Macro Tracking Made Simple | Ep. 347

When you restrict your calories without adequate protein intake, your body doesn't just burn fat.

It burns muscle too.

And losing muscle is a last thing that you want.

Because muscle is what helps to keep your metabolism elevated.

And it gives your body the shape and the definition that you want.

And it makes fat loss sustainable.

This is why I say that protein is the macronutrient thing.

It does so much for internally for your body, for repairing and building.

But then externally for the results that you want to see in your body.

What's going on, everybody?

Hey, you guys.

Welcome back to another episode of the macro hour.

Or if this is one of your first episodes,

welcome to the show with your host, Nikki Stott.

And all these episodes, my friends.

We talk about mindset, methodologies and tactics that will help you lose body fat,

build muscle, be strong and feel insanely confident.

In today's episode, episode number 346, we're going to dive into some simplicity

and bringing back the basics.

For majority of you, maybe you already know what this is.

But for those of you that don't, we're going to dive into the world of macros.

And this episode is for every woman who has ever nodded along

when someone said the word macros and then quietly went off this timeline

and Googled what that actually means later.

And there's no shame in that.

The fitness industry throws a word around a lot.

Everybody already knows what it is.

I mentioned this in a few episodes ago.

That I'm a diver, a decade into this space in the fitness industry.

And what is so just second nature to me is not the person that I meet at a dog park

and they're like, what are macros nutrients?

I have no idea what them they are.

So the fitness industry can toss around like everybody knows what it is.

But then there's a lot of women out there that feel confused.

And then they give up three days into a tracking app.

And we're wondering why is that?

And it's because there's a huge, there's a beginner still starting their journey.

And I want to lean into that with you guys today.

And if you're already in macros and I follow macros,

this could also just be a refresher for you guys.

Diving back into this and also will help you maybe articulate this to somebody else that

is starting their journey or does know what macros are or have been where you are

when you're a couple of years in and know what macros are and are tracking it.

Okay.

So overall, this can help everybody.

So we're going to dive into macros on one like the very foundation of it.

And by the end of the episode, I want you guys to be able to leave understanding

what macros are, why they matter for your body specifically, what they actually do.

And then what to do with that information moving forward.

Okay.

I'm going to break it down.

There's no jargon, no science.

I mean, there's going to be science.

We're just going to be just at like a level which I know you guys can understand.

All right.

And no overwhelm.

So first, let's dive into like what are macronutrients?

Well, macros are short for macronutrients.

And they are three main categories of nutrients that make up your food and give your body energy.

So every single thing that you eat is made up of some type of combination of of these three

of protein, carbohydrates and fat.

That's it.

Just those three.

Everything you eat, what you had for breakfast was made up of those three.

What majority people eat for breakfast is made up of only two of them, which is carbohydrates and fat.

So just keeping those three in mind, right?

Then a lot of people wonder what calorie, like talking about calories.

What about calories?

Calories are simply the unit of energy that the macros provide you.

Okay.

So how do they break down per gram?

So protein is four calories per gram.

So if you were to look at the back of a nutritional label and there was 28 grams of protein,

that means you times 28 by four.

And that's what makes up the overall protein calories in the total calorie number.

Carbohydrates are also four calories per gram.

And the fats are a little bit more calorically dense, where they are nine calories per gram.

So if you ever want to figure out like lining up the nutrition label with the calories,

minus like the sugar alcohols and the fibers, so that give or take to the calorie number,

but you just times what number you're seeing on the back of the nutritional label,

times that by four or times that by nine, and that will give you like the fat calories of the

overall calorie number.

So when you track your macros, you're tracking where your calories are coming from.

Not just how much you're eating, but what those calories are made up of.

And that distinction is what makes macrotracking so much more powerful than just counting calories.

And I'm going to circle back to that in the middle of this episode.

But before I do, I want you guys to know exactly what each macronutrient does.

Pro team is your body's primary building and repair material.

It builds muscle.

It builds or repairs your tissues.

It produces hormones.

It supports your immune system.

It keeps you fuller longer than any other macronutrient does.

And for women who want to lose fat and to build muscle and to change their body composition,

protein is the most important macronutrient to get right.

Like hands down period.

This is the macronutrient, what I call is the macronutrient king of all the macronutrients.

It's the most important one in regard to that goal.

Carbohydrates are your body's preferred energy source, especially for your brain and your muscles

during training.

Your body breaks down carbs into glucose for immediate energy,

or it stores them as glycogen for later.

So carbs feel your workouts to help you recover.

And let me just say this like point back blank plainly, carbs are not the enemy.

They are not the enemy.

They are fuel.

And if you avoid them entirely, that is not the answer.

You have to learn how to use them strategically.

That is the answer.

