Question 1

Can I use protein shakes or protein bars?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

Yes. Protein shakes and protein bars can be useful tools for reaching your protein target, especially when convenience makes getting enough protein from regular meals difficult.

You don’t need to use protein shakes or bars to be successful with MacroRx+. Foods such as chicken, turkey, fish, lean beef, eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and other protein-rich foods can provide all or most of the protein in your diet.

But sometimes convenience matters.

A protein shake can be useful when you’re short on protein late in the day, need something quick after exercise, or don’t have time for a regular meal. A protein bar can be an easy option to keep in your bag, car, office, or while traveling.

Just remember that “protein” on the front of a package doesn’t automatically make something a great protein source.

Look at the entire nutrition label. Consider how much protein you’re getting relative to the total calories, along with the carbohydrate and fat content. Some products marketed as protein bars are nutritionally much closer to candy bars with a little extra protein added.

The same applies to shakes. Some are primarily protein supplements, while others are designed as meal replacements and therefore contain considerably more carbohydrates, fat, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and calories. Neither is automatically better—the right choice depends on what you’re trying to accomplish and how it fits into your MacroRx+ prescription.

Whenever possible, choose quality products from reputable manufacturers with clearly labeled ingredients and nutrition information. MacroRx+ members looking for convenient options can also check out the USANA nutrition products we recommend, including protein and meal-replacement options.

Protein supplements should generally supplement your diet rather than replace most of your food. Whole and minimally processed foods provide protein along with different combinations of vitamins, minerals, fiber, essential fats, and other nutrients that you won’t necessarily get from a scoop of protein powder.

And don’t forget to log them. Protein shakes and bars still contribute calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fat to your daily totals.

Use protein shakes and bars as tools when they’re useful—not because you need them. Your overall goal is to consistently meet your protein target in a way that fits your prescription and your life.

Question 2

Do I have to track my food forever?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

Not necessarily. The goal of MacroRx+ isn’t to make you dependent on MyFitnessPal for the rest of your life.

During active weight loss, consistent food tracking is extremely valuable. It gives you and your coach objective information about what you’re eating, helps you learn portion sizes and the nutritional content of foods, and allows us to compare your actual intake with your results.

But you’re also learning something every time you track.

Over time, you begin to recognize appropriate portions without always needing to weigh them. You learn which foods are good sources of protein, which meals keep you satisfied, how restaurant meals affect your intake, and how to structure a day of eating that works well for you.

Those skills are ultimately more important than the app.

Once you’ve reached your goal and successfully transitioned into maintenance, you may decide that continuing to track regularly gives you useful structure—and there’s nothing wrong with that. Other people may gradually reduce how often they track as they become comfortable maintaining their results.

You also don’t have to think of tracking as all-or-nothing. You might stop tracking routinely but use it again for a few days or weeks if your weight begins trending upward, your routine changes, or you simply want to recalibrate your portions and food choices.

The scale can provide useful feedback during maintenance as well. If your weight begins consistently moving outside the range you’ve chosen to maintain, returning to food tracking early can help you understand what’s changed before a small trend becomes a much larger regain.

Think of MyFitnessPal as a tool you’ve learned how to use—not a rule you’re required to follow forever.

The long-term goal is to understand your nutrition well enough to maintain your results with the least amount of structure you personally need.

Question 3

Do I need to take supplements?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

No. Supplements aren’t required to participate in MacroRx+, and they aren’t a substitute for building a nutritious diet.

Your MacroRx+ prescription focuses primarily on calories and macronutrients—protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Those targets are important for managing your energy intake and body-composition goals, but hitting your macros doesn’t automatically mean you’re getting optimal amounts of every vitamin, mineral, essential fatty acid, fiber, and other nutrient your body needs.

That’s why we encourage you to think about food quality as well as your numbers.

Ideally, most of your nutrition should come from a varied diet built around nutrient-dense foods: lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, whole grains and other high-fiber foods, healthy sources of fat, and foods that provide a broad range of vitamins and minerals.

However, eating perfectly every day isn’t realistic for most people. And during weight loss, you’re deliberately eating fewer calories—which also means fewer opportunities to obtain all of your nutrients from food. Dietary restrictions, food preferences, reduced appetite, travel, busy schedules, and simply not eating a wide variety of foods can create additional nutritional gaps.

That’s where supplements can be useful.

Think of supplementation as filling gaps in an otherwise good diet—not compensating for a poor one. A quality multivitamin/mineral supplement, for example, can provide nutritional insurance when your diet doesn’t consistently provide ideal amounts of every micronutrient. Depending on your individual diet and circumstances, other nutrients may also be worth considering.

Supplements also shouldn’t be viewed as weight-loss products. Taking more vitamins or supplements doesn’t cause you to lose more body fat. Your calorie prescription, food choices, activity, consistency, and the adjustments we make based on your progress remain the foundation of MacroRx+.

Quality matters too. Dietary supplements can vary considerably in formulation, ingredient forms, manufacturing standards, and quality control. If you choose to supplement, we recommend using products from reputable manufacturers with strong quality and manufacturing standards.

If you’d like to learn more about the supplements and nutrition products we recommend, visit our Supplements⁠ page. These products are optional; you don’t need to purchase or use supplements to participate successfully in MacroRx+.

More isn’t necessarily better. Individual nutrients can be unnecessary or even harmful in excessive amounts, and supplements can interact with medications or medical conditions. If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, take prescription medications, have a medical condition, have been diagnosed with a nutrient deficiency, or are considering high-dose supplementation, discuss your needs with your physician or another qualified healthcare professional.

Food is the foundation. Supplements can help fill nutritional gaps when appropriate, but they complement a nutritious diet—they don’t replace one.

Question 4

Do I need to weigh or measure my food?

macrorx+ · Accepted Answer

Yes — whenever practical, weighing your food is the most accurate way to track what you’re eating.

It’s surprisingly difficult to consistently estimate portion sizes by sight, especially with calorie-dense foods. A little extra peanut butter, cooking oil, cheese or dressing, for example, can make a meaningful difference without looking like much on the plate.

OXO Good Grips 11-Pound Stainless Steel Kitchen Scale with Pull-Out Display

For the best accuracy, use these methods in this order:

1. Weigh your food in grams. This is generally the most precise and easiest method, especially when the nutrition information provides a serving weight in grams.

2. Weigh your food in ounces when grams aren’t practical.

3. Use volume measurements when weighing isn’t practical. Measuring cups, tablespoons, teaspoons and milliliters can work well for foods where volume measurements make sense.

4. Estimate when you can’t weigh or measure. Restaurants, travel and social events aren’t always going to give you access to a food scale. Make your best reasonable estimate, log it, and move on.

You don’t need to become obsessive about microscopic amounts of food. The goal is consistent, useful accuracy — not laboratory precision.

Pay particular attention to foods that are easy to underestimate, including oils, butter, dressings, sauces, nut butters, nuts, cheese and other calorie-dense foods.

And remember the MacroRx+ Golden Rule:

“Log it before you eat it.”

Weigh or measure your portion, enter it into MyFitnessPal, see how it fits into your prescription, and adjust the portion if necessary before you start eating.

