Calorie counting is out, macros are in. Meal planning by macros (macronutrients) means organizing your meals to hit specific targets for protein, fats, and carbohydrates. Meal planning and macros go hand in hand. The key to successful macro-based meal planning is understanding your daily calorie needs and macronutrient distribution based on your goals (e.g., fat loss, muscle gain, maintenance).
What are Macronutrients?
Macros, formally known as macronutrients, which are the three categories of nutrients you eat the most (protein, carbs, and fats). When you’re counting macros, you’re counting the grams of proteins, carbs or fat that you’re eating. Different combinations of these macros can help you reach different goals, such as gaining weight, losing weight, or building muscle.
Why Meal Plan by Macros?
Tracking and hitting macro goals without planning ahead is often a losing battle. After all, hitting macros and changing your lifestyle can be a lot of work. Making meals every single night for a family is also a lot of work. In order to be more successful at both, planning macros is essential.
I’ve been meal planning for years, but tracking macros is new for me. I know firsthand how stressful it can be trying to eat a healthy meal that fits macros at the last minute with little planning. Meal planning for macros has been essential for my state of mind.
Benefits of Meal Planning for Macros:
Meal planning by macros has a lot of benefits. Here are a few:
- Ensures you’re meeting your goals. By prioritizing your macros, then building around it, you’re in a better position to achieve your goals.
- Saves time — you get all the thinking out of the way ahead of time, plus grocery shopping is a breeze with a specific list
- Saves money — you are much less likely to order out or let food go bad if you’ve got a plan
- Reduces stress — there’s so much less pressure, especially helpful when everyone is hungry
- Is healthier — you can plan balanced meals and skip the fast food
- Reduces food waste — you buy what you need and then cook it instead of just buying a ton of things you might cook
Related Post: Monthly Meal Planning
How to Meal Plan by Macros
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started meal planning for macros.
Step 1: Calculate Your Daily Caloric Needs & Macro Breakdown
Before you can plan your macros, you need to know how many calories you should be eating each day. There are several methods, but you should speak to a doctor, nutritionist, or health coach to determine those numbers. Since I’m an organizer and a planner and not a health professional, I’m not going to share macro suggestions here.
Your macro numbers will likely change based on how active you are and what kind of goals you’d like to meet. Your macros may also change from day-to-day depending on your nutrition and workout plan.
My Macros
As a 40-something woman looking to build muscle and weight trains 3 times per week, here are my usual macro goals:
- 172 grams of carbohydrates
- 51 grams of fat
- 96 grams of protein
I also have a fiber goal of 25 grams.
I aim to stay within 10 grams of the above macro goals, although I don’t limit my fiber or protein.
Step 2: Identity Protein Goals
Since reaching a certain protein goal is generally a priority of tracking macros, it’s a good idea to start by planning your protein and then fit in the other macros.
For instance, if I plan on eating 90 grams of protein per day and I eat three meals, I aim for 25-30 grams of protein per meal. 30 grams of protein per meal is doable for me, since it’s about 4 ounces of chicken. I don’t usually want to eat a larger portion than that.
When meal planning by macros, I try and vary my proteins so I’m not eating chicken for every meal. I also supplement my meat-based protein with plant based protein powder.
Protein Options:
- Chicken
- Bacon
- Turkey
- Cold cuts
- Tuna fish
- Salmon
- Tempe
- Tofu
- Eggs
If you eat dairy, there are also many protein-filled dairy options such as Greek yogurt and cottage cheese.
Step 3: Use Recipes to Add in Fats & Carbs
Once you’re sure you will hit your protein macro goals, you’ll want to plan your other macros accordingly to stick within your goals.
Without tracking, it’s easy to over-consume carbs and fats but I find that most recipes can be macro-friendly if they’re made with whole, natural ingredients and you’re careful with your portions.
With each meal I plan, I am sure to add in some carbs (fruit, veggies, grains, beans, etc.). Often those foods also contain fats (avocados, for example) but other times fats are incorporated into a recipe through cooking oils.
I find that when I’m careful with my meals and eat whole, natural foods, I easily stay within my fat macros.
This can be challenging at first, but the more experience you get tracking macros, the easier you will be able to choose foods and portions that fit within them.
I have a list of favorites recipes to use for inspiration. I also use websites that share macro-friendly recipes (two of my favorites are Lillie Eats and Tells or Evolving Table).
I often print recipes and keep them all in one place (a notebook with a folder, but a binder would also work well!). I can never find the recipes I save on social media.
