Tip Tuesday: How to Get Started With a New Way of Eating

Here's the second Tip Tuesday of my summer series! If you missed last week's you can check it out here!

Many of my clients come to me overwhelmed with where to even start when looking to change their lifestyle.

Where Do I Start?

Can you answer this question: Do you know how much you are eating now?

If the answer to this question is no, then that is where you start.

Before making huge and drastic changes start with figuring out where you are starting from.

Some of my clients have never tracked what they eat so they really have no idea how many calories they are even eating. So if this is the case I often have my clients start with tracking what they eat.

I have them track their food as they would normally eat for an entire week to see an average of where your calories & macros (protein, carbs, and fats) are coming in at.

I recommend MyFitnessPal App because it’s easy to use and free. Eventually, once you are used to tracking I suggest switching to the Carbo Diet Coach App.

Most clients that come to me are often getting in very low amounts of protein and are high on carbs and fats.

I Tracked My Food, Now What?

Now that you have tracked your food intake for a week, this doesn't mean you are ready to jump head first into huge changes.

Next, I suggest to my clients that they focus on tracking just their calories and protein.

It can be overwhelming to try and hit everything at the beginning of tracking. This can set you up for failure and frustration,

Stick to just hitting your calories and protein!

How Do I Reach My Goals?

So let’s talk about how many calories and protein do I need to reach my goals.

Pretend you weigh 150 lbs. After tracking your food intake for a week your calories came in at about 2000 on average over the seven days.

I want to lose weight/fat:

Drop your calories by about 250/daily. Continue to track your protein by getting in 150 grams daily (1 gram per pound of body weight). Keep it simple.

I want to maintain:

Keep your calories at 2000. Continue to track your protein and focus on still getting in 150 grams daily. You do not need to over complicate things.

Like I mentioned last week, protein stays the same when I cut. This helps with retaining muscle while losing weight.

You DO NOT need to do it all, or know it all, all at once.

-Sarah