132: Top 5 Mistakes Made When Setting Your Own Macros

Introduction 

You're listening to Biceps after Babies radio episode number 132

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.

Top mistakes I see people making when they set macros  0:03

Hey, hey, hey, welcome back to another episode of biceps after babies radio, I'm your host, Amber Brueseke. And this episode has been one that I've kind of wanted to record for a while I don't know why it's taking me so long to record this, maybe because I feel like I kind of recorded an episode similar to this way back back in the archives, Episode Number 11, which is titled Macros Aren't Magic and it's all about setting your macros. But then the more that I thought about it, the more that I thought no, this is a different topic, like this is a different topic that I'm going to talk about and it is specifically in reference to a lot of the mistakes. So the top mistakes that I see people making when they set their macros.

Macro counting and macronutrients  0:49

So if you've been around the block, around this podcast, you know that I'm a big fan of using the tool of macro counting, frankly, because it's scientific. And I'm a big science fan, a big science nerd. And my background is in nursing. I, you know, physiology, pathophysiology, anatomy in school, like science, it matters to me. And frankly, it should matter to you like science doesn't really need your approval, it just is like that's the way that things are. So the science of things really matters to me and macros are whether or not you want to count them whether or not you want to track them. They are how your body runs. And your body does different things with different macros and your body needs a mixture of all of the macronutrients. So if you're not familiar with what I'm talking about, macronutrients are typically things in your body that your body needs in large amounts. That's where the word macro comes from large and the nutrients obviously. So macronutrients are actually anything that your body needs nutrient-wise in large amounts. But typically, when you hear people talking about macros, we're referring to carbs, fat, and protein. Technically, you can include things like sodium in there, some other things, but if you hear someone say the word macros, they're probably referring to carbs, fat, and protein.

Carbs, Fat, and Proteins  2:11

And so when we recognize that all of the food that we consume has calories, and that those calories come from carbs, fat, and protein, and that all three of those things do different things in our body. Carbs are our go-to fuel for our body for extracting glucose, which is what our body prefers to run on. Fats are really important for hormone creation. And protein is really important for tissue repair and creation. So they all have different purposes. And while the body does the best it can with being able to convert protein into energy or be able to convert fat into energy to use some of these different macronutrients to do a wide variety of things. Our body needs certain nutrients in order to function. So we can recognize that that's the science. And every day you are eating food. So whether or not you're aware of it, you are consuming those macronutrients.

Macro counting as a tool  3:12

And so the tool of macro counting, and I talked about it as a tool, because I really want to distinguish between the difference of using macro counting as a diet, I like to call that the macro dieter, which essentially just takes macro counting and turns it into another diet. Can you turn macro counting into a diet? A 100 and a 1000%? Yes, absolutely, and many people do. But that does not mean just because some people turn it into a diet that it has to be a diet or that it always is a diet, it really is a tool, and how you wield that tool matters. So you can turn it into a diet. But that doesn't mean it actually is a diet, you're eating those macros whether or not you're paying attention to them or not. So I like to help clients to move from that like a macro dieter role, where there are still rules and restrictions. And you still feel bad when you go over your macros to recognize that macro counting is just a tool and you can wield it in a whole lot of different ways. But you're essentially working alongside science., alongside your body to figure out what's going to be effective for you. So if we understand that we understand that macro counting is a tool. It's something that we're consuming macros whether or not we're aware of it, then if you become more aware of it and more intentional with it, can you create better results with your body? Can you create, can you get more of what you want, whether it's gaining muscle, whether it's losing fat, whether it's performance? And the answer is yes. If you pay attention and you're actually intentional with what you consume, we can use that to our advantage to be able to create new results in the future.

