In the CrossFit world when someone decides to clean up their nutrition, they end up diving down the macro rabbit hole. It makes sense, it feels like most of the community is counting macros in some way probably because a lot of the pros do so.
What I’ve found is that macro tracking ISN’T ideal for the average person. While there are many who benefit from learning about what they put in their body and use it to learn better eating habits, for many others it’s restrictive, time consuming, not sustainable, and can even be harmful. I feel that macro tracking should be left to the professionals – people competing in a sport that need every extra edge they can get – and the rest of us should focus more on habit-based practices.
Habit-based practices help a person build a strong foundation of knowledge and strategies to help them navigate healthier eating without feeling overwhelmed. It’s important to be able to recognize and respond to your body’s natural internal cues (hunger and fullness), understand how to build a balanced plate with proper portions, and navigate nutrition on the go in order for you to have sustainable, long-term success with ANY nutrition plan.
Here are three habit-based practices you can do right now to help improve your nutrition, without counting a single macro.
- Eat mindfully – Most people these days eat on the go or in a rush or while distracted. I’ve spoken to people who don’t have a dining table and eat all of their meals in front of the TV. Quite honestly, we’ve been conditioned to be stimulated at all times, and it’s negatively affecting our eating habits.
The first task I ask my clients to do when they begin working with me is to eat a minimum of one meal per day mindfully. This means sit at a table, plate your food, and eat slowly without distractions.
By eliminating distractions, we can pay more attention to our food and how our body feels which increases satiety. By slowing down, we are able to recognize the signals from our stomach telling our brian we are full. Many of my clients report eating less than usual when eating mindfully because they actually recognize their fullness sooner than they would have previously. - Get in touch with your hunger and fullness cues – Start to actually take note of what your body is telling you, particularly before and after meals.
Before a meal, take note of whether you’re mildly hungry, very hungry, or not hungry at all and eating for other reasons (boredom, stress, emotion). Take note of how much food you want to eat – just a snack or a full meal? Not sure? Start with smaller portions and remember you can always go back for more.
During your meal, check in with yourself again. How is your food tasting? Are you enjoying it or not so much? Are you starting to feel full? Don’t wait until the end of your meal to check in with yourself otherwise you might miss some of your cues!
After your meal, assess your fullness. You should feel what’s called 80% full – you’re satisfied but theoretically you could fit more food if you kept eating. We want to stop here because eating beyond this point leads us to overeating and feeling stuffed. - Make a food journal – Food journals are a great resource for people to find out how they eat and where they can make easy changes. Some people like to get fancy and do this with an app, but I prefer using the pen and paper method with my clients.
Write out what time you ate, what you ate with approximate quantities, and notes (ie. your hunger before and fullness after the meal, did you eat due to hunger or emotion, did you eat out with friends or home alone). Do this for a minimum of 3 days, ideally 2 weekdays and 1 weekend day so you can assess your eating habits both in routine and out of routine.
Once you journal, take a look and see if there is anything that sticks out to you. Maybe you didn’t notice mindless munching throughout the day that added up. Maybe you realized you weren’t eating as many vegetables as you thought. Ask yourself, “How can I make this a little better?” to guide you in making small, manageable changes to improve your eating.
These are the exact tools I provide all of my 1:1 nutrition coaching clients with at the beginning of their journey because I know they work. Through these tools we begin to build a strong foundation for higher level nutrition strategies that help my clients reach their goals without restriction or obsessive macro tracking.
Interested in getting tailored help with your nutrition journey? Check out my 1:1 nutrition coaching program – I take you from being dependent on diets to independently intuitive through building foundational nutrition habits and with personalized guidance on portion intake based on your goals for a stronger, leaner, or in general overall healthier body. Learn more here.
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Coach Diana Leigh is a Precision Nutrition certified coach who uses habit-based coaching to help her clients get stronger and feel amazing in their bodies without the restriction and overwhelm of dieting. For more helpful tips, follow her on Instagram @coachdianaleigh.