100: The Biggest Lessons From 100 Episodes of Biceps After Babies Radio

Introduction 

You're listening to Biceps after Babies radio episode number 100.

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.

Welcome to our big celebration!  0:47

Hey, Hey, Hey, welcome back to biceps after babies radio, as always, I am your host Amber Brueseke and today is a big celebration because this is Episode 100. And it's kind of funny how we play such meaning on numbers like round even numbers like 100. But we do, and it's a big milestone and I'm so excited that you're here for it. I'm excited for those of you who just found the podcast and your new listeners and your new subscribers. And there's a whole lot of you I know that have been like, OG, like you were around in October of 2018 when I started the podcast, and I'm really glad that you stuck around for 100 episodes.

Podcast production process   1:28

So as my team and I were talking and we were preparing for the hundredth episode of the podcast, we were tossing around ideas about what would be really fun, like a fun way to kind of celebrate the podcast and be able to include you guys in the podcast, because I know that a lot of you are listening and you're driving or you're cleaning or you're running errands, or you're doing life and you're always you know, you have me in your ear. We wanted to be able to include you guys and your stories into this podcast episode because so we came up with a really fun idea to be able to have people send in audio messages about the podcast and the impact that has had on their fitness journey. I spent a lot of time like, if we're being really honest, I spent a lot of time on the podcast, right? Like, it takes me time to outline a podcast, it takes me time to then record the podcast, it takes me time to reach out to people to be on the podcast, and then to interview them. And luckily, I have a team. And so I have a team that helps me with editing and creating show notes and creating graphics and putting it up onto our podcast player. And like all of the things like if you don't know much about podcasting like there's a whole lot of things that have to be done behind the scenes so that every Tuesday you have a new podcast of biceps after babies radio to come out. But we put a lot of time and energy into the podcast and it's free, right? Like it's a free content that you can listen to, that anybody can glean from.

Benefits of listening Biceps after Babies Radio Podcast  2:53

So we put a lot of effort into it and we put a lot of time into it to be able to benefit you guys. Like it's free content for you to be able to get started with your fitness journey. And plenty of people have been able to just listen to the podcast, and be able to start and execute and reach some of their goals. And that's exactly what I want, right? Like, if that's you, and you can glean what you need to from the podcast that makes me so incredibly happy. And then, of course, there are going to be some of you who want to be coached. There's some of you who want to join Macros 101, and you want to be able to have a little bit more in-depth knowledge, and you want to have that one on one coaching aspect, obviously, I have paid programs for that. But it makes me so excited that somebody can come to the podcast and can glean things from the podcast and be able to start and continue and reach the transformation that they're wanting.

What’s in store for us from this episode?   3:40

And so that's really what we wanted to share today was those stories of listeners who have the podcast that has made a difference in their life. And they talk about what that difference was they talked about what was kind of the defining moment what they heard on the podcast so that if you may be skipped that episode or haven't listened to that episode, you can go back and re-listen and maybe have some of the transformations or have the insight or the spark that the person listening had that really helped them in their journey.

Let’s have a short history why I started a podcast   4:08

But before we dive into those, I did want to just give a little like, background maybe like, take you back a little bit into why I started a podcast what it was like when I first started and you know, some of the things that I've learned over the last almost two years of recording a podcast every single week and growing it and being able to, obviously get better, right, like we get better at the things that we practice. And I've definitely gotten better at podcasting, over the time that I've been able to do it. So if we're talking like way far back 2016 is when I started my business, and I got my first paying client in February of 2016. And as I was growing my business and getting clients and having people refer me and starting to like build my coaching business, something in the back of my mind was always like, knew that I would start a podcast or knew that someday I wanted to sort of podcasts. I love podcasts. Our first podcast ever listened to was Serial if you haven't listened to Serial like not cereal as in like breakfast food, but like serial as in like, numbers serially s,e,r, i, a, l,  serial. Started with Serial, as I started with that podcast and that introduced me to the world of podcasts. And since then I have listened to lots and lots of different podcasts that was, you know, it's one of my favorite ways to be able to learn and be entertained, because I can just pop it into my ear while I'm at the gym, or while I'm cooking dinner, or doing errands or whatever. And so, I always kind of thought, you know, it'd be really fun to have a podcast, and it was kind of just one of those things that, you know, was kind of in the back of my head. But for whatever reason, like the time wasn't right, it was just like, you know, it was like, yeah, it's gonna happen. Like, I just kind of knew it was gonna happen, but I didn't know really when it was going to happen.

