Compliance HACK!
Compliance HACK!
Hit your Macros with these Simple Steps
At E3 Nutrition, we talk about the importance of “Hitting your Macros.”
We also talk through giving yourself grace in that journey and how to have appropriate expectations!
However, we also understand that to see results, we have to adhere to a system. How closely we adhere is the “compliance.”
When I first started tracking macros, my wife and I came up with an extremely effective system that I want to share with you guys today. Let’s dive in!
Importance of Compliance
Compliance is important because it is the standard that reveals the results.
What do I mean by that?
If I’m compliant, I should see one of two things:
I AM moving closer to and/or meeting/exceeding my goals
I’m NOT moving closer to and/or meeting/exceeding my goals
If I’m not compliant, I have no idea whether or not my macronutrient targets are working for me.
Compliance for a Season
Do we expect everyone to be compliant 100% of the time? Absolutely not. That’s not sustainable and an unrealistic expectation.
BUT..
“The intensity of your effort should match the intensity of your goal.”
If you want to see tangible, measurable results that are directly, absolutely attributed to your macronutrient goals and effort, you need to be compliant.
Because, that’s the standard.
We ask for our team members (clients) to be compliant for 10-14 days before making any adjustments to their numbers.
We feel like 10-14 days is a reasonable amount of time to see some change.
Compliance for 28-30 days is icing on the cake and will most definitely show tangible, measurable change.
Determining Appropriate Compliance
“OK Eli, I hear you. But, how do I know if I’m compliant? How close do I have to be??”
Great question!
Triple ZERO. Just like the Oikos Greek Yogurt (HA!)
No, but seriously, as close to triple zero as possible. Though, I would consider +/-5g on each macronutrient still compliant.
Because, at the absolute max, that’s only an additional 85 calories.
“What does triple zero mean??”
To clarify, that means, if my targets are 250g Carbs, 85g Fats, and 180g Protein, then I am eating 250g Carbs, 85g Fats, 180g protein.
If I’m +/-5g, then I’m eating 245/255g Carbs, 80/90g Fats, and 175/185g Protein.
Being within this range is COMPLIANT!
Within compliance is a whole other spectrum we discuss called “Hitting Macros Well.”
Check out our other post about that here!
HACK for Compliance
OK now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for -
“What’s this HACK you speak of??”
Let me preface this with stating the obvious - YOU ARE STILL IN CONTROL.
This hack doesn’t work if you choose to completely derail yourself. But, it is a great, streamlined way to almost guarantee hitting your macros.
The Steps
Create your menu of food for the next (7) days; every bite for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks
Pre-Log all of the food into MyFitnessPal for the next (7) days
you may have to make some preliminary estimates here within the search criteria if you don’t already have the stuff at home to scan in
Add/takeaway foods (servings or serving sizes) until you get as close to triple zero as possible
Create a grocery list that captures ONLY the food needed for the next (7) days
Purchase the groceries needed (if not already at home)
Prep the food for the week (if needed)
EAT CAREFREE!
The Pros/Cons/Watch-outs
With this method, you will:
hit your macros
save money on groceries
save time/effort/energy during the week
not have the burden of “thinking” about how to hit your macros on the go
The con:
requires dedicated 2-3 hours on a weekend (Saturday or Sunday)
The watch-outs:
consider added some contingency within your macros if you know you have to eat out or may encounter something unforeseen
consider buying some additional “single sources macros” during the grocery trip in case something happens during the week and you need just a few grams of a single macronutrient (reference the eBook for good lists of these)
Great Way to Start
As mentioned, this is a method my wife and I did when we first started counting macronutrients.
We understood that to see results, we needed to be compliant, and a good way to be compliant was to take the guess work out of everything!
We utilized this method and it worked wonders.
I believe this is a great way to start, when counting macros can be a little overwhelming, or when you just need a reset and need to get back on track.
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Thank you guys for reading/listening to today! I hope you found this helpful.
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Have a GREAT weekend and GOD bless!
Best,
Eli Grambling
Founder, Head Coach | E3 Nutrition
“Helping you Achieve Complete, Nutritional Freedom”