Healthy Eating Tips: How to Eat Smarter - Macro-Friendly Meal Building

Gone are the days when eating all the food groups during each meal helped you reach your goals. Calories, protein intake, and food sources all affect the way you feel, your energy levels, and whether or not you reach your fitness goals. Luckily, I have a few tips to help you build SMARTER meals in your future.⬇️
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1️⃣PROTEIN PROTEIN PROTEIN: We hear it all the time, but protein really DOES keep you fuller longer, and protein really DOES build and sustain your muscle. Each meal should have 20-40 grams of protein (depending on your gender, height, weight, and goals), which means you should always consider how you can add even more protein to your plate (because the majority of us don't reach those numbers). Overall, it's best to stick with LEAN PROTEIN sources, such as boneless/skinless chicken breast, shrimp, ground turkey, tofu, egg whites, etc.🍳🍗🍤
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2️⃣HIGH VOLUME, LOW MACROS/CALORIES: This is key key key. We want to focus on BIG meals that take up a lot of room in our stomachs, without adding all the calories. The majority of your plate should be lower-carb veggie sources such as mushrooms, bell peppers, broccoli, leafy greens, okra, zucchini, etc. Limit starchy veggies, like potatoes and corn, to one serving per meal. Fill your plate, eat up, but do it SMARTER.🥗
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3️⃣LOW FAT: Fats are amazing for our brains and hormones, but they have more than DOUBLE the amount of calories when compared to protein and carbs. That means fats needs to be the LOWEST category when building your plate. Choose one fat source per meal. For instance, if you want butter on your sweet potato, skip the ground beef and cheese in your taco and opt for ground turkey and no cheese. If you're having salmon for dinner, choose a lower-fat salad dressing or opt for lemon juice. Remember, it's all about choices.🥑
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Overall, we all want to enjoy eating, but I hope these tips help you eat SMARTER, while still enjoying the foods you love.💃🏼🙌🏽