Lazy Macros®
plus protein
the antidote to dieting nonsense (part 2)
If you’ve done the #800gChallenge®, and you are looking for what’s next, you’re in the right spot!
It’s time to add protein to the diet in the same simple way as fruits and veggies: focus on addition, not restriction without complicated rules and micromanaging your food choices.
Why protein? It’s essential for weight, health, and fitness goals and tends to be
underrepresented in most diets.
This combination of doing the #800gChallenge® plus adding a protein target is dubbed: Lazy Macros®.
Track on the foods we tend to undereat (fruits, veggies, and protein) and see if that pushes out the foods we overeat.
Welcome to Lazy Macros®.
Lazy Macros®
plus protein
the antidote to dieting nonsense (part 2)
If you’ve done the #800gChallenge®, and you are looking for what’s next, you’re in the right spot!
It’s time to add protein to the diet in the same simple way as fruits and veggies: focus on addition, not restriction without complicated rules and micromanaging your food choices.
Why protein? It’s essential for weight, health, and fitness goals and tends to be
underrepresented in most diets.
This combination of doing the #800gChallenge® plus adding a protein target is dubbed: Lazy Macros®.
Track on the foods we tend to undereat (fruits, veggies, and protein) and see if that pushes out the foods we overeat.
Welcome to Lazy Macros®.
3 months into Lazy Macros: "I have little desire for junk food and see abs like never before. I don't stress about the diet. Who doesn't want that?"
Brian McIntyre
CrossFit Athlete
“Lazy Macros”
Lazy Macros® How-to
01
Continue to do the 800gChallenge®, eating 800 grams by weight of the fruits and vegetables of your choice per day.
02
Add a protein target of 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight. This combination of the #800gChallenge® plus a protein target is called Lazy Macros®.03
Continue to eat whatever else you want. Still no restrictions, just additions.
04
A simple way to accomplish this is target 270g (~2 cups) of fruits or veggies and 30-50g of protein at each of 3 main meals.
Play Video
2 minutes
Lazy Macros® in 2 minutes
Hi! I’m EC Synkowski and the creator of Lazy Macros®. This is the step after you’ve mastered the #800gChallenge®. So once you are consistently eating 800 grams of the fruits and vegetables of your choice each day, it is time to also add a protein target. The initial baseline target is 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight.
And I generally recommend you use your current weight, unless you are more than 20 pounds away from your target weight.
In that case, use your target weight for the protein calculation as otherwise, you will likely find the volume of protein unsustainable.
Truth be told, most people will find success in the range of 0.7 to 1 grams of protein per pound of body weight, but it’s first important to get consistent at a lower number before thinking you need more.
The 0.7 number is high enough to be protective against sarcopenia, prevent muscle mass loss in a caloric deficit, maximize muscle mass gain with resistance training, and actually be sustainable for non-professional fitness enthusiasts.
Now, with Lazy Macros®, you have these two checkpoints in the diet: 1) fruits and veggies, and 2) protein. These tend to be the more under represented food groups in modern diets which are classically overrun by carbs and fat.
So by focusing on eating more of the healthy stuff, we may be able to balance out the overall quantity in our diet.
So we are tracking the weight of the fruits and vegetables and significant sources of protein to help keep us on target without all the work of weighing and measuring everything. Hence the name, Lazy Macros.
You can use a post-it note system where you tally the weight of fruits and vegetables in one column, and servings of protein with at least 10 grams in the other as a simple tracking system to keep yourself accountable.
It’s not that protein only counts when you eat at least 10 grams, in fact all protein grams “count,” it’s just that this is an approximation system. It’s not very lazy if you track everything perfectly.
We are trying to see how far we can get without doing all the meticulous work of macros.
Now remember with Lazy Macros®, there are still no restrictions in your diet… you continue to eat whatever else you want on top of these fruits, veggies, and protein.
If you want ideas on good protein sources, join my email list or better yet, check out my ebook that goes into way more detail about different protein sources, optimizing your protein intake, improving your body composition, and things like the effect of exercise and lifestyle on your reaching goals.
Welcome aboard!
Lazy Macros® is your antidote to dieting nonsense.
Sneak peek
E-book Sneak Peek
The step after you've mastered the 800 gram challenge.
STEP 2
step 2
Check out the table of contents and a few sample pages from the Lazy Macros ebook.
This ebook is a comprehensive reference for those ready to implement the Lazy Macros® approach today. The 100+ page ebook is divided into two sections, with the basics that allow you to get started right away and the details to provide the evidence-based reasons why. You’ll also get tips, strategies, and meal ideas.
“Sneak peek”
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure. Most people will find success in the range of 0.7 – 1.0 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. All too often, however, people think they need more before they are consistent. At the 0.7 target is consistent with improved outcomes for health, body composition, and improved fitness.
It is based off of current weight, unless you are 20 pounds or more away from your target weight. In that case, use your target weight as the protein amount will likely feel insurmountable.
We are not tracking it! That doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter, it’s just that this is an approximation system to get the total diet quality and quantity in line. If we added another variable to track, like fat, it wouldn’t be very “lazy.”
Ideally, you do the least amount of work to reach your nutrition goals! Maybe that’s with the #800gChallenge®, maybe that’s with Lazy Macros®. But if you are not yet at your goal, or you want the most comprehensive and personalized plan – my Three Pillars Method Masterclass is your next step.
Plenty more frequently asked questions answered in the e-book!
Participants
What do Lazy Macros® participants say?
Renee A.
“I’m loving Lazy Macros®!! I’ve been a tracker of everything Monday to Friday for years with blow out weekends because I get tracking fatigue. I’ve just started Lazy Macros® and am finding it much less exhausting trying to fit all things into the puzzle.”
Carrie A.
“I really do appreciate this very simple approach to nutrition. It’s free my mind from obsessing over what I ‘couldn’t’ or ‘shouldn’t’ eat.”
Chiyo H.
“I found the ‘lazy’ approach rather easy to maintain… This is liberating and definitely doable!… My scale registers just under 10-pound weight loss, but more importantly, I feel great! I have eliminated extra supplements and am confident I am ingesting what my body needs through whole foods. Again, thank you so much. This has been a life-changing way of eating for me and I plan on continuing this healthy-eating approach long-term.”
