085: Transitioning Away from Macro Tracking with Elizabeth De Groot

Introduction 

You're listening to Biceps after Babies radio episode number 85

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, online fitness coach, wife, and mom of four. 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.

Amber B  0:47  

Hey, hey, welcome back to another episode of Biceps After Babies Radio, I'm your host Amber Brueseke and today I am interviewing Elizabeth De Groot and Elizabeth has an awesome Instagram feed. She's at How We Macro. And she shares a lot of recipes and a lot of macro friendly foods that you can feed your entire family. And so we had a conversation about how she got into macro counting, and what it has been able to do for her and how it's impacted her family. This is a question I get asked a lot of people is, you know, I have kids and I have a husband, and I'm making meals and I'm making dinners and it's really important for us to be able to eat together and how do I fit macro counting in with that. And Elizabeth share some really tangible takeaways of some suggestions that she has of how she's been able to make it work with her husband and with her kids. And I think you're going to be able to take away some of the things that she's using in her family and hopefully be able to apply them as well to your family. Another thing that we talked about in our discussion that I get asked a lot about is that transition from counting macros towards maintaining and and moving away from tracking. And so Elizabeth and I have a little mini coaching session and just kind of a little bit of teaching on what I suggest and what I use with my clients in how to make that transition, when you've hit your goals, and you're maintaining, and you're ready to make that transition away from tracking what that can look like, and some tips and tricks to be able to make that a smooth transition, because it can be a scary time for some people. Once you've been relying on an app for a long time to tell you whether or not you're hitting your macros or hitting your goals. It can be hard to make that transition away. And so we discuss that as well during our interview. So there's lots of good stuff in this interview to be able to take away and be able to apply to your journey and I hope that you enjoy the interview with Elizabeth. I'd like to welcome Elizabeth degroat to the podcast. Elizabeth, how are you doing?

Elizabeth De Groot  2:54

Good. How are you Amber?

Amber B  2:56

I am so excited to have you on the podcast today. We're gonna have a really good conversation I already can tell because I know you from social media. And I'm just excited for what you have to share with my audience.

Elizabeth De Groot  3:06  

Well, thank you so much for having me. Yeah. honor to be here.

Amber B  3:09

Awesome. So can you tell us first of all a little bit about? Because that's where I found you, it was on Instagram. And so just tell us a little bit about your Instagram account and how that got started.

Elizabeth De Groot  3:21

All right, well, that Instagram account I started about one year ago, and it kind of just started as an outlet for me. And my son was a year old and I had been pregnant or nursing for, you know, a long time. And I just wanted something extra to do. So I started sharing a little bit about macro counting and the success I had with that. And it just kind of took off. And I started a blog, I think in like April, and it's been so much fun to share recipes that I love, to share a little bit about my family. Yeah, it's been a big learning experience for me too, just balancing all of those things. But yeah, it's been a good outlet for me and a hobby. And it's been fun to help people along the way, too.

Amber B  4:10  

That's awesome. And you guys can find out How We Macro on Instagram. She has a beautiful feed and lots of yummy food. So definitely, definitely check her out there. So can you tell us a little bit about how you got into macro counting and what that looks like for you?

Elizabeth De Groot  4:24

Yeah. So, um, I first heard about macro counting, actually, when I was pregnant with my daughter, and she is my middle child. And this sounds kind of weird, but for a long time, I would just watch people's Instagrams accounts and see how they had macro counting in their life. So that was after my daughter was born. Then I went on to have my son. And finally about nine months postpartum with my son, I still had about, you know, those last few pounds to lose and I was like, I think I'm gonna try macro counting because I've been watching and learning from people for so long that I was just ready to make that jump. And so actually signed up with Butter Your Macros and That Ashton Barrett I did their. I think they called it the macro challenge at that time. I think it's something different now. But yeah, I did their program with them learn so much loved it.I ended up losing those last few pounds that I wanted to and then some and ended up at a lower weight than I had been as an adult. I started seeing muscle that I didn't know was there. And it was just, yeah, it was exciting, obviously to me. And so it was just led into like a natural passion that I wanted to share on my Instagram feed. And I think what was so exciting to me too, is that I was still eating all of the foods that I loved just in better balanced portions. So that was what made it really exciting to me is that I found a way to make it fit into my lifestyle.

Amber B  6:00  

Hmm. And so as you were learning to macro count, what was the biggest kind of aha or breakthrough for you, as you started tracking and counting your macros?