How the podcast was born   5:56

And I remember it was so funny like it was one, it was a Saturday or Sunday morning, I remember it actually like I woke up. And I think I got into the shower and you know, some of your best, like ideas and thoughts and thinking happened in the shower. And I remember I just had this very distinct thought of like, I'm gonna start a podcast. Like it's time, right? Like, it's time to start a podcast. And I remember the Sunday morning I went downstairs and I told my husband, he's like, used to me saying, like, funny things like this, like, instead of like, Hello, honey, how was your night sleeping? I'm like, Honey, I'm gonna start a podcast. And he's like, Good morning to you, too. Okay, tell me about it. Because he's so wonderful and supporting my dreams. And so you know, kind of talks about this idea and this vision of what I wanted to create and my husband as he likes to do likes to pepper me with questions of like, what are you going to call it? What are you going to do? Are you interviewing people? You like all the questions, right? Because that's, that's how his brain works. And I'm like, I don't know. Like, I don't know any of that. All I know is that I'm gonna start a podcast. And so that was it, that was like that. a defining moment and, you know, from there, like I just kind of figured it out kind of like how I do business, just like, have something that you want to do have a goal that I set, and I figure out how to accomplish it. And very quickly, I came up with the idea of biceps after babies radio, I'm super creative with names as you can tell not. And so I was like, you know, biceps after babies are like one of the most creative things I've ever come up with. So we're just gonna continue that with biceps after babies radio. And, you know, the podcast was born. And we released our first episode in October of 2018. And here we are 100 episodes later.

Podcast episodes   7:36

And if I'm looking back over the past two years, almost every week, every week without fail, we have released a podcast episode and I'm really proud of that because consistency can be hard. And like I said, there's a lot of things that go into putting a podcast together and having to like, make sure you stay ahead of that. And you're not like leaving it to the last minute, especially when you have a team that's working behind you can be challenging. And so I'm proud of the fact that every week, every Tuesday we've put out a podcast episode, and really have been able to cover and teach. So like a wide variety of things that if you listen to last week's episode, I shared some of our top downloaded episodes and the top ones that you guys love and that I love and that I really recommend to people who are just finding the podcast. So if you didn't listen to last week's episode, even if you're someone who's been here from the beginning, I really highly suggest going back, listen to that episode, hear what some of the clips are, that is like some of the highlights of the podcast and go back and re-listen to some of those episodes because I can always find when I re-listen to things, you're always in a different space, right? Like when you re-listen to something, you have different questions in your mind. You're at a different place in your journey, and you're going to hear different things. And that's the beauty of progressing, right? The beauty of growth is that we need different things at different times and you're going to hear different things at different times.

Goal #1: Free content   9:00

So, another one of my goals as I started the podcast was one to be able to provide free content that anybody can access that allows them to get started, which allows them to kind of receive a little bit of coaching in their ear, right? I'm not coaching you one on one, but kind of right like I kind of coach you. And, and a lot of you have told me that, you know, even if I haven't ever coached you in Macros 101 that you still like, hear my voice in your head from something that you've heard in the podcast. So my goal was to be able to provide that free content for anybody who wanted to create a transformation, who wanted to excel in their journey.

Goal #2: To empower   9:36

My goal number two was to really help empower you and this is a theme in our brand and in the vision that I have for biceps after babies is really to empower you, empower you in your journey. And yes, we empower you with knowledge. I empower you with helping to ask yourself better questions. I empower you with bringing on people and experts and stories of people that you can relate to, that allows you to dream bigger, that allow you to reach bigger in all aspects of your life. If I can get more women to understand their power, and be able to tap into that power to create whatever it is they want to create in their life, then I will, you know, die knowing that I've done, I've done what I was here on earth to do. And that's always what I'm hoping that you're walking away from the podcast with is that inspiration, motivation, and that realization that you have everything that you need to create any reality inside of you. And sometimes we have a hard time accessing that ourselves, which is why coaching can be so valuable, but you have it in you. And my goal is to help you to learn how to access that. And we do that like I'm going to segue just really quickly because we're going to be opening up the doors to Macros 101 next month.

Macros 101 will be opening soon!   10:52

So I want to segue just a little bit into Macros 101 because this will be the last time that we're opening the program in 2020. We don't open it very often and this will be your last chance. But if you're somebody who has a goal, you have a goal that you've been trying to hit or that you want to hit that you haven't yet hit, there is something that is keeping you between the body you have now and the body that you want to have, right there's some there's a gap, there's that gap between where you are now and where you want to go. And if that is the case for you, Macros 101 can help bridge that gap.

