Should I Eat When I'm Not Hungry?
When you first receive your macronutrient prescription from your coach it can feel like a lot of food, especially if you were under-eating before starting the program. Under-eating is a common misconception when trying to lose weight, and unfortunately our diet culture tells us to eat less to see progress when in reality it can cause more harm than good to our body.
Commonly, the body is simply used to the restrictive calories it’s been given, so increasing calories to an amount that supports your body and your goals may feel overwhelming. There are a couple of ways to help feel like you are not just eating because it’s what you are told that we will cover in this blog post; but also know that it may just take your body a little bit of time to get used to the healthy intake it is needing to support a healthy metabolism, relationship with food, and progress towards your goals.
Pre-planning your day: A common issue we see clients face is having to stuff their face in the evenings because there weren’t enough calories consumed earlier in the day. When you pre-plan you day, you are adding everything into your log before it is consumed so you have the ability to change (add/subtract) your intake when needed to hit your macros. If you add in food as you eat it throughout the day, you could be not eating enough in the moment and realize you have a ton of macros left between the hours of 5pm and when you normally go to bed. Seeing everything planned and laid out allows you to see whether or not your meals are well-balanced not just in size but in macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat). This can also be convenient because you don’t have to think about what you need to eat throughout the day in order to hit your macros because if it’s all planned out beforehand, you just follow what you previously logged in your app.
Consume macros when you are most hungry: There are going to be specific times during your day when you are hungrier than others, so fill those times with a good chunk of your macros rather than waiting until the evening when you may not desire as many. If you are a big breakfast person but are only having a 300-400 calorie breakfast, bump that baby up! Don’t assume you are going to eat over half your calories after 1pm, because it’s very unlikely you will find the time and space to fit them all in.
Create individual meal targets: Creating individual meal goals helps keep you on track and have set goals for each meal rather than three large numbers to hit every day. Breaking up your numbers per meal allows you to focus on that one specific meal in order to hit your daily goal rather than going with the flow throughout the day and hoping you ate enough earlier in the day to hit your target.
Here is an example of how you could break up your numbers per meal based on the macros of 145P/195C/75F:
Breakfast: 45P/55C/20F
Lunch: 40P/50C/20F
Dinner: 40P/55C/15F
Snacks: 15P/30C/15F
When you have individual meal goals, you can create your meal around those goals and have confidence you will hit your numbers by the end of the day. Overall, individual meal goals help create well-rounded meals and doesn’t set you up for failure because you ended up having a really small breakfast, moderate lunch, and have a ton of macros left for dinner and after. The goal isn’t to stuff yourself in the evenings trying to make up for macros that weren’t consumed, the goal is finding a balance throughout the day to spread your macros and create a healthy routine and timing of food for yourself and your body.
If you are struggling with the amount of food you are eating, try out these tips and see if it helps balance out your intake and not feel so overwhelming. Remember to trust your coach and the process, as they have your best intentions in mind when setting and prescribing your macros. Give your body grace as it adjusts to this new intake and be patient with yourself as you learn this new process of eating and fueling your body in a healthy, sustainable way.