Elizabeth De Groot 6:10

I am I for a long time, I thought that macro counters, they just ate pre portioned meals of chicken and broccoli and rice. And that was it. And I really dislike reheated chicken. So I knew that was never going to work for me. So for a long time, I thought, no way this is gonna work, but it was like, wow, I can be able to fit in these recipes that I love to make. And like I love to cook my whole family loves to cook. And so to be able to find a way to fit those things that I love into my diet was Yeah, it's exciting for me.

Amber B 6:49

That's awesome.

Elizabeth De Groot  6:50

I don't know. Does that make sense?

Amber B  6:51

Yeah, totally. Well, I think a lot of people a lot of people find is that there's a belief that something has to be hard or it has to be miserable or it has to suck in order for it to work. And I think for a lot of people, when they find macro counting, it opens up this world of like, you mean I can eat the foods that I like and be able to see the changes that I want in my body and that is kind of revolutionary for a lot of people.

Elizabeth De Groot 7:14

Yeah, and I think for me, too, I was somebody who was always a pretty like clean eater. And, um, I would not eat a ton of sugar or I would, you know, not eat processed foods. I wouldn't have like Doritos or Oreos or things like that. But I was never able to have success with that because I didn't understand that even though I was still eating like nutritious food. I was still eating too much of it. I had like the food scale. And I was seeing that okay, I thought I was eating a tablespoon of peanut butter. But really, I was eating like, you know, three tablespoons of peanut butter and sitting so that was also very eye opening to me also.

Amber B 7:53

Yeah, portion sizing.

Elizabeth De Groot  7:56

Yeah, and then I didn't have to like completely write off Sugar in my life, and I could enjoy those things. So.

Amber B  8:04  

Awesome. So I'm curious coming from a background of more of clean eating, have you seen your food choices shift? Or what does that look like, you know, pre macros and post macros.

Elizabeth De Groot  8:16  

Hmm. I would say, I think now there's a good balance. And I feel like that's kind of a buzzword lately, so I kind of hate to use it. But um, I, I would say a majority of my food, like, you know, the people talk about the 80/20 rule. 80% of your food is like whole and nutritious foods and then 20% it's like, I don't know, fun foods. Yeah. Yeah. I would say that's probably where I stand now, too. I think part of the reason that I've, you know, kind of more navigated toward that is because I think you find eventually that you do feel better the more nutritious and whole foods that you eat, you can totally enjoy. Yeah fun foods like Oreos or Doritos, whatever you want it to be, but you're going to feel better you're going to be fuller with more nutritious choices, so I would say a big balance between the two, it's a good balance between the two.

Amber B  9:22  

And that's such a good point to make because I think sometimes people from the outside and maybe you know as you like, followed a bunch of macro counters for a long time before actually trying it yourself. That can be the perception that a lot of people have that like macro counting is trying to fit as many treats into your diet as possible. It has nothing to do with like macro you know, micronutrients you don't care about, like the type of food that you're eating. And the way that I see it in the way that I coach it and teach it is just that you know, macro counting is a tool and how you implement it and use it is completely up to you and you can go through and like try and hit as much sugar into your diet as possible and try to eat as you know, eat out all the time. You can absolutely do that. But you do not have to So I love that there is a wide wide range. And we can, we can share a wide range of people who maybe choose to eat more clean food, because that makes them feel good and makes them feel healthy and it makes them feel full. And it doesn't have to be an either or, that you can you get to make that choice of like what that balance looks like for you. And that balance may look different for you than it looks for somebody else. And that's okay. It doesn't mean you're doing it wrong, or they're doing it wrong. You're just using the knowledge and the tool, you know, and applying it a little bit differently in your life.

Elizabeth De Groot  10:32

Yeah, and I think that is so true about macro counting. And that's what makes it so cool is that you can really choose what is important to you and to your family. And that's what I love about it is that there's not really any restrictions on how it needs to look or feel. And you just get to Yeah, kind of choose your own path with it. And I love that.

Amber B  10:55  

Yeah, it's so good. And you talk a little bit you said mentioned your family and so I would love to To ask you how this works with your family, cuz I know that you have three kids. And how have you been able to fit macro counting in with also being a mom and feeding your family?

