Intuitive Eating Versus Macro Tracking - The Big Debate
- Mik
- Jun 4, 2018
- 5 min read
I’ve touched on this topic several times and I think it’s safe to say it’s a pretty popular one across the board. What's more effective? Is one better than the other? Let me talk a little bit about each before I get into my thoughts/opinions on them both individually.
Intuitive Eating Versus Macro Tracking - What's The Difference?
What’s Intuitive Eating? Intuitive eating essentially means eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full. It means that you are mindful and aware of your body's natural hunger cues, cravings, and feel in tune with what your body is asking for. This is ultimately how we are meant to eat. We have strayed away from this way of eating because of today’s diet culture, “good or bad” food talk, calories, etc. We all over complicate this in my opinion.
What’s macro tracking? Macro Tracking (AKA IIFYM) is a little different than counting calories even though your macros most often equal out to your daily caloric intake. Macros is short for macronutrients which consists of carbs, fats, and proteins. Every food label displays the fat, protein, and carb content per serving for that particular food item. This allows you to track the macros of the food you are eating. Each day you would aim to hit a certain number of each macronutrient based on a number of factors. These factors may include your height, weight, BF %, age, daily activity level, and any specific fitness/health related goals you may have in mind (weight gain, weight loss, maintenance). These macros can be increased, decreased, or kept the same weekly based off of your progress towards your desired goal.
Advantages/Disadvantages/Personal Thoughts:
I think that there’s a time and place for tracking macros. Macros can be a great tool in learning more about portion sizes, what you’re putting into your body, how it may be affecting you, and can help you reach time specific or sensitive goals more accurately. For example, if your goal is to gain lean muscle mass, tracking can be a great tool. In order to efficiently and effectively gain weight you have to be eating in a consistent surplus of calories (eating more calories than you are expending daily). Can it be done eating intuitively? Sure! However, it is much easier to be sure you are consistently eating enough food and enough of the right foods for muscle growth when you are tracking. If you choose not to track it may just be a slower process which is totally fine! Make sense? This goes for weight loss as well. You have to be eating in a caloric deficit (consuming less calories than you are expending daily) in order to lose unwanted fat. Tracking macros can allow you to be more precise and consistent with your goals, especially if you are on a competition prep!!
Intuitive eating isn’t hard for me and believe it or not, I actually prefer it. It doesn’t stress me out, but it can be very hard for some people to let go and trust their bodies. Eating intuitively doesn’t mean going balls to the wall and eating whatever you want. Eating intuitively means becoming in tune with your body and eating in a way that makes you feel good. It means listening to your body's natural hunger cues and cravings. I’m a HUGE advocate for listening to your body, for fueling it in a way that leaves you satisfied/energized, and for giving it what it wants and needs. Our bodies are SO smart and I think people discredit that too often. I also think that people falsely perceive that they can’t reach their goals this way, which is so far from the truth! It’s 110% possible to reach your goals through intuitive eating. It can be a slower process as stated earlier, but it can still be just as effective as tracking macros.
Personally, loosely tracking (with a more intuitive focus) is what allows me to reach my current goals. It’s what works best for me, my mental state, and my physical well-being. I aim to eat a certain amount a day for optimal muscle growth and recovery. However, I am very mindful of what my body craves and requires to function at its best. If I overeat my fats and under eat my carbs a little, no biggie!! Some days I am hungrier than others which means I eat more & some days I am not as hungry so I eat less. Simple as that. It doesn’t need to be over thought or overanalyzed. I fuel my body. It all tends to even out if you are being mindful and listening to your body’s natural signals. I also really enjoy the freedom intuitive eating (loosely tracking) brings. If I want to eat out, I can. If I want to enjoy spontaneous drinks with friends, I don’t have to overanalyze it fitting my macros. I’m not saying you can’t do this while tracking because you can, but tracking can make it seem more complicated than need be sometimes. In better terms, tracking macros is more time consuming and therefore takes a little extra planning. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can also make it harder to be spontaneous if I am worried about my macros for that day. Yah feel? I have also noticed through experimentation with macro tracking and intuitive eating, I fuel my body with much more digestive friendly foods through an intuitive lifestyle. I find myself eating a lot of random foods I may not necessarily want and that don’t necessarily make me feel my best just to fit my macros which is no bueno for me. With my stomach and digestive issues, added stress and trigger foods that upset my stomach (a lot of processed foods for me personally) can cause more long term damage than I want. It’s just unnecessary in my opinion.
Don’t overthink it. Do what works best for you. You put unnecessary stress and pressure on your body when you are so wrapped up and consumed by the thought of food, meal timing, etc. If tracking is stressful for you, don’t do it. If intuitive eating is too relaxed and you still have goals but no specific timeline, maybe try loosely tracking. Find your happy medium. Find what is going to allow you to be most successful. It doesn’t ever have to be all in or all out. If you can’t take a day away from tracking without feeling stressed than I recommend you take a step back. You should never become neurotic or feel overwhelmed by something so silly. It should never interfere with your way of life. If you are not prepping for a competition, there is no reason you can’t take a break. There is a time and place for serious business. One day off, two days off, a week off, a month off, etc. will not stall your progress in the overall picture. Muscle memory is a thing. Macros will always be there. Don’t stress some down time.
All in all, I don’t think that one is right or wrong. I don’t think that one is better than the other. It doesn’t matter if he/she tracks. It doesn’t matter if he/she intuitively eats. It all comes down to what works for YOU and what YOU prefer. I think that with anything in life, it is important to find balance. It is important to be able to adjust and adapt to the uncertain, it’s important to be mindful of your bodies wants/needs, and it’s important to always keep your happiness and overall well-being in mind. I think that the end goal for everyone should be an intuitive lifestyle. It might be sooner for some and later for others, but no matter what I think that everyone should be able to reach a point where they are able to listen to their body. Work with your body and not against it. Enjoy the foods you love. Eat the foods that make you feel energized. Don't restrict or feel pressured to do one or the other. Just do you!! Simple as that friends.
