# MME - EP 61

[00:00:00] Emily Field: Welcome back to the Macros Made Easy podcast. I'm your host, Emily Field registered dietician, and today we're tackling one of my favorite types of episodes, a full q and a around the most common macro tracking questions that I get from new clients and listeners. With our Black Friday sale on custom macros, a lot of new faces are joining the community and starting to track for the very first time, which means a lot of great questions are popping up.

[00:00:25] Emily Field: Things like, should I log food raw or cooked? Do I really need to weigh everything I eat or what happens if I go over my macros for the day? So I thought this was the perfect time to slow down and go back to the basics. This episode is for you if you're just getting started with tracking or if you've been at it for a while, but still find yourself second guessing the details.

[00:00:45] Emily Field: We'll cover the practical stuff like how to use your tracking app more efficiently, but also the mindset piece, what actually matters for progress, what doesn't, and how to track in a way that supports your life instead of controlling it. By the end, you'll have clear answers to your most common, am I doing this right?

[00:01:01] Emily Field: Questions, and a much better sense of how to track macros without overthinking every gram. So whether you just purchased custom macros or you've been tracking for a while and wanna tighten things up, this episode will help you feel confident and clear about what to focus on. So let's jump in. Welcome to Macros Made Easy, the podcast that takes the confusion out of tracking macros.

[00:01:21] Emily Field: I'm your host, Emily Field, a registered dietician that specializes in a macros approach. In each episode, I help you learn how to eat in a way that supports your health, body composition, and athletic performance goals. We'll cover the basics of macronutrients, how to track for various goals, the role of macros in your health, and how to make sustainable changes to your habits.

[00:01:40] Emily Field: I've helped hundreds of people experience more food freedom and flexibility while navigating their nutrition. So whether you've tried macros and it just didn't stick, or you just heard the word macros yesterday, I can't wait to help you too. Question number one, should I log food raw or cooked? The best way to do this is to log food in the form that you weighted.

[00:02:03] Emily Field: That's the simplest and most accurate rule to follow. Most food databases list items as raw by default, but that can cause confusion because the weight of food changes once it's cooked, usually because of water loss or absorption. So for example. Four ounces of raw chicken breasts might weigh closer to three ounces once it's cooked because it loses water.

[00:02:23] Emily Field: But half a cup of dry rice might weigh over one cup once it's cooked because it absorbs water. So if you weigh your food raw, make sure you're logging the raw version in your app, you're going to use that descriptive word when you're searching the terms for the food that you're tracking. You're gonna use raw or uncooked.

[00:02:41] Emily Field: If you weigh it after cooking, choose the cooked version again, using a descriptive search, baked, grilled, sauteed, something like that that would indicate that it's cooked. The important thing here is to be consistent. If you are going to be doing this very often, pick one method and stick with it so that your data stays accurate over time.

[00:03:01] Emily Field: Here's a quick guide that tends to work well for most people. You're gonna weigh starches dry. These are things like rice, pasta, oats, quinoa, that gives you the clearest picture of the serving before it changes volume due to cooking, you're gonna weigh proteins cooked. This is like your chicken, your beef, your fish.

[00:03:18] Emily Field: These are often batch prepped, and it's much easier to weigh what's on your plate than to remember what it weighed raw. Of course, there's gonna be plenty of times where you can't weigh the raw version. Maybe you're at a restaurant. You're meal prepping from leftovers or grabbing something someone else cooked.

[00:03:33] Emily Field: In that case, it's totally fine to eyeball what's in front of you. Use measuring cups or spoons or even pull out the food scale for a quick check of what's in front of you. The key is consistency. Log the food in the form you weigh or measured it and stick with that approach so your data stays accurate over time.

[00:03:50] Emily Field: And if this level of detail feels overwhelming at first, give yourself some grace. Macro tracking is a skill, and like any skill, it gets easier with practice. You'll get more precise as you go, but even early on, you're already making progress by simply paying attention. Question number two, do I need to weigh everything I eat?

