With 4th of July Weekend coming up I figured that this would be a great topic to cover as I'm sure a lot of you will be eating some really good food but also don't want to knock yourself to far from achieving your fitness goals. I think if i could look back at the most emailed questions i have been asked i think it always in some way or other pertain to how much calories or what is the macros of this said meal. With macros and tracking macros being such a huge subject right now i think a lot of people are confused on how to estimate macros for a meal that they can’t track to a t like going out to eat or eating at gathering events. Today i am here to solve that issue with a quick guide that you can use to estimate macros when you are not sure of the exact numbers. If you enjoy this blog topic or have topic ideas from future blogs make sure and let me know.
You don’t have to track perfect
The majority of people out there are not looking at stepping on stage. they just want to lose some body fat, get leaner, and look more fit. So understand that if your goal is not stepping on stage then you really don’t have to be close to your said macros all the time or even the majority of the time. I recently discovered this myself. I really only track what i eat anymore maybe like 3 days a week, the other days i just eat sensible and i have found no difference in body composition. If your new to tracking though i recommend tracking everything the best you can for at least the first 6 months. After 6 months you should be more familiar with what and how much you can eat without knowing your exact numbers. A good way to test yourself and see if you are in the place for not tracking would be if you can guess what 4oz of hamburger looks like. If you can guess within an ounce then that proves you know what amounts of food somewhat amount to macros. Also when you find that you can go out to eat and just estimate thats also a clear sign you no longer need to track the majority of the time.
Hack MyFitnessPal.... Sort of
For those of you that pay for MyFitnessPal then you already can add just macros but for those of of us that refuse to pay there is another way!
To be able to track just protein, carbs and fats, all you need to do is create 3 new foods in your MyFitnessPal journal. Create a food for each of the 3 macros and then when you go out to eat you just add up the totals and put the protein, carbs, and fats. If you need help doing this just shoot me an email.
Don't worry you don't have to track for as many days as i have to be able to estimate. I just like keeping my streak going ;)
The Quick Guide
Below i am going to create a quick guide that you can use to estimate the macros of that next meal you get when you go out to eat. Understand that if your getting ready to step on stage you might have to be more strict and closer to knowing your macros but if your the everyday person that just wants to be more lean, and reach their fitness and body composition goals then this guide will work great!
1. Protein
you know from my quick start guide how much protein i recommend so that should be known already but when it comes to how to estimate protein and sources of protein this is where many people fail. For protein of a meal we are going to use the palm of our hand.
1 palm size hand of meat = around 20-24 grams of protein. Also just remember most protein sources also have some fat along with that so to figure the fat out take an educated guess, or do a quick google search. Grilling foods tho will cut a lot of the fat. So use your best judgment on that.
2. Carbs
Next up is the macronutrient a lot of people have a hard time guessing and estimating but generally speaking 1 fist size of carbs = 30-40 grams of carbohydrate;s. Rice will be closer to the 40 grams and potato type products will range closer to the 24-30 grams of carbs per first.
3. Fats
Last up is fats. A good way to go about fats is
1 thumb = around 5-7 grams of fat.
So now what?
Thats really all you need to know to start estimating macros close. I'm going to break down some meals now using this method and you can see how i put it to the test. Also notice how i automatically add in some trace fats to some carb and meat sources as well just by using common sense.
Burger and Fries Restaurant
When going out to get burgers and fries you might find it extremely hard to estimate macros but lets break down a general meal just using what we learned above and also some common sense. Most burgers from a restaurant will range from 20-50 grams of fat depending on what you get on it so just use common sense there
The Order
1 Beef Burger w/ cheese, ketchup, mustard, pickles, lettuce, tomato.
2. Fries
3. Light Beer
4. Side Salad (no dressing)
Lets break down the burger
The bun = 2g fat, 30 carb, 3 protein
The Meat = 30g fat, 0 carb, 45 protein
The Cheese = 9g fat, 2 carb, 5 protein
Condiments = 0g fat, 10 carb, 0 protein
The Burger then Equals
53g protein
42g carbs
41g fat
Now For the Fries
Fries can vary greatly depending on the deep frying method used but once again were just estimating and using common sense or even just a quick general google search.
