Today is a much-awaited breakdown on my personal approach to tracking macros and how I track my food intake. This has come up a lot over the years because I have tracked my food on and off pretty consistently since 2020, but before that, I hated tracking my food.
I was never consistent with it and had a very black-and-white approach. I’ve revamped the way I approach it over the years in a way that has really worked for me, and a lot of people have been curious about this approach because I know for so many people, they associate macro tracking or food tracking with restriction and undereating—and that’s not the approach I take.
Important Context: I have a PhD in exercise physiology and human metabolism, so I have a lot of information and knowledge available to me that you might not have through my education and learning. Mixed with the fact that I’ve been doing this whole fitness and healthy eating thing for a long time with lots of trial and error. If you feel like this approach isn’t something that will work exactly for you, I encourage you to either get a nutrition coach or give yourself time and grace through trial and error to find what works for you.
Before diving into exactly how I track, I think it’s important to lay the groundwork of my personal philosophy and approach to eating. I know there’s so much controversy out there with carnivore, keto, and whatever diet is trending this week, but here’s my approach:
| Macronutrient | My Approach | My Typical Range |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | Moderate to high intake, roughly 0.8-1g per pound bodyweight | 115-145 grams per day |
| Carbohydrates | High-carb relative to performance and training needs | 250-500 grams per day depending on training |
| Fats | Try to keep under 30% of diet to leave room for carbs | ~25-30% of total calories |
Food Quality Focus:
I use the MacroFactor app, and here’s the key difference in my approach: I set my macros to zero. Everything is set to zero—zero calories, zero protein, zero fats, zero carbs.
The Mindset Shift: When I track my food each day, I have what I like to call minimums and ranges rather than specific macros I need to hit exactly every single day. It’s a more intuitive approach to eating while still having awareness and structure.
| Macro | My Approach | How I Handle Off Days |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | Minimum of 125g, range of 125-145g. Not neurotic about hitting exactly 145g. | If I’m at 100g but it’s late and I’m exhausted, I go to bed and start over the next day. |
| Fats | Maximum range to ensure enough calories allocated to carbs. “Fats find me” if I don’t watch it. | Plenty of days fall outside that range—I just move on and keep going. |
| Carbs | Minimum approach. Carbs increase as training volume increases. Let hunger and recovery lead. | Protein stays steady; carbs and fats fluctuate based on training demands and hunger. |
The Intuitive Side: I have minimums, but I also let my hunger and recovery lead. If I’m not super hungry one day, I’m not forcing myself beyond my minimums. But if the next day I’m super hungry because I didn’t eat enough the day before, I’ll bump it up. For example, if I had 2,400 calories on Monday but was super hungry and not recovering well on Tuesday, I might bump that up to 2,800-2,900 calories.
I like the MacroFactor app because you can track your estimated energy expenditure trends across time and map that against your weight trends. When I’m training, it estimates my energy expenditure and energy balance, and when I’m in very high training seasons, it helps me see if my body weight’s getting too low or if that expenditure looks higher than what I’m eating.
I use my recovery, performance, and hunger (especially when training) to dictate when I increase my food intake.
When I Don’t Track:
A Huge Mindset Shift: It can just be estimated. I don’t know exactly what cut of steak this is, but let’s get close enough. I’ll add an extra tablespoon of oil assuming this is cooked in oil and move on with my life. I don’t track to completely control my body—I have the skills and nutritional tools to know how to eat in a way that supports me.
For me, tracking is a tool that supports me when I’m training because I have a hard time eating enough and matching my needs. I tend to under-eat carbs or protein and over-eat fat, and then I feel terrible and recover poorly.
Why I Need This Tool: I will never intuitively eat 400 grams of carbs a day—I’m just not going to do it. In order to do that without tracking, I could be more diligent about eating cereal, an extra bagel, or more bread, but that’s not what I naturally favor. I end up under-eating carbs, over-eating fat, or under-eating calories and just bonking.
Real Example: In 2020 when I didn’t track while training for my 100K, I was bonking every single week by Thursday or Friday. I felt like I had low blood sugar, hypoglycemic crashes. I’d emergency order cheesy bread and feel totally fine after eating it. That was a sign I just wasn’t eating enough of the right things.
I think when people hear about this approach to macro tracking, it feels refreshing because it’s not dogmatic. It’s not “hit these specific macros” or super low targets. It’s minimums for health and performance, sitting there most of the time with small tweaks based on goals.
Many people associate tracking with restriction because they’ve only used it to restrict food, never as a way to guide them to eat enough or support their training. I don’t think tracking is for everyone, but it can be helpful for awareness, especially for those who tend to under-eat when training for performance.
| Tip | How to Apply It |
|---|---|
| Set minimums, not exactes | Focus on hitting minimum thresholds rather than precise macro targets |
| Use ranges | Give yourself flexibility within reasonable ranges for each macro |
| Listen to your body | Let hunger, recovery, and performance guide your intake within those ranges |
| Be okay with “close enough” | Estimates are fine—perfection isn’t the goal |
| Take breaks when needed | Don’t force tracking when it doesn’t serve you (travel, stress, etc.) |
| Focus on performance | Use tracking to support your training, not restrict your eating |
This approach comes from having a healthy relationship with food and not being afraid to eat. I recognize when I need to lean on tracking more than other times when I don’t need it at all.
The goal isn’t to make anyone obsessive about these things, but rather to have open, honest conversations about using these tools from a more evidence-based, compassionate way. It’s about being smart and intentional without being super restrictive, under-eating, or treating everything like a tool to diet and get thinner.
Remember: Tracking should be a tool that helps you eat enough and perform better, not a way to eat less and restrict more. When used with the right mindset and approach, it can be incredibly helpful for awareness and supporting your training goals.
Resources:
Use tracking as a tool to eat enough—not a tool to restrict. That’s the difference that changes everything.
I’m Exercise Physiologist, sports nutritionist, weight lifter, and ultra runner. I am here to bring science to your training in a no-nonsense way. I have helped thousands of women crush big lifting goals, cross race finish lines, and even do both. I’m here to help you do the same!
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