[00:04:09] Emily Field: Well, not forever and honestly, probably not even right away. Think of tracking as turning on a spotlight. You can't fix what you can't see. Just like taking a closer look at your bank account. When you're saving for something special, taking a closer look at your diet when you have a specific health or performance goal isn't a bad thing.

[00:04:27] Emily Field: It's a awareness. It's data. It's how you start to make meaningful change. So for most beginners, I recommend starting with estimates. Simply log the main heavy hitters in a meal. Your protein source, your starchy carb, and your cooking fat. That alone will start to show you how portions add up and which foods make the biggest impact on your macros.

[00:04:48] Emily Field: Once that feels comfortable, maybe after a week or two you can start bringing in the food scale for those same items. Weighing foods like chicken, rice, or peanut butter helps you see how close your estimates really are. Most people are shocked the first time they learn that their tablespoon of peanut butter is actually two and a half, or their four ounces of chicken is closer to two.

[00:05:09] Emily Field: After a short time, that experience builds food awareness. You'll naturally start to see what balance portions look like, which means you can rely less on tracking and more on intuition later. You don't need to weigh lettuce, leaves, condiments like mustard or relish, or the splash of milk in your coffee.

[00:05:26] Emily Field: At first, I want you to just focus on the calorie dense foods and the ones that you tend to misjudge. These are things like oils, nut and seed butters, cereal and dressings. There's also a time and place to pull out the food scale for your mindless snacks, licks, bites, and pores. Not to be rigid, but to recalibrate or to learn.

[00:05:47] Emily Field: Spend a few days tracking those. Little extras, and you might be surprised by how much of your daily intake comes from the handfuls, spoonfuls, or sips. You barely notice that short burst of awareness can be incredibly powerful. It's about seeing the full picture so you can make intentional choices. So after you've dabbled and you've kind of gotten over that beginner phase and the method feels like a pretty good fit for you, I would encourage you to track consistently for several weeks in a row.

[00:06:13] Emily Field: That's where the real magic happens when you start connecting the dots between your habits and the changes you feel in your energy health. Body composition and athletic performance. As a practitioner, my hope is that tracking macros diligently even for a short period of time, helps you learn appropriate portion sizes for you understand what's actually in the food that you eat, kind of like a nutrition 1 0 1 education that you never got, and gain a skill that you can return to anytime you need a reset or you have a new goal.

[00:06:44] Emily Field: Once you've built that foundation, you can transition to estimating and flexible tracking confidently, because now you see what's on your plate with educated eyes. That's the real power of tracking macros, not control, but clarity. Question number three, what is the best tracking app, and how do I know which database entry to pick?

[00:07:03] Emily Field: Well, my top picks for tracking apps are gonna be chronometer macros first and MyFitnessPal. They're reliable, easy to use, and have strong databases. When choosing entries, I want you to look for those that are verified or brand specific, often marked with a check mark or sourced from the USDA. Skip any that look user entered with odd decimals or missing data.

[00:07:25] Emily Field: If a food label doesn't match what you see in the app, go with the label. Which brings me to my next question, number four, what if the nutrition label and my tracking app don't match? Which do I trust? Trust the food label. It's regulated in the most accurate reflection of what's inside the package.

[00:07:43] Emily Field: Tracking apps, on the other hand, pull from a mix of verified databases and user entered data, which means that the numbers can vary. Sometimes a lot if the numbers don't match up, use the label as your source of truth, and you might consider creating a custom food entry in your app using that information.

[00:08:00] Emily Field: That way you'll know you're logging the correct data every single time. To make this process easier, take advantage of some of your app's features. Number one, you could save the food to favorites and access that folder. Every single time you eat that food, you're pulling the same exact entry. It's like your go-to protein bar or your go-to yogurt brand, something like that.

[00:08:21] Emily Field: You could also utilize the copy and paste feature or the repeat meal function to quickly log reoccurring meals or snacks that happen day to day. If you regularly eat the same breakfast or lunch, you can save it as a meal template. So it's one tap away, even interchanging a couple of ingredients or a couple of different serving sizes or portion sizes if you need to, but at least the meal structure, the meal template is there.