Macros 101 program 11:27

In the program, we not only arm you with the knowledge and the understanding of the why and the how. But more importantly, we take that and we apply it to help you to apply it to your individual journey. Because I don't want to tell you that theoretical knowledge doesn't help a whole lot unless you can apply it specifically to your unique situation and your unique right. You have a unique body. You have a unique lifestyle. You have unique goals. You have unique situations. There are things that are unique to you. And you cannot use a cookie-cutter, like a plan. You can't just follow a meal plan. You can't just follow a workout plan and expect to be able to get the results, it needs to be customized to you. And so you can learn the concepts of that and you can learn the concepts of macro counting. But if you don't know how to apply it to your unique body and situation, you're never going to be able to close that gap between the body you have and the body you want. And so that's what I help you to do into my Macros 101 is we help you to close that gap. I help you to learn how to take the concept of macro counting and apply it to you and your journey and your goals and your body and your lifestyle. And that is customization, right? It's customization at its finest. And when you do that, then you aren't on a diet anymore, you aren't following a plan created by somebody else. You aren't just following rules, you are actually empowered to be able to create the outcomes that you want to create. And so whether you want to lose five pounds, or you want to lose 50 pounds, or whether you're a beginner macro counter and you've never done it before, or you're someone who's more advanced, but you still haven't been able to get the results that you want. Macros 101 is going to help you to close that gap between where you are and where you want to go.

Lessons I want to share to help you guys    13:37

Before we dive into the stories from the listeners who sent in video or voice memos, I did want to just share a couple of the lessons that I have learned. I'm always about learning those lessons and then passing those lessons on to you guys, and hopefully helping you to, you know, be able to maybe learn from my lessons rather than having to repeat them yourselves.

Consistency  14:08

So a couple of the lessons that I've learned overdoing the podcast, the first lesson is on consistency. And I kind of checked touched on this a little bit before. But we've put on a podcast every Tuesday for almost two years and that consistency is something that is important in so many areas of our lives, right? Like, you cannot build or reach for what you are not consistent in doing. And I knew that if I wanted to build and grow and have a podcast that was able to reach a lot of people, I had to be consistent. You guys had to trust that every Tuesday, he would open up your app and you would see a podcast episode. And that was really important to me that I was able to maintain that consistency because to me, it's a little bit about trust and your trust in me. And that is important. That is what helps us get results is that consistency. And so that's definitely a lesson that I've learned during the podcast.

It’s okay to ask for help  15:02

The second lesson that I've learned is that I can't do it all myself. And I think this is a good lesson for me to continue to learn. But as I talked about before, I have a team that helps with the podcast. If I if my job every week was to, like, do every single part of the podcast production process, like that's probably all I would do. I wouldn't be creating content, I wouldn't be on social media, I wouldn't be creating programs, I wouldn't be coaching, because it's a lot of work to be able to put on a podcast and if I was trying to do all myself, I would be kind of worthless in a lot of other areas. And I've just kind of had to accept that I can't do it all and nor should I do it all. I have an amazingly talented team who can do a lot of the podcast production, the behind the scenes stuff, and I get to do what I do best, which is sit here and talk to you, record podcasts and coach and I've learned that it's okay to ask for help and it's okay to you know, do what you're best at and allow other people to do other aspects of the process. And you know, how can you relate this to your life? Well, we all have things that we are best at, right that we are our time is best used for. And I truly believe that the more intentional we are with that, and the more we spend the majority of our life in our so-called genius zone. If you haven't read the book, The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks, it's a really good book talking about our zone of genius. And a lot of us tend to spend time in things like our zone of excellence, but when we really take that next leap to spend time in our zone of genius, how much more of a fulfilled life we have and how much we're able to fill the cups of other people. So a really good question to ask yourself maybe, you know, what is my zone of genius? like where is my time best spent? Where's the best use of my time? And how can I outsource or divvy up or get help in the other areas of my life that maybe aren't where my time is? You know, best spent.

