Look, I'm not going to sugarcoat it: tracking calories and macros can feel like a part-time job at first. But here's the thing: when you figure out how to do it without making yourself miserable, it actually works. Like, really works.
Whether you're trying to lose fat, build muscle, or just understand what the hell you're actually eating every day, these tips have saved me (and probably thousands of other people) from giving up entirely.
1. Weekends Are Where Dreams Go to Die
Okay, that's dramatic. But seriously, if you're tracking Monday through Friday and then completely falling off the wagon every weekend, you're basically running in place.
Here's what happens: You're crushing it all week. Hitting your targets. Feeling good. Then Friday night rolls around, you order Thai food, have a couple drinks, maybe grab brunch on Saturday with those bottomless mimosas... and suddenly you've erased your entire week's deficit.
I get it. Weekends are supposed to be fun. And they can be! But the biggest mistake isn't eating more on weekends. It's not logging at all. Because once you stop tracking, you lose all awareness of what's actually going in.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: Those two untracked days can completely cancel out the five days you were being careful. Consistency beats perfection every single time. Even if your Saturday looks like a calorie bomb, log it. You'll at least know what you're working with.
2. That "Tiny Bit" of Oil Is Not Tiny
This one drives me crazy because I've definitely been guilty of it. You're making eggs, right? Four eggs, 280 calories. Easy math. Except... you cooked them in butter. Or oil. And that "splash" you barely noticed? Yeah, that's another 180 calories sitting there.
So your innocent egg breakfast is actually 440 calories, not 280.
"But it's just a little bit of oil!" Sure. But if you eat that same meal 20 times in a month, those invisible calories add up to 3,600, which is literally a pound of fat you didn't account for.
I'm not saying you shouldn't use oil or butter. Cook your food however you want. Just... track it. That drizzle matters. The butter on your toast matters. The ranch dressing you dipped your pizza in (no judgment) definitely matters.
3. Eyeballing Portions Is Harder Than You Think
In the beginning, I thought I could just look at food and know how much was there. Spoiler: I was terrible at it. Most people are.
AI food recognition (like what we use in Avocado) is pretty amazing at identifying what you're eating from a photo. But portion sizes? That's trickier. Camera angles are weird. Food overlaps. Your bowl might be deeper than it looks.
The best thing I ever did was buy a cheap food scale and just... play with it for a couple weeks. Not to become obsessed with weighing everything forever, but to calibrate my eyeballs. You weigh out a serving of rice once or twice, and suddenly you can eyeball it pretty accurately going forward.
If you're going to grab a scale (and honestly, you should), something like the OXO Food Scale is perfect. It's not fancy, but it's got a tare function (so you can zero it out with your plate on there), it's durable, and the battery lasts forever. I've had mine sitting on my counter for years.
Once you know what portions actually look like for your regular foods like rice, milk, or chicken, you can spot when something's off. And your tracking stays way more accurate without having to weigh every single thing you eat.
4. Wing It Less, Stress Less
I used to make all my food decisions in the moment. Standing in front of the fridge at 7pm, starving, no plan. You know what happens then? I'd order something convenient and blow through my calories without even enjoying it that much.
Planning ahead isn't sexy or exciting, but man, it makes life easier. When you know what you're eating tomorrow, you're not making desperate decisions when you're hungry and tired. You've already got the ingredients. You already logged it. Done.
And here's a bonus: when you plan your meals, you can actually fit in the stuff you really want. Like, if I know I'm having pizza on Friday, I can adjust the rest of my week accordingly. Suddenly I'm eating pizza and hitting my goals, instead of feeling guilty about it.
Some people meal prep on Sundays. Some people just map out their meals loosely. Find whatever works for you. But having some kind of plan beats winging it every time.
(Also, if you're using Avocado, you can plan meals for future days and save them as templates, which is honestly kind of game-changing for staying consistent without overthinking every single meal.)
5. Get Your Regular Meals Locked In
If you eat the same breakfast five days a week (and let's be honest, most of us do), make sure you've got that meal dialed in correctly. Measure it once. Get it right. Save it.
Because if your morning coffee with cream is actually 150 calories but you've been logging it as 50, that error compounds. Twenty times a month, that's an extra 2,000 calories you didn't know about.
So when you're setting up your common meals, take an extra minute to be thorough. Check the portion sizes. Include that honey in your oatmeal. Account for the butter in your pan. Once you've saved it accurately, you can just reuse it without thinking about it.
This is especially useful for meals you genuinely eat on repeat. Your morning routine. Your work lunch. That post-workout snack. Get them right once, then you're golden.
6. Seriously, Use an App (Your Sanity Will Thank You)
Trying to track calories by hand or even in a spreadsheet? That's a recipe for burnout. It's tedious, it's slow, and you're probably going to quit within a week.
A good tracking app changes everything. Take Avocado, for example. You can:
- Save your go-to meals and log them again with literally two taps
- Pull up yesterday's lunch if you're eating the same thing today
- Adjust meals you've logged before (like if you want extra guac on your burrito bowl this time)
Since most of us are creatures of habit anyway, these features make tracking feel effortless instead of like homework. And when something's easy, you'll actually stick with it long enough to see results.
The Bottom Line
Perfect tracking doesn't exist. You're going to estimate sometimes. You're going to forget to log a snack. You might eat out and have no idea what's in that sauce. That's okay.
What matters is staying consistent enough. Log on weekends. Count those oils and condiments. Get a rough feel for portions. Plan your meals when you can. Lock in your regular foods. And use a tool that makes the whole process less painful.
That's it. That's the secret. Not perfection, just showing up consistently and making it as easy on yourself as possible.