I have seen so many women remove carbohydrates from their diet because of being on keto,

because it makes them gain weight, or x, y, and z, or they're insulin, you know,

they need to be on lower carbs.

That is a different category of talking about.

But you don't need to cut them out entirely.

There's a strategic way to go about implementing them into your to overall intake on a daily basis.

And plus, think about it realistically.

If you're on keto, can you not eat carbs for the rest of your life?

No, so it's not sustainable.

Fat is essential and so important for your hormone production.

Including how it for hormone production, that means you're estrogen in your progesterone.

It supports your brain function.

It absorbs fat soluble vitamins like AD,

E, and K, and keeps your cells in so healthy.

And it also helps with your digestive tract.

So the more fat you have, the more regular you will be.

Now, as I mentioned, it's calorically dense.

So it has nine calories per gram.

So when you eat fats, the portions matter there, because you can

easily add up is what probably people have gotten in the term of eating fat makes you fat.

And yes, rightfully so if you're eating tons of calories of fat because they're

calorically dense.

So you want to keep them mind like minor at 90 grams a day for my fat intake.

So in the my carbs up in the 200, it's my proteinism, my body weight, right?

So like you can see that that number is going to be lower.

And it's easy for a lot of people to over consume.

But I don't want you guys to eliminate it.

You just need to know the portions matter with it.

And your hormones depend on your fat intake.

For any of you guys that know, remember my story back when I was bodybuilding.

I only had 14 grams of fat in my day for like eight weeks plus straight while I was in prep.

And that's what landed me in the emergency room because I was completely backed up.

I had poop in both of my intestines all the way up to the top of my X-ray.

And it was the most expensive poop in my life because I haven't turned into the time.

So, and that was because I didn't have a high number of fat intake in my day.

Just to consider if you guys feel like you're constipated or whatever,

like implementing fats can make a huge improvement to your digestive system.

Okay, so overall, the big takeaway with that is your body needs all three of these macros.

Cunning any one of them out entirely will create an imbalance and work against you,

even when it seems to be working short-term.

Okay, just like the carbohydrates I talked about, or when you cut them out,

you're not, people think they're losing weight or losing water because carbs hold on to water,

right? So just reminding you guys of that.

So cutting it out short-term, even though you think it works, it's working against you long-term.

And it will create some type of imbalance.

Okay, so you probably heard calories and calories out, right? At least for a lot of women growing up.

That was a golden rule for fat loss. Calories in, calories out.

I burn this many calories and I can eat this many calories and the cycle goes on.

Yes, calories matter. But here's why that is an incomplete picture.

Two women can eat this the same exact number of calories and get completely different results,

based entirely on their macrointake. So the example that I've always used, and I probably

said this in episodes before, is a woman A, eats 1800 calories, mostly processed carbs,

very little protein and high fat. Women B, eats 1800 calories, high protein, moderate carbs,

moderate fat. Over time, women B, builds more muscle, loses more fat, feels fuller,

and more energized and sees dramatically more change in her body composition.

Guys, same calories are both eating 1800 calories, but they're completely different results.

Because the composition of what they are eating and what their body can do with those calories is

entirely different. Hey, while you're listening, if you're getting value from this episode,

take a moment to top that review button or share this podcast with a friend.

It's a small gesture that goes a long way in helping more women find their way to feeling

stronger and more confident in their skin. I appreciate you so much for taking the time to support

this show. Now, let's talk about what happens when women just restrict calories without thinking

about macros because I know so many of you guys have been there. You can eat less, maybe a lot less,

and it works for a little bit than it stops. Or you lose weight, but you feel tired, you feel

soft. You know, you're not really getting to go work out in, you're not toned. Or you lose it

on and you gain it all right back. Here's what's happening. When you restrict your calories without

adequate protein intake, your body doesn't just burn fat, it burns muscle too. And losing muscle

is a last thing that you want because muscle is what helps to keep your metabolism elevated.

And it gives your body the shape and the definition that you want. And it makes fat loss

sustainable. This is why I say that protein is the macronutrient thing. It does so much for

internally for your body, for repairing and building, but then externally for the results that

you want to see in your body. So the skinny fat thing that I mentioned earlier, where you lose

weight, but you're not toned. You know, you're just looking skinny fat. The number on the scale

will go down, but the body doesn't look or feel the way that you hope that it would. This was me

when I first started my journey over a decade ago. I had no definition. I was a low energy. My

metabolism was tanked. Macro tracking, specifically making sure that you're eating enough protein while

managing or overall calorie intake protects your muscle while you lose fat. I can't tell you that

was a drastic difference that I saw. And when a lot of women see that are in warrior babe,

because a lot of women come to us, either they don't know what protein is or they don't know where

to get protein from. They don't know what to eat that has protein in it. So they're not consuming

enough on a daily basis. They think a cliff bar is healthy, giving you 10 grams of protein,

right? So there's that mindset. That was me too. Or there's people that start tracking

and they're bringing in where it is. And they're only eating like 80 grams of protein in a day.

