133: I Set My Macros…What’s Next

Introduction 

You're listening to Biceps after Babies radio episode number 133

Hello and welcome to Biceps after Babies radio. A podcast for ladies who know that fitness is about so much more than pounds lost or PRs. It's about feeling confident in your skin and empowered in your life. I'm your host, Amber Brueseke, a registered nurse, personal trainer, wife, and mom of four.  Each week, my guests and I will excite and motivate you to take action in your own personal fitness as we talk about nutrition, exercise mindset, personal development, and executing life with conscious intention. If your goal is to look, feel, and be strong and experience transformation from the inside out, you, my friend are in the right place. Thank you for tuning in, now let’s jump into today’s episode.

What do I do to get started on this journey? 0:49 

Hey, Hey, Hey, welcome back to another episode of biceps after babies radio. I'm your host, Amber Brueseke. And my topic today, what we're going to sit here and chat about today is for those of you who are like, okay, Amber, you got me, I'm ready to get started, I'm ready to dive into counting macros and be able to utilize that tool to be able to reach my fitness goals. And maybe you've downloaded my guide, or you've had your macro set. And now you're like, Okay, now I have these numbers. Now, what do I do? How do I like to get started on this journey? And so for anybody who's sitting here and in that situation and being like, okay, what's next? What do I do? I'm a really good student, like, teach me, what do I do next? That is why I'm recording this episode today. How do you increase your odds of successfully using this tool of macro counting?

Is macro counting another kind of diet?  1:43

Now, I need to start this episode by saying that I approach macros very differently than many coaches, what I see very often with lots of clients who come to work with me, and with other coaches that I've had interactions with many coaches and women in general, tend to turn macro counting into another diet, where it becomes this is good, this is bad. It's good to hit your macros, and you feel guilty and shameful when you don't hit your macros. Or when you eat something off-plan, you don't track it. But like the rest of the day, right? Because it doesn't fit into your macros so they just stopped tracking, that way of viewing macros, reduces macro counting just down into another diet, like keto or Atkins, or any other type of diet where there's rules and restrictions, and there's a right way to do it and there's a wrong way to do it. Okay.

Utilizing  macro counting as a diet 2:45

Can you utilize macro counting as a diet? Absolutely. And here's the reason I think so many people view it that way. It's because that's what they know. It's because that's been their experience with fitness and nutrition in the past, their experience has been, I start a diet and the first thing I do is I learn, like what the rules are. Right. So for this diet, I'm now intermittent faster. So right now I have to, you know, pick my timeframe, and I have to not eat for eight hours, or 12 hours or 16 hours, or whatever it is. And like, here's the rule. So if I stay within these rules, then I've done it right, and it's going to produce a result, we've gotten into this mindset that is like, if I execute this the right way, I follow the rules, then I will get the result. And so that's the experience that many women have had throughout life because that's how nutrition has been handed to them as here are the rules now you got to follow them. And also, I will say, if you don't follow the rules, or you mess up, or you skip a rule, and you don't get the result that you want, well, then that's on you. Because you didn't follow the rules, right? You didn't follow this set of outlines. If you would have just followed the rules, then, of course, you would have gotten the result, right. So then it almost becomes this like guilt and shame thing of like, you're the problem. In fact, I recorded a whole podcast episode on it, Episode Number 102 that I titled, you are not the problem. That's an excellent episode to go back and listen to because I dive more into this concept. I think it's a real problem in the fitness industry. We'll link that up in the show notes, but it's episode number 102. So, because so many women have had that experience with diet and nutrition, in the past, when they come into macro counting, they bring a lot of that understanding and experience into the tool of macro counting and they turn it into another diet where you have your macros, and that's what you have to hit. And if you don't hit it, well you did it wrong and you just like that's your fault and you need to hit it And if you do, so we just hit your macros, then you get success, you get results. And I think that is the exact wrong way to view macro counting.