My people are out there  17:03

And the last lesson that I have learned over doing a podcast is that my people are out there. You guys are my people. And you're out there like you exist in the world and it's been so fun to be able to create a community of people who like to get it. And you're like me and want to talk about the things that I want to talk about and want to learn about the things that I want to teach about. That is so fun to me. And I think sometimes, you know, it can feel and maybe have experiences like it can feel a somewhat lonely feeling like you're the weird one who likes to talk about CrossFit. Or you're the weird one in the family who likes, you know, only eats one slice of cake instead of gorging yourself right. Like maybe you're the weird one and you don't have friends who like set and achieve fitness goals or you don't have you know, coworkers who really understand why you would you know, count macros or whatever and it can feel like you know, you don't have people who surround you and support you and think of the way that you think it can be hard and lonely to feel that way. And so it's just so fun to be able to put something out into the world and to attract people who think and believe and learn, and want to learn about the things that I enjoy talking about. These are the things that I love and the things that I want to teach and the things that I want to share with the world. And it's so fun that there are people who want to learn those things. So I'm just feeling all sorts of gratitude and just sitting here, I’m just grateful that you're here, but you found the podcast, whoever you found the podcast, and that you're listening, and my hope is that you are improving. That the podcast is a highlight of your week, that you wait for it to, you know, wait for it to come you listen to the episodes and most of all, that you take action, that you take action and you actually do things because of the podcast and as you listen to each of the stories of these listeners. They got results because they did something, they did something different. They listened to a podcast and they took action and that is what I want for you. So without further ado, let's hear some of your stories listeners have biceps after babies.

Amber  19:14

First up we have Andrea.

Andrea M  19:18

Hi Amber. So let me give you just a quick little background. I am 45 years old, I have four adult grown kids. Two grandkids, ages four and two. And I have always been in really great shape. I love to work out. I've been working out since my 20’s and I've never counted macros before. I never knew anything about macro counting. I never really had to, back in 2012 I started really getting into Spartan racing and yoga and some other strength training techniques that I was doing and I was just in the best shape of my life and I was doing that for a couple of years. And in 2015 I kind of had a short story but I went through a lot of life-saving surgery. I ended up with the best shape of my life with 27 staples, running down my belly after they removed a fibroid that ended up being about 27 centimeters. And I'm a small girl, I'm five, two, I'm you know, 120 pounds. And so this thing grew very quickly. They thought it was cancer. So they removed that, I got right by bounced back pretty quickly back in shape. I was working in the ER, as a tech in the ER, and I was divorced and I just knew I needed to do more. And so I decided to go out and test for law enforcement at 42. And there's only 3% female in the state patrol and I'm just the small little female that decided to test but I was in such great shape and I just destroyed the physical fitness test, maxed it out, passed everything. And sure enough, got hired and left for the academy and I lived at the academy for six months.

Andrea M  21:14

When I got out and graduated back in 2017, I went straight to the night shift and worked the night shift for two years. And during that time, there was a slow progression of weight gain. I put on about 20 pounds. I was weighing in at close to 140, where you're going out to breaks late at night where you know we're doing our breaks at midnight. You're sitting in your car, you're stress eating my cortisol level levels were probably really high. And all this was going on and plus not sleep me and I'd come home and sleep like three hours and then do the shift again. And I just started gaining weight and I felt horrible. I felt awful. My hormones were out of whack. I just felt terrible, and last year 2018, I got remarried. And when I did, I decided that for my marriage, it would be best if I resigned from law enforcement, which I absolutely love. But I just wanted to be around for my husband and not work those crazy hours and those shifts, and I started really picking up my workouts. When I did, I started working out and I was working out six, seven days a week, not macro counting. I've just always been a clean eater. And that's never been a problem for me before. But I was not losing any of the fat, not losing anything. I was working out. I was running like a madwoman every day I was doing ridiculous amounts of cardio. I would rotate in weights. I was just doing everything and nothing was coming off. And in April of this year, I came across a challenge online, eight-week challenge. And I downloaded an app to figure out how to count macros. I've never done it before. I knew nothing about it. My husband was on board as well. And we decided we're going to count macros, and I just started researching and researching and researching and trying to figure out, you know, I didn't have a coach, I've never had a coach before. And I just thought, okay, you know, I can do this. I'm a researcher, and I came across your podcasts. I was, I didn't see him on Instagram. I actually was searching under podcasts for you know, health and fitness and macros and all this stuff, and I came across yours. And at that time, I had already started macro counting, and I was having complete success. My weight was dropping off. I was in a calorie deficit. I think I was around 1300 calories a day at that point. And the weight was coming off. It was no problem.

Andrea M  23:51

And about five weeks ago, I started listening to podcasts that really made a huge difference which is number 94, How to bulk and gain muscle without losing without gaining build muscle and losing fat, gaining fat, sorry. And that was amazing. I did not know when I needed to go to a maintenance phase, I had pretty much plateaued and in a deficit, I didn't. My original goal was to get back down to like 118 and I just have more muscle now that I wasn't able to get there I was, you know, sitting at about 120 and but I plateaued there and I was starting to get more hungry I'm doing more workouts and I just thought you know what, I don't know when I need to go to the maintenance phase and I listened to your to that podcast and I shared it with several friends. I absolutely loved it and it motivated me and I instantly switched over to maintenance, did it roll reversed it and I started adding in calories. It's been about five weeks now and I continue to actually lose weight. I stopped doing cardio, I started to do more and more heavy lifting because now I'm trying to build more muscle.