All of that to say that when I made the shift to eating more protein when I first started my journey,

when I got into the bodybuilding space and was competing, that was what made me drastic results.

The difference between losing weight and actually transforming your body composition.

And that's why I'm so passionate about the macronutrients and so passionate about protein and so

passionate about because majority of you guys all want to lose fat and build muscle,

but you don't do the things needed to get there, which is not eating enough protein,

strength training, right? There's there's cardio and and overtraining. Yada got it on all those

approaches I've talked about, but macrotracking is so important that's the goal that you want to get to.

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That's warriorbeab.com forward slash apply. All right, let's get back to the show.

And I know you're like, well, I don't want to track markers for the rest of my life. I hear you.

You don't have to track markers for the rest of your life, but you're doing to develop a skill set

that you don't have yet. Because if you're where you are right now, you need to change something.

You can't keep doing what you're doing. So implementing something new to develop a learning

educational skill set is what is needed of you in order to get to the results that you want.

And then once you do have it down, like I'm telling you guys, five years and six years and I didn't,

I don't need to track markers anymore. I know it. I know it through and through. I know what protein is.

I know what carbs are. I know fats are. I know portions because I've been weighing out and looking at

portions for years, it just becomes this ingrained identity skill set. Okay. So don't let those

excuses get in the way of implementing these things. A lot of you guys probably like how much

of each macronutrient should you actually be eating. This is what's called your macros split,

which is the ratio of protein carbs and fat and your daily intake and honest answer.

You guys know this. There is no single perfect split that works for every single person.

Your ideal macros depend on your goals, your current body composition, how active you are,

your age, your hormones, your lifestyle. And this is why we have VIP 101 coaching and warrior

beam because you go into an onboarding for 45 minutes with your coach and she gets to know where you

are in relation to all of what I'm talking about right now. Do you know macros? Do you not know macros?

Where's your level of understanding with it? Have you ever been implementing it? And then we get

get down to the, okay, this is the reality where you are and how can we get a clear path goal to where

you know, we can start implementing the macros and then also getting you to where you want to be

with your goals. There's no right answer. But that said, there are principles that work for most

women focused on fat loss and focusing on those who want to change their body composition.

That being protein is always the highest priority. Most women doing well body composition and

changing their body composition eat someone between 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight

per day. So at 150 pounds, that's roughly either 108 or 105 or a quick math to 150 grams of protein

daily. And I know that probably sounds like a lot because for most women, like I said significantly

more than what you're actually currently eating, like if you're only eating 80 grams of protein in a day,

you don't just go to 150. You can jump up a little bit to maybe 100 and then allow your body to adapt

and adjust and then two weeks later do a slight increase up again and then again to get there.

So you don't just go from where you are right now to eating all of that protein. And trust me,

when you do it that way, you're going to feel your metabolism just being like, thank you,

forgiving me this food. You may feel fuller because protein is making you feel fuller because it's

it's job, okay? Carbs and fat fill in the rest of that based on your preferences and your training

style and how your body responds, right? I've talked about insulin resistance and being or insulin

sensitive, like what can your body take when it comes to carbohydrates? Someone would feel and

perform better with higher carbs. Others do better with a more balanced fat to car ratio.

More people do better with a higher fat, especially in menopause and postmenopause, really in menopause.

And like paramedicause, like where I'm at, why I'm eating 90 grams of fat is because my hormones

need it because I'm starting to feel the changes entering into paramedicause. This is where real

individualized individualization matters because you get to know those things and how your body

responds. Like, I'll tell you this, there's times where coaches set somebody off on their macros

and the body, the woman doesn't respond the way that where she feels great and she feels energized

and just a little tweak tweak of the fats and the carbs makes a world of a difference how that person

feels in two weeks. Okay, what I don't want you to do is to Google a random split and assume that

it is right for you because eating the wrong ratios for your body can not only slow down your

results significantly, but it can also just make you spiral and think something is wrong with you

and wondering why the macros aren't working, right? Even when you're doing everything else right,

so I would not recommend that. What I would recommend is checking out a program that you feel is

aligned with the vision and the goals that you want to accomplish and get inside of that and work

with a coach. AKA, check out Warrior Babe, if you're not inside of it, all right? Before we start

closing down this episode, I want to talk about some of the most common mistakes that I see women

making and knowing what not to do it because it's important leaving this episode. So number one,

mistake that I see is not eating enough protein. I've talked about this over and over and over again.