The more accurate your logging is, the better the information your coach has when evaluating your progress and deciding whether your prescription needs to change.

Question 5

How can I avoid overeating foods that are hard for me to control?

macrorx+ · Accepted Answer

Most people have certain foods that are especially easy to overeat. That doesn’t mean those foods have to be completely off limits, but it does mean a little planning can make them much easier to manage.

One of the best MacroRx+ habits is our Golden Rule:

Log it before you eat it.

Before you open the package, order the meal, or start eating, put the food and the portion you plan to eat into MyFitnessPal. Look at how it fits into your calorie and macro prescription while you still have the opportunity to make a different decision.

If it’s a food you tend to keep eating once you start, portion it before you begin. Weigh or measure the amount you intend to eat, put the original container away, and eat from your portion rather than directly from the bag, box, or container.

Your environment matters too. You don’t have to prove your willpower by keeping unlimited amounts of a particularly tempting food within reach. Buying smaller quantities, individual portions, or simply not keeping certain foods around all the time can make consistency much easier.

Also pay attention to how hungry you are when you encounter these foods. Waiting until you’re extremely hungry can make portion control much harder. Regular meals containing adequate protein, fiber, and satisfying foods can make those decisions easier.

And remember that MacroRx+ doesn’t require you to eliminate foods you enjoy. Sometimes making room for a reasonable portion intentionally works much better than declaring a food forbidden and then eventually overeating it.

If you repeatedly feel out of control around a particular food, find yourself eating unusually large amounts, or feel unable to stop even when you want to, talk with your coach. That’s different from simply enjoying a food or occasionally eating more than you planned, and it deserves a thoughtful approach rather than more restriction.

Don’t rely on willpower alone. Plan the portion, log it before you eat it, and make the easier choice easier to make.

Question 6

How do I log food when estimating?

macrorx+ · Accepted Answer

Whenever possible, weighing your food is the most accurate way to log it. But there will be times — restaurants, vacations, parties or meals at someone else’s house — when you simply can’t put your food on a scale.

Don’t let the inability to be exact become a reason not to log it. A reasonable estimate is much more useful than no entry at all.

When you need to estimate:

If the restaurant publishes nutrition information, use the restaurant’s own entry in MyFitnessPal when available. Keep in mind that actual portions can vary from the published serving, so if your portion appears noticeably larger or smaller, adjust your entry accordingly.

If you’re eating at a restaurant without nutrition information, search MyFitnessPal for a similar dish. Compare several reasonable entries rather than automatically choosing the lowest-calorie option. Consider the ingredients, portion size, sauces, oils and preparation when deciding which entry seems most realistic.

You can also “deconstruct” the meal. For example, at a taco bar you might separately estimate and log the tortillas, meat, cheese, sour cream and other toppings. This can often produce a better estimate than searching for a generic “taco.”

When portions are uncertain, it’s reasonable to estimate somewhat conservatively rather than assuming the smallest possible amount. Restaurant foods in particular may contain more oil, butter, sauces or other calorie-dense ingredients than you would use preparing the same meal at home.

Most importantly, don’t chase false precision. There’s no way to know whether an unweighed restaurant meal contained exactly 742 calories. Make your best reasonable estimate, log it, and move on.

Occasional estimates won’t ruin your progress. If you’re estimating most of your meals, however, it becomes much harder for you and your coach to know how closely you’re actually following your prescription.

Be as accurate as reasonably possible when you can, make your best estimate when you can’t, and always log it.

Question 7

How many calories should I eat per day?

macrorx+ · Accepted Answer

Your daily calorie target is the number listed in your current MacroRx+ prescription.

That number has been personalized for you based on your starting information, goals, activity level, and how your body has been responding to the program. As we collect more information from your actual results, your coach can adjust your prescription when appropriate.

Use your MacroRx+ calorie prescription—not the calorie goal MyFitnessPal calculates for you.

MyFitnessPal may generate its own calorie recommendation based on the information in your profile. It may also try to increase your available calories when you log exercise or when it receives activity data from a connected device. Those numbers are not your MacroRx+ prescription.

Don’t add calories to your prescription because MyFitnessPal says you’ve “earned” them through exercise. Your normal activity level is already considered when your MacroRx+ prescription is established.

Likewise, don’t reduce your calories on your own because you’d like to lose weight faster or because the scale hasn’t moved for a few days. Your coach reviews your progress and will determine when an adjustment is appropriate.

You also don’t need to hit your calorie number perfectly. Aim to finish reasonably close to your prescribed calorieswhile following your other priorities:

Calories → Minimum Protein → Carbohydrate Target

If your activity level changes significantly, or you’re consistently having difficulty eating near your prescription, let your coach know rather than changing your targets yourself.

Your MacroRx+ prescription—not MyFitnessPal’s suggested goal, exercise calories, or a number from another calculator—is the calorie target you should follow.

Question 8

How much exercise should I be doing?

macrorx+ · Accepted Answer

Exercise is an important part of overall health, but you don’t need to exercise excessively to be successful with MacroRx+. Your calorie and macro prescription already takes your normal activity level into consideration.

For general health, current physical activity guidelines recommend that adults work toward:

• 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, or 75–150 minutes of vigorous activity, or an equivalent combination.

• Strength training at least 2 days per week, involving all major muscle groups.

• Moving more and sitting less throughout the day.

If you’re currently doing less than this, don’t feel like you need to jump immediately to those numbers. Start where you are and gradually increase your activity as your fitness and circumstances allow.

For body composition, we especially encourage resistance training when you’re able. During weight loss, the goal isn’t simply to make the number on the scale smaller. We also want to support the maintenance of muscle while you’re losing body fat. Adequate protein and resistance training are particularly helpful for that.

Walking, cardiovascular exercise, recreational activities, and simply moving more throughout the day are also valuable for your health and can contribute to your overall energy expenditure.

Don’t use exercise to “earn” additional food or compensate for going over your prescription. Likewise, don’t suddenly add large amounts of cardio because the scale hasn’t moved for a few days.

If your normal activity changes significantly—for example, you start a new training program, begin training for an endurance event, stop exercising because of an injury, or your daily activity changes substantially—let your coach know.Your calorie and macro prescription may need to account for that change.

More exercise isn’t automatically better. The goal is an amount of activity you can recover from, perform consistently, and maintain as part of your life.

Question 9

How much fiber should I be getting?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

Fiber is an important part of your diet even though it isn’t one of the primary targets in your MacroRx+ prescription.

A useful general target is about 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories you eat. That works out to roughly:

1,500 calories → about 21g fiber
1,800 calories → about 25g fiber
2,000 calories → about 28g fiber
2,500 calories → about 35g fiber

You don’t need to hit an exact fiber number every day. Think of it as another way to evaluate the quality of the foods making up your prescription.

Good sources include vegetables, fruits, beans and lentils, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and other minimally processed plant foods.

Fiber can also be especially useful during weight loss because higher-fiber foods often provide more food volume and can help with fullness. If you’re frequently hungry while staying within your prescription, looking at your fiber intake—along with your protein and overall food choices—is worthwhile.