Andrea M  25:09

And the other podcast that made a huge focus and difference for me was adjusting your macros for maintenance number 79. I love that one. I've listened to that one a couple of times. And also the number 62. The six-pack one because that is like my ultimate dream is to be able to have that six-pack, especially after having the surgery that I had, they did an incision that's running up and down my belly, that's about nine inches. And so, you know, they had literally cut through my abdominal wall, they've pieced it back together and it's an I've just I can't believe how much I've lost in that area and how much it's improved. Just in the last few months since I started counting macros. It has been a complete game-changer in my life. I have told so many people about macro counting and been so excited about it.

Andrea M 26:01

As far as your podcasts, I have listened to almost every single podcast. I feel like I know you. Without ever meeting you because your podcasts have made such an impact on my life I just have shared them with so many people. I've recommended them to so many friends, especially friends that are interested in macro counting. And my husband listened to several of them with me. I just took a flight to and from Texas this week to see my grandkids and for our flight both ways. And all they did was listen to your podcasts, both ways. So I just feel like they have been such a huge help in my life. And I've just really enjoyed them and their wealth of knowledge is amazing and so easy to understand the way you break things down. So I've been really, really excited about those and I think I just got a pop-up today saying that you just added a new one and I'm gonna listen to that while I drive today. And yeah, they're just awesome.

Andrea M 26:57

So where I'm at is the building stage, I'm in maintenance and I'm building muscle. And I've decided that I wanted to get right into my nutrition coaching. So I went through precision nutrition. And I am now almost halfway, I'm over halfway through my level one, certification. It's such a passion for me. And it's something that I just want to tell the world about because it has made such an impact in my life. I did not see results until I started tracking my macros. And I just have been so excited about that process. And they feel like there's hope now where I didn't feel like I just couldn't figure out why things weren't working for me. And once I made that big change, that's it, it's like instantly and my metabolism feels like it has gone through the roof. And I'm now eating about 400 plus calories a day and maintenance and still not gaining anything. It's been awesome and I just feel so good and maintenance and plan on sitting here for quite a while. So anyway, I just wanted to share my quick little story and, and thank you for putting out those podcasts and all your wealth of information. It has been a game-changer for me.

Amber B  28:15 

And next up is another Andrea. And she talks about this concept of reversing and maintenance which is a recurring theme that I hear from you guys that it's something that you had never learned about, right we learn a lot about cutting, we learn a lot about fat loss, we learn a lot about going on diets for a lot of our life. And for a lot of women, that's where they stay. It's always about eating less. It's always about trying to lose weight. And what happens when you take that next step of reversing and focusing on unintentional maintenance.

Andrea S  28:44

So the biceps after babies podcast was recommended to me by several of my peers who also count macros. I've been counting on and off for about a year but most significantly, I've counted from January on and I'm still counting today. During this time, I started with a cut in January and saw pretty drastic results and was in a cut for, you know, probably too long to be honest with you now after everything I've learned, but I saw great results and had a lot of anxiety about what would come next. You know, I lost this way. I've, you know, kind of at this spot now where I'm comfortable with my results, and I feel strong and happy and healthy but what's next and how do I get there and so I listened to some podcasts about reversing and maintenance. And I was so unfamiliar with these topics before, I mean, everything you see now about macros is just cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, everyone's trying to use them to lose weight, and rightfully so because they work. But there is not a lot out there about reverse diet, what that is, how to do it, and maintenance and what maintenance is and how you maintain it. So I gained so much knowledge about what it was and by the time my cup was ending, I felt confident enough to use you know Amber's free flow charts and things like that to plan out my reverse. And I've been successful, I'm in, you know, week four of my reverse now and I continue to up my calories every week and maintain my weight while continuing to get stronger, and it feels so good. And so I'm so grateful that this resource was out there for me because, you know, I didn't have a clue. And now I do and that's so great to be able to help others and point them in this direction.

Amber B  30:33

Next up is Laura, who had an amazing transformation and I'm not gonna spoil it for you. I'm gonna let Laura share what that was. But Laura had a big aha moment that if you've listened to the podcast for maybe more than a couple episodes, hopefully, you have understood this concept because it's something that is so important for me to teach and for women to understand.