When I sit down to meal plan, I use my list and printed recipes as a menu.
Here are a few of my favorite meals on repeat:
Breakfasts:
- Smoothies
- Eggs
- Bacon
- Overnight Oats
Lunches:
- Salads with grilled chicken
- Leftovers from the previous night
- Eggs (if I didn’t eat them for breakfast)
- Tuna salad with veggies mixed in
Dinner:
- Tacos (either salad or with corn tortillas)
- Fajita bowls (no wrap, served on salads)
- Egg roll bowls
- Grilled chicken, potatoes, steamed broccoli
- Enchilada bowls
I aim to eat whole ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, rice, and meat as much as possible. I avoid dairy and wheat, but do eat them on occasion.
Step 4: Write Your Meal Plan
Now that we’re prepped, it’s time to finally plan your meals for your macros. I’m old school and like to use a piece of paper to plan my meals, but you can also use a notes app or a computer doc. You can plan your meals weekly or monthly or whatever time frame works for you.
I used to create monthly meal plans because it saved time but lately I’ve gone back to weekly planning because I find macro-friendly meals more challenging to plan. I will probably switch back to monthly planning once it’s simpler.
You can use the printable (linked below) or you can just use a piece of paper. Simply look through the meals you have gathered and write them out in the appropriate weekly spot.
Click here to open printable meal planner
To use this file digitally, go to the “Files” tab and then “Make a Copy”.
Step 4: Snack Macros (Snackros??)
After you plan your meals for the day, odds are you’ll have some wiggle room. I like to fill that wiggle room with snacks.
If I have a lot of extra carbs to fit into my day, I’ll grab an apple or some dates. Extra fats usually means a handful of walnuts.
I plan my meals out and like to have an idea of the snacks I’m going to eat, but I can be flexible here. I like to keep healthy options on hand.
My favorite macro-friendly snacks:
- Apples (sometimes with peanut butter)
- Dates with almond butter
- Air popped popcorn
- Berries such as strawberries or raspberries
- Bananas (although I have these in my morning smoothie, so I don’t often eat them again)
- Nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, etc)
- Avocado (on days when I have extra fats)
- Fresh veggies and hummus
Processed snack packs, bars, and powders may provide protein, but they also often include other chemicals and ingredients that aren’t as clean. I try to limit those as much as possible.
Step 5: Shop For & Implement Your Macro Meal Plan
Now that you have your meals planned out, make your grocery list. Just like with planning the meals, buying the food is essential to staying on track with your macros. As mentioned above, I like to stick to whole foods with natural ingredients as much as possible.
When meal planning for macros, it’s easier to shop with your list in mind and be confident that you have the food you need to stick to the plan. So much less food is wasted when you have a plan for it!
As you prepare your food, be mindful of the servings you’re dishing on your plate. I often use a food scale to make sure I’m accurately measuring my servings. I find that I can fit most meals into my macro needs if I adjust the portions accordingly.
Step 5: Use Apps to Help Track Macros
I plan my meals by macros out on paper, but I do most of my tracking within an app such as My Fitness Pal or Lose It! These apps already have databases of stored food, so if you’re having something like grilled chicken for dinner, you can search for it in the app and then add the serving size you plan on eating to your daily menu.
Additionally, you can create your own custom recipes and save them within the app. While this is time consuming at first, if you eat the same meals regularly, it will save time and be more accurate in the long run.
Tips to Succeeding with Macros
Meal planning by macros can be overwhelming at first. Here are a few tips to help you get started:
- Make a theme night (Taco Tuesday for example) and always cook the same meal that day of the week.
- Cook once, eat twice. Double your recipes and save food for lunch the following day, dinner later in the week, or even freeze food for next month.
- Eat on repeat. Decide on a food you want and eat it. This is especially helpful for breakfast. I make the same smoothie every morning. I don’t have to think or plan. I buy the same foods every week. The smoothie fits well within my macros and gives me a strong foundation for my day.
- Bulk prep proteins. Cook a large portion of your protein early in the week and base all your meals around that. For instance, grill 5 pounds of chicken, cut it up, then add it to different recipes throughout your week. It will make cooking so much faster and give your meal plan a strong base.
Meal Planning by Macros
Meal planning by macros isn’t hard, but it does take some time to get used to. Once you have your recipes gathered and get into a good routine, it will become much easier. Then, it will be so much simpler to stay on track and succeed with your health goals.