Become a macro scientist 5:10

So the way that I coach macros, the way that I train and teach my clients is not to become a macro dieter with rules and restrictions, and rather help you to step into the place of becoming a macro scientist. And a macro scientist utilizes the tool of macro accounting in a way that aligns with the goals that they have and the lifestyle they want to create. So I'm always talking to my clients about if you imagine a Venn diagram, in one circle is an effective plan. How do we make this most effective and effective meaning get you to your goals, whatever the goal is that you've set, we want to plan that's effective, it's going to drive you towards those goals. And then the other circle of the Venn diagram is the question of, is it enjoyable, like do you like to live that way is that the way that you want to live is that the foods you want to eat? Is that the lifestyle you want to live? And most women feel like their experience has been that those circles do not overlap. So they're either able to be on a diet and get results and have it be effective by following all the rules, or they just are like YOLO, we're off the diet, we can eat all the foods that we like. And they bounce back and forth between those two circles. And what I like to offer and teach my students and clients is that it's actually a Venn diagram where there's an overlap between the two. So how can we get curious? How can you become the macro scientists in your journey, and figure out where that overlap is for you, where we can build a plan that is effective, that's what we want, we want the result, and at the same time enjoyable? And where those two circles intersect, is what every one of my clients learns how to find.

Utilizing  the scientific principle of macro counting  7:07

And so the way that I introduce and teach and coach macro counting is like, how do we utilize the scientific principle because that's what macros are, like, it's a scientific principle, how our bodies work, how our bodies handle nutrition, but how do we take the scientific principle and utilize it in the best way in your journey. And the way that you use the tool is not the same way as somebody else is used as the tool. Just like, if you had another tool, if you had a hammer like we might use the hammer for different things, we might use it differently. One person may be using it to pull out a nail,  1 person may be using it to bang in a nail. Okay, so we can use a tool in different ways and apply it unique to you. And that's what's so important, is being able to apply this unique tool to your unique journey. And that's what I coach my clients are, that's what makes this process different. So I say that to give some context as we have this conversation, because the way that I might encourage you to go about these next steps after you set your macros may be different than other ways that you've heard. And there's a reason for that. There's a reason that I am not going to give you rules and tell you that you have to follow these rules in a certain way. Because I think that sets you up to just go back into that pattern of dieting, which you've likely already realized, doesn't work. Right. That's why you're here because you may have had experiences in the past of trying to diet going on a diet and it doesn't work. And now we're here. And so we realize that doesn't work. We don't want to go back to that, we don't want to go back to turning it into a diet, but we want to be able to utilize scientific principles and find this customized plan that is enjoyable and effective. And I believe that I can help you to find that I know that I can help you to find it because I've helped lots and lots of clients be able to figure it out.

Step 1: Setting your macros 9:02

So let's go through the steps and I'm going to start with step number one, which is setting your macros. So I know the title of this podcast is I set my macros what's next, but I do want to just hit on setting your macros briefly because this is the entry point for most people. This is where most people start. You know that in order to count macros. One of the things that you need is macros like we're looking for, like what are the targets that I am attempting to hit, that I'm attempting to move towards.

Some worst ways in setting your macros 9:37

And I'm going to tell you some of the worst ways to set your macros because I want to keep you from struggling with this very first step.

No. 1: Using My Fitness Pal to set macros 9:48

So do not use My Fitness Pal to set your macros. My Fitness Pal is a great app. I love it. I teach it with my clients. I have used it in the past but what is a very, very bad app is setting your macros for you. So when you log into My Fitness Pal, you're going to put in like your height and weight and all these things and My Fitness Pal is going to pop out some macros for you and I want you to just like ignore them. Okay? They are not accurate in the slightest. Do not use My Fitness Pal to set your macros, okay?

No. 2: Jumping from calculator to calculator 10:19

Next thing, do not jump from calculator to calculator, I can't tell you the number of people who messaged me and are like, Amber, I went on to three different calculators online, and I got three different macros, where the heck do I go from here? A calculator is only as good as the information that you put into that calculator. And calculators are created from an average. So if you think about a graph that like, has a hump in the middle, right, it tapers out on either side of the graph, there's an average in the middle, or like the average amount of calories a person expands the average amount of muscle to body fat ratio of someone who weighs this much. And then there are people there are like some people on the fringe, right? There are some people that aren't in that average, understand that any calculator is always going to be defaulting to averages. Is it a good place to start? Absolutely. But understanding that calculators are all set up differently. They're all just algorithms. They're only as good as the information that you put into the calculator, which, you know, we're talking about height and weight. That's one thing, but when we're talking about activity level and things like that, those are much more relative and subjective. So it's only as good as the information that you put in. And so if you're jumping from calculator to calculator, you're going to feel confused. And for most of us, they just don't even start because they're like, well, I got like five different numbers. Which one do I use?

