Would you believe that the most common thing I hear women express frustration about is making to switch to pre-logging their meals? I totally get that pre-logging your macros can be a tedious task that can be quite frustrating when you’re trying to make every macro fit. I hope to shine some new light on the matter and help shift your mindset.

3 Mindset shifts to overcome pre-log frustration

1.) Set proper expectations for yourself.

If you begin this journey with the mindset that the only way to succeed is through perfection, then I’m sorry to say that you’ve already set your self up for failure. No matter where you are in your journey there will always be good days and bad days because let’s face it, that’s life.

I’ve found that if you want to make something a habit, and therefore a part of your new lifestyle, you need to start by making small changes. If you are brand new to tracking your macros, you could consider setting your bar at “I track the food I eat every day.” Once you’ve developed the habit of just logging everything you eat and you do it consistently, you can set that bar a little higher to something like “I meet my prescribed macros 4 out of 7 days every week.” and so on. Eventually you will be tracking and meeting your macros with ease.

Start small! You don’t have to go all in all at once. In fact, the change you’re making will be more sustainable if you master the little things before moving on to the big things. I promise!

2.) Celebrate the positives each day.

If you look for the negative, you will most certainly find it. As women, we put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect, and appear like we have it all together but in reality, we’re all just trying to do the best we can. Instead of ending your day reflecting on every little thing you didn’t get done or where you fell short, try to list all the positive things you were able to accomplish no matter how small. Build upon each of these and let them empower and inspire you to keep going.

When you congratulate yourself on a job well done, your brain will want to find ways to make that happen more often. Don’t expect yourself to be perfect on this journey, because no one is, but DO find healthy ways to reward yourself when you do hit your macros for the day, or make it to the next step on the journey, or drop a dress size.

3.) Focus on the next 24 hours, not the entire journey.

We are constantly bombarded with never ending to-do lists and deadlines so when we try adding another to-do like pre-logging to our already long list, it can feel impossible. When something becomes overwhelming and frustrating the best thing to try and do is simplify the task as much as possible. Take this whole macro journey one day at a time by focusing on the next 24 hours only. One day at a time is much more doable than a week, month or an entire journey.

I have worked with clients that track their week in advance, their day in advance, and even meal by meal. If you can recognize what stage you’re at and do the best with that stage, you’ll succeed. For many women, we have a little downtime at night before going to bed. One common system I’ve heard is to spend 5-10 minutes at night planning tomorrow’s intake so that when you wake up in the morning, you’re not stressed about what to have for breakfast.

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So I’m one of those people who prefers pen and paper vs electronics, when it comes to list making, taking notes and scheduling my calendar. Call me old school, but I can’t help it! There’s just something about writing things down on a tangible piece of paper that helps to clarify and simplify certain things. Download my Macro Day Planner printable to better help you stay on track with what you’re eating throughout the week, especially if you’re an old schooler like me.