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

Crack Candy

Not to brag or anything, but I'm pretty good at putting together a care package. 

Just ask Margot :) she'll tell you! 

She's in her first year of college and as I miss her terribly, I like to send her care packages! I used to love getting them from my mom and family so I like to make sure that I keep Margot well supplied with the essentials.

P.s. love and miss you, Marge! I know you'll see this <3

Back to the reason I'm sharing this post: she had texted me last week asking if we could make crack when she was home for Christmas. 

Guys, relax, it's just candy! The nickname is because it's addictive! 

This is another recipe I saw on Food Network awhile back (it's pretty much my favorite channel ahaha) that Trisha Yearwood was making on her show. Let me tell you, it's amazing! It's a tradition now in my family so whenever I make a batch I know I should double it because I'll be giving it away to multiple people! 

It's really simple and easy to make. I gotta warn you though, it's not exactly very macro-friendly. And by not exactly, I mean not at all. 

But you gotta live sometimes! I just estimated it as best as I could and went with it. 

You'll need (for a single batch): 

35-40 saltines 

1 cup brown sugar

2 sticks butter

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips 

*Original recipe can be found here*

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

2. Line a baking sheet or pan (make sure it has sides! Amanda made this mistake before) with foil and spray with cooking spray. If you're using a pan then just spray it with the non-stick spray. We did both ways since we had to make such a huge batch!

3. Lay the saltine crackers salt-side down. You can break them in half to fill in the edges since they won't all fit perfectly. 

4. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together until you get a bubbly caramel-like consistency. It takes a few minutes so make sure you keep stirring so that it doesn't burn. Again, I doubled mine which is why I used four sticks and two cups of sugar. 

5. Pour the caramel topping over all the crackers and spread it quickly with a spatula. This part you have to do quickly because it'll start to set in a few seconds as soon as it starts to cool. 

6. Then, put all the pans in the oven and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Keep an eye on it because it'll go fast and you don't want to burn it!  

7. Once the caramel layer is just slightly bubbly, remove all the pans from the oven. Sprinkle with the chocolate chips and let them sit for a couple minutes while they melt. 

I was taking pictures as Amanda did this and I first took the one on the left and started cracking up. It wasn't really that funny but it looked like she had this little dinosaur hand, and I kept laughing about it. So to make her feel better I took the picture on the right as a more flattering angle. She approved of that one so I said I'd post it, buuuut I also didn't say anything about not posting the other one ;) 

You'll know that the chocolate is ready to spread once the chips are glossy and squishy. I'm sure there's a more culinary technical term for it but I clearly don't know it. 

Use a spatula and smooth out the chocolate as evenly as you can. It's not going to be the most perfect looking dessert but trust me, everyone will be eating it so fast they won't be able to tell or even care! 

See? Glossy and squishy! 

Let it sit and cool until the chocolate is set. We usually put ours in the freezer for about 30 minutes. 

While the chocolate was cooling, I showed Layla her new toy! I finally caved and got her a kong even though they're like the most expensive toys ever. Not really but $25 seems pretty steep to me for a dog toy but she's at the size now where she destroys all of her toys. She's quite the chewer and thank goodness we have her well-trained not to chew anything in the house or else she could destroy everything in sight! People are always impressed when we tell her that she's never even touched our shoes or anything else like that. 

I had to get her the extra large toy (she's a lardo) and upgraded to the power chewer extreme so hopefully there's no way she'll be able to destroy this thing! 

She loves it, though, as I was making the crack I crumbled up a couple of saltine crackers and put it in the kong which entertained her for a very long time. I also put a dab of peanut butter in there and she loves that, too! 

Once the chocolate is set and everything is cool, break the crack up into pieces. There's no particular way to do it and they'll come off uneven but that's the fun of it. Like I said, this isn't going to impress based off of looks, it's all about the taste with this dish. 

I've made this for people before as Christmas gifts and it's always a hit! I mean who doesn't love food as a present? This year I think I'll try using festive sprinkles and some other toppings! I'll keep you updated :) 

When the crack was done, I boxed everything up to send to my love! Very important side note but I finally managed to find this cake batter chapstick that everyone has been talking about. I got one for Margot but snagged one for myself as well :) it's amazing! 

To wrap up my lovely Saturday afternoon, I had a chicken tortizza for dinner! 

And, of course, Layla brought her new favorite toy over to me to play after dinner! She always asks so nicely :) 

Thanksgiving Recap

Okay first of all, can we talk about how it's December already?! I mean really, time is flying! I can't believe there's only three more weeks of work until my Christmas break. No complaints there, though, because I can't wait! 

Anyway, I wanted to give an update about the past four days since there was a lot going on with Thanksgiving, and I have a recipe to share! It's not mine but it's now become a bit of a tradition in my family and I know you guys will love it, too! 

So for starters, it was Thanksgiving last week which meant we all probably ate more than usual for us. Second important thing, let's move past it. I know, easier said than done but seriously it's important to try.

I'll admit, I did not track one SINGLE thing on Thanksgiving. 

"But, don't you track macros???"

Yes, yes I do. But let's not forget macros > memories. Every single time! 

You want to know the miraculous thing this year? I didn't feel guilty!!! I just let it all go (mentally) and challenged myself to focus on enjoying my time with family and friends, and to listen to my body. Like I told Amanda, I wanted to "eat normally" as I was able to before I developed my issues with food. Meaning eating when I was hungry and stopping when I was full. Again, easier said than done but it is possible! 