Laura  30:54

I've been listening to biceps after babies for about a year now and I look forward to the new podcast every Tuesday. So many episodes have been relevant to me. In the beginning, it was all about the numbers aren't magic and figuring them out. They always seem to come at a time. That was where I was on my journey. Like this summer, it talked about reverse and I was actually in my reverse, another time when I was struggling with continuing to lose fat, and they talked about bumping up your cardio. And so I did that. One of my biggest aha moments, in the very beginning, when I began to listen was how Amber talked about it as fat loss and not just weight loss. One of the lines that she said is that you can cut off your arm and get on a scale and the scale will be lower. But that's probably not the way you want the scale to be lower. So, in conclusion, I just want to say that it's been a huge part of my macro journey that I've been in the last year and I'm actually down 30 pounds. I've just finished a maintenance period and am getting ready to do one more cut in the middle of it right now. So thanks, Amber for all that you've done and happy 100 episodes.

Amber B  32:35

Next up is Madeline and I can I just tell you I just love Madeline's story. She, I'm gonna let her share it. But what I wanted to say about Madeline's story is that she took the free content, she cooked the free content and she applied it and because of that, she's able to create big things in her life.

Madelynn  32:57 

My name is Madelynn Oliver, and I am 30 years old.  I have an almost 11-month-old baby girl. And I have been a type-one diabetic for 12 years. And it's always been a struggle for me to lose weight. I had tried Weight Watchers two times before. And I had issues with consistency. And when I work out, I would work out in the evening and I'd already used all of my weight watchers points. But then after I would work out my blood sugar would drop. So then I would have to eat something to bring my blood sugar back up. But then I went over my weight watchers points. And so I just couldn't ever lose the weight. I think the most I ever lost was five pounds on Weight Watchers.

Madelynn  33:50 

So in January, I was four months postpartum, and I still weighed the exact same weight that I did when I left the hospital with my baby. And so I knew losing the baby weight was going to be a struggle. So as part of my new year's resolution, I decided that I was going to start working out again. And I started with at-home workouts and I did that for three weeks. And I weighed myself and I hadn't lost a single pound. And I knew that my nutrition wasn't where it needed to be. And I remembered seeing a friend posts in her Instagram stories about Biceps after Babies Radio Podcast and came to find out later on that she actually works with Amber. And I'd seen it while I was pregnant. And I was like, oh, I'll just look into that when I have my baby after I have had my baby and I want to lose the weight. So I started listening. And right after I listened to the first episode, Amber was hosting a webinar to talk about macros right before she opened doors to Macros 101. And as I was listening, it just means so much sense to me to balance your carbs and fat and protein, rather than trying to cut out entire food groups and no carb and high carbon, whatever people do to lose weight, and my doctors had told me for my blood sugar to regulate it to keep it level, I should have a carb and a protein together. And I never really followed their advice. And so when Amber was talking about having protein with your carbs, I was like, Okay, I think I can do this.

Madelynn  35:35 

And the episode that I feel like has stood out to me the most was episode three with Becca Jackson or if the cookie fits, and I felt like her journey was telling my life story. She was four months postpartum, weighed the exact same after having her baby and I thought if she can do it, I can do it. So I downloaded Amber's free guide to set my macros, and I started tracking my macros from that day. And my non-negotiable was I still wanted to have peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. And for some reason that was really important to me. And I was able to fit it in, but I felt like I was always so low on fat, I was always going over my fat. And I felt like I was always trying to eat something at the end of the night to hit my carbs. And I remembered Amber's saying, there's no perfect macros, the perfect macros are the ones that you can stick to. So I realized that if I was going to stick to this long term, I was going to need a little bit more fat and maybe fewer carbs. So I just made a quick adjustment in My Fitness Pal and it completely changed my outlook on the concept of this macro. The days that I was able to get two and a half tablespoons of peanut butter on my peanut butter and jelly sandwich were like the best days, I was so happy about it. So if you're tracking macros, make sure you have something that you can look forward to in the day, and make sure you work around it. And I love that there's no good or bad food. It just is I'm not trying to cut out all the carbs. And one thing that Becca said in Episode Three, she said, What if I didn't give up? And I knew that when I was doing Weight Watchers, I would be really good during the week and then on the weekend, I wasn't as consistent. So I knew that when I started doing macros I needed to be 100% committed. Does that mean that I didn't go over some days? Absolutely not. Because there were days where I saw a cookie or a macaron that looked really, really good. And I could hear Amber's voice in my head saying, it's okay to go over. It's not going to derail you. One cookie is not going to negate all of the progress that you have made. So, it's been so helpful to continue to listen to the podcasts through this journey. And I've been in a cut since the end of January. And if you've listened to biceps after babies Radio Podcast, you know that that is a really long time to be in a cut. It's been almost seven months. But the reason why I've been in a cut so long is that I haven't plateaued. I have only had three weeks where I have gone up on the scale and that's because it's been around my menstrual cycle. And I'm not burnt out, I don't feel like I'm depriving myself. And I'm just gonna keep going until I get burnt out or I plateau which hopefully will be in the next couple of weeks because I'm really excited to reverse. And I'm so grateful for biceps after babies Radio Podcast because she's already got the reverse dieting podcasts ready when I am ready to start my reverse. So in the seven months that I've been doing my cut, I am down 32 pounds and over 16 inches. And so I am now under my pre-pregnancy weight, which I never thought I would be able to do.