The most this is the most common one that I see is by far most women are eating a half or less of

the protein that they actually need. And without it, you can't build muscle, you can't preserve muscle,

your hunger is harder to manage, your fat loss is going to stall. The single mistake is can

explain why so many women aren't seeing results. The second one is cutting and fearing carbs and

cutting them wheat too low. Very low carb might move the scale quickly. Okay, you're going to see

that in the first week if you cut carbs, but most of that is water like I said, not fat.

Over time, chronically under eating carbs is going to tank your energy, it's going to hurt your

performance, it's going to disrupt your hormones and it's going to make building muscle nearly impossible.

Please understand that carbs are fuel and you need to use them. Since I'm doing each one of

the macradutrients and something that I see with fats is not accounting for fat. Fat is calorie

dense, which means that it makes it makes it easy to go over and consume fat without realizing it.

So a tablespoon of olive oil, a handful of almonds, like people would I do

explaining peanut butter and how people take a scoop of peanut butter and they think that's

the serving size and the serving size is literally like almost a quarter in a half of that.

They add a fast and not tracking this means that your calories can be way higher than you actually

think, even when you're eating quote unquote clean. I'm eating an avocado, I'm having a handful

of almonds, I'm putting olive oil on my salad or I'm having peanut butter, that adds up fast

and it sounds like you're eating clean, but you could over consume calories there. Mistake number

four is tracking inconsistently. You're perfect Monday through Friday and you completely fall

off the rails in the weekend, especially if you're new to this and you're just starting out,

you have to be honest. This is incredibly common and one of the main reasons women don't see

progress that they expect. Consistency over the full week matters more than perfection on any

single day. If you just track Monday through Sunday, you can not only see the inconsistency

and the consistency, but you can also see where you maybe need areas of improvement.

You're not going to be perfect at this and that's okay, you don't need perfection every day.

It may look like 80% on one day, 40% on the next day, 90% on the next day, 70%,

30%, 10%, okay? But you tracking every single day will help you guys see why progress may be

stalling and where you can improve. And then the last one is someone using someone else's macro

nutrients. This one gets me. Like someone shares their numbers from online and suddenly hundreds

of women are trying to eat those exact numbers. This is why you won't see me on social media sharing

macros. My numbers all the time because they copy and people copy and paste that. And then they

try themselves. Your macros need to be calculated for your body, your goals, your lifestyle.

Using someone else's numbers is like wearing someone else's prescription glasses. It's close,

but almost definitely not right for you, okay? Let that just sink in for a second. You every

human being on this earth should have different macronutrient numbers. Now, practical steps.

Here's how to get started without feeling overwhelmed. So one, download a tracking app.

My fitness pal, those ones are great. There's a couple, there's different ones out there.

Chrono, meter, both free and their user friendly. Pick one and set it up. Two, just log. Don't change

anything yet. For the first week, just track what you're eating. Don't be perfect. Don't try and

hit targets. Just get comfortable with the process and see what your current intake actually looks

like. Most women are genuinely surprised at this in both directions. Okay, set three is set your

protein goal first. Everything else builds from there. Working with a coach is the best way to get

your accurate targets for your body, but as a starting point, get your protein number set and

work towards hitting it consistently. And then set four is build meals around that protein.

So choose your protein source first and then fill in the carbs and fat around it. This makes

hitting your protein goal way more consistent and removes a lot of daily guesswork.

And then if you guys are probably guessing I'm going to say for step five is just be consistent.

It's not perfect. You will always have days where the numbers are off. That's normal and it does

not erase your progress. Just remember that tracking is a skill and it gets way more intuitive

the more that you do it. Most women who've been at this for a few months can eyeball their macros

pretty accurately. I'm telling you about even opening the app. And I'm telling you with where I

said earlier, like being 10 years into this, I don't need to track a mac or nutrient. It just

becomes second nature. That's all I got for this episode today. That's macros 101. I hope that,

you know, this maybe clicked in a way that a lot of it hopefully just registered resonates with

you guys and it leaves you feeling more aware and in alignment with how to get your results that

you want dialing in a little bit more. And if you guys want to go deeper and actually learn how to

track your mac or nutrient spill your plan and you know, the take the real accountability from the

coach. That's exactly what the worry be a VIP program is for. Real one among coaching.

I strategy built specifically for your body and your goals. It's not a template. It's something

that's actually yours. All right. The link is probably below this. So you go to worrybeap.com

forward slash VIP. And there's the episode helped you guys. Please, like I said at the beginning,

maybe some of you guys already know this. Share it with your friend who needs it. You know,

be able to maybe play back and articulate this to a family member or a coworker.

So you get them on the right track, right? You hear it and then you go encourage others to do

the same thing. All right, guys, appreciate y'all and I'll see you next episode. Peace out.

Real quick, if this episode resonated with you or gave you the push that you needed,

I'd love for you to pay it forward. Drop a quick rating and review, share the podcast with

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