It can be frustrating when you’re working hard toward body composition goals and come up against an unforgiving schedule. For many, the choice is between sticking to their program or waiting for better times. While taking a step back is the right choice for some, others would rather find ways to make it work.
In this article, we will dive into practical tips for progressing with your body composition goals, even when your schedule isn’t on your side. Hopefully, you’ll find a strategy or two that clicks, and progress will start to feel within reach again.
Quick word on mindset: Progress but realistic expectations
At MacroFactor, we’ve talked a lot about goal setting and the principles of self-determination theory. Even during challenging times, pursuing specific goals can lead to better health and body composition over time. But let’s be honest — life gets messy. There will be times when pushing toward your goals feels much more daunting than usual.
Yes, we should aim to keep striving toward improvement and hitting that next level whenever possible. But we have to temper our drive with reasonable expectations. Pushing too hard for perfection can lead to losing progress overall. So, think of this article as a guide to help you aim for improvement over perfection. Small, consistent steps forward add up over time. Focus on what you can control and make the most of those opportunities, but keep perspective of what is realistic and healthy for your world.
With that, let’s dig in.
First, audit your schedule
I find a lot of advice for navigating difficult situations lacks compassion and an understanding of how challenging it can be to deal with unpredictability. I thrive in a rhythm where things flow in repeatable chunks. When I get thrown curveballs, it affects my training and nutrition. We tend to become the routines we create and find it difficult when they get thrown off.
So, what can we do when our schedules are erratic and more chaotic than structured?
The first step is recognizing that even the most unpredictable schedules often have at least some hidden patterns. For example, maybe your work hours vary, but your downtime between working is the same. Or maybe your weekdays are often chaotic, but you can predict what happens on weekends. Sift through these reliable moments to build routines within the more predictable aspects of your schedule.
Even if your schedule is highly unpredictable, you can still find predictability in consistent patterns. For example, if your work schedule has you working different shifts, you may be unable to plan consistent workout times at a specific hour. However, everyone’s schedule includes a “bedtime” and a “wake-up” time. If you’re discouraged because you can’t stick to a specific training time — like, “I want to train at 5 every morning” — consider anchoring your workouts to your wake-up routine instead, whether 5 a.m. or 3 p.m. The key is to make it a consistent habit: “I always train within 45 minutes of waking up.”
Within a similar example, let’s also talk about total training time. Many people get frustrated by being unable to train as long or intensely as they want. Advice? Make it a habit that you train when you wake up or get off work, no matter how long you can train. Some days, it might be a 10-minute workout, while other days will allow for an entire session. The point isn’t perfection — it’s building a habit that works with your schedule, not against it.
In the next section, I’ll go into more detail about examining your obstacles for solutions, but here is a short look at a few ways you can work within your current schedule by making small changes.
| Pattern or Challenge | Hidden Opportunity | Actionable Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Erratic work hours | Consistent downtime between shifts | Use downtime to prep meals or set up gym stuff for the next day. |
| Inconsistent wake-up times | Wake-up routine remains consistent | Anchor training to waking up, regardless of time of day (e.g., train right after brushing your teeth). |
| Limited weekday predictability | Weekends are more stable | Plan longer workouts or meal prep on weekends when you have more time. |
| Frequently missed workouts | Some free time available daily | Schedule micro-sessions (e.g., 10–15 minutes) during breaks or after work to maintain consistency. |
| No time for long workouts | Short, unplanned gaps in schedule | Keep resistance bands or a mat nearby for scalable bodyweight workouts. |
| Meals are always on-the-go | Same routes or stops daily | Identify body comp friendly options at restaurants or convenience stores along your routes. |
| Irregular training days | Can still track frequency and volume | Focus on hitting a set number of sets weekly rather than rigid daily goals. |
| Frequent travel | Better hotels for your goals | Pack resistance bands or if possible pick hotels with fridges and gyms. |
| Fast-paced mornings | Evenings tend to calm down | Shift training or meal prep to evenings instead of forcing it into an already busy time. |
Next, identify your biggest obstacles to progress
As a reminder, improving body composition means building muscle, losing fat, or often combining both over time. Losing body fat requires an energy deficit and, ideally, some form of resistance training to maintain as much muscle mass as possible. Adding muscle mass requires eating enough Calories to support repair and growth, combined with progressive overload in your training.
When life gets hectic, there are likely a few areas where you struggle more than others. Some obstacles are obvious. For example, a demanding, erratic schedule leaves little time to train, and muscle gain isn’t likely to happen without training. However, other issues might be more connected by a longer tail. For example, your schedule is causing unpredictable and short sleep times. This poor sleep could lead to increased hunger and higher food intake to help you get energy for the day. The result? Your schedule leads to poor sleep, and inadequate sleep makes it hard to stick to a Calorie deficit.