Increase fiber gradually if your current intake is low. Suddenly adding a large amount can cause gas, bloating, or other digestive discomfort. Drinking adequate fluids is also important as you increase fiber.

You may notice MyFitnessPal counting some fiber-containing carbohydrates differently depending on the food entry or settings you’re using. Don’t subtract fiber from your MacroRx+ carbohydrate target or independently switch to “net carbs” unless your coach has specifically instructed you to do so. Continue following the carbohydrate number in your MacroRx+ prescription.

Fiber supplements can be useful in some circumstances, but ideally most of your fiber should come from food, where you’re also getting vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial nutrients.

If you have a gastrointestinal condition or have been given specific fiber instructions by a healthcare professional, follow that guidance rather than this general recommendation.

You don’t need to obsess over fiber every day, but consistently getting enough is a good sign that you’re using your calorie and macro prescription to build a nutritious diet—not simply hitting the numbers.

Question 10

How much water should I drink?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

Staying well hydrated is important, but there isn’t one amount of water that’s right for every MacroRx+ member.

Your fluid needs can change based on your body size, activity level, how much you sweat, the weather, your diet, and other individual factors. You’ll generally need more fluid when you’re exercising, sweating heavily, or spending time in hot weather.

And remember that water isn’t your only source of hydration. Other beverages and water contained in foods also contribute to your total fluid intake.

Rather than forcing yourself to hit an arbitrary number, make drinking fluids a regular part of your day and pay attention to signs that you may need more.

Thirst is useful—don’t routinely ignore it. Urine color can also provide a simple general clue. Pale yellow urine is usually consistent with good hydration, while consistently dark urine may indicate that you need more fluid. Completely clear urine all day isn’t a goal and can sometimes mean you’re drinking more than you need.

If you’re exercising and sweating heavily for an extended period, replacing electrolytes as well as fluid may sometimes be appropriate. For normal day-to-day activity, most people don’t need to turn every bottle of water into an electrolyte drink.

Hydration can also affect your daily scale weight. Drinking more or less water doesn’t directly tell us whether you’ve gained or lost body fat. That’s another reason your MacroRx+ coach looks at weight trends rather than individual weigh-ins.

Don’t intentionally dehydrate yourself to make the scale show a lower number. Likewise, there’s no benefit to forcing down excessive amounts of water simply because you’ve heard that more is always better.

If a healthcare professional has told you to restrict fluids or follow specific hydration or electrolyte instructions because of a medical condition or medication, follow their guidance rather than general recommendations.

The goal is consistent hydration—not chasing an arbitrary water number. Drink regularly, respond to thirst, and increase your fluids appropriately when activity, sweating, or heat increases your needs.

Question 11

How often can I take a Flex Day?

macrorx+ · Accepted Answer

MacroRx+ allows one planned Flex Day per calendar month for members who have been consistently following their prescription.

A Flex Day is a planned day when you can relax your normal calorie and macro targets. It can be useful for birthdays, holidays, vacations, celebrations, or simply enjoying foods that are more difficult to fit into your normal prescription.

Long-time MacroRx+ members may remember these as Leptin Reset Days (LRDs). We now call them Flex Days because the new name better reflects their overall purpose.

Periods of increased calorie and carbohydrate intake can produce short-term changes in hormones involved in appetite and energy balance, including leptin. But the value of a Flex Day goes beyond any potential physiological effects.

One of its most important benefits is simply giving you a mental break.

Following a nutrition prescription shouldn’t mean feeling like you can never enjoy a birthday dinner, holiday, vacation, or favorite food without worrying about your numbers. Planned flexibility can make your nutrition easier to live with and reinforce an important MacroRx+ principle: long-term success doesn’t require perfection.

A Flex Day isn’t an instruction to eat as much as you possibly can. Enjoy foods you normally limit, relax your usual calorie and macro targets, and continue logging what you eat. Logging isn’t about restricting your Flex Day—it keeps you in the habit of being aware of what you’re eating and gives you and your coach a complete picture of your week.

The following day, simply return to your normal MacroRx+ prescription. Don’t fast, skip meals, dramatically cut calories, or add punishment workouts to “make up” for your Flex Day.

You can take no more than one Flex Day per calendar month, but you don’t have to use one simply because it’s available. Save it for a time when the additional flexibility is actually valuable to you.

If you’re regularly struggling to stay near your prescription, frequently overeating, or feel that a Flex Day could lead to loss-of-control eating, talk with your coach before taking one.

Think of a Flex Day as planned flexibility—a chance to step away from your normal targets, enjoy life, and then return to your routine without guilt or compensation.

Question 12

How often do I weigh myself?

macrorx+ · Accepted Answer

Weigh yourself every day whenever possible.

For the most consistent measurements, weigh yourself under similar conditions each day:

In the morning
After using the restroom
Before eating or drinking
On the same scale, in the same location

Record the actual weight, including the decimal, rather than rounding it up or down.

Vitafit VT715 Body Scale

Daily weighing gives us more information to work with, but we aren’t concerned with what the scale does on any single day. Body weight naturally moves up and down because of hydration, sodium and carbohydrate intake, digestion, exercise, hormones, and other normal factors.

That’s why your coach looks at the trend over time, rather than reacting to one unusually high or low weigh-in. More consistent data makes it easier to distinguish normal fluctuations from a meaningful change in your progress.

Don’t change your eating, skip meals, or exercise more because the scale suddenly went up. Likewise, don’t assume an unusually large overnight drop represents that much body-fat loss. It’s the trend that matters.

In addition to your daily weigh-ins, take your progress photo each Monday as part of your weekly MacroRx+ check-in. Your weight is useful information, but it’s only one way we evaluate your progress.

If you miss a weigh-in, don’t worry about it and don’t try to recreate it later. Just resume your normal routine the following day.

Daily weights give us data. Your trend tells us the story.

Question 13

How should I handle alcohol?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

Alcohol can fit into MacroRx+, and you don’t have to completely give up alcohol to be successful with the program. But alcohol contains calories, and those calories need to be included in your daily prescription.

Alcohol is a little different from the other foods and drinks you log. Alcohol itself provides about 7 calories per gram, but MyFitnessPal tracks protein, carbohydrates, and fat—not alcohol as a separate macronutrient.

Because of this, many alcohol entries in MyFitnessPal can be misleading. You might search for “red wine,” for example, and find an entry that shows calories but very few carbohydrates, no fat, and no protein. The calories are there, but they aren’t being represented in the macros you’re using to follow your MacroRx+ prescription.

For MacroRx+, we account for the calories from alcohol as carbohydrates.

When searching MyFitnessPal for beer, wine, liquor, or another alcoholic drink, look for an entry with iffym in the name. These entries have converted the calories from alcohol into carbohydrate grams so they can be properly accounted for in your macro totals.

The correct iffym entry should show the calories represented as 100% carbohydrates, with no protein or fat assigned to the alcohol itself.

For example, if two entries for the same glass of wine both show roughly the same calories but one shows almost no macros while the iffym entry assigns those calories to carbohydrates, use the iffym entry.