No. 3: Using percentages 11:54

The next thing I would say does not use percentages. A lot of times people are like, well, what's the best percentage? Should I use 40-30-50? Should I use 50-30-20? Like what percentages should I use? Now, it's not the worst thing in the world to get started with percentages. But here's what I will say about percentages. Your body does not run on percentages. Your body does not say, Oh my gosh, she gave me 1500 calories today. And 30% of those calories were carbs. Like that's not how your body views, the fuel that it receives. It views it in absolute amounts. Like your body sees that you gave it 130 grams of carbs, not that you gave it 30% of the calories came from carbs. And so setting your numbers in percentages, while like an easy way to do it, I think that's why some people will default to it because it's just easy. While an easy way to do it. It's not how your body views things. And so what can happen and this is what I've seen happen is when you set it via percentages, you may be super low on your fat, for example. And while it may be 30% of your calories, if your calories are only 1200 calories, 30% of your calories from fat may not be enough for optimal, like hormone production. And so what happens is you miss seeing when certain macros aren't, let me back up. One thing we're really trying to do when we're setting macros is we're trying to maintain a caloric deficit, while also fueling the body well with each of the things that it needs. So it needs carbs, it needs fat, it needs protein. And we're wanting to make sure we don't drop each of those too low that our body is being fueled well, while at the same time creating a caloric deficit. And so utilizing percentages is just not a great way to make sure that each of the needs of your body of how many carbs it needs, how many proteins it needs, and how much fat it needs on like the lower level is actually met.

Use my free guide in setting your macros 14:01

So what do I recommend, I recommend using my guide, there's a reason that I created a free guide. And if you haven't grabbed that yet, it's at www.bicepsafterbabies.com/setmymacros. And in that guide, you will notice that I don't set it, have you set it during via percentages, but I have you go through each of the macros, and figure out based on your body weight, based on some other calculations, how much you need of each.

Do not overthink the process 14:28

Now, here's the thing that I'm going to say about this. Do not overthink this process. Don't go from calculator to calculator, pick one calculator and utilize it and get a starting place because all you're doing when you set your macros at first is getting a starting place. That's it. You're just getting a place to start. And so that over time you can optimize and when you realize that it starts to take the stress off of you having to do it perfectly, having to do it exactly right, having to have the most optimal macros right out of the gate. It's not going to happen. For 90% of people, you're going to need to adjust your macros. And we'll talk about that in just a little bit. But this is just a starting point. So do not overthink it. Overthinking it, overthinking is the art of creating problems that don't actually exist. So don't overthink it. Especially when you're using the guide and you're trying to figure out your activity level, just don't overthink it, do your best,  get a starting point and then we can go from there.

Check out Confidence In Your Numbers 15:33

Now, if you're someone who you're like, want more explanation, you're like going through that guide, and you're like, I want more explanation, I want someone to walk me through the different activity levels, I want someone to help me figure out this coefficient or whatever, then you'll want to check out my workshop Confidence In Your Numbers. Okay, this is a workshop that I give where I take you, I walk you through in a workshop style, figuring out your starting macros, and then teaching you a little bit about how to adjust those macros over time. So that's something that you would want to learn and you want me to walk you through that, then check out my workshop confidence in your numbers, it's on my website, we'll also link it up in the show notes. So you can have a direct link to it. But that's going to be a good option for someone who's like, I look at your guide, it's just so confusing. And I just, I hate math, and I don't want to do it and I need some help with it. Confidence In Your Numbers is going to give you confidence in your numbers, confidence in the macros that you set. So that's a good resource for you to check out.

Pick a place to start and get started 16:28

And then the last thing I will say about setting your macros is the best thing that you can do is pick a place to start and just get started. What you're going to find in the way that I coach my clients is that as you take action, you're going to get more clarity, you're going to get more feedback from your body. And what we're going to do is utilize that feedback to zero in on that sweet spot. Right, going back to the Venn diagram, that sweet spot where it's both effective and enjoyable in between there. And in order to get there, you got to get started. And then we can make adjustments and we can make tweaks and we can get you into that sweet spot. Okay, so step number one is setting your macros now what, right, that's what this podcast is about. So my macros, I want to do Amber.

