STATS:
Date Weight (lb) BF% Protein (g) Carbs Fat Total Cal
7.30.14 109.5 15.5 117 141 30 1,302 (+58)
7.23.14 110.5 15.7 117 131 28 1, 244 (+18)
7.16.14 109 15.0 117 131 26 1,226 (+58)
7.9.14 109 14.9 117 121 24 1,168 (+49)
7.2.14 110 15.6 117 111 23 1,119 (+49)
6.25.14 110.5 15.4 117 101 22 1,070 (+40)
6.18.14 110 16.1 117 91 22 1,030 (+43)
6.11.14 112.5 16.8 117 81 20 987 (+40)*
START 117 77 19 947
Date Weight (lb) BF% Protein (g) Carbs Fat Total Cal
7.30.14 109.5 15.5 117 141 30 1,302 (+58)
7.23.14 110.5 15.7 117 131 28 1, 244 (+18)
7.16.14 109 15.0 117 131 26 1,226 (+58)
7.9.14 109 14.9 117 121 24 1,168 (+49)
7.2.14 110 15.6 117 111 23 1,119 (+49)
6.25.14 110.5 15.4 117 101 22 1,070 (+40)
6.18.14 110 16.1 117 91 22 1,030 (+43)
6.11.14 112.5 16.8 117 81 20 987 (+40)*
START 117 77 19 947
This weekend I went to Chicago, so I thought I'd write a little bit about how to stay on track during vacation!
But first, can I just freak out for a second?? My original goal was to be at 1400 calories by November-ish… and I'm already at 1300 calories!!!!!! w0000000t!!!!!
Ok, I'm good. Just had to nerd out for a sec. :P
Alright, where was I? Ah, yes. Flexible dieting by definition is the ability to be FLEXIBLE with your diet. It should NOT rule your life. Actually, it should make life easier and allow you to ENJOY spending time with family and friends without anxiety and fear associated with food. I was able to try it out vacation-style this weekend in Chicago and it freaking WORKED!
I did not gain a single pound this weekend. I enjoyed some legit Chicago pizza, a glass of wine, ice cream and other fun foods and adventures with my family. I was able to fit everything into my macros! No guilt, no fear, just straight up awesomeness. So here's a quick list of tips for using IIFYM on vacation!
1) Eating Out - Look up the macros/nutritional information for the restaurant beforehand and plug in what you want into your day FIRST. Then fit everything else you are eating in around that meal. If the restaurant doesn't have nutritional information available, look up a similar item. For example, I really wanted Lou Malnatti's Pizza (my absolute favorite) but the wait was 2 hours long! So we decided to go to a smaller, local pizza restaurant without any nutritional information. It worked out just fine and I'm sure the macros were close enough. :) It's about all flexibility, my friends.
2) Fiber, Fiber, Fiber - Sometimes traveling just messes with your system. Sorry to be gross but you know what I'm saying. Getting the right fiber intake while on vacation is crucial. I typically need anywhere from 20-30g. Some of my go-to high fiber items I packed include: fiber one cereal, cocoa powder, fiber one brownies, and quest bars. I also ordered veggies/salads frequently when eating out. Don't neglect fiber and your body will thank you.
3) Pack Food - This goes along with the last tip. Be prepared AKA pack some good carb/protein/fat sources so you can easily fill in your macros around what you are eating that day. Aside from the fiber items I just mentioned I packed: PB2, oatmeal, stevia, chiapop (low cal, high fiber popcorn), beef jerky, protein bars, fat-free pringles, and some home-made reeses protein brownies (definitely will post recipe soon, sooooo good)! I also went to trader joe's and bought some more popcorn and some nonfat greek yogurt.
4) Bring a food scale - This kinda depends on your current goals. For me, I have this blog holding me accountable and I want to be as accurate with my reverse diet as humanly possible for the sake of the macro experiment. I want others to see my weekly stats and understand exactly HOW many macros I added per week and WHY so that they can accurately reverse diet on their own, just like I'm doing. That's my goal right now. SO… I weighed pretty much everything. Yep, I even discreetly popped that sucker out of my purse in restaurants. I did it for you guys! Aint no shame in my game! ;)
5) Request a fridge and microwave in your hotel room - Call in advance and see what the situation is. Try your best to get a fridge and microwave in your room. It just makes life easier.
