At some point in your flexible dieting journey, you’re going to find yourself standing in your kitchen before bed, scrambling to fill out your leftover macros.
“Scrap macros” are what you use to fill out the remainder of your daily allowances, and more often than not, these remaining macros are not in the same ratio as your overall daily targets.
Instead of having a nice, even balance of protein, carbs, and fats to fill out with a small meal, you may look at your remaining total and find that you’re 45 grams low on fat, 5 grams over on carbs, and 60 grams low on protein. This type of situation is guaranteed to occur every once in awhile, so it’s best to be prepared.
In the above situation, where you’re over in carbs but pretty far under in protein and fat, what’s the best thing to do?
This is where you need to head to the kitchen with creativity in hand, and prepare to whip up some scrap macros! For ideas on what to eat, you can consult your Quick Reference Food List, or if you’re already pretty familiar with the macro content of different types of foods, simply ask yourself, “What do I want to eat that’s high in protein and fat and has little to no carbs?”
When you have a lot of protein and fat left to eat, breakfast bowls or omelets are always a good call. One egg has 6 grams of protein and 5 grams of fat, various meats are high in protein, cheeses are a blend of protein and fat, and egg whites are solid protein.
Think about it—when you know the macros per serving of the above foods, all you have to do is a little mixing and matching and before you know it, 45 grams of fat and 60 grams of protein will be sizzling on a plate right in front of you. Enjoy the scrap macros and go to bed feeling like a champ!
You’re also going to encounter the occasional scenario where you have just one macro category left to fill. To deal with situations such as this, you will want to be prepared by having sources of pure protein, carbs, and fat on hand.
Protein powder, shrimp, tuna, and egg whites are excellent sources of protein that don’t carry a lot of extra fat or carbs. Rice cakes, cereals, starchy vegetables, and fruit are great carb sources that aren’t accompanied by much fat or protein. Butter and oils are carb and protein-free and can easily satisfy fat needs.
As you get better at flexible dieting, you will find yourself less reliant on scrap macros and closer to your original targets by the end of each day. But even the skilled flexible dieter will encounter the occasional day that calls for scrap macros. It can even be fun at times when your macros demand something absurd—such as when your carbs and fats came out woefully low but somehow you still managed to fill out your protein requirements.
When this happens, you will laugh to yourself as you fill your needs perfectly with something like a couple slices of cheesecake. Obviously, this isn’t something you should aim to do every day, but when it does happen, enjoy that cheesecake and rest easy knowing that you’re still right on track to reaching your fat loss goals.