Step 2: Get your tracking app 17:12

So step number two is to get your macros into your tracking app. Now, as I mentioned before, I like My Fitness Pal. I have used it for a very long time. I feel like it has the most robust database, it has abilities to do recipes. It has just the most robust app that I've seen that not everybody wants the most robust, some people want just the most simple, or the most pretty, or whatever. And that's what we find, find an app that works for you. There are lots of apps that you can track your macros in. And it doesn't really matter to me which one you pick, just pick one and commit and go with it. Now people always ask me, Amber, do I need the paid version of MyFitnessPal because there is a paid version. And there is a free version, I would recommend just starting with the free version. There are some limitations to the app but you absolutely can track macros by just using the free version. So don't let feeling like you have to pay for an app stop you from getting started, just use the free version or use another app that can do the same thing. In fact, if you are just getting started, I actually have a free guide called Getting started with county macros. And in this free guide, I give some other options for food tracking apps that you can use if you're someone who doesn't want to use My Fitness Pal or you want to use something else. So if you go to www.bicepsafterbabies.com/gettingstarted, you can go and download that free guide and have some other options of tracking apps that you can use. So regardless of what tracking app you use, I do highly recommend using an app, it's just gonna make your life easier. Could you do this in a notebook and look up the calorie count in the macro count for everything that you eat? Yes, but it's just gonna be so much easier just to be able to log the food that you're eating and have it electronically let you know how many macros you've eaten and how many you have left for the day. Okay, so that's step number two, get your macros that you've set. Remember, these are just your starting macros, they don't have to be perfect. They don't have to be exact, they're probably not going to be optimized. That's what we're going to do overtime. But we're just getting you started with something. So get those macros into your tracking app.

Step 3: Gather that starting data 19:28

Step number three is you'll want to gather your starting data. Now, this is a mistake that I'm going to help you prevent you from making because I see it all the time. And this is what it usually looks like. Someone gets started counting macros, they set their macros, they have their starting weight. They start to track their macros and a couple of weeks in there like Amber, my weight hasn't changed. What do I do? What did I do wrong? And I will ask for data and feedback and I will say Awesome. Well, okay, your weight didn't change. That's one data point. What about your progress pictures, what have you seen your progress pictures? What have you seen in your measurements? How have your measurements changed? And they will look at me with a blank face and say, Well, I didn't do that stuff. And I will look back at them and say, Okay, well, we need to do that now. Because we need those data points to be able to make adjustments in the future. So in order to prevent you from making that mistake, one of the very first things that you're going to do is you're going to gather your starting data. Yes, this means your weight. But it cannot only mean your weight, okay, we have to be pulling in multiple data points to be able to figure out what is going on. So we'll want to have you take progress pictures, we want to have you take your measurements. And when I say measurements, I mean, your waist measurement, your hips, your legs, your arms, and your chest. Okay, so taking those measurements. Now, why do we do that?

Understanding fat loss and weight loss 20:53

Because there is not a one-to-one relationship between fat loss and weight loss. Weight loss, when you step on a scale, the scale is measuring not just how much fat is on your body, it's measuring everything that's in your body, your bone weight, your muscle weight, your water, weight, your fat weight, it's measuring all of those things. And so what will happen is women will get on the scale and it will go up or it will go down. And they will make the assumption that that gain or loss is all fat. Right. So you step on the scale and the scales down a pound, you're like cool, I've lost a pound of fat. Not recognizing that there is not a one-to-one relationship between change in weight and change in fat, you could absolutely have the exact same amount of fat on your body and see the scale go down and have that whole pound that you just lost. You pee up and out more water the day before. It's often what happens with keto, it's why keto typically has such a fast weight loss very early on, people will lose like 10 pounds in three days. And the reason is, is because your body stores carbs with water. So like the glycogen in your muscles is stored with water. And so when you deprive your body of carbs, it depletes those glycogen storages. And as those sources are depleted, your body releases the water that was stored with them. And so you'll pee out a ton of water. And so you'll see the scale go down, down, down, down, down, down down, it does not mean that you've lost fat. And it works the same way, we can sometimes see the scale go up and be like, Oh my gosh, I gained a pound of fat, because we've just made this one to one correlation between weight and fat, when in actuality, you are just carrying more water, or you added more muscle like there are so many other reasons why that scale can be moving. So if you are only utilizing the scale, you are getting a skewed picture of what's actually going on with your body. And our goal, if your goal is to lose fat, then your goal is to lose fat, not just weight. Okay, and so separating those two out in your mind is so incredibly important because success is fat loss, not just weight loss, I don't want you just to lose weight, I can help you lose weight really easily. Literally, if you cut off your arm, you would lose weight, cut off your hair, you'll lose weight, take a diuretic, you're going to lose weight, it's not really weighted loss that we want, it's fat loss that we want. And so in order to figure out if that loss is happening in your body, we have to make sure we're looking at the right data points. And so we need to in addition to taking your weight, you want to take your measurements, and you want to take your progress pictures, those are gonna be really important moving forward in this process.