6) How to count Alcohol Macros - I am specifically trying not to drink alcohol during this reverse diet because it does slightly mess with the metabolism. It's not very significant, but it does mess with it. Anyways, I did have a glass of wine with my pizza the other night because I wanted to. And I counted it into my macros. Here's how: If you tend to run out of carbs quicker than fats, count the alcohol macros as FAT simply by dividing the # of calories in the drink(s) by 9 and counting them as fat macros. If you tend to run out of fats quicker than carbs, count the alcohol macros as CARBS by dividing the # of calories in the drink(s) by 4 and counting them as carb macros. It's actually pretty simple! Just don't get crazy with alcohol. Excess is no bueno.
7) Keep training - Call ahead and/or look online and see what the gym situation is like. Coordinate your work outs with what is available at the gym. If you have no gym access, have a plan to do bodyweight exercises like tricep push ups, bicycle crunches, squats, lunges, plyo stuff… just whatever will keep your heart rate up and your muscles trained. It's definitely possible without gym equipment. That's what the internet is for! ;)
8) Maintain Sanity - Don't freak out about perfection. You're on vacation for goodness sake! Like I said earlier, flexible dieting is about being FLEXIBLE. Just do your best, but do NOT freak out if you don't weigh everything down to the last gram or the restaurant doesn't have nutrition information. Another tip I have on that is to order something simple to guesstimate like grilled chicken on a salad. You can't really go wrong with that. But if you happen to eat a little extra ice cream or something, embrace that shiz and enjoy yourself. Just don't binge!!!
So there you go! 8 Tips for staying on track with macros during vacation! I'm actually going on another vacation in a few weeks so I'll need to keep these in mind. ;)
But first, can I just freak out for a second?? My original goal was to be at 1400 calories by November-ish… and I'm already at 1300 calories!!!!!! w0000000t!!!!!
Ok, I'm good. Just had to nerd out for a sec. :P
Alright, where was I? Ah, yes. Flexible dieting by definition is the ability to be FLEXIBLE with your diet. It should NOT rule your life. Actually, it should make life easier and allow you to ENJOY spending time with family and friends without anxiety and fear associated with food. I was able to try it out vacation-style this weekend in Chicago and it freaking WORKED!
I did not gain a single pound this weekend. I enjoyed some legit Chicago pizza, a glass of wine, ice cream and other fun foods and adventures with my family. I was able to fit everything into my macros! No guilt, no fear, just straight up awesomeness. So here's a quick list of tips for using IIFYM on vacation!
1) Eating Out - Look up the macros/nutritional information for the restaurant beforehand and plug in what you want into your day FIRST. Then fit everything else you are eating in around that meal. If the restaurant doesn't have nutritional information available, look up a similar item. For example, I really wanted Lou Malnatti's Pizza (my absolute favorite) but the wait was 2 hours long! So we decided to go to a smaller, local pizza restaurant without any nutritional information. It worked out just fine and I'm sure the macros were close enough. :) It's about all flexibility, my friends.
2) Fiber, Fiber, Fiber - Sometimes traveling just messes with your system. Sorry to be gross but you know what I'm saying. Getting the right fiber intake while on vacation is crucial. I typically need anywhere from 20-30g. Some of my go-to high fiber items I packed include: fiber one cereal, cocoa powder, fiber one brownies, and quest bars. I also ordered veggies/salads frequently when eating out. Don't neglect fiber and your body will thank you.
3) Pack Food - This goes along with the last tip. Be prepared AKA pack some good carb/protein/fat sources so you can easily fill in your macros around what you are eating that day. Aside from the fiber items I just mentioned I packed: PB2, oatmeal, stevia, chiapop (low cal, high fiber popcorn), beef jerky, protein bars, fat-free pringles, and some home-made reeses protein brownies (definitely will post recipe soon, sooooo good)! I also went to trader joe's and bought some more popcorn and some nonfat greek yogurt.