Elizabeth De Groot 11:12

Yeah, um, well, first of all, family dinners are a really big priority for me. And I grew up with family dinners. And that's one thing that my family did. And I loved the bonding experience that we had that we got to talk about our day. And so that is a big priority for me. And when we sit down as a family, we all eat the same meal. I know this doesn't work for everybody. But for us, we just all eat the same thing. I cook one time, that's just how it is and how it's been since my kids were like, little little, like, as soon as they were able to eat the foods that we were able to eat. Like, you know, 10 month olds, they were eating whatever meal my husband and I were eating for dinner. So that means that it has to be something like kid friendly, but also macro friendly. And a lot of the time, the way that I accomplish this is by making one main dish and then I make vegetables on the side. And the kids can kind of pick and choose how they want to eat it. So like, for example, the other night, we had burgers, and my kids and my husband all eat theirs with cheese on a bun. And I opted to skip the cheese and I ate my burgers, as a salad. And we all had asparagus on the side, and everybody was happy. So that's kind of the way that we do it.

Amber B 12:30

I love it. So you're reasonably like making one dinner, and then allowing like people to kind of pick and choose how they like put it together so that you can do it a little bit different than your kids.

Elizabeth De Groot  12:43

Yeah. And yeah, it is worked out well. And I love that we're all eating the same thing. And yeah, my husband gets to choose that too. So

Amber B  12:54  

How does your husband feel about it?

Elizabeth De Groot  12:57  

Um, you know what, my husband is? Yeah, he likes macro counting too, he dabbles in it occasionally he's not near as like, consistent as I am. But he is someone who loves vegetables. He loves all different types of foods. So he's totally on board with this. In fact, like, sometimes we joke that, yeah, he wanted me to start this macro counting page. So he could try like a bunch of different recipes. So he's totally on board. He loves to eat. He is a big guy. So he is like, I'm over 6'7″. Well, he needs a lot of food to keep them going. And he's always happy to try whatever I'm cooking up. So

Amber B  13:37  

I love it. So where do you share a lot of recipes on your Instagram? Where do you get your recipe inspirations?

Elizabeth De Groot 13:43

A lot of them are just recipes that I have been making for years for my family or my husband and I or maybe they're even meals that I grew up having as kids, but I've just altered them a little bit to be more macro friendly. And what I mean by that, it's usually adding leaner protein, or sometimes swapping in elite leaner protein. And yeah, not having as much fat and not as many carbs in them. So that's mostly where I get my ideas sometimes, like, I'll be out at a restaurant and I'm like, Ooh, that was delicious. I wonder how I can make this at home. But yeah, most of them are just like things that I've already loved for a long time that I've just tweaked to make more macro friendly.

Amber B 14:24

I love it. Awesome. So you have three kids? Are they all girls?

Elizabeth De Groot 14:30

I have two boys and a girl,

Amber B 14:31

Two boys and a girl. Okay, so how do you talk to your kids about this? Or how do you explain to your kids what you're doing?

Elizabeth De Groot 14:39

Yeah. And so for a long time, I feel like my kids weren't aware. So my oldest is five, and my youngest is two. So for a long time, they weren't really even thinking about nutrition, but actually recently we've had a lot of conversations about nutrition and sometimes I think part of it Cuz my son goes to school too now, but he'll say like, Oh, well, you know, sugar isn't good for you, or this is really healthy or blah, blah, blah, all this stuff, and what we try to teach with our kids and absolutely not saying this is like, what you need to follow for your family, this is just what works for us. But we try to teach again balanced to our kids. So we talked about our bodies and how our bodies work best when there's a good balance of all of those nutrients. So your body needs carbs, your body needs that so your body needs protein, and it's gonna work best when there's a good balance of all those things. And so my kids are like normal kids, they love goldfish, they love cookies, they love crackers, they love all those things, but they also love chicken, asparagus, all sorts of fruit. And we're kind of cracking up now because one of their favorite things lately as bell peppers. Oh, excuse me. Yeah, not sure why they love bell peppers, but we're just rolling with that. And another thing that we like to do is just expose them to a lot of different types of food. And I think sometimes, we just assume that kids aren't going to like something like bell peppers. I totally was not thinking like, Oh, my kids will love bell peppers if I give it to them, but they happen to like them. So I think sometimes we need to just give our kids opportunities to try things and try them multiple times.

Amber B 16:28

That's awesome. So how long have you been counting macros?

Elizabeth De Groot  16:32  

Um, it has been, I think a year and a half.

