Today, I wanted to share what I eat in a day while counting macros. As most of you know, Scott & I have been tracking macros for about 4 years now. It’s become a way of life.
We are not obsessive about it. We have not taken it to an unhealthy level. If there’s a day where we don’t hit our macros perfectly, it’s fine we don’t fret. We also take breaks from time to time and are not always in a deficit.
I’m currently eating at maintenance calories. My goal is 1850. This day is a little under at 1828, but pretty close. You’ll see my macro split toward the bottom.
** I have more examples of full days of eating in video form on our TikTok
Go-to meals
Anyway, after you get into the swing of things with IIFYM, certain foods tend to repeat themselves in your food diary. Scott & I both have go-to meals & snacks that we eat daily.
Dinner will vary depending on how busy we are. The kids have Jiu Jitsu practice weekdays right around dinnertime, so dinner is usually a very quick & uncomplicated meal.
We will eat dinner together and then Scott will usually have some additional snacks afterward to help him hit his goals.
What I eat in a day in the Summer:
Breakfast: Yogurt Parfait– 287 calories (15.6 protein, 5.5 fat, 46 carbs) This is my go-to breakfast. I get so sick of eggs, but this hits the spot every time. The mix of yogurts is KEY.
Lunch: Nachos-42g chips, 28 g reduced fat Mexican blend cheese, 4 ounces rotisserie chicken, 21 g plain greek yogurt, 40 g pickled jalapeños– 462 calories (42 protein, 19 fat, 31 carbs)
Dinner: 4 oz chicken breast, 16 g Heinz barbecue sauce, 1 serving rice pilaf made with butter & roasted asparagus w/spray canola oil- 448 calories (36 protein, 11 fat, 52 carbs)
Snacks:
- Chocolate Banana Almond Butter protein shake– 329 calories (26 protein, 13 fat, 29 carbs)
- 100 g Cantaloupe- 34 calories (1 protein & 8.8 carbs)
- Tip: smell the end of the cantaloupe that’s opposite of the stem area to see if it’s ripe.
- La Michoacana Mango Paleta– 190 calories (3 protein, 10 fat, 21 carbs)
- 5 ritz crackers- 80 calories (1 protein, 4.5 fat, 10 carbs)
Total: 1828 calories (125 protein, 63 fat, 197 carbs)
My meals will vary from day to day, but I would say that this is a typical day for me. I don’t always eat dessert, but it helps me hit my macros on days when I have no appetite which is typical in the Summer.
Vegetables are great when you’re on low calories and need more volume to fill you up. I am on maintenance calories right now, so I don’t have that issue. But I will have salads a few times a week and include veggies here and there.
That being said, veggies are NOT the only way to hit your micronutrients. In this full day of eating I only had 1 serving of greens, but I went over on Vitamin A, over on Vitamin C & over on calcium. However, even with the banana, I fell short on potassium. Avocados are high in potassium, ours just aren’t ripe right now…
That’s it for a full day. I may do these more often if they are helpful!
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Kayce Jo
Sunday 9th of August 2020
This is VERY helpful. I'm horrible at trying to figure out what to eat. Seeing what others have helps give me inspiration. I'm just starting to follow macro's. As in, I just started today. I've been doing research via Pinterest and have co.e across so many of your articles already. This stuff really is helpful thank you!
Lexi @ That Fit Fam
Monday 10th of August 2020
I'm soo glad this helped! It's always nice to see what others eat/ how they make IIFYM fit their lifestyle =) It's difficult when you first get started with macros, but it becomes second nature super quickly--especially once you figure out your go-to favorite meals. You've got this!