Madelynn  39:42 

And one piece of advice that I have for somebody that is wanting to track macros that I didn't take the advice that Amber gave, and I'm kicking myself that I didn't make sure that you're taking your pictures and measurements from day one. I was embarrassed, I didn't want to take a picture or my measurements. And I finally took them after I'd been cutting for about two or three weeks. And it is so much fun to put the pictures side by side, or compare measurements and to see how far I have come. And I am so grateful for Amber and this podcast, and everything that she has taught me because it seriously has been life-changing. And when she says that, it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle. I 100% believe that and so I am so grateful for Amber and everything she is talking about.

Amber B  40:39

Next up is Patti who talks about being a working mom with kids.

Patty  40:46  

So my aha moment came from Episode 97 results without perfection by Kasey. Just a little background information, I've actually listened to almost all of Amber's podcasts as well I'm a Macros 101 member. So I think I related to her so much, because I'm also someone who's done so many other programs that just weren't sustainable, and I wasn't successful at so I started to actually believe that there's nothing that I'm going to be able to stick with. So listening to her talk about, you know, falling down and trying to get back up again and being a perfectionist and all that stuff, I could really, really relate to that, as well as being a working mom with kids. So, even though I've heard some of these things from Amber before, it's just nice to come from somebody who has done the program and has so many similarities that we can relate to periods. So she talked about being a perfectionist and what's the point of doing something if I'm not going to be perfect, and that's exactly how I felt when it came to macros. You know, I know what to do. I know how to count my macros, but if I'm only going to do it sometimes then what's the point I might as well just not do it at all. And that's coming where my self-sabotage came from and that all or nothing mentality. So listening to her story and saying that you know, sometimes she went over by 8, 9, 10 grams of whatever macro. Or sometimes she had a day where she was 5, 600 calories over. And she just kept going, and she kept losing inches and she's like, I can do this, and I don't even have to be perfect. That's amazing. And that kind of got me thinking like, that's exactly me. You know, I can do great during the week, but sometimes I fall off the wagon a little bit on the weekend. And I think that if I just stick to it a little bit better, and recognize that I can do this and be perfect, doesn't have to happen, then I will reach my goals and be so successful. I'm not sure why it took so long for me to figure this out. But I've really just been pushing and listening to other people. And like I said before it's just different when it comes from someone who's done it before. And her story really, really changed my perspective on being able to actually be successful with macro counting.

Amber B  43:15 

Next up is Sarah and Sarah shares her aha moments with reverse dieting.

Sarah  43:22

Hey, my name is Sarah and I discovered biceps after babies podcast about two months ago. It was during a workout challenge that I was doing and discovered macro counting during that time learned how to macro count, and got comfortable with doing that. And towards the end of my challenge, I knew that I would cut for a few more weeks after the challenge and then I would reverse diet and I had heard the term, didn't know a whole lot about it, and found your podcast episode number nine about how to reverse diet. And it was so helpful for me, not just about how to reverse diet but just so much of what you shared about how our metabolisms can adapt, and eating more food fuels our bodies, and creates the change that we really truly want to see in our bodies, along with training smart. And it's the opposite of what I've always heard and thought. I'd always thought if you eat less, then you'll get the body you want. But your podcast episode just made so much sense and I feel more confident. I feel more in control of my food choices. I feel freedom in my food choices. Macro counting has just been huge for me in that and I love weight training, and never thought that I would love that. The end of my challenge, the four-week challenge that I did, I lost nine pounds for a total of 40 since September of last year. And during that four-week challenge lost nine inches. And since then, I cut for a few more weeks after the challenge reversed. I've been in reverse for a few weeks, I feel so good mentally, physically. I've lost eight more inches in the last couple of weeks. I've maintained my weight on the scale. I just never thought that. I don't know, I just didn't think that eating more would help me with my goals.