So, step back and identify the areas that need the most attention. Once you’ve pinpointed your biggest obstacles, focus your energy on tackling those first.
| Challenge | Tip |
|---|---|
| Are you undereating? | Check out this MacroFactor article for practical tips to eat more Calories. |
| Are you overeating? | Check out this MacroFactor article for practical tips when you have to eat lower Calories. |
| Are you struggling to hit your protein targets? | Oftentimes, people struggle with protein ideas. This article gives a lot of advice on protein, different sources, and costs. |
| Are you eating the wrong kind of takeout or convenience foods for your goals? | Find takeout options that are more supportive toward your macros or dive into meal prep to make hitting your goals easier. |
| Should you put more focus on general activity? | Aim for daily movement and get in more walking where you can. |
| Should you put more focus on resistance training? | Start off with focusing on one or two specific resistance exercises and build from there. |
In short, take a step back and aim to improve the one thing that will make the biggest difference in your progress. If it’s all a mess, which happens, try to focus on what feels the most realistic to tackle first.
Now, here are a few practical tips for application
Most of this is about maximizing downtime. And let’s face it — not every free moment in your schedule needs to be packed with tasks. Downtime is important for rest and recovery. But when you find gaps in your schedule and want to use that time productively, here are some ideas to consider. These small things can make your life much easier and help you move toward your goals, even when life feels chaotic.
Meal prep
We have an article that covers meal prep strategies for all kinds of budgets and time constraints. If your schedule is tight or all over the place, many of the tips in that article could be especially helpful.
Also, think outside the box about what meal prep can look like. For example, a Mexican-style lasagna might seem like something you’d make for a big family, but it’s just as useful for one or two people. You make it once, and dinner is ready for a few nights. Along a similar line of thought, you can bake or grill a bunch of chicken breasts at once and have a versatile protein source to toss with salad or vegetable sides.
If you’re already planning to cook, adding a little extra effort once or twice a week can save you time later. For example, doubling a recipe, adding a few more protein sources, or roasting extra veggies doesn’t take much additional effort and gives you more “on-the-go” options later. Lastly, you don’t have to go all-in and prep full meals at one time. You can focus on your protein, chop some extra veggies, or portion nuts into grab-and-go servings. Keep it simple and realistic for your lifestyle.
Ways to keep resistance training flexible
No matter your body composition goal, focus on getting any training you can — even if it’s for short stints or with (what you may consider) inadequate equipment. You’d be surprised at the progress you can make with a set of bands. So, if you have a demanding schedule, the first rule is to eliminate the idea that you can only make progress with a full gym and long sessions. Consistency and intensity are the biggest keys. Keep in mind that even bodyweight exercises are highly scalable, and you can start with basics like push-ups or squats and advance to single-leg or single-arm variations.
Additionally, look at what realistically works for your schedule. For example, maybe you can get gym sessions in on the weekend, but you only have time for quick home workouts during the week. Much like with nutrition, look at your obstacles — where are your biggest sticking points? Would it be better to invest in home equipment? Do you need to choose a new gym?
From an actual training standpoint, here are some simple tips to remember.
| More tips and strategies for training |
|---|
| Use compound movements to target multiple muscle groups simultaneously. If short on time, choose a single compound exercise per session and put all your sets toward that. |
| If needed, break workouts into shorter blocks. Focus on specific movements and do them in short bursts that can add to a collective volume over time. |
| Progressive overload still matters. Aim to increase sets, reps, weight, and range of motion. You can also add pauses or tempo variations to increase intensity. |
| Resistance bands are a great way to add more resistance to your training sessions or to get training in regardless of location. |
| Intensity is as important as volume since most people could probably train a little harder. So, work on dialing in your gauges of perceived exertion and failure while keeping in mind not to hurt yourself. |
| When traveling, check if your hotel has equipment like dumbbells or cable machines. Many gyms also offer 24-hour passes. |
| In general, take the chance to train whenever you can. Maybe it can only be three days in a row and then nothing for a week. However, if you make training a priority when you can, it will still make a difference overall. |
Build your go-to meals for every situation
There are three broad places or situations where it helps to have go-to meal options that are in keeping with your goals:
- At home
- At work
- On the go
At home, meal prep can make healthy food choices a breeze: by planning and cooking ahead, you can make sure you always have great, convenient meal options on hand.
At work, you have a few options. First, you could stick with the meal prep approach: in addition to prepping the meals you eat at home, you can also pre-prepare the meals you eat at work, so that all you’ll need to do is toss some Tupperware in a lunchbox before you head out for the day. Second, if your workplace has an on-site cafeteria, you can identify the cafeteria foods that are compatible with your goals, so that you won’t need to put much thought into your food choices when lunchtime rolls around. Third, if you eat out on your lunch break, scope out nearby restaurants meals that are compatible with your goals and pre-plan your weekly restaurant meals the same way you’d pre-plan meal prep for the week.
People tend to struggle the most when planning meals on the go — when you’re traveling for work, driving, or spending time in airports. However, you can usually still find foods consistent with your goals when you’re on the go.