Mixed drinks require a little more attention. The iffym conversion accounts for the alcohol, but ingredients such as regular soda, juice, simple syrup, cream, or other caloric mixers need to be accounted for as well.

Whenever practical, log your drinks before you drink them. Alcohol calories can add up quickly, and pre-logging lets you see how they fit into your calorie and carbohydrate targets before you’ve consumed them.

You may also notice unusual movement on the scale after drinking. Alcohol can increase urination and contribute to temporary fluid loss, so a lower scale weight the following morning may partly reflect a change in hydration—not additional body-fat loss. Don’t read too much into that single weigh-in. Resume your normal hydration and routine and let the longer-term trend tell the story.

MacroRx+ doesn’t require members who drink alcohol to eliminate it completely. At the same time, reducing the amount or frequency of alcohol you drink can have health benefits beyond simply saving calories. If you don’t drink alcohol, there’s no reason to start for health purposes.

As with other foods and drinks, we’re looking for informed choices rather than perfection. Decide when alcohol is worth including, account for it accurately, and consider how both the calories and the alcohol itself fit into your goals.

You don’t have to give up alcohol. If you choose to drink, log it accurately using an iffym entry, count the alcohol calories as carbohydrates, and remember that drinking less can benefit both your prescription and your overall health.

Question 14

How should I handle restaurants and eating out?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

Eating at restaurants is part of real life, and you don’t need to avoid restaurants to be successful with MacroRx+. The goal is to learn how to make restaurant meals work within your prescription.

Whenever possible, plan ahead and log your meal before you go. Many chain restaurants publish nutrition information, and you may be able to find the exact meal in MyFitnessPal. Knowing approximately what dinner will cost you in calories and macros lets you make better choices with the rest of your day.

If nutrition information isn’t available, make the best reasonable estimate you can. Look for a similar meal from another restaurant, estimate the major ingredients separately, or choose a comparable MyFitnessPal entry. An imperfect estimate is much better than not logging the meal at all.

Restaurant portions are often larger and foods may contain more cooking oil, butter, sauces, dressings, or other calorie-dense ingredients than you would use at home. Keep that in mind when estimating.

You can also make restaurant meals easier to fit by choosing a good source of protein, adding vegetables when available, being intentional about portions, and deciding which extras are actually worth the calories to you.

That doesn’t mean you always need to order grilled chicken and vegetables. Sometimes you want the burger, pizza, dessert, or another favorite meal—and those foods can fit too. Planning for them is usually more effective than treating them as foods you’re not allowed to eat.

If you know dinner will be higher in calories, it’s reasonable to make somewhat lighter choices earlier in the day while still eating normally and getting adequate protein. Don’t starve yourself all day to “save” every calorie for dinner. Arriving at a restaurant extremely hungry can make intentional portion decisions much harder.

And if the meal ends up being higher in calories than you planned, log it as accurately as you can and move on. Don’t skip meals, dramatically restrict calories, or add punishment exercise the following day.

Plan when you can. Estimate when you can’t. Enjoy the meal, log it, and return to your normal prescription.

Question 15

How should I handle vacations and holidays?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

Vacations, holidays, birthdays, and special occasions are part of life. MacroRx+ is designed to work with them—not require you to avoid them.

How you handle them can depend on the situation and your goals at the time. There are a few reasonable approaches.

If you want to continue following your prescription, keep tracking and plan ahead when you can. Pre-log meals when nutrition information is available, make reasonable estimates when it isn’t, prioritize protein, and make intentional choices about which foods and drinks are most important to you.

You don’t have to make every meal fit perfectly. A holiday dinner or vacation meal may be higher in calories than your normal meals. Enjoying one meal is different from turning an entire weekend or vacation into unlimited eating.

If appropriate, you may also choose to use your monthly Flex Day for a particular celebration or vacation day. That gives you a planned opportunity to relax your normal calorie and macro targets while continuing to log what you eat.

For longer vacations, there may also be times when you and your coach decide that taking a temporary break from detailed tracking makes more sense. If that’s the plan, you can still use the habits you’ve learned through MacroRx+—reasonable portions, adequate protein, fruits and vegetables, staying active, and paying attention to hunger and fullness—without trying to calculate every meal.

Most importantly, don’t try to “prepare” for a vacation or holiday by starving yourself beforehand, and don’t punish yourself afterward. There’s no need for fasting, crash dieting, or excessive exercise to compensate for what you ate.

You may also see the scale increase temporarily when you return to your normal routine. Restaurant meals, additional carbohydrates and sodium, alcohol, travel, and changes in digestion can all affect how much water you’re carrying. A short-term increase on the scale doesn’t necessarily represent an equivalent increase in body fat.

Return to your normal prescription, normal hydration, normal activity, and daily weigh-ins. Give your body a few days to settle and let the trend tell us what actually happened.

The goal isn’t to make your nutrition perfect during every vacation or holiday. It’s to enjoy your life without letting a few different days become a reason to abandon the habits you’ve built.

Question 16

How should I set up MyFitnessPal?

macrorx+ · Accepted Answer

There are a few MyFitnessPal settings we recommend changing so the app works properly with your MacroRx+ prescription.

-Set your week to start on Monday

Each Monday morning, after weighing in, you’ll submit a weekly view of your calorie and macro data so your progress can be reviewed and your calorie and/or macro prescription adjusted when needed.

To change this setting:

Person icon (upper right) → Settings → Start of the Week → Monday

-Don’t log your exercise in MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal can add calories to your daily goal when exercise is logged. We don’t want it doing that. Your MacroRx+ calorie prescription already takes your normal activity level into consideration.

Continue exercising as usual, but don’t use MyFitnessPal’s added exercise calories as additional calories available to eat.

-Turn off step tracking

For the same reason, we don’t want MyFitnessPal adjusting your available calories based on steps recorded by your phone or fitness watch.

To turn this off:

Person icon (upper right) → Steps → Don’t track steps

You can still track your steps with your phone, watch or another fitness app if you’d like — we simply don’t want those steps changing the calorie numbers you’re using for MacroRx+.

-Share your food diary

Sharing your diary allows your coaches and the MacroRx+ community to see more than your daily screenshots. This can be helpful when making food suggestions or identifying patterns that may be making your prescription harder to hit.

To change your diary-sharing setting:

Settings → Sharing & Privacy → Diary Sharing → Public or Friends Only

Once these settings are configured, MyFitnessPal becomes a tracking tool for your MacroRx+ prescription rather than allowing the app to determine how much you should eat.

Question 17

Is "X" food OK to eat on this program?

macrorx+ · Accepted Answer

There isn’t a specific list of foods that are “allowed” or “off limits” with MacroRx+.

When deciding whether a food fits, ask:

1. How does it fit my calorie target? 2. Does it help or hurt my ability to reach my protein target? 3. How does the portion affect my carbohydrate target and the rest of my day?

Whenever possible, log the food before you eat it. Look at how the portion fits your prescription, then adjust the serving size or the rest of your meals if needed.