[00:08:45] Emily Field: A few minutes of setup now can save you a ton of time later, and it help ensures that your data stays consistent. The more accurate and efficient your logging process becomes, the more sustainable macro tracking will feel. Question number five, do I need to log non-starchy vegetables? I'd say usually no.

[00:09:02] Emily Field: And this is one of the things that makes macro tracking feel more doable and sustainable long-term when it comes to tracking non-starchy vegetables don't need to be logged, especially in my universe, in my products and services. You'll never hear me ask you to track non-starchy vegetables while they technically.

[00:09:20] Emily Field: Small amounts of carbohydrates, their calorie and macro contribution is so minimal that tracking them adds little benefit and can actually create unnecessary stress. In fact, not tracking non-starchy vegetables is a strategic choice that supports both your nutrition quality and your consistency to the habit.

[00:09:38] Emily Field: Here's why I recommend leaving them untracked. Number one, they're extremely low in calories and carbs. Most servings contribute very little to your total macro count. They're packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which keeps you full, satisfied and well-nourished. They add volume to your meals, which is great for hunger and satiety, especially in a deficit or maintenance phase.

[00:09:57] Emily Field: And weighing or tracking them adds unnecessary complexity which can actually reduce consistency and increase. Burnout. So in my approach, your macro prescription already accounts for non-starchy vegetables indirectly, because I want you eating plenty of them without feeling like you have to log every single bite of broccoli or spinach leaf.

[00:10:16] Emily Field: When you're learning to track, it's far more valuable to focus on the foods that move the needle, your proteins, starchy carbs, fats, any extras that can add up quickly, like oils, sauces, and dressings. That said, if you're eating a large amount of high carb vegetables, like roasted carrots, parsnips, or squash, and they're cooked with added fats, cheeses, or dressings, it might be worth it to log that for accuracy.

[00:10:42] Emily Field: I had a client who used to log every single vegetable down to the handful of spinach in her omelet or the cucumber slices on her salad, and she was exhausted by it. Once she stopped tracking those and focused on the main components of her meals, she said it felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders.

[00:10:58] Emily Field: She finally had the mental space to focus on what mattered and to do it longer term. She could actually see her goals through, because she didn't burn out quickly from tracking every single itty bitty bite. She was hitting her protein, balancing her meals, and staying much more consistent without that added bandwidth being taken up by non-starchy vegetables.

[00:11:19] Emily Field: The goal here is not to micromanager plate. It's to create awareness where it matters most. So skipping non-starchy vegetables doesn't cheat the system. It's a deliberate choice that keeps macro tracking simpler, saner, and more sustainable for the long haul. Question number six, how do I track butter, oil and dressings?

[00:11:39] Emily Field: These foods can sneak up on you quickly. A tablespoon of oil or dressing can add a hundred to 150 calories, so learning how to track them accurately is definitely worth the effort. If you want a simple, no guesswork way to log them, try. You're gonna put the container like the bottle of oil or tub of butter on your food scale.

[00:11:58] Emily Field: You're gonna tear it or zero it out on the scale, pour or scoop the amount you want into your pan or onto your food, and then reigh the container. The difference between the starting and ending weight is what you actually used, and that's what you'll log in your app. This method is quick, clean, and surprisingly eye-opening if you've never done it before.

[00:12:19] Emily Field: If that feels too tedious at first, you can always estimate. I usually tell people to build in about one to three teaspoons of oil per meal, depending on how generous their pore looks. If you're using butter or dressings, maybe start with a measured tablespoon a few times to see what your usual portion actually looks like, and then eyeball it from there.

[00:12:39] Emily Field: For most people trying to track to build awareness, or maybe they're just getting started and learning to eat at maintenance, this level of estimation is perfect. If you're working toward a specific time bound body composition goal, like a deficit or prep phase, that's when it makes sense to measure a bit more precisely to make the most of your limited calories.