Setting macros  4:50

And so that's what I teach clients to do a lot of now, if you're going to count macros, one of the very first steps that you have to do is to set your macros. And when people set their macros, they go about it usually a couple of ways. Either they pay somebody, right, so they pay a coach to have them set their macros for them. Or they just try to do it themselves. And this can look like going around and trying some different free calculators, this could look like downloading my free guide, I have a free guide to help you set your macros which we will link up in the show notes. But the URL for that is www.bicepsafterbabies.com/setmymacros. So maybe you've downloaded my free guide, and you've used it to set your starting macros. And that's great. Like, that's step number one, to be able to get started, you want to get macros that are set for your body, for your goals for what you're trying to accomplish. And the macros that work for you are not going to be the exact same macros that work for somebody else, right, we understand that your body is different, your needs are different, your goals are different, which means you're going to have to customize those macros to those things.

Avoiding mistakes while setting custom macro goals  6:06

And so you realize that you have to set your custom macro goals and how the heck do you do that? Right? That's where a lot of people get stuck, like, how do I do this? How do I set my custom macro goals? And even if you do something like download my free guide or use a calculator, or even if you like, go out and reach out to a coach, there are some big huge mistakes that I see people constantly making when it comes to setting their macros. And so my hope is with this episode that I can kind of wave you away from some of these very common mistakes and save you a lot of time. Because a lot of these things, what they're gonna do is just waste time in this process, or even worse, make you get frustrated and confused and end up quitting. That's where I see a lot of women going. If they want to do it, they understand they're like, this seems really cool. It seems like something that's really effective, it seems something that's grounded in science, let me get started and try it. And they get confused, they get overwhelmed, they have no idea what they're doing. And then they quit. And they don't actually use the tool. And the tool doesn't actually work for you unless you use it. And so my goal is to help warn you about some of these things so that we can prevent some of that overwhelm, we can prevent some of that frustration, and we can prevent you from quitting before you even give this a chance to work. Because it can be revolutionary, it can be revolutionary, in your goals, it can also be really revolutionary in the way that you approach and view food and how you fuel your body. And the last thing that I want is for you to quit something because it's a little bit confusing, and you don't quite understand it. And forego all of those benefits that could be available to you. If you were able to just have someone be like, Hey, watch out for this. This is a mistake that I see made all of the time, please do not make this mistake.

Top 5 mistakes in setting macros  8:02

Okay, so what I've done is I've come up with the top five mistakes that I see people making all of the time when it comes to specifically set their own macros, and trying to get started with those first starting macro numbers. And we're going to go through each of them individually.

No. 1 Using percentages instead of grams 8:19

So let's dive right into the first mistake that I see people making. And that is using percentages, instead of grams. Oftentimes, I will get people messaging me and asking me my opinion on a certain percentage breakdown, right? 40% carb 30% protein 30% fat, what do you think about that? And my response back to that always is that your body does not see things in percentages. Your body does not look at the food that you're eating and say, Oh, this is 50% fat. Like that's not what your body does. Your body sees absolute values. So why the heck would you set your macros based on percentages? I know one of the answers to that one of the reasons that people do it is because it's easy. It's easy, right? It's easy to just say here are my calories, here's my percentage breakdown. So if 50% of my calories should be, you know, carbs, that gives me a very easy, okay, this is my carb goal. So I get why people do it. It's easy, but we all know that easy doesn't mean the most effective. So is it the worst thing that you can do? No, I'm never gonna say it's the worst thing to do. It's better than doing nothing. However, you understand that your body does not see percentages. If you think about it. We're in the middle of a renovation right now. So my mind is like going to homebuilding. But if you think about it, if you're trying to make sure that you have enough building materials for your house, would you talk to your contractor in percentages? Like would you say I need 5% of my paint to be white and then the other 95% to be blue and no, you wouldn't do that you would say I need, you know, one gallon of white paint and I need 12 gallons of blue or whatever, right that those percentages don't actually work out. But you get what I mean, right? You wouldn't talk to your contractor in terms of percentages, you just say, this is how much I need. And when you extrapolate that to your body, it's the exact same thing, your body doesn't need 50% of your calories in carbohydrates. What if you're only eating 500 calories? So then you're only eating 250 calories worth of carbs, which is not very many carbs, my friends, it's like 60 something carbs. So is that really enough carbs? So you can see that if you just go by percentages? Sure. Is it easier? Sure. But because your body doesn't see percentages, it sees absolute values, it says, Is there enough protein to do the things that I need to do? Are there enough materials like raw material, are there enough grams of protein to do what I need to do with them, that's how your body sees food, it does not see it in percentages. And percentages don't really allow for real customization.