Amber B  16:37

Mm hmm.

Elizabeth De Groot  16:37  

Oh, yeah.

Amber B  16:38  

And what what results have you had over that time? Or how has that shaped and changed your body or your relationship with food?

Elizabeth De Groot  16:45  

Yeah, um, so I had that pretty big jump of weight loss. I want to say it was like 20-25 pounds ish around there that I lost when I first started macro counting. And since then I've been able to keep it off. I've, I'm adding in calories and I think also just building muscle I have gained a few pounds, but honestly not much. And my measurements are the same, if not a little bit less. So. Um, yeah, I think I love macro counting. And it is so fun and I love what it has done for my body. But I also it's not ever going to be like the most important thing in my life. Um, it is a great tool, but for me, my goals mostly are just to be like healthy and happy. And so now I'm more at like a maintenance stage where I'm not really focusing on fat loss. I'd like to be stronger but at the end of the day too, like I I don't know. I just want to be happy and healthy and so whatever that looks like I'm okay with. I don't know. Does that make sense? I

Amber B  18:04  

Yeah. Are you currently lifting weights? Or what are you doing in the gym?

Elizabeth De Groot 18:08

Yeah, I only work out at home actually. So I just have a home gym and I do have weights that I really tried to push myself as far as weights go and use progressive overload. Another another, just like random goal that I have is to be better at push ups. That is just something that has always been a struggle. And I can say that, like, yeah, I'm getting stronger in those areas. And that's fun and exciting to kind of shift the goal from like, I need to be smaller to like, hey, I want to accomplish this task and then get it done. So

Amber B 18:46

Mm hmm. That's so awesome. So what other health and fitness goals are you currently working on?

Elizabeth De Groot 18:53

Push ups are the big ones. And like I would, yeah, I would love to be stronger but you know, it is kind of a crazy time right now too. So I'm just letting it kind of be.

Amber B 19:04

Yeah. So what is getting better at push ups look like? Like, how will you know you're there?

Elizabeth De Groot 19:09

Oh, well, I can actually do a push up now. So I feel like for a long time I like could not do a push up. I wasn't strong enough. But I also have been watching videos about how to actually do a push up.

Amber B 19:21

Mm hmm.

Elizabeth De Groot  19:22

And I wasn't doing them the correct way at all. And I think you had one recently.

Amber B  19:27  

Yeah.

Elizabeth De Groot  19:27  

Where you talked about how to Yeah, actually do build up the muscles for push up because for a long time, I was just doing the girl push ups. Yeah, on your knees, right? I'm sorry. That's probably not the correct term. But anyway, um, so I was just doing them on my knees and not really getting stronger. And so I think videos from you and then Motivation Mindy had one about how to properly do push ups and so I have been channeling those and yeah, with practice, you can sure get better at them. And I have been. Yeah, since January. That was my goal. And now I can do quite a few. So

Amber B  20:06  

That's awesome. So fun. Yeah, if you're looking for some push up tutorials, I have some on my igtv on Instagram. And the mistake that most people make is, is the one that you know you were talking about, Elizabeth is that most people think, Well, I'm not going to work up to doing them on my toes. And they think they're going to work up to doing them on their toes by doing or doing them on their knees first. And the problem is, is that that doesn't actually stimulate the muscles that you need in order to do a full pushup. And so people will spend all their life like on their knees thinking eventually they get to their toes and never make it there. And so when we can start to break the pushup up into two different movements, instead of doing the full down and down and up movement, you can break it into just the downward phase and the upward phase, you're able to strengthen the actual muscles that you need in order to do a pull or a push up. So I'm so excited that you were able to get your first one. That's awesome. So do we have a number now that we're For what are we doing now?

Elizabeth De Groot  21:01

Um, well, yeah, I haven't done them like in isolation. I could do 10 now, so I feel I feel like that's pretty good. So, yeah, I I'm ready to push that number up. Yeah, no, I do know.

Amber B 21:18

So, we're gonna coach you through this. What's your new goal?

Elizabeth De Groot  21:20  

Okay, let's say 20

Amber B  21:22  

20 push ups. I love it. Yeah, that's, that's a great goal. So fun. And that's something that you can do at home too. Right. So, yeah, that, you know, sometimes people get in their mind that, you know, I can't really set goals because I am at home. No way. There's plenty of goals that you can be setting at home. Yeah, push ups being one of them. That's awesome. So for somebody who is just starting out on this journey, or who is just, you know, maybe they were the position that you were where they followed a lot of people who are counting macros and they're kind of like watching from the sidelines but haven't actually tried it and are getting to the point of like, okay, maybe now there's something to this. Maybe I want to try And are just kind of dipping their toes and starting out with macro counting, what would you say is your biggest tip for that person who's just brand new.

