Reach Your Nutritional Goals by Thinking of Food As a Tetris Game
On some days, it’s easy to wall yourself up with your nutritional goals. For example, you may need to eat more protein to reach your goal, but you have reached your daily carbohydrate limit. You can achieve the results you want by playing what writer and blogger Stephanie Lee calls “macro tetris.”
The combination of calorie tracking and one or more macronutrients such as protein is the most effective way to lose weight for many. Using this method, you will target a specific amount (or range) of macronutrients: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. (If you don’t have goal macros but would like to calculate them, there is a great calculator here .)
This diet style has one drawback. Eventually, you may find that you need more than one macronutrient even though you have already reached your limit for other macronutrients. This can often be frustrating, but as Stephanie explains in the video above, you can get it all figured out by thinking about your nutritional targets, such as playing Tetris.
To do this, you need to have on hand foods that are dominated by one particular macronutrient (carbohydrates, fat, or protein), but less than others. For example, egg whites are high in protein but low in fat and carbohydrates.
Here is a rough list for each macronutrient.
Protein-predominant components include:
- Chicken / turkey breast
- Canned tuna
- Egg whites
- Protein powder
Carbohydrate predominant ingredients include:
- Rice
- Pasta
- Bread / Bagels
- Fruit
Fat-predominant ingredients include:
- Peanut butter
- Butter
- Olive / coconut oil
- Heavy cream
Let’s say your daily nutritional goals are 150 grams of protein, 200 grams of carbohydrates, and 50 grams of fat. You have already reached your carbohydrate and fat limit, but you are missing 40 grams of protein. You can eat foods that are high in protein, such as chicken breast, and combine them with free foods, such as broccoli .
To use another example, you may need to add another 13 grams of fat to meet your daily needs. You can simply add a tablespoon of olive oil to your meal. For more information on playing macro Tetris, see Stephanie’s video at the top of the article.
How Tetris Teaches Us Food Planning | FitnGeeky