If you are just starting out, weighing out every meal you consume is both difficult and unnecessary. It's important to understand the nutritional profile of the foods you eat, but a more sustainable starting point would be to understand the foods you eat first, then work towards understanding specific macronutrients after.
Depending on how tech savvy you are, there are a few dependable tactics to use:
My Fitness Pal – A really handy app that lets you input your macronutrient target and track through a huge database of foods and products so that you have to do as little work as possible. You can even scan the barcodes with your phone!
Snap ‘n’ Send – A group of nutritionists working with elite sports teams have developed an idea of using your phone camera to track your food intake. All you need to do is take a picture of everything you eat throughout the day, and when you get a spare 20 minutes use a portion guide app or book like “Carbs & Cals” to work out your daily intake. If you are really productive, do it as you go! Unfortunately for the non-elite sportsmen & women amongst us, the ‘send’ part of this only works if you have a willing macro counting buddy to work it out for you.
Food Journal – Finally, and my go-to for tracking my food intake, is the trusty pen and paper. Edward Bulwer-Lytton was right when he said “the pen is mightier than the sword” not that it has much relevance to macro tracking.
The attraction for me is that you can do it in any way that suits you. I draw each meal I eat in a journal and write the macros on the plate so I can visualise and analyse my food habits. Other ways could include writing down all macros in a table or scribbling down what you ate so you can work it out later.
All of these techniques have their place and it really boils down to what works for you. The apps mentioned are all available on the App store and they make life easier for those on the move with little time. A little notepad to keep track is the simplest and most straight forward way to track for you. In addition, we post macros to all our tasty recipes on our blog. You can check out this delicious Chilli Prawn Pasta here.