Elizabeth De Groot 22:07

And I would say don't try to do everything all at once or think that you have to do everything all at once to, to, you know, jump into it, I think, you know, as humans, sometimes we want to do everything perfectly. And we think that if we can't do it perfectly, it's not worth doing at all. And that's just so not the case. And so start with like a small goal that you can accomplish. Maybe it's logging into My Fitness Pal, but don't overwhelm yourself. Like an example that I like to think of with for this is like with reading with our kids my son's in kindergarten, and to learn reading, you don't just like toss somebody a book and say, Here you go, right, like right build. You start really small, you know, you start with just the letters and then you talk about the sounds and how to blend those sounds together until they're reading So don't be afraid to just like pick one thing and build on those skills, and you will fail. You know, and you're not going to do everything perfectly. And that's okay. And I for sure did not hit my macros perfectly. Often even, you know, like, I just did my best, and I got better. And I learned from, you know, ways that I fell short. And, yeah, don't be afraid to try, I think and to give yourself a lot of grace, and you won't be there overnight. You might not even be there in a year. Sometimes I think I'm a year and a half into accounting, and I'm still learning things. So yeah, don't be afraid to just learn and grow.

Amber B 23:41

That's awesome. Do you think that you will ever move away from counting or from tracking?

Elizabeth De Groot 23:46

I've been thinking about that a lot lately. And I think the answer is yes. And obviously it's a really good tool and I think there will still be times probably in my life where I want to Track more consistently, like go through a cut again. But lately I've just been thinking about. Yeah, kind of taking a step back from it. Obviously, I would still want to do like some, yeah, tracking. So I can like provide recipes and things like that for other people. But I don't want to be an old person still counting my macros and logging into My Fitness Pal. You know, and I think at this point, it's kind of a habit, and it's not a ton of work for me. Honestly, it's scarier to think about not tracking it is to think about, does that make sense?

Amber B 24:34

Totally. Oh yeah, I have a lot of women who go through that. It's like learning how to track macros. There's a learning curve. And people get over that learning curve, and it takes, you know, it takes a little bit more time at the beginning. And then they get over that learning curve, and it's easy, and then it becomes a habit and it becomes a pattern and it becomes something that gives them comfort and like a feeling of control. And so then I find like the next hard thing is To then start to let go of it, let go of it. And just like it was challenging to like, and it took a lot of thought and you know, planning and stuff at the beginning, it almost takes the same amount as you're starting to let go of it because there is some sense of like control and knowledge that you feel like you're starting to lose as you stop tracking. And so yeah, I find for a lot of women, that is a new, a new challenge. And I think when we can phrase it as a challenge, and as something that's exciting and new and something that, just like when you were saying, when you started, you would suggest someone doing it, you know, slowly and giving themselves some grace and the fact that you're going to fail a lot. I think viewing that next step of the journey of letting go of tracking is is just as important.

But it's going to feel hard, it's going to feel uncomfortable. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't be doing it or it's not the right next step, when it ever is the right next step for you. But that it is just it's a new and different part of the journey and to me, it's a really part of the journey because you have been able to take all this knowledge that you have and the understanding of portion sizes that you have, and how you've learned and be able to continue to apply it without having to have you know, you can put your I always say you put your trust more now in yourself and in your knowledge rather than an app. And I think that that is kind of such a beautiful transition for so many people to eventually make and I you know, I will never ever tell someone that they should like they should do it now is the time to stop tracking. But if you are someone who's listening, and you're, you're kind of at the point where you resonate with that, and you're like, well maybe that's something that I want to start doing but like she said, You have there's some fear there, there's some anxiety there. I think viewing it just as you'd viewed it when you got started and making that transition away from it slowly and giving yourself some Grace is just it's a beautiful time and it kind of to me is like the the closure of of this thing that you've been able to learn. So anyway, thoughts about I'm going away from tracking.

Elizabeth De Groot  27:02  

Yeah. And now I'm curious. So what would you say are the steps like the slow steps that you could take? Yeah, now that I have that I have your attention Yeah.

