I eat pretty healthy and recently started taking photos of my meals and snacks to keep tabs on my portions and food choices. So I never felt the need to track my calories or macros.
But just for fun, I decided to start using MyFitnessPal. I wanted to make sure that I was getting all the nutrients I needed. I honestly thought it was just going to confirm that I was eating a balanced diet. But let me tell you — it was eye-opening! I thought I was getting more than enough protein since beans, tofu, tempeh, soy yogurt, greens, nuts, and seeds are a huge part of my diet. But on most days, I was barely breaking 60 grams. I was also eating nearly 200 grams of carbs, almost 80 grams of fat, and almost 100 grams of sugar. My calories were higher than I expected, too.
The Experiment
I decided to make a small change — to increase my protein and decrease my carbs and sugar — and see how it affected me. I usually have a banana with raw almond butter for an afternoon snack around 3 p.m., so I traded it for a plant-based protein shake. It seemed like the easiest way to get 20 to 25 grams of extra protein.