Customized macros over generic macros 9:15

So if you think about it, which would fit you better, a dress that you pulled randomly from a rack, or one that's actually custom-tailored to you. We both know that the custom tailor dress is going to make you look and feel like a million bucks. And it's the same thing with macros that are actually customized to you, rather than just generic, random percentages that don't really fit anybody well. Okay, so that would be the first mistake. Now again, if you've made these mistakes in the past, if you are currently making these mistakes, there's nothing wrong, you didn't do it wrong. In fact, I would rather have somebody take action and have set their macros in percentages and have to like do it again, or layer on some more knowledge later, then I would rather take that person than the person who was just like, I don't know how to do this, and so they don't do anything. Okay, so congratulate yourself if you're currently using percentages and that's how you set your macros congratulate yourself for taking action. And recognize that there is another level, there's another layer where we can get a little bit more customization for you and your body.

No. 2 Jumping from calculator to calculator 12:21

Okay, Mistake number two. And this is a big one that I see a ton. And that is people who jump from calculator to calculator, stuck in indecision, trying to make sure they have the exact right macros. I can't tell you the number of people who will go to one site plugin, they're plugging their like data points, get macros, go to another website, plugin their data points, get different macros, go to a third website, plugin their data and get the third set of macros. And they'll be looking at these three macro things and they're totally different. And they're like, well, now I'm just leaving more confused, I don't even know where to start. Raise your hand. If that's you, it's so many of you guys who are listening to this episode. So there's no shame in that.

Your starting macros will not be your finishing macros 13:05

But recognize that the key piece that you may be missing, that I feel like so many women are missing like this is the secret with macros that so many women don't understand. And that is that your starting macros will not be your finishing macros. Okay, I'm gonna say that, again, the macros you start with, are likely not going to be the macros that you finish with. And so when you spend so much time and energy, trying to make sure you get the exact “right” macros, whatever that means I'm using right in air quotes, getting the right macros. And you get stuck in this indecision, where you have three sets of macros, and you're like, I don't know which one to choose. And so then because you don't know which one to choose, you don't actually choose any of them and you don't actually get started. That is a huge mistake. Because of the value of macro counting, the value of having customized numbers is in the over-over-time feedback that you get from your body.

Get started 14:14

So what you really need is a place to start, you just need a ballpark. We just need a ballpark of where to start. Where you start doesn't really matter. It is the adjustments that come over time that are going to be the most important. So if you think about it, let's pretend that I was trying to get you to guess a number between one and 100. If you just got started and you were like okay, let's start with 75 and I was able to tell you higher or lower. And then you know I said 70 you said 75 and I'm okay, it's higher than that and you're like 85. And I'm like higher, you're like 95 and I say lower, and then we keep going back and forth. And you know, over time, you're able to really zero in. And finally, you realize that you know, the number was 90, okay? You're able to zero in on that because you were able to ask me and I was able to give you feedback, and we were able to like slowly over time zero in on what the actual number was, I want you to think about macro counting like that, rather than you just have to like, straight-up guess and be like, out of all the numbers of one to 100, I'm just gonna pick a number and just cross my fingers and toes that I'm picking the right number, right, who is going to be more successful, the person who like feels like they have to get the number, right. And so then they just like pick a random number, and hope that it's right, or the person who realizes that they don't really have to pick the right number, like, that's not even the goal, the goal is to like, get in the ballpark. So and get started so that they can get the feedback from me to figure out where that number is. That's how I want you to start thinking about macro counting.

