Imagine this. You’re out to dinner with some friends, celebrating the end of another long workday, and you decide you’re going to stick to your plan and nail your macros. Going over isn’t worth it, and you’re determined to see results and make your coach proud. You’ve checked the menu ahead of time, carefully chosen your meal, planned around it, and have every intention of hitting your macros. No alcohol, no free bread, just your planned meal.
Then the food arrives.
It’s great to have a plan and stick to it, but when you smell everyone else’s food, of course, you want to try everything. At a business dinner, one doesn’t simply take their neighbor’s food. Friends and family? Different story. People want to share; everyone’s offering you a bite of their chicken parm, some extra fries, or a sip of their Manhattan.
We’ve all been there, and it’s all too easy to steal a bite from a friend. It’s the polite thing to do, right? It’s just a few macros. You’ve been on point all day, so stealing a few fries isn’t going to undo your progress.
Those little tastes are a truly excellent way to socialize, try new foods, and lastly, slow down or completely stop your progress.
Do We Hate Fun Food?
Here at Stronger U, we want you to be successful, reach your health and fitness goals, and have fun along the way. No foods are off limits, and this is probably the least restrictive “diet” in the world. We encourage you to work in your favorite treats and snacks in moderation. However, you still need to eat the right quantities of food to see results, and this means tracking every single bite of food that contains a macro.
Is one bite you don’t track enough to stop your progress? Probably not. But if that untracked bite, lick, or taste becomes a habit you practice throughout the day, you may be shooting yourself in the foot without even realizing it. This is one of the first things we look for when people say they are stuck and claim they are hitting their macros. If a dietary audit reveals some untracked foods here and there, that’s usually the culprit, and making sure to track everything gets people right back on track.
Maybe it sounds like I’m being dramatic by making a big deal over a bite of food, or I expect machine-like willpower and perfect macros every single day, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I want everyone to reach their goals with minimal sticking points and headaches along the way. If you enjoy snacks and want to make them fit your meal plan, that’s perfectly fine, if they are accounted for.
No matter how you spin it, being in a calorie deficit to lose fat is going to mean sacrificing some things. As the saying goes, you can eat whatever you want, just not as much as you want. Every off-plan bite, lick, and taste can set you back, which means you’re going to be dieting even longer to see results.