We encourage you to build most of your diet around whole and minimally processed foods that provide plenty of protein, fiber and micronutrients. But restaurant meals, desserts, snacks and other foods you enjoy can absolutely fit into your plan.

Some foods are simply easier to fit into your prescription than others. That doesn’t make the harder-to-fit foods “bad” — it just means portion size and frequency matter.

An occasional less nutrient-dense choice doesn’t undo an otherwise consistent diet, and you don’t need to eat perfectly to make progress.

The goal isn’t to find out whether a food is “allowed.” The goal is to learn how to make intentional choices that fit your prescription and your life.

Question 18

Is my body scale messed up or stuck?

macrorx+ · Accepted Answer

Probably not. It’s completely normal for your weight to stay the same for several days—or even move up—while you’re still making progress.

Your scale measures your total body weight, not just body fat. The number can change from day to day because of hydration, sodium and carbohydrate intake, food still being digested, bowel movements, exercise, hormones, and other normal factors.

You may also occasionally see the exact same number several days in a row. That doesn’t necessarily mean your scale is stuck or that your progress has stopped.

This is one reason MacroRx+ has you weigh consistently and your coach looks at the trend over time rather than reacting to an individual weigh-in.

If you think the scale itself may actually be malfunctioning, check a few things:

Make sure it’s sitting on a hard, level surface, not carpet.
Check or replace the batteries.
Allow the scale to reset/recalibrate according to its instructions before weighing again.
Try weighing an object with a known weight, or weigh yourself while holding a reasonably heavy object to see whether the reading changes appropriately.

If you need a replacement, the scale we currently recommend is the Vitafit VT715 Bathroom Scale.

Most importantly, don’t change your prescription because the scale hasn’t moved for a few days. Continue following your plan and logging accurately. Your coach will use your weight trend along with your food intake, activity, and other relevant information to determine whether an adjustment is appropriate.

A scale that isn’t moving isn’t necessarily a scale that’s broken—and it doesn’t necessarily mean your progress has stopped.

Question 19

Is there any maximum on fat intake?

macrorx+ · Accepted Answer

For most MacroRx+ prescriptions, there isn’t a separate minimum or maximum target for fat. That’s intentional. Your calorie target, minimum protein target, and carbohydrate target already create practical boundaries for how much fat can fit into your day.

Fat is an essential part of a healthy diet. It provides energy, supplies essential fatty acids, helps your body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, and plays important roles throughout the body.

Fat is also calorie-dense — about 9 calories per gram, compared with about 4 calories per gram for protein and carbohydrates. Because of that, higher-fat foods can use up your calorie allotment quickly.

If your fat intake gets very high, you may find yourself reaching your calorie target before you’ve eaten enough protein or before you have room for the other foods you want to eat. That’s one reason we use this general priority:

Calories → Minimum Protein → Carbohydrate Target

The type of fat you eat matters too. For everyday food choices, try to get much of your dietary fat from foods rich in unsaturated fats, such as nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil and fatty fish. Foods higher in saturated fat — such as butter, higher-fat dairy and fatty meats — can still fit, but saturated fat should generally make up a smaller portion of your overall diet.

You don’t need to chase a particular fat number unless your coach has specifically given you one. Focus on your MacroRx+ prescription, choose nutritious sources of fat most of the time, and pay attention to how higher-fat foods affect the rest of your targets.

If you’re consistently running out of calories before reaching your protein target, take a look at your higher-fat foods and portion sizes. Your coach can help you identify simple changes that make your prescription easier to hit.

No separate fat target doesn’t mean “unlimited fat.” It means your overall prescription and food choices provide the boundaries.

Question 20

Should I consider taking a GLP-1 medication to lose weight faster?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

If you’re making progress with MacroRx+ without weight-loss medication, we generally don’t recommend seeking out a GLP-1 medication simply to make the process go faster.

MacroRx+ takes a nutrition- and lifestyle-first approach to weight loss. Whenever someone can successfully reach and maintain a healthier weight through sustainable changes to nutrition, activity, and everyday habits, we believe there is tremendous value in doing so without adding a prescription medication that may not be necessary.

Remember that the goal isn’t to lose as much weight as possible, as quickly as possible. It’s to lose weight while developing the skills and habits that can help you maintain your results for the long term.

GLP-1 medications can be effective weight-management tools, but they’re still prescription medications. They can have side effects, require medical supervision, and may involve considerations about cost, duration of treatment, and what happens if treatment is eventually discontinued.

We don’t view GLP-1 medications as a shortcut everyone trying to lose weight should consider.

If you’ve been consistently working on your nutrition and lifestyle and continue to struggle with obesity, significant hunger, or weight-related health concerns, discussing additional treatment options with your healthcare provider may be appropriate. There may also be medical reasons why your provider believes medication would be beneficial for you.

That decision should be based on your individual health and medical circumstances—not simply a desire to make the scale move faster.

If your primary concern is that your current MacroRx+ progress seems too slow, talk with your coach before assuming you need medication. We can review your food logs, weight trend, activity, consistency, and current prescription and determine whether your nutrition plan needs an adjustment.

If you and your healthcare provider decide that a GLP-1 medication is appropriate, you’ll have our full support. MacroRx+ can continue working alongside your medical treatment by helping you prioritize protein and nutrient-dense foods, follow an appropriate calorie and macro prescription, stay active, maintain accountability, and develop habits you can use for the long term.

Your healthcare provider—not MacroRx+—should determine whether you should start a GLP-1 medication and manage your medication, dosage, side effects, and medical monitoring.

Our preference is to build the strongest nutrition, activity, and lifestyle foundation we can first. A GLP-1 may be an appropriate tool for some people, but we don’t encourage adding one simply to make successful weight loss happen faster. If you and your healthcare provider decide it’s right for you, we’ll support you every step of the way.

Question 21

What are the priorities for eating close to my prescription?

macrorx+ · Accepted Answer

Your MacroRx+ prescription gives you calorie, protein, carbohydrate, and fat information, but not every number needs to be treated the same way.

When planning your day, use this order of priority:

1. Stay close to your calorie prescription

Your total calorie intake is the highest priority. You don’t need to hit the exact number every day, but aim to finish reasonably close to your prescribed calories.

2. Meet your minimum protein target

Think of protein as a minimum, not a number you need to hit exactly. Getting enough protein helps support muscle maintenance, especially while losing weight, and can also help with fullness.

3. Stay within your carbohydrate target

Once calories and protein are accounted for, use your carbohydrate target to help guide the rest of your food choices. You don’t need to hit the exact number, but generally try not to exceed it.

What about fat?

For most MacroRx+ prescriptions, fat doesn’t have a separate minimum or maximum target. Your calorie, protein, and carbohydrate targets already create practical boundaries for how much fat can fit into your day.

Don’t make yourself crazy trying to make every number in MyFitnessPal line up perfectly. Depending on the foods you choose, it may be mathematically impossible to hit every displayed macro number exactly—and that’s okay.

Your priorities are: Calories → Minimum Protein → Carbohydrate Target.

Consistently getting reasonably close to your prescription matters much more than trying to create a “perfect” day.