Use the data and the feedback from your body to customize your macros  15:59

Where you start is so much less important than you getting started, you're getting started with some numbers, and then using the data and the feedback from your body over time to zero in on what's going to be the most effective for you. And that's really what I help clients to do inside of macros one on one is to become the macro scientist, to get rid of the diet mentality where there's like the right macros and the wrong macros, and instead start to get curious and get feedback and data from your body. And from that feedback and data, learn to analyze it, learn how to read the numbers, and then use that information and data to make adjustments to your macros moving forward. That's really what I teach clients to do. So don't make the mistake of feeling like you can't get started until you know exactly what macro numbers you need to have. Any starting place is better than no starting place. Like I'd rather have you start literally anywhere, rather than not starting at all. Because again, the benefit is all of that data and feedback so that you can zero in overtime.

Getting started is the only way to get to the most effective macros 17:09

So for those of you who are sitting in worry, because you're like, I don't want to pick the wrong macro numbers, right? I don't want to waste time with the wrong macro numbers. If you're worried about wasting time getting it wrong, I want you to consider how much time you are wasting, worrying about getting it wrong. Okay, so what if the only way to get it right is to initially get it wrong. Like what if it really is just about getting started, it's not about getting it right, it's just about getting started, take that pressure off yourself and recognize that getting started is the only way to get to the most effective macros, to get to those numbers that are going to be the most beneficial for you in getting you to where you want to go with your goals.

What Macros 101 program is and how you can get into it 17:56

Alright, and I just realized, too, that I talked about Macros 101 and how I really help you to be able to analyze that data and use it to make decisions in your journey. And then I didn't tell you at all about how you can get into Macros 101. So Macros 101 is only open a couple of times a year. And if you're interested in that, and that's something you want coaching on your journey, you want to be able to, like really step into that macro scientist's role, you want to be able to not have to have a coach tell you what to do, because you actually know what to do. And you actually are able to read that data and understand it and apply it moving forward. Then you can get on the waitlist at www.bicepsafterbabies.com/waitlist. And I guess if we open up doors a couple of times a year, it's an amazing program, the coaching that we do in that program, the deep dive into helping you to uncover what's actually keeping you stuck helping you to step into that power of making decisions in your journey, and actually understanding those decisions you're making, it's unlike any other program. So if that's something that speaks to you, and you're like yeah, I want to learn more about how to manipulate these numbers, how to make this work for me, how to create my own customized plan, instead of going around and asking other people to create plans for you what would happen if you understood how to create a plan and customize it based off of your goals, based on the results that you're seeing, based on your lifestyle that you're wanting to create. What would happen if you had the tools and understanding to be able to create that yourself? That's really the work that we do inside of Macros 101. So you can go to www.bicepsafterbabies.com/waitlist you can get yourself on the waitlist and then we let you know when we open up that program a couple of times a year.

No. 3 Focusing on optimal over achievable goals in setting macros  19:40

Okay, so number three and this is a big one is when a lot of women set their macros they are focusing on optimal over achievable. Okay, so, coming into this process if you've ever set your macros before had someone set your macros, a very common occurrence is the protein goal being much higher than you are familiar with. Like, if you were to track your normal intake, oftentimes, the goal that is set for your protein is much higher. Right? So like, maybe you get 70 to 80 grams of protein naturally in your day, and you go and you enter your information into a calculator, and it says, You're supposed to be eating 156 grams of protein a day. Oftentimes, we get in our mind that 156 is like what I'm supposed to be doing. Like that is the most optimal, that's the most effective, that's gonna be the best way to be able to get to my goals. And so now I have to figure out how the heck I'm going to hit 156 grams of protein. And then what happens is, a lot of times they struggle, and they try really hard, but they still fall up short. And then they feel like man, I'm like failing at this, I'm not actually doing it, right, I can't even hit my protein goals, I'm never going to be able to do this, I might as well just give up. Because if I can't hit 156 grams protein, it's not going to work. Okay, so that's often where that ends up is this idea that I have to hit this certain number and if I don't, then it's not going to work. And so then I just might as well not do it. What I want you to consider is that which is the most achievable is actually the most optimal. So you may think 156 grams of protein must be the most optimal.

