1 hr 4 minHow to Start Tracking Food Without Feeling Overwhelmed
With Jordan Syatt
Guest on the show
Jordan Syatt
Jordan Syatt is a strength coach with records in powerlifting, a former personal trainer to Gary Vee, and the creator of a kids' workout YouTube channel.
Episodes with Jordan Syatt
1 hr 4 minWhat Jordan talks about
Ep. 215: How to Start Tracking Food Without Feeling Overwhelmed
Strength coach Jordan Syatt, former personal trainer to Gary Vee, joins Nikkiey Stott for a blunt conversation about the basics that actually work. He makes the case for eating your vegetables instead of buying greens powders. He explains self-efficacy, your belief in your own ability to succeed, as the biggest driver of results. He also points out that most people who say they failed simply quit too soon, often because the scale was their only measure of progress.
Jordan lays out how he moves someone into food tracking step by step: write down everything you eat, then add up calories, then bring in a food scale, then add protein and fiber. For fat loss, he says calories, protein and fiber are what matter. He saves full macros for athletes, serious trainees and people who love numbers, and treats intuitive eating as the final level, not the starting point. For the busy mom, he starts with walking, because it makes you feel better right away and makes it feel worth it to eat well.
The conversation also covers why fitness fads keep coming back, a detour into politics and finding common ground, and why strength training matters so much for women as they age. Jordan says even one set per muscle group per week can make you a different person in six months. He closes with the story behind his kids' workout YouTube channel.
- Eat actual vegetables instead of relying on a greens powder; Jordan says Athletic Greens offers less than a standard multivitamin at a far higher price.
- If you don't like vegetables, use free recipes, YouTube or ChatGPT to find simple ways to make them taste good, and accept that not every food needs to taste amazing.
- Believing your success is inevitable, which Jordan calls self-efficacy, is the number one predictor of whether you keep going through the bad days.
- Track more than your weight: strength, energy, skin, mood, conditioning and resting heart rate all show whether your plan is working.
- If you lost weight and gained it all back, the method didn't work, so try a different one instead of repeating the crash diet.
In Jordan's words
Questions Jordan helps answer
Ask Nikkiey →
Macros & Macro Tracking
How do I start tracking macros as a beginner?
Start by learning to track before chasing any numbers. Nikkiey has beginners log what they normally eat in MyFitnessPal for seven days, then focus on protein first and add fats and carbs later. Keep your meals simple and repetitive for the first few weeks so tracking becomes a skill, not a source of overwhelm.
Read the answer →
Common questions
Can a greens powder replace eating vegetables?
Jordan says no. In his view Athletic Greens gives you fewer benefits than a standard multivitamin at many times the price, and eating the vegetables is better for your health and your wallet.
How should a beginner start tracking food?
Jordan starts by having people simply write down everything they eat, without amounts. Next they add up rough calories, then they weigh and measure food, then they add protein and fiber. He says weighing takes extra time at first but less than five minutes a day after a month.
Do women over 40 need to track macros to lose body fat?
Jordan says that for fat loss he focuses on calories, protein and fiber, and carbs and fats can fall wherever you want. He brings in full macros mainly for athletes, high-level trainees, or people who genuinely enjoy the numbers.
Should beginners start with intuitive eating?
Jordan calls intuitive eating the most advanced form of eating and says starting there is like putting a new driver in the Daytona 500. He sees it as the final stage after you've learned portions through tracking.
Why start with walking instead of nutrition?
Jordan explains that nutrition changes don't give immediate feedback and the scale can even go up in the first week, while a walk makes you feel better right away. Once people exercise, eating well starts to feel worth it.
How much strength training do you need to see benefits?
Jordan says you don't need hours in the gym. Doing one set per muscle group per week can make you a completely different person in six months.