Fitting Fun Foods in Your Macros

I will be the first to tell you that the best part of IIFYM is the mental freedom it provides. There is literally nothing that is off-limits but that is something that is up to your individual preference. It can be tailored to any lifestyle such as people who might be lactose intolerant, gluten-free, even Paleo. Basically, you're given a specific set of macronutrients: carbs, fats, and protein. It's your job to meet those numbers in any way you want. 

That's the basic idea of macros. It's a little more difficult to put into practice because it's like a puzzle that you solve with food. Don't get me wrong it's fun and enjoyable but you still have to be conscious of your food because you won't hit those macros just by eating whatever you want. 

When I first started macros, I'll admit I was scared to add back in all those "naughty" foods that I wouldn't allow myself before. You know the ones that I mean: processed, unclean, lots of carbs or fats or both, overall just "bad foods". Although, I've now thrown out labels and consider it all just "food" to me but for the sake of explanations in this post, I'll keep those labels. Just note that I think they shouldn't really apply anymore ;) 

It wasn't easy and I had to add them back in SLOWLY or else I'd get overwhelmed and want to eat them all. I've learned that's a common thing after deprivation but at the time I was slightly ashamed because I used to have great will power (again, something I thought was "healthy" but had really turned into an extremely unhealthy eating habit).

It took time because I had to work on my mental perspective of foods and getting rid of the idea that it wasn't okay for me to eat those foods. When it comes down to it, I don't think any food is bad as long as it's in moderation. Too much of anything can be a bad thing, whether it's non-GMO/organic/fresh-from-the-Amazon-rainforest or not. 

But how do you fit these fun foods into your macros without feeling like you have to live on poverty macros for the rest of the day? That's what it's called when you pretty much hoard all your macros for a special treat or meal. 

I mean, you can definitely do that if you want but I'm not always enthusiastic about skimping all day just for one meal. I have done this a couple times but on a day-to-day basis I prefer to break my treats up throughout the day or have smaller portions so that I can still feel well-nourished and not deprived! 

First and foremost, plan ahead. If I know that I want that ice cream sandwich the next day, it's the first thing I plug into my macros. Then I can plan around it and figure out what will work rather than the other way around. 

I personally like to have my treat after dinner and a little before bed to have as a dessert to satisfy my sweet tooth. Sometimes it's an ice cream sandwich, protein pancakes with peanut butter, small bowl of fro yo, or some Oreos. It just depends on what I'm in the mood for but I'm also at the point now where I know how much macros those will cost me. If I know I'm having a certain lunch or dinner that might be higher in carbs or fats, I know to skip the Oreos and have protein pancakes or Arctic zero for my dessert. 

It's something you definitely learn as you go along especially if you're a creature of habit like me, and plan a lot of similar macros. Once you become more familiar with your macros and the macros in foods, it becomes a lot easier to fit those fun foods in!  

Another thing that I do is I buy a lot of mini foods like mini Oroes, goldfish grahams, mini Rolos or bite-size Twix pieces, individual Dove chocolate squares. You get the idea. 

I do this because they're easier to fit into my macros and I can have a few smaller things throughout the day in addition to my nightly snack. 

One thing that I love doing is I crumble up a couple mini Oreos in with my greek yogurt and then let it sit overnight for my snack the next day. It's delicious and tastes like Oreo pudding! All I need are two mini Oreos which is much less carbs or fats compared to an entire regular size Oreo. That way I can still enjoy Oreos with sacrificing less macros. 

I have a bag of Dove chocolates in my desk at work. The sea salt dark caramel ones are my favorite and since they're individually wrapped, it's easier for me to enjoy just one! I don't have to have an entire bar of chocolate or a bag because I can pick out one. It's a lot easier to fit one piece into my macros than a whole bar of chocolate. I'll eat a piece every so often when I simply need an afternoon pick-me-up! I don't have one every day but probably once or twice a week, and it's always just one. 

Another example is I love graham crackers so I have the goldfish grahams since they're much smaller pieces. It's great for when I need toppings on my frozen yogurt or pancakes because I'll crumble up one or two pieces and it's hardly any carbs! Tonight in my macros with my frozen yogurt I added 2 mini Oreos and 4 goldfish grahams to have as toppings. It cost me a grand total of only 2g fat and 5g carbs which is less than half if I were to use a whole Oreo and graham cracker piece. The best part is, even though they're mini it's always more than enough! 

Another thing is don't be afraid to play around with serving sizes. If I want say a cookie but can't fit a whole one, I'll just have half! It's not hard to convince someone to split it with me, and this way I can satisfy my craving but stay within my macros. 

Often times in MyFitnessPal, I'll change serving sizes so that it's like 2/3 cup instead of the standard 1 cup or 3/4, or if it won't let me pick the serving size I need, I'll do it manually. I'll create a custom food with the exact serving size that I need to enter and that way the macros will be more accurate. Yeah you might have to do some calculations on your own but it's something I'm willing to take the extra time to do. I'll do that with recipes, too, I plug in all the ingredients and how many servings it makes then MFP spits out the macros for each serving size. That way it's a little more accurate than guesstimating with a different recipe in the database. 

To sum this all up here's the biggest takeaway: don't be afraid to start fitting these foods into your macros! 

I know, I know easier said than done but I really encourage you to try and challenge yourself. It took me awhile to get to the level of comfort that I'm now at with my macros and figuring out how to be flexible with them.  

Start with the less intimating foods and work your way up from there! Be patient and trust the process. I only recently tackled probably my most intimidating food which is ice cream sandwiches. And for those of you who are wondering, when I grabbed one last night I saw there were still 5 left! I'm pretty proud because we've had them for over a month now and I'm not the only one who's been eating them! I don't think a box of them has ever lasted this long in my house, at least not when I've been around them.

Okay, here were my main points about this post:
1. fit the fun food in first and then plan the rest of your meals around it
2. try out smaller portions like mini or individual serving sizes
3. play around with serving sizes or calculate your own
4. HAVE FUN!

So with that being said, go out and conquer those fear foods! <3