Question 22

What can I do to speed up my weight loss?

macrorx+ · Accepted Answer

It’s normal to want faster results, but faster isn’t always better. A commonly used target during fat loss is roughly 0.5–1% of body weight per week, although an appropriate rate can vary based on your starting point, goals, activity, and how your body is responding.

If your progress feels slower than expected, don’t immediately cut your calories or change your macros on your own.Your MacroRx+ prescription is reviewed based on your actual results, and slower progress doesn’t automatically mean you need to eat less.

Start by checking the things you can control:

Make sure your logging is accurate. Weigh and measure foods when practical, and account for bites, tastes, drinks, condiments, cooking oils, and restaurant meals. Small amounts that aren’t logged can add up.

Follow your prescription consistently. If calorie intake varies significantly from day to day, it becomes harder to determine whether your current prescription is producing the expected result.

Look at the trend, not a few weigh-ins. Body weight can fluctuate because of hydration, sodium, carbohydrates, digestion, exercise, hormones, and other factors. A few days without a new low doesn’t mean fat loss has stopped.

Keep moving. Regular activity, walking, resistance training, and cardiovascular exercise can all support health and fat loss. But don’t suddenly add large amounts of exercise just because the scale hasn’t moved for a few days.

Give the process enough time to work. Your coach reviews your progress each week. Sometimes an adjustment is appropriate; sometimes the best decision is to leave your prescription exactly where it is and collect another week of data.

If you’ve been consistently following your prescription and your progress has genuinely stalled, that’s exactly what the MacroRx+ feedback loop is designed to identify. Your coach can review your weight trend, food intake, activity, and other relevant factors and determine whether your prescription needs to change.

The goal isn’t to make the scale move as fast as possible. It’s to make meaningful progress with an approach you can sustain—and adjust when your results tell us an adjustment is needed.

Question 23

What changes if I’m taking a GLP-1 medication?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

If you’re taking a GLP-1 medication prescribed by your healthcare provider, you can continue using MacroRx+. Your medication may change your appetite and how much food you comfortably eat, so communicating with your coach becomes especially important.

GLP-1 medications can significantly reduce appetite and may make you feel full sooner. That can make eating fewer calories easier, but it can also make it more challenging to get enough protein, fiber, fluids, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients when you’re eating substantially less food.

Don’t treat a very low appetite as a reason to simply eat as little as possible. Your goal is still to build a nutritious diet within your MacroRx+ prescription.

Pay particular attention to:

Protein. When you’re eating less food overall, reaching your minimum protein target becomes especially important. Prioritize protein-rich foods and consider convenient options such as a protein shake when eating enough solid food is difficult.

Food quality. With less room for food, make those calories count. Build much of your intake around nutrient-dense foods that provide protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other important nutrients.

Hydration. Continue drinking fluids regularly. If nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or other gastrointestinal symptoms are affecting your ability to eat or drink normally, contact your healthcare provider.

Fiber and digestion. Changes in appetite, food intake, and gastrointestinal function can affect bowel habits. Get fiber from nutritious foods when practical, increase it gradually, and maintain appropriate fluid intake.

Resistance training and activity. If you’re able, resistance training combined with adequate protein can help support the maintenance of muscle while you’re losing weight.

Keep logging your food as accurately as possible, even when you’re eating substantially less than your prescription. Don’t change your MacroRx+ targets on your own simply because the medication has reduced your appetite. Let your coach see what’s actually happening so your intake, weight trend, activity, and progress can be evaluated together.

Your MacroRx+ coach manages your nutrition coaching, not your medication. Questions about your GLP-1 medication, dosage, side effects, whether you should continue taking it, or changes to your medical treatment belong with your prescribing healthcare provider.

If you’re consistently unable to eat near your prescription, struggling to get adequate protein or fluids, or experiencing significant gastrointestinal symptoms, tell both your coach and your healthcare provider as appropriate.

A GLP-1 can change your appetite. MacroRx+ helps you make the food you do eat count—and build nutrition habits you can continue using over the long term.

Question 24

What happens when I reach my goal weight?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

Reaching your goal weight is a major milestone, but it isn’t the end of the process. The next goal is learning how to maintain what you’ve accomplished.

During weight loss, your MacroRx+ prescription has generally been designed to keep you in a calorie deficit. Once you’re ready to transition out of active weight loss, your coach can begin adjusting your prescription toward an appropriate maintenance intake.

That doesn’t necessarily mean making one large jump in calories overnight. Your prescription can be adjusted while we continue watching your weight trend, food intake, activity, hunger, and how your body responds.

As calories increase, you’ll have more flexibility with your food choices, but the habits you’ve developed still matter. Continue prioritizing adequate protein, nutritious foods, reasonable portions, regular activity, and the behaviors that helped you reach your goal.

Maintenance also doesn’t mean keeping your body weight at one exact number forever. Your weight will naturally fluctuate. A practical maintenance range is much more useful than reacting every time the scale moves up or down.

One of the most valuable things you’ve learned through MacroRx+ is how to recognize trends and make adjustments. If your weight begins consistently moving outside the range you want to maintain, you don’t need to panic or start a crash diet. You can identify what’s changed and make smaller corrections before a few pounds become a much larger regain.

Over time, you may also decide that you don’t need to track every food forever. Some people prefer continuing to track regularly, while others gradually rely more on the portion awareness, food knowledge, meal patterns, and other skills they’ve developed. The goal is to find the level of structure that allows you to maintain your results without making food tracking the center of your life.

And remember: maintaining your weight successfully is progress. Once active weight loss ends, the absence of weight loss is no longer a plateau—it’s the goal.

MacroRx+ isn’t just about helping you lose the weight. It’s about helping you build a system you can rely on to keep it off.

Question 25

What if I’m having trouble reaching my protein target?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

Your protein number is a minimum target, so we want you to make a reasonable effort to reach it each day. But if you’re consistently struggling to get enough protein, don’t simply force down a large amount of food at the end of the night. There are usually easier ways to structure your day.

First, remember that your protein target is the amount listed in your current MacroRx+ prescription. You don’t need to calculate a different protein goal based on your body weight, something you read online, or the recommendation MyFitnessPal gives you.

One of the easiest ways to reach your target is to start thinking about protein earlier in the day. If most of your protein is left for dinner, reaching your minimum without going over your calories can become difficult.

Try including a meaningful source of protein with each meal and, when useful, your snacks. Chicken, turkey, lean beef, fish, eggs and egg whites, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, lower-fat dairy, and other protein-rich foods can all help. Protein shakes and bars can also be convenient tools when getting enough protein from regular food isn’t practical.

Pay attention to how many calories you’re spending to get your protein. Some foods contain protein but also contain substantial amounts of fat or carbohydrates. There’s nothing wrong with those foods, but if you’re running out of calories before reaching your protein target, choosing leaner protein sources for some of your meals can make your prescription considerably easier to hit.

Pre-logging can help tremendously. If you know what you’re having for dinner, enter it ahead of time and look at how much protein you’ll still need. That gives you the opportunity to adjust breakfast, lunch, snacks, or portion sizes before you reach the end of the day.

What if you go over your protein target?