I didn't want to just go crazy and eat so much that it hurt, I didn't want to have those feelings of shame and guilt that I was eating "bad" foods, but most importantly I didn't want all those negative thoughts to completely consume me to the point where I wasn't able to enjoy myself. 

The last anxiety-free holiday that I had was probably Christmas 2011. Which means for the last 3 years, I have not properly enjoyed myself at family get-togethers whether it be for holidays, birthdays, or just simple family dinners for no special occasion. I'm not being dramatic at all but I honestly dreaded them because I wouldn't be able to track exactly what was in my food. 

Sounds crazy, right? But it happens much more often than we would like to think.  

With that being said, if you fell off the wagon and ate more than you planned or wanted, please try to move past it. It's so important for you to do this because the more you dwell on it, the worse it will be. Trust me on this one, please. 

If you track macros, get right back on that horse and into the game. If you don't track macros or calories but rather try to be health-conscious of what you eat, again just get right back to it! 

It doesn't matter if you track or not but just go back to your regular eating and exercise habits. This is the best thing for your body rather than trying to "make up" for all that food you ate on Thanksgiving. Don't try to over-exercise or deprive yourself or both just to try to undo any damage that you think you might've done on that one day. 

Because that's the other thing: it's only one day. Chances are, it's just one meal (if you're like my family, we only do a dinner) which means it really isn't a huge deal. I know it may seem like one, especially with all the anxiety that can be built up over one day but try to look at it in the big picture.

It's one day which is nearly negligible in terms of eating while looking at your whole life.

Again, I know this is easier said than done but really and truly try to move past it. Amanda and I were talking about this on our run Thanksgiving morning because I was amazed by my lack of anxiety over the upcoming meal that night. It's something I have been striving for for so many months and years now. It starts with baby steps but when you put the hard work in, it will come!

I can't even begin to explain that feeling of freedom. I didn't track at all Thursday morning or afternoon but fueled up for my long run as usual, ate my post-workout, and then a light snack in the afternoon. Then, I went to dinner and enjoyed myself! Yeah I probably went over in carbs and fats but the important thing is that I didn't dwell on it.

I even had started eating this pie I had never tried-- it was peanut butter cup pumpkin or something-- but then I didn't like it so I stopped and gave my leftovers to my uncle. This may not sound like a big deal but before I would've kept eating it because it was a "treat" or just something that I usually wouldn't allow myself to eat. Which means I'd to live it up because come tomorrow, those foods wouldn't be allowed again!

But a couple bites in with this pie I thought to myself "nah, I'm not liking this. It's too rich and sweet." So I just had a small slice of Skillet Almond Shortbread that my cousin makes every year, it's bomb by the way! We saw it on Food Network a few years back and knew we had to make it! Anyway, I didn't feel the need to have multiple desserts because I had fro yo Wednesday night that fit my macros and I knew I could have some more the next day!

My point is, I didn't feel the need to go crazy and eat so many foods because I already fit more fun foods in my macros for Friday as well as some of the leftovers from Thanksgiving. Then it's kinda like "well, why do I have to eat it all now when I can have some tomorrow, too?".

I had mental freedom and the peace of mind that even though my macros wouldn't be spot on that day on Thursday, it was fine because I've been repairing my metabolism and knew my body could handle it. I know that everyone is in a different place both mentally and physically, but like I said let's just try to move past it, okay? There are more important things in life!

For example, having my loved ones surrounding me and it was much more important to focus on spending time with them rather than worrying about my macros! 

Like I said, I don't want to look back on my life and realize that my fear of food and anxiety over it all stopped me from living my life. I'm done with it having that hold over me, and want to live my life the way God intended! 

So, don't beat yourself up about it but keep moving forward and working towards your goals! I have complete faith in you :) 

Friday morning, I woke up early to get my back day workout in, and then headed over to the Panera by my house to work on some grad school applications. Oh, with Christmas music starting of course! It's pretty much a mix of For King & Country (Baby Boy and Little Drummer Boy are my favorites!) and anything Pentatonix!  

It ended up being a very productive morning and I saw one of my friends from high school there so it was great to catch up with her while she was home for the break! 

Anddd if you didn't see on Instagram, we got the Christmas decorations up already! 

It's tradition to watch Elf every year on Black Friday (there ain't no way I'm going shopping in that chaos haha) while we put up the Christmas tree! 

"So, good news, I saw a dog today." 

"Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?"

"I'm sorry I ruined your lives...and crammed 11 cookies in the VCR." 

"I'll call you in five minutes." (My cousins and I still say that one all the time to each other before hanging up!)

Clearly, I've seen this movie one too many times but it still cracks me up! I'm not always the biggest fan of Will Ferrell movies but Elf is hilarious. 

This little nugget was veryyyy excited to take part in the tradition this year! 

Sorry I'm not sorry but she's just too stinkin' cute not to share :)

Per usual, she handled the inspections. I actually wanted her to do this because this way it gets her curiosity out of the way. Once she saw the ornaments were nothing special, she got less excited and I knew she'd be less likely to bother them once I put them on the tree. Since we have the cats, there are a certain number of "filler ornaments" that we put on the bottom part of the tree so if someone (Cosmo) knocks them off, they won't break. 

I didn't know how Layla would react to the ornaments but she didn't seem as interested in them once I showed them to her. Although, I did put the more feathery or textured ones up higher out of her reach because I know my pup alllll too well! 

The finished product!

How was your Thanksgiving?! Any fun traditions?