30g carbs
15g fat
4g protein
then the beer
100 calories and were going to split the calories from carbs and fat so just do 50 divided by 9 for fat and then 50 divided by 4 for carbs, that gives us
5g fat
12g carbs
and the side salad were not going to worry about since its just veggies.
So the final macro breakdown for the meal is
57 grams of protein (228 calories)
61 grams of fat (549 calories)
84 grams of carbs (336 calories)
this totals 1,113 calories
Simple Right?
I know i went through that pretty fast but that just shows how long i have been doing this stuff myself. Are these calories and macros exact? of course not, i might be 200 or more calories off but i am at least in a decent range that allows me to know at least a number somewhat that i can go off of and gear the rest of my day/week with.
Your going to find that when you learn how to do this with some practice that you honestly can eat anything you want and somewhat know the macros to go with for it.
Looking To Calculate Your Macros and Calories? Try My FREE Method!
Common Rules To Go By When Estimating.
Below is a list of rules and guidelines to help you learn how to estimate better.
- pizza is generally 10p, 8f, 20c per slice
- cookies are generally 1p, 7f, 20c
- donuts are generally 1p, 10f, 24c
- grilling meats will significantly cut fats down
- When looking for things in MyFitness Pal like meats and such search the item then type USDA after it for the closest calorie/macro counts
- Your plate should look balanced, just use common sense, make sure there is a meat source, make sure there is a carb source (depending on your individual macro budget), and then add some fat to it, then eat till your comfortable but not full, its really that simple
So What If I Blow My Macros Out of The Water?
This brings me to a great video That Paul Revelia Posted last week so i will post that here.
What If Everything Is Fried and I Have No Reasonable Options?"
When this happens to me i just eat it. Like Paul recommends in the video above i just decrease my macros the next few days to compensate for all the fat i had. For example if i go over by fat by 70 grams one night then for the next 7 days i will just reduce 10g of fat each day, super simple fix. Look at your macros in a 7 day total not just a daily total.
What if i just have no idea whats even close to tracking?
If you have absolutely no idea how to estimate your meal then you have a few options, 1st option is just don't track it and move on to the next day. The 2nd option is search for a food close on the internet for similar macros, and the 3rd option if you cant find anything online is just overestimate the macros of the meal and then hit the remaining macros for the rest of the day. I always recommend overestimating rather than underestimating specially when dieting.
Now Get Out and Start Estimating!
The fitness/strength pursuit we all follow has a tendency to make us afraid to go out with our friends due to the fact that it probably has to do with food or alcohol and often times were afraid that it will take us away from our goals. Realize that you only live life once and you should experience everything you get a chance to. I'm not saying just say YOLO and eat whatever you want but i am saying that you don't have to track to a "T" to get get to your goals either. The Main thing i want people to understand is that if you use common sense you can really reach your goals and not drive yourself crazy tracking everything either. Achieve a life that includes days you track but also include balance by not always tracking everything just like in the article i wrote why you should include non tracking days the same rules apply here.
To Sum This up
- Start Practicing guessing what something weighs before you put it on a food scale to help you learn more what portion sizes look like.
- Use your hand to judge the size and portions of any of the Macronutrients.
- Palm = Proteins (20-24g)
- Fist = Carbs (30-40g)
- Thumb = Fats (5-7g)
- use USDA in your search online to figure out macros of things without labels
- Your plate should look balanced
- JUST USE COMMON SENSE OR HECK EVEN THE GREAT THING CALLED THE INTERNET
I know this was a shorter blog this week so i apologize for that but i feel the main topic was covered in detail and thats the goal so were going to cap it right there for this week. Do you guys have any tips you want to bring to the table with estimating macros? i want to hear them in the comments below! Thanks for reading guys and if you appreciate these blogs then all i ask is that you click those share buttons as it helps the blog grow and we can continue to help more and more people. If you want more stuff to entertain your fitness needs this week make sure and check out my latest youtube podcast where i discuss if you should drop squats and deadlifts till your back problems disappear. Till next week...
Stay Strong, and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!
Shawn Fausey
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- Shawn Fausey is the Founder and CEO of Fausey's Fitness. With Over 6 years experience in Bodybuilding, Powerlifting and Nutrition. Shawn offers services of online fitness coaching, programing and consulting. Shawn is also a Graphic Designer and can be reached for graphic services on www.rev-graphics.com
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