4) Bring a food scale - This kinda depends on your current goals. For me, I have this blog holding me accountable and I want to be as accurate with my reverse diet as humanly possible for the sake of the macro experiment. I want others to see my weekly stats and understand exactly HOW many macros I added per week and WHY so that they can accurately reverse diet on their own, just like I'm doing. That's my goal right now. SO… I weighed pretty much everything. Yep, I even discreetly popped that sucker out of my purse in restaurants. I did it for you guys! Aint no shame in my game! ;)
5) Request a fridge and microwave in your hotel room - Call in advance and see what the situation is. Try your best to get a fridge and microwave in your room. It just makes life easier.
6) How to count Alcohol Macros - I am specifically trying not to drink alcohol during this reverse diet because it does slightly mess with the metabolism. It's not very significant, but it does mess with it. Anyways, I did have a glass of wine with my pizza the other night because I wanted to. And I counted it into my macros. Here's how: If you tend to run out of carbs quicker than fats, count the alcohol macros as FAT simply by dividing the # of calories in the drink(s) by 9 and counting them as fat macros. If you tend to run out of fats quicker than carbs, count the alcohol macros as CARBS by dividing the # of calories in the drink(s) by 4 and counting them as carb macros. It's actually pretty simple! Just don't get crazy with alcohol. Excess is no bueno.
7) Keep training - Call ahead and/or look online and see what the gym situation is like. Coordinate your work outs with what is available at the gym. If you have no gym access, have a plan to do bodyweight exercises like tricep push ups, bicycle crunches, squats, lunges, plyo stuff… just whatever will keep your heart rate up and your muscles trained. It's definitely possible without gym equipment. That's what the internet is for! ;)
8) Maintain Sanity - Don't freak out about perfection. You're on vacation for goodness sake! Like I said earlier, flexible dieting is about being FLEXIBLE. Just do your best, but do NOT freak out if you don't weigh everything down to the last gram or the restaurant doesn't have nutrition information. Another tip I have on that is to order something simple to guesstimate like grilled chicken on a salad. You can't really go wrong with that. But if you happen to eat a little extra ice cream or something, embrace that shiz and enjoy yourself. Just don't binge!!!
So there you go! 8 Tips for staying on track with macros during vacation! I'm actually going on another vacation in a few weeks so I'll need to keep these in mind. ;)
In other news, while in Chicago I was able to find Halo Top Creamery ice cream at the whole foods! They don't currently sell it in Nashville (where I live) so I was super stoked to taste what the hype is all about. I've been seeing this stuff on instagram for months and have been dying to try it.
Soooo yeah. IT IS WORTH THE HYPE. Seriously. Move out da way Arctic Zero!!!! This stuff is so legit. I actually called the whole foods here in Nashville and requested that they carry it. I am that much of an advocate. As you can see, the macros are insane... and the taste… it tasted exactly like straight-up ice cream! It's hard to believe the macros are true on this (but I believe it)! I can't wait to try all the other flavors!!
I feel like this post is getting pretty lengthy! :P I'll save more of my nonsense for next time! I'm thinking of doing another MACRO 101 Post (Part 2) this week with more of my fav tips, tricks, & products! So check back soon for that!
I hope you enjoyed this post and please comment if you have any questions/requests/comments/anything! I would be happy to answer and help you. That's what I'm here for! :)
Much love!
- C
Soooo yeah. IT IS WORTH THE HYPE. Seriously. Move out da way Arctic Zero!!!! This stuff is so legit. I actually called the whole foods here in Nashville and requested that they carry it. I am that much of an advocate. As you can see, the macros are insane... and the taste… it tasted exactly like straight-up ice cream! It's hard to believe the macros are true on this (but I believe it)! I can't wait to try all the other flavors!!
I feel like this post is getting pretty lengthy! :P I'll save more of my nonsense for next time! I'm thinking of doing another MACRO 101 Post (Part 2) this week with more of my fav tips, tricks, & products! So check back soon for that!
I hope you enjoyed this post and please comment if you have any questions/requests/comments/anything! I would be happy to answer and help you. That's what I'm here for! :)
Much love!
- C
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