[00:13:01] Emily Field: Estimate when you can measure when it matters. And remember that the point of tracking is to learn what portions really look like, not to weigh your food forever. Question number seven. How close do I need to be to my macro targets to make progress? Well, you don't need to hit your numbers perfectly so you know that right out the gate.

[00:13:20] Emily Field: It really is about patterns, not perfection. If you're hitting within five to 10 grams of protein and carbs and three to five grams for fat, you're probably close enough hitting your targets in that general range most days will get you 95% of the way there. What matters more than any single day is your consistency over time.

[00:13:40] Emily Field: The trends across weeks, not the tiny fluctuations day to day. So instead of chasing perfect numbers. Which will lead to burnout and you not doing this for very long. Focused on building meals that are balanced, satisfying, and repeatable. And if you've been tracking for a while, but it feels like you've hit a plateau or you're ready to fine tune things like your calorie phases, macro adjustments or body composition goals, that's exactly what we help you do inside of Eat to Lean.

[00:14:06] Emily Field: It's where we take the guesswork out of adjusting your numbers and help you apply the strategy behind them so you can finally see and feel the changes you've been working towards. You can join the wait list through the link in the show notes and be the first to know when our next round opens up.

[00:14:19] Emily Field: Question number eight, do my macros reset daily or do weekly averages matter more? Technically, your app resets your macros every day, but your body doesn't. Your body looks at energy balance over time, not what happens in a single 24 hour period. You don't gain fat from one high calorie day, and you don't lose fat for one perfect day of eating in a deficit.

[00:14:42] Emily Field: What matters most is the trend across weeks and months. That's why I encourage people to think in terms of weekly averages rather than daily perfection. If you go over a little bit on your macros one day and a little under on the next, your overall calorie intake will likely even out over time. What your body sees is the cumulative effect, not the exact numbers on any single day.

[00:15:04] Emily Field: That said, even though your body is not a math equation, the best way to use macros effectively is to eat around the same amount every single day. That consistency helps you assess progress much more accurately and gives you cleaner data to work with when it's time to adjust. And just to be clear, this isn't permission to make up for an off day by undereating.

[00:15:25] Emily Field: The next restricting after overeating keeps you stuck in that all or nothing cycle that we're really trying to avoid. Instead, simply return to your normal plan the next day and keep moving forward. This principle is especially true if your goal is fat loss. A calorie deficit isn't something that happens overnight.

[00:15:44] Emily Field: It accumulates slowly over time. You might not see big changes week to week, but spending a consistent 8, 10, 12 weeks in a well executed deficit is what leads to real measurable results. The data tells a story, not the day-to-day fluctuations. So instead of judging your progress by tomorrow's weigh in, I want you to zoom out.

[00:16:05] Emily Field: Look at your weekly averages, your energy, your workouts, your sleep, your recovery. That's what truly matters here. Now we have a couple questions that are pretty technical here. Number nine, do I count protein that's found in plant-based foods or foods that are rich in carbs and fats? Yes, they absolutely count towards your protein intake Overall, all plant proteins.

[00:16:27] Emily Field: Contain the essential amino acids that your body needs. You just don't get as much of each in a single food compared to animal proteins. You don't need to combine foods at every meal. That's very old nutrition science, but you should aim for variety across the day. So beans, lentils, tofu, whole grains, nuts and seeds all contribute differently.

[00:16:49] Emily Field: If you eat mostly plant-based, you might see that your target for protein is slightly higher than for people who eat animal proteins as well. This is to help offset the lower digestibility that comes from plant-based foods, but we don't always do this. The bottom line is that these proteins absolutely still count from plant-based foods.

[00:17:09] Emily Field: Number 10, does protein from collagen count towards your protein goals? Yes, you should count collagen towards your total protein intake, but here's some context. Collagen is technically protein, but it's not a complete protein because it's low and essential amino acids like tryptophan, leucine, and methionine.

[00:17:27] Emily Field: That means it won't do much for muscle repair or building, but it still supports joints, skin, and gut health. So log it like you would any other food. Just don't rely on it as one of your main protein sources multiple times per day. Think of it as a bonus. It still counts, but it doesn't replace a meal's worth of complete protein like eggs, chicken, or Greek yogurt.

