Do you feel overly attached to tracking macros but don’t know how to stop? Here are four steps to freedom. The post How to stop tracking macros and trust yourself around food appeared first on Precision Nutrition. “I worried that if I stopped tracking macros, I would lose my physique.” After years of careful macro tracking, Dr. Fundaro finally admitted to herself that the method no longer worked for her. Yet she was afraid to give it up. If anyone should feel confident in their food choices, it would be Dr. Gabrielle Fundaro. After all, Dr. Fundaro has a PhD in Human Nutrition, a decade-plus of nutrition coaching experience, and six powerlifting competitions under her belt. Yet, when she was really honest with herself, Dr. Fundaro realized that she felt far from confident around food. For years, she’d used macro counting as a way to stay “on track” with her eating. And it worked… until it didn’t. After years of macro tracking, Dr. Fundaro was tired of the whole thing. She was tired of making sure her macros were perfectly in balance. She was sick of not being able to just pick whatever she wanted off a menu and enjoy the meal, trusting that her health and physique wouldn’t go sideways as a result. Yet the idea of not tracking freaked her out. Every time she quit tracking, she worried: “What if I don’t eat enough protein, and lose all my muscle?” “What if I overeat and gain fat?” “What if I have no idea how to fuel myself without tracking macros? And what does that say about me as an expert in the field of nutrition?” The more Dr. Fundaro wrestled with macro tracking, the more she wanted to find an alternative. Something that would support her nutritional goals while also giving her a sense of freedom and peace around food. Calorie counting wouldn’t do it. That was just as restrictive as counting macros—maybe more. Intuitive eating didn’t seem like a good fit either. Intuitive eating relies heavily on a person’s ability to tune into internal hunger and fullness cues to guide food choices and amounts. After years of relying on external cues (like her macro targets), Dr. Fundaro didn’t feel trusting enough of her own instincts; she wanted more structure. Meanwhile, at the gym, Dr. Fundaro began lifting based on the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale—a framework that helps individuals quantify the amount of effort they’re putting into a given movement or activity. It’s considered a valuable tool to help people train safely and effectively according to their ability and goals. (More on that soon.) While using the RPE scale in her training, Dr. Fundaro found she was both getting stronger and recovering better. There was something to this combination of structure and intuition that just worked. And then, it dawned on Dr. Fundaro like the apple hit Sir Isaac Newton on the head: If Rate of Perceived Exertion could help her train better, couldn’t a similar framework help her eat better? With that, the RPE-Eating Scale was born. Dr. Fundaro has since used this alternative method to help herself and her clients regain confidence and self-trust around food; improve nutritional awareness and competence; and free themselves from food tracking. (Yup, Dr. Fundaro finally trusts her eating choices—no macro tracker in sight.) In this article, you’ll learn how she did it, plus: What the RPE-Eating scale is How to practice RPE-Eating How to use RPE-Eating for weight loss or gain Whether RPE-Eating is right for you or your clients What to keep in mind if you’re skeptical of the concept What is RPE-Eating? Invented by Gunnar Borg in the 1960’s, Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) is a scale that’s used to measure an individual’s perceived level of effort or exertion during exercise. Though Borg’s RPE uses a scale that goes from 6 to 20, many modern scales use a 0 to 10 range (which is the range that Dr. Fundaro adapted for her RPE-Eating scale). Here’s the RPE scale used in fitness. Rating Perceived Exertion Level 0 No exertion, at rest 1 Very light 2-3 Light 4-5 Moderate, somewhat hard 6-7 High, vigorous 8-9 Very hard 10 Maximum effort, highest possible Originally used in physiotherapy settings, the scale is now frequently used in fitness training. For example, powerlifters might use it to choose how heavy they want to go during a training session. Or, pregnant women might use it to ensure they aren’t over-exerting themselves during a fitness class or strength training session. Because human experience is highly subjective and individual, the scale allows the exerciser to judge how hard they’re working for themselves. A coach can provide a general guideline, such as “aim for a 7/10 this set,” but it’s up to the client to determine exactly what that means for them. Dr. Fundaro had used the scale many times with herself, and clients. She always appreciated the sense of autonomy it gave her clients, while still providing some structure. So, she decided to take the same 1-10 scale and its principles, and apply it to eating. Here’s what the RPE-Eating Scale looks like: The goal with RPE-Eating is similar to RPE when training: Develop the skills to determine what is sufficient for you, without having to rely on other external metrics (such as apps or trackers). How to practice RPE-Eating If you’ve ever practiced RPE-training, you’ll know it takes some time to get used to. RPE-Eating is the same. Don’t expect to be in lockstep with all of your body’s internal cues at first, especially if you’ve been ignoring them for a long time. With this in mind, apply the steps below to practice the RPE-Eating process. Step #1: Get clear on your goals. RPE-Eating is not just another diet. “It’s not about aiming to change your body,” Dr. Fundaro explains. “It’s not about feeling more control over your diet. Nor is it about feeling like you’re eating the ‘optimal’ diet.” If your priority is maintaining a specific physique (such as staying ultra lean) or changing your body (building muscle or losing fat), this method can be adapted for that, though it isn’t the most efficient one to use. Instead, RPE-Eating is about sensing into what your body needs and giving yourself appropriate nourishment—while building inner trust and confidence along the way. “You have to trust that you’ll be able to nourish your body, and that you’ll be okay even though things may change in your body,” says Dr. Fundaro. Admittedly, this can be challenging to do. It can also be difficult to let go of the expectation that you’ll hit the “right” macros at every meal—which RPE-Eating isn’t specifically designed to do. However, if your goal is to build more self-trust, RPE-Eating can be a great tool to help you do that. Step #2: Practice identifying your hunger cues Before we explore this step, let’s distinguish between two motivators for eating. First, there’s hunger. Hunger occurs when physical cues in your body (like a general sense of emptiness or rumbling in your stomach, or lightheadedness) tells you that you require energy—known to us mortals as food. Then, there’s appetite. Appetite is our desire or interest in eating. It can stay peaked even after hunger is quelled, especially if something looks or tastes especially delicious—like a warm, gooey cookie offered after dinner that you feel you have to try, even though you’re technically full. While it’s normal to eat for both hunger and appetite drives, the two can become mixed up. Especially if we have a history of dieting and tracking food. The RPE-Eating scale helps you tap back into those true physical hunger cues, and learn the difference between hunger and appetite. To put this in practice, try this before your next meal: Using the RPE-Eating scale mentioned above, identify your current level of hunger. Record the number on paper or the notes app on your phone. Then, eat your meal with as much presence as possible. (Note: This in itself takes practice. It can help to limit distractions, such as eating at the table rather than in front of the TV, and focusing on the flavors and textures of the food you’re eating, and how you feel eating it.) About halfway through the meal, check in again. Based on the scale, how hungry are you now? As before, record the number. If you’re still hungry, finish your meal. When you’re finished, repeat the same process, writing down where you are on the scale. Once you’re done, take a minute and tune into what your body feels like. What does it feel like to be full? “Download” that feeling into your mind and internalize it in your body, as if you’re updating your phone with the latest software. Repeat this for as many meals as you can. Aim to do it for one meal a day for a week or so, or for as long as feels good to you. Don’t worry if you
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