Sarah  45:39

And your podcast episode on reverse dieting was so informative and so helpful for me during this process. I've listened to it probably three or four times over the last few weeks just to remind myself of what I'm doing and why I'm doing it and I'm almost to maintenance, I have a couple more weeks until maintenance. And then I'm gonna stay at maintenance until January and then do another challenge and cut again for some fat loss goals that I have. And then, you know, go back into reverse and stay in maintenance for a long time and live my life there. And, but it's all just been so helpful. Your podcast episodes really have truly been so educational for me and helped shift my way of thinking as far as fitness and nutrition goes. I enjoy living this healthier lifestyle for myself and for my kids and my husband. It's just such a different way of thinking and a different way of living. And every time every week that I go up in my reverse diet, my calories, my carbs, and my fats. I just remind myself of the things that you've said in that podcast episode. And that this is working, my metabolism is adapting. And I've seen that and I'm watching it adapt to it. I just wish that everybody knew about this. I wish that all women knew about this because, in January, I was eating 1100 calories, and thought that I was doing what I was supposed to do. And now I'm at 1900 calories and seeing so much more progress, seeing definition in my legs and in my I have abs and in my arms and I'm losing inches and it's just truly incredible. This really does work. You just have to trust the process. So thank you so much for your podcast episodes are so helpful. And just so informative, keep doing this. We all love it. Happy 100th episode.

Amber B  48:02

And last is Millie who is 10 months postpartum with her second child and shares her story about how the podcast has influenced her.

Millie  48:13

Hi, Amber. My name is Millie and I wanted to let you know how much I've really enjoyed your biceps after babies podcast. So I'm currently 10 months postpartum with my second child. And in the past two years, I feel like I have just been running around in circles trying to figure out what the best food program was for me, I was working out but I was not seeing any progress. Then I got pregnant and that kind of went out the window. And then afterward, after I had my baby back in October, even though I wasn't solely focused on getting back into, you know,  “my body back after baby”. You know, I still wanted to be conscious of eating healthy along with just being healthy, especially since I was breastfeeding. So I did give it a few weeks before I fully started working out again. And then I started working out again and trying to eat clean as they say. But then I wasn't seeing any results and this was back in like, December, January of 2019, 2020. And then obviously COVID hit and then things went out the window and then I started you know, eating unhealthy again and really just not coping well with COVID being at home with my you know, three-year-old and being at home with my baby and working full time.

Millie  49:51

But then I saw a picture of myself back in May of 2020. And I realized I did not like how I looked, I was just uncomfortable in my body. And I knew I had to get back on track. So I hired a wonderful nutrition coach. And then I discovered your podcast, biceps after babies. And can I say that it was a game-changer, which I so appreciate. All the education that you provided in your podcast, I literally binged probably about 10 to 15 episodes in the first week that I discovered your podcast, just learning the ins and outs of macros. My Nutrition coach was providing me a lot of information as well. But what I really liked about your podcast was the ability to learn not just the nutritional aspect, but to learn about the mental aspect. And that was a game-changer for me. It was literally just amazing to hear the other stories about their women, and what they went through. And now, I have set my goals the way you taught me to set my goals with, you know what the main outcome goal is, the process goals, to take, and all of those things that I have been just implementing into my life.

Millie  51:22

And again, I started this new journey probably in about June, so about two and a half, three months ago. And I am proud to say that I have lost about 15 pounds, which again, I'm really proud of because I had not been seeing any movements. Again, I know that they're just data points as you like to point out, but seeing those numbers go down, seeing my measurements go down, and then feeling more confident in myself has been just a game-changer for me. So I want to thank you again, and say congratulations on your 100 Episode. And, you know, good luck with more episodes. But again, I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your podcast and all the information that you provide. It has been so crucial in changing my life, you know, my mindset and just providing extra motivation for me to live the best healthy version of myself.

Wrapping up Episode 100 52:28

And that is a wrap. So this is Episode 100. I'm throwing confetti, you can't see me right now but I'm throwing confetti into the air and celebrating this big milestone that we've been able to achieve together. And again, if you are new to that podcast, welcome, I'm so glad that you're here. If you are an OG and you're from back in Episode Number one, I'm so glad that you're still along for the ride. My goal for anybody listening is for you to be able to set and hit and achieve whatever goal it is that you have and if I can be a part of that whether by biceps after radio, whether by following me on Instagram, or whether by joining Macros 101, then I'm just honored to be able to be a part of your journey. So thank you for listening. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for supporting the podcast and supporting me and most of all, thank you to these seven women who were willing to share their story and share how biceps after babies radio has been a part of their journey. 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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