Step 4: Start with hitting your calories and then all your macros simultaneously 23:42

Alright, step number four, this is when we actually start tracking your macros. So when you're given macros, or when you set your macros, you're going to have a set number of calories, a set number of carbs, protein and fat, right, and the protein, carbs, and fat calories add up to your total calories for the day. So what most people do is they look at it and say, Okay, I'm supposed to have this amount of carbs, this amount of protein, this amount of fat, and then they go to it, and they are trying to hit all those numbers simultaneously right off the bat. And while some people can do it just fine. For most people, this is a recipe for overwhelm, and for feeling frustrated and discouraged, and ultimately quitting for a lot of people. And that's because going from not having any idea what macros or calories or nutritional value food has to try to hit all three macros simultaneously can be a really big jump. And so what I really recommend is starting with just hitting your calories, so you have a certain set number of calories, just start with hitting those get better at tracking, right tracking is going to be a learning curve and get better at figuring out you know how to scan foods in My Fitness Pal how to create recipes, how to do all these things while just hitting calories. And then once you feel good and you feel like you have that down, then I recommend going to hit your calories and protein goal. So just looking at those two numbers, and at the end of the day, having your calories and your protein goal, hit, whatever your goal is for that day. And then once you feel comfortable with that, then we can move on to hitting all three of your macros simultaneously. And by stair-stepping like this, you're going to reduce and remove a lot of the overwhelming, a lot of the discouragement that comes with people radically shifting their nutrition and that's what has to happen. A lot of times, when people are starting to track macros, they haven't ever eaten that amount of protein, maybe they are used to eating higher fat or lower carbs. And so you're making adjustments to your nutrition. And if you try to do too much of that at once, it can be very overwhelming. So if you choose to kind of stair step your way through it, you're likely going to be a whole lot more successful and feel a whole lot less overwhelmed than diving in all at once trying to hit all of your macros simultaneously.

Pre-logging  26:03

Now I do have a tip for you here if when you are going through this process, and when you're getting especially when you get to the point where you're hitting all of your macros simultaneously at the end of the day, pre logging is going to be a game-changer for you. What pre logging means is instead of logging as you go through the day, like okay, eat an apple, okay, I'm going to log in apple, okay, I ate some macaroni and cheese, Okay, I'm gonna log the macaroni and cheese instead of going through your day, that way, you are proactive with it, you sit down and you log your whole day ahead of time, you can do this like the morning or the night before and just plan what you're going to eat. And what this allows you to do is it allows you to tweak things ahead of time. So if you plan your entire day and you finish your plan and you realize your 40 grams of protein short, well, then you can go back and make adjustments and add things and take away things and tweak things and kind of play what we'd like to call macro Tetris to be able to by the end of the day, have hit all those macros simultaneously. And by doing this ahead of time you go into your day with a plan. Knowing that here's what I'm going to eat. And by the end of the day, I'm going to have hit all of those macros. So pre logging is going to be a game-changer for you if you are struggling to line up all of those macros by the end of the day. Otherwise, what happens if you are just like logging throughout the day and retroactively logging, meaning you eat it and then log it, a lot of times what will happen is, by the end of the day, you'll have you know, too fat left over and 40 protein and like you know three carbs, and you're like oh my gosh, what am I gonna eat that is gonna get me 4 protein, three carbs and 2 fat. If you pre log ahead of time, you're gonna save yourself a lot of headache in trying to get those macros all lined up.

