Best habits to maintain macro-friendly eating long-term

Macro-friendly eating has become a simple way for many people to build healthier routines in a way that feels more achievable.

The great thing about this lifestyle choice is that it helps you understand the balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fats your body needs each day. It also encourages you to embrace a more mindful way of choosing what you eat. 

While it might take a little bit of getting used to in the short term, many people find that this approach becomes easier to sustain in the long term if they adopt certain habits.

Such routines help them to enjoy the benefits of steady energy, better nutrition, and more satisfying meals. In this post, we’ll show you what they are.

What is macro-friendly eating?

Macro-friendly eating is a diet that focuses on balancing the three main macronutrients of protein, carbs, and fats. These nutrients support everything from energy levels to hormone balance. So, the principle of giving them the attention they deserve makes sense for anyone looking for a healthier lifestyle.

While it involves tracking your macros, many people follow this approach because they find it easy to fit into their normal routines. They can also apply it to home cooking, meals in cafés or when they need a quick snack on a busy day.

To help them keep track, many people use Bondi Meal Prep’s macro calculator. 

7 habits to maintain macro-friendly eating long term

Consistency is the key to successfully following a macro-friendly diet. If you are interested in doing so, you’ll find it much easier if you build the following seven habits into your everyday routine.

Habit 1: Plan your macro-friendly meals ahead of time

Planning your meals in advance is a great way to stick to macro-friendly eating. Developing a meal plan will provide you with structure and help you resist the temptation to get “quick-fix” options that might set you off track.

It is a good idea to choose a handful of easy recipes and rotate them over a week or, better still, two two-week periods. This could involve batch cooking if you don’t have time to prepare a meal every day of the week. But if you want to do this, even preparing grains, lean proteins, roasted vegetables, or balanced sauces ahead of time will give you ready-made elements to produce a simple macro-friendly meal every night.

While it might be a bit of an effort at first, you’ll soon develop a momentum that will carry you forward well into each new week.

Habit 2: Track your macros in a way that works for you

There are different ways to track macros. So, to successfully follow the diet, it is important to do so in a way that works best for you.

Some people prefer apps or calculators, while others use a journal or make educated estimates based on their portion control routine. It is important to recognise that tracking doesn’t have to be 100% perfect. Instead, it is all about awareness. Effectively, you learn what is on your plate and how your meals support your day.

The main goal of tracking is to help you recognise patterns. For instance, it might show that you feel stronger on days when your protein is a little higher. Or that you are able to cope better with busy afternoons if you have had a lunch full of fibre-rich carbs.

Ultimately, the more you understand these patterns, the more you’ll be able to stick to the diet.

Habit 3: Focus on whole foods with balanced macros

When it comes to following a macro-friendly diet, whole foods make it much easier. That is because the ingredients are simple and nourishing.

Consuming meals built around lean protein, whole grains, healthy fats, and vegetables will naturally support your macro needs. Additionally, they will deliver more micronutrients. This is something many people forget about when starting with macros.

Habit 4: Create a simple portion control routine

In most diets, portion control is very important to follow. But this is especially true for macro-friendly eating because it reduces the need for constant measuring.

Many people follow visual cues such as a palm-sized portion of protein or a cupped handful of carbs. The beauty of doing so is that this style of eating becomes intuitive once you learn what your body responds to.

Using these visual anchors, it becomes much easier to build up a balanced plate. It also provides you with a bit more discipline when travelling, eating out, or enjoying meals with friends.

Habit 5: Keep easy macro-friendly snacks on hand

We all get peckish from time to time. And that is often when we are at our most vulnerable to consuming large numbers of calories.

To prevent this from happening, it is a good idea to always have macro-friendly snacks on hand. Easy protein snacks such as yoghurt, eggs, nuts, or whole-food bars can provide you with good nutrition without overeating. 

By having these balanced snacks on hand, you will minimise the effect of these cravings. Again, it is a good idea to plan and prepare in advance for them, and where possible, always have them on hand.

Habit 6: Stay flexible and avoid all-or-nothing thinking

Over the long term, the macro-friendly diet works best when you are able to be flexible. Doing so lets you adjust meals based on factors like:

• What food you have at home
• Where you are eating
• How hungry you are

Perhaps best of all, maintaining such flexibility allows you to enjoy space for special occasions without feeling guilty.

Habit 7: Review your progress and adjust as your needs change

Your macro needs may shift as you experience changes to your schedule, fitness level, mood, or overall health. That is why it is a good idea to check in with yourself every few weeks.

Doing this will certify to you that your eating routine continues to feel right. You might need to make small adjustments on the way to keep you aligned with your goals. But this will ensure that healthy eating continues to feel like a natural part of your lifestyle.