I’m going to walk you through an ENTIRE day of tracking with photos included:

Once you get through this post you’ll see how much food I ate and I’m still under my caloric needs (plus I had a snack). I could use the remaining 157 cals for honey in some herbal tea at bedtime, a small piece of fruit or just leave it.

Last night I prepared my meals for Breakfast and Lunch.

*Please note – I estimate the fruit and veggies – I don’t weigh them. The only thing I weigh are protein and fat since they make the most significant impact. I do this to ensure I’m not being overly militant but also accountable.

Breakfast:

• 8 oz nonfat greek yogurt
• 1 scoop of Ascent vanilla protein powder
• mixed berries

Lunch:

• 1 medium tomato
• 8 oz chicken salad I prepared with chicken breast, parsley, mustard, balsamic, salt and pepper (mixed well)
• spoonful of kraut
• an orange

This is how it looks tracked on Carb Manager (coffee not shown):

to make things easier – I weighed my chicken salad slightly over 8 oz (8.2 oz) to account for the add-ins and then I tracked the mayo (1 Tbsp).

Snack:

2 pitted dates + peanut butter

*Snacking – I could add more fat to my breakfast and lunch but I might track 200-300 calories under my 1700 calorie needs so when it comes time for a nibble I have room for it. Another beauty of tracking!

Dinner:

• 1 large sweet potato (this one is LARGE so I tracked 2)
• 2 zucchini – air fried
• 3 tbsp homemade papaya seed dressing
• an apple

Notes:

I hope this helps! Tracking is like strengthening any muscle you just have to get used to it. I’ve added a few custom foods of my own but I mostly look for similar foods that have been previously logged.

You’ll want to be sure when tracking your food if the meat is logged cooked or raw. Most meats are logged after cooking (as some of the fat is rendered).

Eye ball your fruits/veg. Measuring those are pointless – they have zero fat and protein and moderate carbs to fuel your brain, they won’t derail you.

Best of luck!

Katie