Track macros that will serve as your data to input in your body 27:48

Now, here's where I want to like, put a little bit of my slant, and the way that I help clients approach macros. If we get into this rhythm of thinking that the only goal is to just hit the same macros every single day, and that is success and that's the “rule” that we have, again, just turned macro accounting into a diet. And so instead, what I would love you to kind of shift perspective on, or I'll offer shifted perspective is that one of the most important things with macro counting isn't necessarily hitting your numbers exactly on every single day, but rather using the tracking, tracking those macros to be able to have it as data and input into our body. So what I mean by that is that there is value in the days that you don't hit your macros, still continuing to log and track that information, because it is data, it's information of what is going into your body. And essentially, as a macro scientist, what you're going to be looking at is, hey, what am I putting into my body? What are the nutritional components of the things I'm putting into my body? And then we're going to be looking at the feed book and output like, what results am I getting. And if we have really consistent data on the input and consistent data on the output, then we can make adjustments to those macros to be able to change the results that we're getting. And so what I see all the time is people who have their macros set, and maybe even they go into the day with a plan, right? Like I'm gonna, this is my pre-log their day, and they go into their day. And then something spontaneous happens, someone drops off cookies, their spouse comes home and wants to take them out to dinner like whatever, right? Like life happens. And we can't always plan ahead for random things that are going to happen that we can't foresee. And so they eat the cookie or they go out to dinner or they're hungry at three o'clock and they eat something extra. And then they view that as like, a mess up, a mistake, something bad because they're not going to hit their numbers and then they stop tracking the rest of the day. Okay, many of you who are listening have done that before. It's very common.

Start to gather data and  information when you track your macros 29:55

And what I want to encourage you is to start to look at that information. Start to look at the macros that you're tracking as data and information. Meaning if you are going to go over your macros, track it, log in, get that data and that information, it is still valuable to know that I went, you know, 300 calories over my macros today. That is valuable data and information. And if you just try to like cover your eyes and pretend it didn't exist and like, get yourself through it, you're missing out on valuable pieces of information, because as we're going to talk about here soon, one of the most important things that you're going to be doing during your journey is making adjustments to your macros. And if you don't have that data of what you've been eating, then we have a much harder time making adjustments. Okay, so I saw I, you know, I teach about, like hitting those macros and teach you some ideas and ways about hitting them all simultaneously. But what I don't want is for your brain to then make the leap to this idea that it's, again, it's a diet and I have to hit all the macros if I don't hit all the macros, and I haven't done it right. And I have to do it right and right, this whole spiral that a lot of times people get into.

Step 5: Gather your result data through the process 31:02

Okay, step number five. Now, as you are going through this process, and you're tracking your macros, you are going to want to gather your result data throughout the process. Okay, so we talked about gathering your starting data. But then as you're going through the process, you're going to be wanting to gather results. Okay, so we continue to take measurements, we continue to take photos, we continue to look at your weight, and we gather those data points.

Step 6: Have consistency and data, then analyze it 31:33

So that in step number six, once you have all those data points, and you have at least two weeks of consistency, not perfection, I didn't say perfection, I said two weeks of consistency, then we can take all those data points, and we can analyze it. And we can figure out okay, over these two weeks, here's what you put into your body. And here's the results that we got. Now, it is important that there is some consistency in this. Again, this is not perfection, I'm not saying that you have to be perfect. But those that input that data, those data points are important.

Identify what’s preventing you from being consistent and start there 32:11

If you are struggling with consistency, then the first thing we'll want to do is identify what's preventing you from being consistent and start there. Okay, this is also where self-sabotage typically rears its head. And self-sabotage is not something that I can like, teach you how to work through necessarily by yourself. I do a lot of teaching about self-sabotage inside of Macros 101. But really, self-sabotage is really well-coached because self-sabotage is usually a blind spot. And a blunt, the inherent thing that happens with blind spots is blind to you, you can't see it. And that's why it can be incredibly valuable to work with a coach who's really trained to be able to root out the causes of self-sabotage. This is my superpower. Like this is what I do. And this is how I trained my coaches to be able to dig deep to be able to figure out those things that are keeping people stuck, especially when it comes to consistency. Right, struggling with weekends, struggling when you go out to eat, struggling, like pre logging your day, but then not following it. Right. Those are all ways that like self-sabotage can surface and if you just address the behavior itself, meaning if I just focus on, you know, sticking to my macros over the weekend, or just focus on not binging at night, or just focus on you know, going out to eat and saying your numbers, you are focusing on the symptom, not the cause.