[00:17:49] Emily Field: Number 11. Do plant-based proteins count the same as animal proteins? Again, very much in the same vein. Yes. 100%. Plant-based proteins absolutely count towards your total protein intake. So while some plant foods are lower in certain amino acids, your body pulls from an overall amino acid pool throughout the day, as long as you eat a variety of protein sources.

[00:18:10] Emily Field: We've kind of talked about this before. We've got tofu, lentils. Beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds, you're going to meet your needs without having to food combine at every meal. For vegetarian and vegan eaters, I typically recommend about 0.6 to 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Research shows that this range supports muscle growth, satiety, and performance for active adults, even on a plant-based diet, as long as the sources are diverse and include higher quality proteins like soy, legumes, and grains.

[00:18:42] Emily Field: Because many plant proteins also come packaged with carbohydrates, I'm often increasing the carb allowance slightly. That reflects the natural makeup of plant-based foods and keeps meals satisfying, balanced, and very realistic. So in short, you can do extremely well with a macro based approach on a vegetarian or vegan diet.

[00:19:02] Emily Field: Focus on variety and total intake over perfection. Your body will get what it needs. Question number 12, how do I log recipes or mixed dishes? So for Homecooked meals, the easiest way to track accurately is to log each ingredient before cooking, then divide the finished dish into portions, either by weight or by number of servings.

[00:19:24] Emily Field: Most tracking apps let you create and save recipes, so once you build it, it's just one tap to log the next time. If you're newer to tracking, don't stress about this being perfect. I want you to just start with your main ingredients, your protein source, starch, and cooking fat, and then refine from there.

[00:19:40] Emily Field: There's absolutely no reason why you need to be weighing out water or spices or herbs that you use. Anything very low calorie, like your non-ST starchy vegetables, uh, probably don't need to be logged in that recipe either. And once you get the hang of it, logging recipes will become second nature. You probably just need to do it one or two times first.

[00:20:01] Emily Field: Question 13. How do I track food at restaurants when someone else cooks? I mean, this is a loaded question. We can definitely go in a lot of different directions here. But when you're eating out, the goal is first awareness. The best option is to look up nutrition facts ahead of time and try to pre log the dish or something similar from a standardized menu.

[00:20:22] Emily Field: Maybe you're looking at a chain restaurant, maybe like a Chipotle or Panera, olive Garden, red Lobster, something like that. That is gonna give you the most accurate estimate. The good enough option is to eyeball and deconstruct the meal into its main parts. You're looking at the protein, the carb, and the fat source, and logging each one individually.

[00:20:41] Emily Field: So for example, log grilled chicken, rice, roasted vegetables, and a creamy sauce separately, not the whole dish altogether, because you're gonna get a wide range of calories and macros when you do so. And here's a helpful tip. I want you to pad your fat macros a little bit higher than you think because restaurants usually use more oil and butter than you would at home.

[00:21:03] Emily Field: So adding an extra teaspoon or two of fat keeps your estimate realistic. If you wanna go deeper on this topic, how to enjoy dining out, choose meals that align with your goals and balance the rest of your day. I encourage you to check out episode 46 at the Macros Made Easy Podcast, or my blog post, eating Healthy at Restaurants, tips for Dining Out, which I'll link in the show notes.

[00:21:25] Emily Field: We also expand on the skill inside of macros made easy. So you can feel confident tracking anywhere at home while traveling or dining out without feeling restricted. Question number 14. If I go over on one macro, should I adjust the others? This is where flexible tracking comes in handy. Your macros all add up to your total calories, so going over in one and under in another often evens out in a calorie standpoint.

[00:21:51] Emily Field: So here's an easy rule of thumb. There are roughly two grams of carbs for every one gram of fat when it comes to calories. So if you fall under carbs by about 10 grams. You could go over fat by five and still land around the same total calories. Another example, if you go over carbs by 30 grams, you could undereat your fat target by about 15 grams to balance things out.