Hitting on a consistent basis is considered the most optimal  21:38

But I would argue that the most optimal would be the amount that you're able to hit on a consistent basis. So let's pretend that's only 115 grams of protein. But you can consistently hit 115 grams of protein, it takes some doing, it takes some like prep work, it takes some focus, but you can consistently hit 115 grams of protein, I would argue that that is more optimal for you than trying to reach 156 grams of protein and failing over and over again and end up quitting because you can't achieve it.

Consistent feedback from your body 22:12

So what is the most important thing, especially when you're getting started with macros is consistent feedback from your body. If you aren't consistently putting the same thing in your body, how the heck are you going to start to make conclusions, draw conclusions from the results your body is giving you. If you're putting in random data, so every day it's like a little bit different, how can you then get to look at the results that your body is giving and make an assumption of like, hey, when I put in x, y happens, let me back up a little bit. Because I'm kind of speaking to people who maybe have taken Macros 101 want to understand this analogy that I use your body like a machine where there's an input into the machine, some stuff happens in the middle of the machine, and then there's an output, right? You can imagine that right now, that machine. And when you put a consistent input into it, whatever happens in the machine, it then pops out an output based on the input. And if the input is different every single day, then whatever comes to the output, you can't really make any assumptions about this cause this. However, if the input is consistent, day after day, after day, after day, you can start to make some assumptions and understand things like, hey, when I do X, Y, and Z, this is the result that I get. Is this the result that I want? Because if it is, then I just keep going. If it's not the result that I want, then I need to make adjustments. And that's where we get into this powerful understanding of how to manipulate these numbers.

Focus on what is achievable on a  consistent basis 23:47

So if you are only focusing on making it as optimal as possible, and killing yourself to like get 156 grams of protein every single day and failing at it, and getting to the point where you're going to quit because you can't do that consistently. What would happen if you started focusing on what was actually achievable on a consistent basis, even if it drops you below what you think you should be eating in terms of protein, even if that influencer tells you that you should be eating one gram of protein per pound of body weight. What would happen instead of focusing on that optimal, you actually focus on achievable first, would that actually be more optimal in the long run? For most people, yes. And that's like this is again, that difference between where you start and where you end. But so many of you are trying to jump from A all the way to Z. And what would happen if we just started to jump you from A to B, and then from B to C, and then from C to D. You tried to jump from A to Z and failed. And quitting is never gonna get you to Z. But if you jump from A to B to B to C to D, C to D and you like to go all the way you're gonna eventually get to Z, bear not gonna fall on your face and quit because you can't make that big huge jump. Does that make sense? So that's number three.

No. 4 Starting in the wrong phase 25:12

Number four is starting in the wrong phase. And this is a big one, because almost every macro calculator that you use, asks you what you want to do. Right? Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to gain muscle? Do you want to maintain, like, what's your goal? And the calculator will use whatever you tell it to set your numbers for you. But if you don't, if you haven't made an accurate analysis of the actual phase that would be best suited for you to reach your goal. And you tell the calculator that you want to go into a cut when really you should be going into reverse, the calculator isn't gonna know any better, it's not going to know better to like suggest you go into a reverse, you have to already understand the different phases that are included in a weight loss journey and know based off of your history, which phase you should start in.