Change the self-sabotage behaviors 33:36

Let me say that, again, if you're just focusing on the behaviors and trying to change the self-sabotage behaviors, you are focusing on the symptom, not the cause. And if we don't root out the cause, it's going to pop up, continue to pop up. It's just like a weed. Right? If you have a field of dandelions, and you go and you like, pull off the heads of all the dandelions and you look at yourself and you're like, Oh, look at this nice, clean field. Like I have no more dandelions. Well, yeah, but you left all the roots there. So like those dandelions are gonna pop right back up. And that's what we see in clients journeys. If you just address behaviors, and actions, you're not going to actually solve the underlying problem. And that's where coaching really comes into play.

Mistake: Saying it’s a mistake when actually it is working 34:23

Now, on this step of analyzing your data, and figuring out if your body is responding, the mistake I see so many women make is they look at the data and they're like, Oh, it's not working. Scales not going down. Or they have some sort of expectation of the rate at which their measurements should be changing. And they're like, Oh, it's not changing according to my expectations, and so it's not working. Don't make the mistake of saying that it's not working when it actually is working. Okay, that's a mistake that I see a lot of people doing. Progress looks different than maybe you think it's supposed to look, and you have, you likely have expectations of how this is supposed to look. And it can be really helpful to have an outside perspective like a coach to tell you how it often looks, which is not that you're like dropping five pounds in a week, and that all of your measurements are changing by like an inch every single week. Okay, so we have to get clear on like, what are your expectations? Where do those expectations come from and are those actually accurate expectations?

Macro counting helps you align your nutrition with whatever your goal is 35:28

Now, in this step, if you realize that it's not working, it's not moving you towards whatever the goal is that you had set. Now, I take a break, I'm gonna do a little off to the side. A little detour. Macro counting is not synonymous with weight loss. It's not, you eat macros all day long, every single day. Okay, so zeroing in on the macros that you were eating allows you. It's a tool that can be used to manipulate your body composition. That means yes, losing fat. And for a lot of women, that's what they come to me for. But it also is a really great tool to be used for building muscle. It's also a really great tool to be used for performance goals. So a lot of times we think, oh, macro counting, that's like to lose weight. But what I really want you to start to understand is that macro counting just helps you align your nutrition with whatever your goal is. Let me say it again, macro counting helps you align your nutrition, to drive you to whatever goal it is that you want to have. So we can manipulate our numbers to optimize for muscle growth, we can manipulate our numbers to optimize for performance, we can manipulate our numbers to optimize for fat loss, which doesn't mean that macro counting is only about losing weight. Okay, so we have to be clear on like, what's the goal you're trying to achieve? And then we look at the data points, and we say we ask ourselves a question, am I moving towards that goal? Are the actions that I'm taking actually producing the result that I want? And if the answer is no, that's a great thing. Because knowing what doesn't work is the first step to figuring out what does so sometimes people get discouraged and they get started with macro counting, and it doesn't like immediately producing the results that they want. And they quit before realizing that that's part of the process.

Step 7: Make adjustments to your macros based on  the feedback and your goals 37:19

And now the next step that they should be taking, rather than just quitting is making adjustments, okay. And that's step number seven. So based on feedback, based off of the data, based off of your goals, and whether or not you're moving towards your goals. Now you make adjustments to your macros, okay? And this is where, like, the science and art and magic of macros really comes out. And this is what I teach inside of Macros 101 is how to become this macro scientist who is able to just like a scientist in the lab, gather data, analyze it, figure out what your body is telling you and make adjustments moving forward so that you're driving yourself towards your goals. That is what makes my program different from almost every other program out there is that I'm teaching you how to become that scientist in your own journey. So instead of having to go to a coach for the rest of your life, and be like, Hey, here's my, here's what my data points like what's happening, tell me what to do next. You can look at your own stuff, analyze it, figure out what your body is saying, and make adjustments moving forward yourself. That's what makes my program so much different. Well, that's one of the things I would say there's a lot of things, but coaching is completely different than most coaches. But that's what makes the content and the way that I teach my programs so incredibly different. Okay, so step number seven, is based on that feedback. based on your data based on the goals, you make adjustments to your macros to zero in on that effective and enjoyable plan that's gonna look different for you. Right? It's customized to you. There's nobody else like you. Nobody else like you who has the exact same goals, who has the exact same body type, who has the exact same history, who has the exact same results that they're wanting to get like an end destination, right? Those are exactly the same medical conditions, who have the exact same lifestyle, who have the exact same family history you are unique. And so we need to overtime, we're going to optimize your macros to be able to work well for you. And that's the process that I love to teach and the process I love to coach clients through.