[00:22:16] Emily Field: Most tracking apps do this math for you automatically, but understanding how the numbers relate helps you stay flexible without stressing about hitting every single macro perfectly. When it comes to tracking priorities, I want you to focus on hitting protein first and calories second. Hitting your protein goal is the most important because it supports lean muscle building, satiety recovery, and your metabolism.

[00:22:40] Emily Field: Hitting your overall calorie target ensures that you're eating enough or in the right deficit or surplus for your goals. So once those two things are in range, you can let carbs and fats fall where they may. That's what makes this approach flexible. Now, there are times where aiming more precisely for your macro breakdown is powerful and intentional.

[00:23:00] Emily Field: So if you're recovering from burnout or chronic dieting, you're working to restore performance and energy, or you're healing your relationship with food after years of being told that one macro was bad, then paying closer attention to your specific macro targets for each. Macro protein, fat, and carb, that can be really empowering.

[00:23:20] Emily Field: It helps rebuild balance and trust with food while ensuring that you're fueling appropriately for your lifestyle and training. The key is to understand which phase you're in. If you're learning the skill and building awareness, maybe you're keeping it flexible. If you're fine tuning performance, recovery or balance, maybe precision can serve you either way.

[00:23:39] Emily Field: The goal is about using macros as a framework to help you fuel your life better, not to control it. Question 15, if I go over or under today, should I make up for it tomorrow? This is such a common trap and honestly, a very slippery slope. When people overeat one day, they often feel the urge to quote, fix it.

[00:23:58] Emily Field: By holding back the next day, skipping meals, cutting calories, or earning their food back with extra exercise. But that kind of mindset leads to a cycle of overcorrecting under fueling and ultimately feeling out of control. It's the classic binge restrict pendulum, and it keeps you from ever finding consistency.

[00:24:17] Emily Field: I do not recommend trying to make up for it. Instead, just return to your normal eating pattern the very next day. Overeating or undereating is a part of the human experience. It happens to everyone. What matters is how you respond. Think of macro tracking as data, not judgment. It's not about being good or bad.

[00:24:36] Emily Field: It's about learning from your patterns. If you find yourself consistently overeating at night, that's useful information. Maybe your meals earlier in the day were too light or you didn't have enough protein or carbs to stay satisfied. Armed with that information, you can make better decisions moving forward.

[00:24:53] Emily Field: Maybe you're distributing your meals more evenly through the day. You're building each meal with a good balance of proteins, fats, and carbs. You're avoiding saving all your calories for the evening. The goal here is rhythm. You wanna find a steady groove with your eating habits, not swing between extremes.

[00:25:09] Emily Field: One off day doesn't erase your progress. It's just data that helps you refine your plan. If you notice that this all or nothing mindset keeps showing up, if you find yourself constantly compensating, feeling guilty, or trying to earn your food, that's exactly the kind of pattern that we work through in Eat Lean Coaching.

[00:25:27] Emily Field: Inside coaching, we help you rebuild trust with your body, apply the numbers without the drama, and find a sustainable rhythm with food that actually fits your life. You can join the wait list through the link in the show notes. It's the very next step if you're ready to stop starting over every Monday, and finally feel in control of your nutrition.

[00:25:47] Emily Field: Question 16, what if I don't hit my calories because I missed a macro? Maybe like protein, for example. Know that this happens and it's not the end of the world if you fall short on calories because you missed one macro, especially protein. Just take note and aim to do better tomorrow when this happens often, it's usually a meal composition issue.

[00:26:07] Emily Field: Your meals might be heavy on carbs or fats, but light on protein. Try front loading more protein earlier in the day so you're not scrambling to make up for it at night. Now if you're realizing you're under your calorie goal, at the end of the day, here's a simple way to decide what to do. If you're more than 10% below your calorie goal and you're still hungry, go ahead and have a small balanced snack, something with protein, fat, and carbs to bring you closer to your target.