Phases of weight loss journey 26:16

So let me kind of go through the phases so that you have an idea of what I'm talking about. The first phase, and when I say the first phase, I don't mean like the first phase you do I just said there are phases, there are four phases, really. And the first one I'm going to talk about is a cut. So a cut is when we create a caloric deficit, you eat less, then you burn each day. And we are trying to create a caloric deficit to be able to lose fat, okay, so that's a cut. The next thing would be a reverse. The reverse is where you move from a deficit, up to maintenance, and it is a controlled increase of your calories slowly overtime to bring you from that deficit, caloric intake, up to a maintenance level of intake, maintenance is where you're eating the same number of calories you're burning each day. Okay, so phase one, I'm not even gonna call them phase one. Okay, in the first phase I'm talking about the cut, the second phase is the reverse. The third phase I'm going to talk about is maintenance, again, where you're eating the same number of calories that you are burning every single day. And then the fourth phase is a bulk. So a bulk is eating in a caloric surplus, so you're eating more calories than you burn per day. And when you pair that with progressive overload, you build more muscle. So those are the four different phases. And you're always, whether you know it or not, you're in one of those phases. You're either in a caloric deficit, or what we would call a cut, you're either in a caloric surplus, what we would call a bulk, you're at maintenance, or you're in between that cut and maintenance were what we call a reverse. So there are these four phases.

Align your phase and set your macros right 28:00

If you don't know which phase you should be in, it's very difficult to set your macros. And I see this all the time of clients who come into Macros 101 who want to lose weight, who want to lose fat and they realize as I start to teach them about these phases, and who should go into what phase they realize that they want to lose fat, and the first step for them is actually reverse that they actually shouldn't go directly into a cut that they actually need to start with the reverse or they need to start with a maintenance period before going into a cut. I would say that happens way more than people would want to recognize, you think that you want fat loss so that you so you think you should go into a cut and oftentimes, that's the worst thing that you can do. And if you don't understand that, and you don't know how to align your goals and your history with the right phase, it doesn't matter what like what calculator you go to, they're going to give you incorrect numbers, because you don't know what phase you should be in. And that's why one of the first things that I teach clients how to do is to figure out which phase they should be in and there are some steps that I take people through to very clearly outline where people will have the realization Oh, okay, this is the phase confidently beside this is the phase that I need to start with. Because for a lot of women, it's not actually a cut. And if you try to set your numbers in a cut, and it doesn't work, then you throw up your hands and you're like, why isn't this working like I'm supposed to be losing fat? Well, friend that might be because you actually shouldn't be starting to cut it you actually should be starting to reverse or at maintenance. Okay, so starting in the wrong phase is a big mistake that I see women making, especially the women who are coming to macro counting after having done a lot of diets in the past because they have experienced that metabolic adaptation that makes it necessary for reverse to happen.

More on reverse diet 30:03

If you're wanting to learn more about reverse diets and hear more about reverse diets, I do have podcast episodes that will link up in the show notes. But specifically Episode Number 9, Episode Number 42. And Episode Number 114, would be the three episodes that I would really recommend going to listen to learn more about a reverse diet, who should do it, how you do it, what that process looks like. Okay, so that's number four.

No. 5 Not adjusting your macros 30:27

And number five, the fifth mistake that I see is not adjusting your macros, we kind of talked about this a little bit earlier on and one of the earlier mistakes. But this is a big mistake that I see women making is that they don't ever adjust their macros based on the feedback from their body. They use the same macros, they just keep going. It stops working, they don't really know what to do. And so then they stop. And understanding how to manipulate and how to adjust your macros is one of the most valuable skills that you can learn. And my friends, it is a skill. This is not like some people are born with this knowledge, and they become coaches, and you aren't born with this knowledge. So then you always just have to hire a coach. No, that is incorrect. Learning to manipulate your numbers, learning to adjust your macros is a skill that anyone can learn.

