Why I Will Never Count Macros Or Calories Ever Again...

This article is written from the perspective of my own experience and from working with thousands of clients and readers. Your perspective may be different. And that’s ok. Please read every word, as it's very important!

Let me start off with a caveat. There are MANY different nutrition approaches that can work. There’s not one “perfect” or “right” way of eating. There is lots of information out there, so when it comes down to it… Find a nutrition approach that works for you.

About this brutally honest article:

If you are someone who genuinely enjoys and has found success counting macros… That’s awesome! But… This is not for you.

If you are currently a physique competitor… Go get em! But… This is not for you.

If you are happy with your nutrition approach (whatever it may be) and the results that it is yielding… YAY! Do what makes you happy and healthy... But… This is not for you.

And it’s ok if this is not for you. That said...

So, who is this article for?

If you have ever felt stressed, anxious, or frustrated by the process of counting macros and/or calories…

This is for you.

If you have found counting macros and/or calories is too time consuming…

This is for you.

If you find nutrition overall confusing and just want something simple that gets real results…

This is for you.

So… Let’s get to it.

Why don’t I count macros?

I don’t count macros because of how it messed with my mind and health... and it infuriates me that it has been instilled into people’s minds that counting, weighing and measuring food is the only way to get fit.

I have cried after talking with readers about their own journeys and how they go to bed hungry because they “couldn’t go over their allotted calories or macros for the day.”

It breaks my heart to hear the stories of those who feel overwhelmed and defeated if they go over their fat or carb allotment percentage by 2% for the day.

It seems criminal for people to feel like they have failed by not meeting a macro percentage by 2%. It’s absolutely insane.

Counting, measuring, and weighing food literally almost killed me after it spiraled, so it simply isn’t something that I can get behind as a nutrition strategy.

That is why I don’t count macros.

A Fast-Forward Past [This is IMPORTANT]

I’m the kind of person who gets things done. I follow the rules and want to “check off” boxes on a list. Yes, I add things to lists even if I already finished it, just to check it off. I like doing things right and doing them well.

Flashback to 2008…

Health and fitness was no different for me. I had goals, I wanted to accomplish them. I set nutrition rules that I thought would get me where I wanted to go.

The problem was, quickly, those “nutrition rules” morphed in my mind into unbreakable life and death scenarios. My mind even made the rules even more strict than they had already been, so that I could “get in better shape, faster.”

I obsessed over every gram, every bite… Every morsel of food that I even looked at felt like an ultimate sin.

My anxiety was through the roof and because of my anxiety, I felt physically unable to eat certain types of foods and portions so small, an infant would still be starving.

I hated myself. I hated how I looked. I was never good enough. I was horribly depressed. I was on pins and needles with anxiety. I isolated myself from friends and family. I didn’t think it could get better.

My goals to “get fit” quickly spiraled into a full disorder. How did that happen to me? And so quickly?

I had ALWAYS been able to trust myself and my instincts. Now, I couldn’t tell the difference between my true voice and this lying voice in my head that was telling me I was worthless if I ate one more gram than I was “allowed.”

Not only was my body wasted away, but my mind was what felt even more painful. I looked sickly and gaunt, but I felt like my thoughts were crushing me from the inside out.

You can’t “see” the pain in someone’s mind as you sometimes can in their physical state, but in my experience, it was the most painful part.

I spiraled so much, so quickly that I needed treatment - stat.

I’m eternally grateful to Dennis and my parents who worked together to find me the help that I needed. The healing process was hard. Actually, it was terrible at first. I would start crying uncontrollably and have fits of rage when they tried to re-feed me and normalize eating again. They were patient, kind, and never gave up on me.

The Present and Purpose

Fast forward to present day…

My sickness was the absolute worst experience of my life, yet I wouldn’t change it. I am beyond blessed and lucky to have fully made it out of that, because many people don’t.

With lots of hard work, accountability, Grace, love, and lots of food, I have fully made it past that chapter of my life. Food and exercise no longer consume me, and I have learned a truly balanced and enjoyable approach to both.

I believe that I was brought to this place of healing for a purpose. Not just as a story of a recovered eating disorder, but on an even bigger level to help all people with fitness and nutrition.

Many people do suffer with eating disorders and need to be professionally treated for that.

However, most people in the world don’t technically have “eating disorders” but still struggle immensely with body image, shame around food, and simply struggle with how to fuel their body’s properly.

After getting fully healthy and finding what truly brought long-term health, freedom and results, I knew I wanted to help others learn to eat well, reach their goals and find true freedom in their nutrition.

The Future and Freedom

Please let me reiterate: Not everyone who counts macros has an eating disorder.

That has to be said.

It works incredibly well for some, and that’s great. However, in my own experience and many many others I have worked with, counting macros can become obsessive, mess with your mind, and be really time consuming.

After I got healthy, I wanted to find a way to keep eating normalized AND stay healthy and fit. I needed something that was flexible where food was tasty and healthy, but where it wasn’t on my mind 24/7.

Dennis and I started doing some research into carb cycling. Carb cycling is an approach where you have certain days where you eat lower amounts of carbs and certain days where you eat higher amounts of carbs as a strategy to burn fat and build muscle simultaneously.

A lot of carb cycling approaches are sort of rigid and utilize counting macros, but we wanted to find a way to take the elements that we saw as beneficial and put our own spin on it to make it incredibly flexible.

We’ve been able to adapt carb cycling to be incredibly flexible so that it gets results, but allows you to truly enjoy life. You don’t need to count anything. You can just… Eat!

We don’t have “rules” in our nutrition. There are not hard “do’s and don’ts,” to our approach, but rather outlines that will help make eating easy, simple and effective.

We have an outline that guides our choices the majority of the time, but still go out with friends and have burgers and pizza whenever we want.

Here’s the simple outline for how I eat:

Eat intuitively. I eat when I’m hungry and until I’m satisfied, everyday. If you are hungry, your metabolism is working and your body needs food! If you are hungry, have a bigger meal or a snack.

Eat real food. If it has one ingredient, it’s probably a safe bet. Stick to real foods like meat, veggies, fruits, avocado, nuts, potatoes, rice, quinoa, etc.

80/20. Be mindful of what you eat the majority of the time, but also enjoy treats on occasion. Go out with friends for a meal and get whatever the heck you want. This is your one life, and it’s meant to be lived and enjoyed.

Carb cycle with flexibility. There are different carb cycles that you can follow based on your body and goals.

The simple overview is that we suggest sticking to mostly protein, veggies and healthy fats on lower carb days.

On higher carb days, we suggest sticking to mostly protein, veggies and one-ingredient carbs (potatoes, rice, fruit, etc.).

This doesn’t mean you don’t have carbs on low carb days. It just means you focus on having more veggies and fats on low carb days, but it’s ok to still have some carbs. And on high carb days, this doesn’t mean that you don’t have fats, it just means you focus on having more carbs than fats.

Give yourself grace. There’s no “perfect” nutrition. Find an approach that works for you and stick to it most of the time. Food doesn’t define you. Nutrition is a piece of your life, not your entire life.

The Send Off

Sometimes, you need to know that certain hard rules should not exist. It’s ok to figure out what works for you based on flexible guidelines.

The purpose of this is not to put down macro counters or anyone at all for their nutrition approaches. Rather, it is meant to shed light on the fact that there are options out there that can allow you flexibility and freedom if you have tried (and been consumed by) counting macros.

All I want is for you to be healthy and happy in your own skin. Find what works best for you, and live in that freedom.

Learn More About Our Nutrition Approach Here!​

If you or a loved one needs resources regarding eating disorders, learn more here.