[00:26:33] Emily Field: If you're less than 10% of your calorie goal and not feeling that hungry, it's okay to call it a day. A small shortfall here and there will not derail your progress, especially if your weekly averages are on point. This is about learning to pair data with body cues. Tracking gives you the numbers, but your hunger, energy, and recovery tell the rest of the story.

[00:26:54] Emily Field: And remember, in the pursuit of hitting your macros, you're already doing your body a huge service. You're paying attention, learning what your meals contain, and building awareness around how to fuel your body better. Let's take this a little bit further with question 17. If I am hungry and I've run outta macros, what should I do?

[00:27:13] Emily Field: Or the opposite. If I'm not hungry and I have not yet hit my macros, what should I do? These two situations are really common, and they're both opportunities to listen to your body and look at your data. If you're hungry, but out of macros, that's useful information. Hunger is a signal, not a failure. So ask yourself, am I in a deficit right now?

[00:27:34] Emily Field: Some hunger is normal in a deficit. It's kind of part of the process. Or is this hunger happening often and feeling unmanageable? That's a sign. Your deficit might be too aggressive or your meal composition needs work. Maybe you're light on protein or light on fiber. In that moment, it's okay to eat a little more, ideally something with protein and fiber.

[00:27:55] Emily Field: Then make a note in your tracker or check-in so you can evaluate whether that hunger pattern keeps showing up. The goal isn't to white knuckle through it. It's to learn what your body is telling you and adjust where needed. If you're not hungry but haven't hit your macros, that's also data. Maybe you had a busier day slept poorly or ate a larger meal earlier.

[00:28:16] Emily Field: As long as it doesn't happen all the time, it's okay to fall a little short occasionally. But if it's a pattern, especially missing protein or total calories day after day, that can really slow recovery, performance and muscle preservation. In those cases, try spreading your protein more evenly throughout the day, or front loading breakfast and lunch so you're not forcing food at night.

[00:28:37] Emily Field: Remember, the goal isn't to obey the numbers, it's to use them as feedback. Your macros are a framework, not a set of rules. So here's the big takeaway. Whether you're a little bit hungry or a little bit full, you're still doing your body a huge service by paying attention. Learning to interpret the signals instead of reacting to them is what turns tracking into a lifelong skill, not just another diet.

[00:29:01] Emily Field: All right. That wraps up today's episode on beginner macro FAQs. If there's one takeaway I hope sticks with you, it's this, you don't have to track perfectly to make progress. Every time you log, estimate, or even pause to think about what's on your plate, you're building awareness and that's the foundation for lasting results.

[00:29:21] Emily Field: Macro tracking isn't about control. It's about clarity. The more you understand what food contains and how it supports your energy, mood and recovery, the easier it becomes to stay consistent. If this episode helped clear up some confusion and you're ready to really learn the skill of macro tracking, you'll love self-paced course.

[00:29:40] Emily Field: Macros made easy inside. I walk you through step by step. Everything we covered today from setting up your tracking app, to hitting your macros stress free so you can finally feel confident in your nutrition. Every single one of those beginner questions comes up and gets answered through that course. Or if you've already got the basics down and you're ready to take your tracking to the next level.

[00:30:02] Emily Field: Adjusting your macros, optimizing your metabolism, and seeing visible changes in strength and body composition. Make sure that you're on my wait list for ETO Lean. That's my group coaching program where we turn these concepts into real results. All the links are in the show notes. Thanks so much for tuning in, and if you found this helpful, share it with a friend who's just starting out with macros or leave a review on Apple Podcasts to help more women find the show.

[00:30:27] Emily Field: Thank you so much for listening to the Macros Made Easy podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the one you're listening to right now to share it on your Instagram stories and tag me at Emily Field Rd so that more people can find this podcast and learn how to use a macros approach in a stress-free way.

[00:30:44] Emily Field: If you love the podcast, head over to iTunes and leave me a rating and a review. Remember, you can always find more free health and nutrition content on Instagram and on my website@emilyfieldrd.com. Thanks for listening, and I'll catch you on the next episode.