Learn the skill in adjusting your macros 31:25

And I would actually argue that you would be better suited to learn this, rather than letting somebody else tell you what to do. And there's a lot of reasons for that. The first one is what are you going to do when that coach is gone? And I see this all the time, with people who feel very dependent on their coaches, because their coaches do the manipulation of their macros and adjusting their macros, and they have no idea how to do it themselves. And so then they are dependent on that coach for the long run, right? I don't want you dependent on me. Sorry, I don't want you dependent on me, I want you to understand this, I want you to understand how to do it so that you can do it for the rest of your life. Like you have the knowledge and understanding. The second thing that I think coaches underestimate is the power of the client making choices in their journey. And what happens oftentimes, when you have a coach who is telling a client what to do, that becomes the coach's plan, and then the client just has to follow the coach's plan, which is fine. And sometimes that works. Sometimes that works for a while. But I would argue that in the long run, a plan that I create myself is always going to be more. I'm going to have more ownership of I'm gonna have more buy-in of a plan that I create myself versus a plan that somebody else gives me. And so it is so empowering for women to be able to start to make these decisions in their own journey, rather than a coach telling them what to do. For you to understand the why behind it. You understand, like what you're weighing and why you're making these adjustments. And then you're making the choice to make these adjustments. It's an entirely different experience than a coach saying, okay, here's your new macros, like adjust to these numbers. That's their plan. There's their plan for you. What if you could create your own plan for yourself? Do you think that you would have more ownership of that plan? Do you think you would have more buy-in? Do you think you would stick to that plan better because it was a plan that you actually created for yourself?

Anybody can learn a skill 33:29

So I think that everybody, first of all, it's a skill anybody can learn. And this is not rocket science, that I'm teaching about how to adjust your macros. It's not rocket science. Now there is science behind it. And there are principles and there are foundations, there are mistakes that you don't want to make when you adjust your macros but isn't rocket science, I can teach it to you. But not knowing how to adjust your macros or not adjusting your macros at all during this process is is a huge mistake and you're missing a big opportunity to really over time, just like we talked about with picking numbers between one and 100 you're missing out on overtime, being able to really optimize this for you, your body, for your goals and for your lifestyle. And to me, that is the most important thing. So I think that everybody should know how to adjust their macros for those reasons, for that buy-in, for that ownership, and for the autonomy that it brings you to not be reliant on somebody else to understand these things.

Recap on the 5 mistakes in setting macros 34:38

Okay, so those are the five mistakes that I see all the time and a quick recap. The first is using percentages when you set your macros rather than setting them by the gram. The second is jumping from calculator to calculator just stuck in indecision because you're afraid you're going to get it wrong. And we talked about how the heck can you get it wrong. If the only way to get it right is actually sometimes to get it wrong. Like, that's actually one of the best ways to get it right is to just start taking action and get that data and that feedback. Number three, we talked about focusing on optimal, over achievable, and stop beating yourself up because you can't hit something. Instead, make it work for you, like make it. Don't fit you into the diet, fit the diet, what you're choosing into, you fit it into your lifestyle. Number four is, I see clients starting in the wrong phase, like doing a cut when they really should be doing a reverse. And number five is not adjusting your macros based on the feedback from your body.

Takeaway 35:41

These are the five biggest mistakes that I see clients making. And hopefully, now I will prevent you from making these mistakes, I'll prevent you from going down this path that hopefully, you catch you know sooner rather than later. So that we don't waste a whole lot of time when it comes to you having your customized macro goals.

Download the free guide in setting your macros 34:38

Now I do have a free download. If you would like to set your macros I walk you through how to know based on your body, based on a little bit of your goals, what, where you can start with those macro numbers. Again, remember, this is your starting macro numbers, you're not going to download this and like have the very perfect macro numbers for you, you recognize that, but it's a great starting point so that we can start to get the data and the feedback from your body that's going to allow you to zero in overtime. So if you want to download that free download, go to www.bicepsafterbabies.com/setmymacros, we will also link that up in the show notes for you. And you can download that free guide. It's very comprehensive, it walks you through the whole process, it gives you kind of the background and the why behind everything so that you really understand what you're doing. You're not just randomly plugging numbers into a calculator, where you have no idea what that calculator is doing with those numbers, you're actually walking through the equations and the principles so that you understand where those numbers are actually coming from.

