Tracking Macros While Traveling: 7 Powerful Strategies to Stay on Track

Tracking macros while traveling is one of the most common challenges my clients face. When it comes to working towards specific nutrition goals, I talk a lot about creating habits and routines and unfortunately, travel can wreak destruction on our routine, leaving us feeling like we should just throw in the towel and start over again when we get back home.

Tracking your food while you’re traveling may not be possible in every situation, but that doesn’t mean it’s a free pass to eat whatever you want. If you’re working towards fat loss goals, your body doesn’t discount extra calories just because you’re traveling, and indulging in extra food day after day can halt the progress you have made so far.

It’s important that we categorize two different types of travel. There are some trips where it makes sense to track macros such as business trips, quick weekend getaways, and things of the sort. These trips aren’t anything special and certainly aren’t reason to derail your progress. On the other hand, there are those really special trips, that once-in-a-life trip to Italy or that destination wedding in the Bahamas. It’s during those types of trips where being present and experiencing the moments are more important than logging your food intake.

If you are reading this article about tracking macros while traveling, chances are your trip is more of the everyday variety.

It can be unrealistic to expect to hit your numbers spot on while traveling, but it is possible to still stay on track when on the go. Being diligent about your nutrition doesn’t mean you have to carry a food scale around with you and say no to every treat offered. It does, however, mean there may be some compromises to make on occasion.

Eating the foods you enjoy should not require restricting, rationalizing, or guilt. The key is finding strategies that will help you stay aligned with your goal and navigate situations that are not totally in your control. As you travel or take time away from your normal routine, there is no doubt that you will be going out to eat, having food and drinks at social events, and indulging a little more than usual. So, what do you do?!

Do you have to bring along your own container meals and resist every bite in order to meet your goals? Or do you stuff yourself with every treat and indulgent meal and promise yourself you’ll get back on track when you get back home?

The obvious correct answer is neither of those things, but that’s definitely easier said than done. Flexible dieting is about finding balance in your diet, and that means even spring break, work trips, and international travel, where our health and nutrition can be the last thing on our minds. Unless you know that an all-or-nothing approach is the best strategy for you, having an artillery of strategies to help you stay on track in situations that are not totally in your control is key.

Tracking Macros While Traveling: Fat Loss Goals

Tracking macros while traveling during a fat loss phase requires a bit more intention than your average week at home. Knowing your goals, and keeping them at the forefront of your mind as you navigate different situations, is an important part of creating long term changes. If you have fat loss goals, it’s important to remember that you’ll need to be willing to do what is required to meet those goals, even when out of your normal routine. It is unfair to ourselves to go on a trip, let loose and ignore our goals while we’re away, then come home to the scale being slightly up and get upset at ourselves.

If you do want to stick to your fat loss goals while traveling, that may mean tracking your meals out, ordering your second-choice option when you go out to eat, or occasionally skipping dessert or a drink. It’s far from impossible to see progress in body composition or performance when out of your normal routine, as long as you’re willing to put in the work.

A good happy medium is to make it a goal just to maintain progress as you travel, then resume your fat loss goals once you’re back home. This can give you a little added flexibility and allow you to enjoy some untracked meals, have an extra drink or two, or indulge in dessert as long as you continue to eat in moderation and focus a majority of your nutrition on nutrient-dense whole foods.

Estimating is Better Than Nothing

Tracking macros while traveling doesn’t have to mean perfect logging, even rough estimates keep you accountable.While you should not be a slave to your scale and your phone app, continuing to log your food is an extremely helpful tool for staying on track. Even if you are just estimating, creating a rough outline of what you are eating will keep you accountable to yourself and help you stay aware of your food choices.

If you are estimating food while away from home, you can use your hand as a tool to help you understand general portion sizes. It isn’t the most accurate way to track, but it can be more trustworthy than just eyeballing portions. You can also practice at home by estimating portion sizes and then double checking your estimations by weighing those portions with your scale.

PROTEIN: One palm-sized portion = 20-30 g protein.
CARBOHYDRATES: One cupped-hand-sized portion = 20-30 g carbs.
FATS: One thumb-sized portion = 7-12 g fat.

Tracking Macros While Traveling: When to Track and When to Flex

One of the biggest questions around tracking macros while traveling is whether to track at all. Flexible dieting doesn’t only mean being flexible with your food choices; it also means being flexible in how you deal with different situations. You will find that there are occasions where tracking your food will be best for you, and other occasions where taking time away from tracking will be the best approach.

Now that you’ve hashed out your goals and you have a general idea of what you need to do to meet those goals, here are a few examples of different ways you can navigate different events you may encounter as you travel:

PRE-TRACK
If you are staying in an Airbnb, condo, or a hotel with a kitchenette and have some control over your food choices, pre-tracking can be helpful. Pre-tracking is one of the most underused tools for tracking macros while traveling, especially when you have some control over your food environment. You can plan out your day and plan ahead for a dinner or dessert out. While it won’t be exact, having a general idea of what you’ll eat can help you plan the rest of your day accordingly, and can also keep you from mindlessly munching leading up to your meal out.

ESTIMATE
Being present with family and friends comes first but if you have serious goals, a quick estimate is better than giving up entirely. Step aside for a minute, use hand measurements to log a rough estimate, or snap a photo of your meal and track it later. Either way, a 60-second check-in beats throwing in the towel until you get home.

EAT MINDFULLY
Mindful eating is a solid fallback strategy for tracking macros while traveling when logging just isn’t realistic. You can still work toward your goals without tracking at all, it just requires staying attentive to hunger and fullness cues rather than numbers. Center your plate around protein, fruit, and vegetables, eat slowly, and put your fork down between bites. It won’t get you the same precision as tracking, but it’s a far better option than checking out completely until you get home.

PACK THE RIGHT THINGS

Travel doesn’t have to be a reason to throw in the towel. I firmly believe that successful nutrition comes from building positive habits that you can maintain even when you’re out of your routine. So before you call it quits just because you’re headed out of town, make sure to take a minute to assess your goals and use some of the tips above to figure out how you can work towards them while still enjoying your time away!

If tracking macros while traveling is where you consistently lose momentum, macro coaching can help. Book a free connection call and let’s build a flexible approach that travels with you.

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