Step 8: Keep going 39:23

All right, and last but not least, step number eight, is to keep going. This takes time, takes patience. It takes understanding. It takes knowledge, it takes coaching, it takes lots of things that this process takes, but I promise you the one thing that will slow it down the most is giving up. And this process is amazing. You're going to learn a whole lot about yourself. You're going to learn a whole lot about your body, you're going to learn a whole lot about setting and achieving goals. And none of that can happen if you quit. So if it gets frustrating if it gets discouraging,  I'm gonna, I'm gonna reverse on that one. When it gets challenging, when it gets discouraging, when you feel stuck, like when these things happen, because they will happen on your journey, that is an opportunity there to be able to either dig deep yourself or have a coach to be able to coach you through those portions where you feel like you want to give up or you don't know what's going on, where you're feeling frustrated, where you're feeling discouraged. Those are normal feelings, those are normal that happens during your journey. And if you feel like you can make it through those moments on your own, because you're greedy, and you're that tough, and like you've done it before. Awesome. If you feel like oh my gosh, I think I've had that before. And what ends up happening is I quit. I really highly suggest engaging a coach and getting a coach to take you through this process. Because quitting is the only way that you're not going to reach your goals. It's literally the only way that you're not going to reach your goals. And so continuing to move forward in your journey to learn the lessons to keep going is really the secret to long-term success.

Recap  41:10

So those are the steps. If you have set your macros and you're wondering what's next let me review those steps for you. Step number one, it's kind of a bonus, setting your macros, right, that's, that's the first step. Step number two, get your tracking app. Step number three, gather that starting data. Step number four, start with hitting your calories and your calories and protein and then all your macros simultaneously. Step number five, gather your data through the process. Step number six, once you have at least two weeks of data, have consistency and data, then analyze it and figure out how your body is responding. Step number seven, based on the feedback and your goals, make adjustments to your macros. And then step number eight, keep going. And this is what is going to allow you over time to zero in to optimize to figure out what's going to work for you to become that macro scientist that is able to make adjustments and changes based on data and feedback rather than emotion.

Macros 101 is here for you  42:11

That's what most women do is they step on the scale and it's up and they feel really, really depressed and really sad. And they make decisions based on their day based on that, or the scale is down and they feel really happy. And then they make their decisions in their journey based on that it's based on emotion. As a macro scientist, you make decisions based on data and feedback not based on emotion. And I have to tell you that you're gonna make better decisions based on logic and understanding rather than based on snap decisions based on emotion. And that's really what I'm good at teaching and coaching my clients through inside of Macros 101, which by the way, if you are not on the list, the waitlist for Macros 101, I highly suggest getting on that list, www.bicepsafterbabies.com/waitlist, we always let our waitlist know first when we open up doors, we only open up doors to my coaching program Macros 101 a couple of times a year. And so if you're like yes, I want to learn more, I want to understand more about gathering data, adjusting it, figuring out how to analyze what's going on with my body, figuring out how to zero in on that customized plan that's going to work for you it's going to be enjoyable and effective, then that's exactly who Macros 101 is for inside of macros 101 we do a lot of coaching. So I can teach you all of the things and I do I teach a lot in Macros 101. I love teaching. But if teaching got people results, then everybody would get results, right? Because it's not for most women. It's not the knowledge, the lack of knowledge that is keeping you from getting the results. It is the lack of application of that knowledge into your journey. And that's where coaching that's where the piece of coaching becomes really valuable in helping you to apply what you're learning to your journey, helping you to apply things that you know, you know how to lose weight, you know how to get results, but for some reason, you're not doing it right that disconnect that self-sabotage. That is where coaching comes into play. And that's my superpower and it's what we're really good at the inside of Macros 101. So anyway, I'm talking lots about macros one on one wasn't my intention, but I am incredibly proud of that program and we've served thousands and thousands of women and have been able to see amazing results for them. And if that's something that interests you and you you liked this podcast episode then I highly, highly suggest get on that waitlist make sure you check your emails and when we open up doors come and join us inside backers one on one again that URL is www.bicepsafterbabies.com/waitlist. So that's it. That wraps up this episode of biceps after babies radio, I'm Amber now go out and be strong because remember my friend you can do anything.

Outro

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