vs high carbo-
hydrate hypoenergetic diet for the treatment of obese hyperinsulinemic subjects. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab.
Disord. 1999;23:1202-6.
Norton LE, Layman DK. Leucine regulates translation initiation of protein synthesis in skeletal muscle
after exercise. J Nutr. Feb 2006;136(2):533S-537S.
Norton LE, Layman DK, Bunpo P, Anthony TG, Brana DV, Garlick PJ. The leucine con-
tent of a complete meal directs peak activation but not duration of skeletal muscle protein synthesis and Mammali-
an target of rapamycin signaling in rats. J Nutr. 2009 Jun;139(6):1103-9.

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MACROS

THE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO

Your go-to resource for learning about macronutrients and setting

Planning Your Macros

Adjusting and Tweaking Your Numbers

Practical Tips & Tricks

Weaning Yourself Off of Macro Counting 70

Putting It All Together

Frequently Asked Questions ................................................................................................... 84

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 01

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 02

Are all proteins the same?

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 04

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 06

150(4) + 150(4) + 50(9) = 1650 calories

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 07

Extra lean ground beef

Top round steak

Top sirloin steak

White fish (cod, halibut, haddock, mahi mahi, tilapia, etc.)

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 08

Extra virgin coconut oil

Natural almond butter

Natural cashew butter

Natural peanut butter

Natural coconut butter

Mixed nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, brazil nuts, cashews, etc.)

Cheese (full fat varieties only)

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 09

WHY COUNT MACROS?

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 10

WHY NOT JUST FOLLOW A MEAL PLAN?

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 11

How long do you think you can keep that up for?

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 12

Meal plans are for the birds.

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 13

Not when the hunger strikes.

You want to set yourself up for success, right?

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 15

Let’s flesh out the above in detail.

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 16

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 17

• wok (great for stir-fries)

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 18

You get the picture.

DETERMINE YOUR CURRENT MACRONUTRIENT INTAKE

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 19

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 20

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 21

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 22

Monday: 124g protein 234g carbs 98g fats

Tuesday: 97g protein 297g carbs 78g fats

Wednesday: 48 protein 348g carbs 120g fats

Thursday: 104g protein 203g carbs 60g fats

Friday: 84g protein 259g carbs 84g fats

Saturday: 92g protein 295g carbs 79g fats

Sunday: 143g protein 193g carbs 94g fats

Total: 692g protein 1829g carbs 613g fats

Average: 98.8g protein 261.3g carbs 87.6g fats

The Beginner’s Guide to Macros - 23

Those will be your baseline numbers.