That’s generally fine. Protein is a minimum rather than a number you need to hit exactly. You don’t need to stop eating protein because MyFitnessPal shows you’ve reached your target.

Your other priorities still matter, though:

Calories → Minimum Protein → Carbohydrate Target

Going substantially over protein doesn’t give you permission to exceed your calorie prescription, and eating more and more protein isn’t automatically better. Once you’ve met your minimum, continue making food choices that allow the rest of your day to fit your prescription.

If you occasionally miss your protein target, don’t try to make up the missing protein the following day. Just return to your normal prescription.

If you’re consistently unable to reach your minimum protein while staying near your calorie target, tell your coach. Your food log can help us identify where your calories are going and suggest practical substitutions or changes to meal timing that may make the target easier to reach.

Don’t wait until bedtime to discover you’re 60 grams short. Build protein into your day, log ahead when you can, and treat your MacroRx+ protein prescription as a minimum—not a number you have to hit perfectly.

Question 26

What should I do if I get sick and can’t follow my prescription?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

If you’re sick, taking care of your health comes before perfectly following your MacroRx+ prescription.

A minor cold may not change much, and you may be able to continue eating and tracking normally. But illnesses involving fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, significant loss of appetite, or other symptoms can make your normal calorie and macro targets unrealistic for a few days.

Don’t force yourself to hit your numbers simply for the sake of having a perfect MacroRx+ day.

Eat and drink according to what you’re able to tolerate, with particular attention to staying appropriately hydrated. Follow any dietary or medical instructions you’ve received from your healthcare provider.

Continue logging when practical. Your food log doesn’t need to look good—it just helps your coach understand what actually happened. If you’re too sick to track for a day or two, don’t worry about reconstructing everything later. Resume when you’re able.

Your weight may also behave unusually while you’re sick. Changes in food intake, hydration, medications, inflammation, digestion, and activity can all affect the scale. Don’t make decisions about your normal prescription based on weight changes that occur during an illness.

As you recover, simply work your way back toward your normal eating, activity, tracking, and accountability routine. There’s no need to compensate for missed workouts or unusually high or low food intake while you were sick.

Let your coach know if an illness is significantly affecting your eating, activity, or ability to follow your prescription—particularly if it lasts for more than a few days.

MacroRx+ provides nutrition coaching, not medical treatment. If you’re concerned about your symptoms, becoming dehydrated, unable to eat or drink adequately, or unsure how an illness or medication affects your nutrition, contact your healthcare provider.

Get well first. Keep us informed, do what you reasonably can, and return to your normal MacroRx+ routine as you’re able.

Question 27

What should I do if I go over my calories or macros?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

Going over your calorie or macro targets occasionally is normal. Don’t try to “fix” it by drastically cutting your food the next day.

First, make sure your MyFitnessPal log accurately reflects what you ate. Don’t delete foods, change portions, or stop logging because the day didn’t go according to plan. Your coach needs the real information to understand what’s happening and provide useful feedback.

If you realize you’re going over before you’ve finished eating for the day, look at what’s left and use your MacroRx+ priorities to guide your choices:

Calories → Minimum Protein → Carbohydrate Target

For example, if you’re already close to your calorie target but still short on protein, look for a lean protein source rather than trying to perfectly balance every number.

If you’ve already gone over your calories, don’t skip meals, fast, dramatically reduce your calories, or add extra exercise the following day to compensate. Simply return to your normal MacroRx+ prescription.

One higher-calorie day doesn’t determine your progress. Your results come from what you do consistently over time.

It can also be useful to look at why you went over. Was it a restaurant meal? Alcohol? Portions that were larger than expected? Getting too hungry before dinner? Snacking without logging first? A food that’s difficult for you to portion?

That’s useful information—not a reason to beat yourself up. Recognizing patterns helps you and your coach find practical ways to handle the same situation differently next time.

If you’re going over your prescription frequently rather than occasionally, talk with your coach. Consistent hunger, difficulty reaching your targets, changes in activity, or other patterns may be important information when your progress and prescription are reviewed.

Log what actually happened, learn from it, and return to your normal prescription. Don’t turn one higher-calorie day into several days of trying to compensate for it.

Question 28

What should I do if I miss a day of tracking or accountability?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

Missing a day happens. Don’t let one missed day turn into several.

If you forgot to log your food or submit your accountability screenshots, simply resume your normal MacroRx+ routine as soon as you can.

If you can accurately remember what you ate, it’s fine to go back and complete your MyFitnessPal log. But don’t spend a lot of time trying to reconstruct every bite from memory or enter foods just to make the numbers look complete. Accurate information is useful; invented information isn’t.

If you logged your food but simply forgot to post your screenshots, submit them late if they’re still available and reasonably accurate.

Most importantly, don’t respond to a missed day by changing your food intake. There’s no need to eat less, skip meals, fast, add extra exercise, or otherwise compensate. Follow your normal MacroRx+ prescription.

And don’t avoid posting the next day because you’re embarrassed about missing one. Accountability isn’t about maintaining a perfect streak. Your coach would much rather see you immediately return to your routine than disappear for several days because one day didn’t go as planned.

If missed logging or accountability starts happening frequently, let your coach know. Sometimes there’s a practical problem we can help solve—your tracking routine may need to be simplified, you may need a better time to submit screenshots, or another part of the process may be getting in your way.

One missed day doesn’t erase your progress. Resume logging, resume your accountability, and keep going. Consistency over time matters much more than a perfect record.

Question 29

What should I do if I’m unusually hungry?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

Some hunger is normal when you’re eating fewer calories than your body uses, but you shouldn’t feel like you’re constantly starving your way through MacroRx+.

If you’re unusually hungry, first stop and think about what you’re experiencing. Are you generally hungry and ready to eat, or are you specifically craving something sweet, salty, crunchy, or highly palatable?

One simple strategy we’ve used for years at MacroRx+ is what you might think of as the “chicken and broccoli test.”

Ask yourself:

“If I could have as much plain cooked chicken breast and steamed broccoli as I wanted right now, would I eat it?”

If the answer is an enthusiastic yes, that’s a pretty good signal that you should take your hunger seriously. Have something filling and nutritious. Chicken and broccoli are simply examples—you don’t literally have to eat those foods.

If chicken and broccoli sound completely unappealing, but cookies, chips, ice cream, pizza, or another particular food sounds fantastic, pause before assuming that eating more is what your body needs. You may be experiencing a craving, habit, boredom, stress, or a desire for a particular taste rather than generalized hunger.

That doesn’t mean cravings are bad or that you can never eat the food you’re craving. It just helps you identify what problem you’re actually trying to solve.

If you really are hungry, don’t try to prove your willpower by suffering through it. Start with foods that provide protein, fiber, volume, and plenty of nutritional value. Lean protein, vegetables, fruit, lower-fat dairy, potatoes, soups, and other filling foods can often help you feel much more satisfied for relatively few calories.

Also look back at your day. Have you eaten enough protein? Fiber? Have you gone a very long time without eating? Did you use a large portion of your calories on foods that weren’t very filling? Has your activity increased substantially?