We do custom set macros for others 37:04

And then if you're like screwed Amber, I don't really want to deal with that. We do set custom macros for people, you can go to my website, www.bicepsafterbabies.com under other programs, we have an option for our coaches setting your macros for you, we take your information, we take your data, we take your history, we take your current eating, you know, habits, and help you figure out a really great starting place for you. So that's really for somebody who doesn't want to mess with, like doing calculations, you don't want to mess with doing equations. You want to have somebody who has set lots and lots of people's macros give you a starting place that's going to be really effective for your body. So you can go to the website and purchase custom macros or you can do it yourself. We have you know both options to be able to help people.

Join Macros 101 37:53

And if you're really wanting to dive into this and you're really wanting to get that coaching aspect, if you're really wanting to dive into some of the self-sabotage and figure out where that self-sabotage comes from. That's who I would recommend go into Macros 101 and so you can get on the waitlist there www.bicepsafterbabies.com/waitlist, I know Macros 101 makes it sound like it's a really basic program and it's all the basics. And yes, we teach you the basics. So if you haven't ever tracked macros, Macros 101 is going to give you all those things. But people have over told us that we did change the name because it doesn't really convey what we do inside of the program, which is a lot of mindset work, which is a lot of diving deep, which is a lot of going into self-sabotage and helping you to identify why you know what to do and don't actually implement it. So we're actually thinking about changing the name, just heads up, might come up with no name because clients over and over like I did join Macros 101 for a long time and when I got in there it was like nothing like I thought it was gonna be I thought it was going to be super basic, I thought it was gonna be all these things. And I got in there and the program is so much more so just you know we're considering changing the name but as of now the program is still called Macros 101, and you can get on that waitlist at www.bicepsafterbabies.com/waitlist.

Share the podcast and let's help others 39:10

That wraps up this episode of biceps after babies radio, if you enjoyed it, will you do me a favor and send it to somebody. Send it to a friend, send it to a sister or send it to a relative, whoever you think would benefit from this, who maybe has expressed interest in macros but is then kind of scared to set their macros or they've tried setting their macros in the past and it didn't really work out for them very well if you would forward this to them that would make me so happy to be able to get this information to prevent more women from making these mistakes. Like if I can prevent more women from wasting time in their journey and really save them the frustration and the discouragement that comes when you make some of these mistakes, then it will be totally worth it. And for those of you who have left a five-star review on iTunes, a big huge thank you to you. I really appreciate those five-star reviews on iTunes it does make a difference. I know sometimes like you hear podcasts asking for like reviews and you're like yeah, whatever, doesn't really do anything. Yes, it really does something so those of you have taken the time to leave a five-star review. Thank you so much. If you have not done that yet, it takes less than I would say like less than three minutes to go into iTunes scroll all the way to the bottom, hit that leave a review button. And you know, just tell me what you're thinking, what you think about the podcast, what you're enjoying. It really does make all the difference for me. 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

Hold up, sister friend. Do you love Biceps after Babies radio? If so, the best way to say thank you is to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes. I know, every podcaster wants you to leave a review, but it's because those reviews help the podcast to reach more people. And I do truly want to know what you think. If this particular episode resonated with you, will you also please share it? Either send the link to someone who would find it valuable or take a screenshot and post it to your social media and tell your friends and family why they should listen. Make sure you tag me @biceps.after.babies so I can hear your feedback and give you a little love. And you know, if you aren't already following me on Instagram or Facebook, that's the perfect time to hit that follow button. Thank you for being here and listening to Biceps after Babies radio.