Take gas stations or convenience stores. If you’re tight on time, without access to a microwave, and limited to these places, you can still pull together something reasonable. The easiest option is usually milk. Gas stations often have some on hand and usually there’s a lower-fat option. Also, you can often grab hard-boiled eggs. Toss them in a container, add some mustard and mayo (usually free packets), sprinkle in some pepper, and mix them up. It’s a quick, protein-packed snack. For vegans, you can always grab some nuts or seeds, and at fancier gas stations, even roasted chickpeas or edamame. If you’re bulking, combine all three options.
As a general tip, truck stop gas stations tend to have much better selections than standard gas stations, since truckers rely on truck stops for most of their meals. The key is prioritizing protein and fresh produce while watching for versatile snacks that fit your macros. The same rule applies to grocery stores (a good quick option) and gas stations — stick to the perimeter and coolers.
With restaurants or fast food, there are actually a lot of options to hit your macros more easily. Many chains offer protein bowls, allow you to throw protein options onto a salad, or double up on the protein. For instance, you could order a sandwich but ask for extra protein, and if you wanted to decrease the carbs, you could toss one of the pieces of bread. By structuring meals around protein first and then filling in the gaps with fats, carbs, or extra veggies, you can stay on track without stressing over every detail.
The food landscape is more nutrition-friendly than it was even 10 years ago. Availability of protein options and fresh meals is increasing. Oftentimes, it’s a matter of switching up your routines. So, if you take just a little extra time to scout out local restaurants and your grab-and-go spots, you can build a database of meals and snacks that work for your palate and your goals.
Simplification of nutrition and logging
When tracking your nutrition, it’s not uncommon to slip into an all-or-nothing mindset. Many individuals stop logging entirely when they can’t do it perfectly or veer off track from their target goals. While this is understandable, I’d recommend reconsidering because every piece of data you log can be useful, and you don’t need to track with perfect accuracy for the data to still be useful. And this isn’t about not taking breaks when needed or when you feel burnt out. This is more about embracing the imperfect when you still want to stay on track.
The biggest tip is to always try to log estimated Calories and protein, even if you’re just guessing. Ideally, those guesses will become more educated and accurate over time. Still, keep in mind that tracking (at bare minimum) your Calories and protein gives you the best chance at seeing trends.
Additionally, if you’re using a tool like MacroFactor, logging basic information like your weight and estimated Calories can give you good insight. Over time, the app’s adaptive algorithms can provide better insight into your intake needs for your specific goals and make it easier to stay on track without requiring 100% precision.
MacroFactor features that streamline logging
These features make tracking less burdensome and help when you want to keep logging extra simple:
- Quick-add: This allows you to log rough estimates on the go. If desired, you can edit it later after gaining more information. This is especially good if you don’t have time to weigh or measure your foods, but want to take an educated guess.
- Label scanner: If you run into a grocery store and grab a few items, you can scan what you’re eating and instantly log Calories and macronutrients.
- AI describe: This feature helps you log foods when you provide a description of your meal, and it will return an estimate of the overall Calories and macronutrients. For example, you can say or type, “grilled chicken breast, rice, and broccoli,” and AI Describe will provide a generic version of those items. You can then edit the quantities of the items to what you feel fits best.
- Copy and paste options: If you eat the same meals regularly, copying and pasting food entries can save you a lot of time. For example, MacroFactor lets you copy meals or entire days of entries and paste them to future dates with minimal effort.
- Log future meals: Use pre-logging features to add meals to future days. With this, you can log during downtimes and plan your meals.
- Log the previous days: You can also log retroactively. This is great if you’ve been busy for a few days but can now play catch-up.
- Save meals and recipes: For meals you eat often, save them as a custom recipe. This allows you to log an entire meal with a single tap. If portions vary day to day, use the “explode” feature to adjust those individual components.
A few more quick tips and thoughts
As you can tell, this is a practical article to help you with tips and ideas on making the best out of less optimal situations. Here are a few more takeaways:
- Invest where you can make your life easier. Buying a good set of resistance bands, using a food delivery system, or paying for the gym by your house can be worth the investment if they make life and hitting your goals easier.
- Find ways to work in activity. You can try to take the stairs more, park further away from stores, or do light stretching while watching TV. Stay mindful of activity opportunities or where to work in a quick exercise set.
- Stack small habits. Pair things together. For instance, you can always make a protein shake for the day while your coffee is brewing, or you can cook double portions of your proteins or vegetables when you’re already making dinner.
- Recovering when things go off track. Treat days that you stray from your specific goals as blips, not failures. Try to get back to your basics of tracking Calories and protein immediately, and work in some sort of training.
- Scaling your goals to your capacity. Set smaller, manageable goals when life is really crazy. For example, maybe skip an aggressive fat loss phase during a time of harsh life demands. Instead, focus on being happy with any training you can get and tracking, even at maintenance, until life settles down a little.
Closing
We always have to straddle that line between giving space for relaxation and progressing toward our goals. Whether it’s a schedule that’s not great for the short term or your life for the next few years, use articles like this to find ways to focus on what you can do. Small wins from consistent effort will build progress over time. At times, it may involve feeling acquiescent — but once you step into that mindset, you will be amazed at what you can mark off your lists.