Most importantly, tell your coach if unusual hunger becomes a pattern. Don’t repeatedly exceed your prescription because you’re hungry, but don’t repeatedly ignore significant hunger either. Your hunger, food log, weight trend, activity, and progress are all useful information when your coach reviews your prescription.

The goal isn’t to eliminate every feeling of hunger. It’s to learn the difference between hunger and wanting a particular food, make a thoughtful choice, and let your coach know when hunger is consistently making your prescription difficult to follow.

Question 30

What should I do if my weight suddenly goes up?

Derek Lee · Accepted Answer

First, don’t panic—and don’t change your MacroRx+ prescription because of one weigh-in.

Your scale measures your total body weight, not just body fat. It’s completely normal for body weight to move up and down from one day to the next even when you’re consistently losing body fat.

A sudden increase can be affected by many things, including:

A higher-carbohydrate or higher-sodium meal
Restaurant food
Alcohol
Changes in hydration
Food still being digested
Constipation or changes in bowel movements
A hard workout or changes in exercise
Hormonal changes, including the menstrual cycle
Travel, poor sleep, or changes in your normal routine

Some of these factors can cause your body to temporarily retain more water or simply leave more food and fluid in your body when you step on the scale.

That’s why an overnight increase in body weight doesn’t mean you gained that amount of body fat.

Don’t respond by skipping meals, fasting, dramatically reducing your calories or carbohydrates, intentionally dehydrating yourself, or doing extra exercise to make the number come back down.

Instead, continue your normal MacroRx+ prescription, drink normally, stay active as usual, keep logging accurately, and continue your daily weigh-ins.

In many cases, the scale will settle back down over the following days as the temporary factors resolve. More importantly, your coach is looking at your weight trend over time, not judging your progress from one unusually high number.

If your weight remains elevated and the longer-term trend has genuinely changed, that’s useful information. Your coach can evaluate it along with your food logs, activity, and recent progress during your regular review.

One weigh-in is a data point—not a verdict on your progress. Follow your prescription and let the trend tell the story.

Question 31

What's the scoop on artificial sweeteners?

macrorx+ · Accepted Answer

Low- and no-calorie sweeteners can be useful tools for reducing added sugar, carbohydrates and calories while still allowing you to enjoy sweet foods and drinks. Common examples include aspartame, sucralose (Splenda), acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), saccharin, stevia and monk fruit.

You don’t need to avoid these sweeteners to be successful with MacroRx+.

Sweeteners that are approved or recognized as safe for use in foods have established safety standards, and normal consumption within those limits is not the same thing as the extremely high doses sometimes used in laboratory or animal studies.

At the same time, replacing sugar with a low-calorie sweetener doesn’t automatically make a food nutritious. A diet soda may contain very few calories, for example, but that doesn’t give it the nutritional value of water, milk, fruit or other nutrient-containing foods and beverages.

For weight management, low- and no-calorie sweeteners can sometimes be helpful when they replace higher-calorie sources of added sugar. If switching from regular soda to diet soda helps you stay within your calorie prescription, that can be a perfectly reasonable choice.

We still encourage you to build most of your diet around whole and minimally processed foods that provide protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Sweeteners — whether they’re aspartame, sucralose, stevia, monk fruit or something else — don’t need to become a major focus of your diet.

There’s also no need to choose a sweetener simply because the label says “natural.” Natural and artificial describe where or how something originated; they don’t automatically tell us whether one option is safer or healthier than another.

Bottom line: You don’t need to fear artificial sweeteners, and you don’t need to consume them either. If a low- or no-calorie sweetener helps you reduce added sugar or calories and you enjoy it, it can fit into your MacroRx+ plan. Focus more on the quality of your overall diet than on whether an individual food contains a particular sweetener.

Question 32

When should I be putting food into my MyFitnessPal log?

macrorx+ · Accepted Answer

Whenever practical, log your food before you eat it.

One of the most useful habits you can develop with MacroRx+ is looking ahead rather than discovering at the end of the day that you’ve already used most of your calories, haven’t eaten enough protein, or don’t have room for something you wanted.

Pre-logging lets you see how a meal or snack fits into your prescription before you make the decision to eat it.

This is especially useful for:

Planning meals later in the day
Choosing portion sizes
Comparing different food options
Making sure you’re getting enough protein
Restaurant meals or higher-calorie foods that may require more planning

You don’t have to plan your entire day perfectly every morning. If you know what you’re having for dinner, though, try entering it ahead of time. Then you can see what you have available for breakfast, lunch, and snacks.

The same principle applies right before eating something:

Log it before you eat it.

If the portion doesn’t fit the way you’d like, you still have the opportunity to change the amount, choose something different, or adjust another part of your day.

Of course, real life doesn’t always allow you to pre-log everything. If you eat something unexpectedly, simply log it as soon as practical afterward. Accurate logging is ultimately more important than when you enter it.

Over time, pre-logging becomes less about “following a diet” and more about learning how to make intentional food choices.

Plan when you can. Log before you eat when practical. And make sure everything gets logged by the end of the day.

Question 33

When should I submit my daily screenshots?

macrorx+ · Accepted Answer

Submit your daily screenshots after you’ve finished eating for the day and your MyFitnessPal food log is complete.

Your screenshots should represent everything you ate and drank that day as accurately as possible. This gives your coach the information needed to review your intake and provide useful feedback.

Post your screenshots to the private MacroRx+ community each day as part of your daily accountability.

Don’t worry about making your numbers look perfect before you submit them. Your coach needs to see what actually happened—not what you wish had happened. A day when you went over your calories, missed your protein target, ate at a restaurant, or simply didn’t have your best day can provide valuable information.

If you eat something after you’ve already submitted your screenshots, update your MyFitnessPal log. If practical, post an updated screenshot or let your coach know that your original submission changed.

And don’t skip your screenshots because you had an off day. Those are often some of the most useful days to share.

Accuracy matters more than perfection. Log it, submit it, and let your coach help you learn from it.

Question 34

When will my calorie and macro prescription change?

MacroRx+ · Accepted Answer

Your MacroRx+ prescription is reviewed each Monday as part of your weekly progress review.

Your coach will look at how you’ve been doing and determine whether your calorie and/or macro prescription should be adjusted for the upcoming week.

A weekly review does not necessarily mean a weekly change. Sometimes the best decision is to keep your prescription exactly where it is and give your body more time to respond. Other times, your progress may indicate that an adjustment is appropriate.

Prescription changes are made on Mondays following your weekly review, not throughout the week. This gives us consistent periods of data to evaluate rather than reacting to normal day-to-day changes in weight or food intake.

That’s also why accurate logging, daily weigh-ins and accountability screenshots are so important. The better the information we have, the better we can evaluate how you’re responding to your current prescription.

Don’t adjust your calories or macro targets on your own during the week. Follow your current prescription until your next Monday review unless your coach specifically tells you otherwise.

Remember: a prescription staying the same isn’t a sign that nothing is happening. If it’s still appropriate for your progress, there’s no reason to change it simply because another week has passed.

Your results determine when an adjustment is needed — not the calendar alone.

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