Amber B 27:13

Yeah. So usually the first step that I have clients take is I have them track breakfast and lunch and then not track dinner. And so you go into dinner knowing how many macros you have left for the day. But eating that dinner more intuitively and knowing Okay, hey, I have 30 grams of protein and 40 grams of carbs and 10 grams of fat left and then going into dinner knowing that but then eating it without tracking or weighing it. And so you you know, I have you dropped one dinner or one meal and then when you feel comfortable with that, and you're able to like track your weight and your measurements and give yourself that reassurance that like oh my gosh, I'm not like the world's not blowing up. My stomach's not blowing up like, Yeah, I got I got this and then you can start to you know, drop your lunch and so you Breakfast, track it, and then eat lunch and dinner more intuitively, and so you'll be able to scale back. Another thing that I really if you're not even to the point where you feel like you can drop a meal, doing something like dishing out your Greek yogurt, or your apple or whatever, and dishing it out and tracking it, and then checking the weight afterwards can be a way that you can start to build trust with yourself or like playing the game where you're like, Okay, I want 100 grams of grapes. And so you like pick out how much you think 100 grams of grapes is and then checking yourself and starting to build that trust with yourself that hey, I actually do know, portion sizes, I don't have to trust the scale, I don't have to trust the app, I can actually start to trust myself.

And to me that's that's the transition that is being made when someone moves. From you know, from maintenance into track like into maintaining without tracking is you are starting to rely on that trust that you built with yourself and and moving away from trusting an app and To me, that's, that's just like such a, like I said, it's just such a beautiful transition. And it shows you what you have learned and gained from that experience and that you don't have to have an app that that guides you for the rest of your life because you've learned the skills that you need to learn in order to continue maintaining without it. And then if you want to go back and you want to cut again, then awesome, like, start tracking like you still have that tool in your tool belt. But for a general healthy lifestyle, who's someone who's maintaining, I think that's a great time to be able to make that transition. So I don't know that offered anything for you, hopefully, that

Elizabeth De Groot 29:37

no, totally I yeah, I think that it was so helpful. So thank you very much.

Amber B  29:43  

Yeah, you have to keep me Keep me updated on how it goes.

Elizabeth De Groot  29:45  

Yeah

Amber B  29:46  

I find that for a lot of women like that transition actually can just like I said, it can be just as hard as getting started macro counting. It's just it's new. It's different. But it's also it's also a really awesome exciting time. So Keep me updated. Let me know how

Elizabeth De Groot  30:03

Okay, I will I sure will, thank you.

Amber B  30:05  

Awesome. All right. Last question. And I'm curious about this. Um, if you were to go back in time 10 years ago, and tell yourself something or give yourself some advice, what would it be?

Elizabeth De Groot 30:18

Ah, well, I was preparing for my wedding at that point 10 years ago. So, um, we were married really young. And like all young Brides, I think I wanted to look really good on my wedding day. And so I set out to try to lose some weight. And basically, my strategy was to eat as little as possible. And if I did eat a lot, I tried to exercise off the extra calories that I burn. So I was trying to net like 1200 calories a day, which is I'm 5'10 so that was like, way too. Low now when I think back on that, but anyway, I did end up losing quite a bit of weight for my wedding. But when I went on my honeymoon and just like transition into married life, I gained back all of it and then a little bit more because I was just being so restrictive. And I think I was also trying to, you know, have the toned look in my arms and I was lifting just like three pound weights. And so if I would go back, I would tell myself, pick up some heavier weights because that's how you're going to get the tone look that you're looking for. I would also say that you're being way too strict and eating way too few calories. And just as like an example now I'm actually way less than I did when I got married, but I'm eating significantly more. And I just have a much better relationship with food and with exercise to because it really was kind of like Yeah, a rat race. I was just spinning my wheels and like trying to be so thin and like running myself ragged, basically. And it wasn't healthy. And I would tell myself to stop being so restrictive and to also eat more protein because I was hardly eating any protein. Really. I was eating far too little for my size. And yeah, what I was trying to attain physique wise.

Amber B 32:29

That's awesome. All right. This is the final question. But if people are wanting to connect with you, they're wanting to get somebody recipes. How can they find you?

Elizabeth De Groot  32:38  

On Instagram is the best place and then I also have a blog, How We Macro.com where I share most of my recipes, and I'm also on Pinterest, too.

Amber B  32:46  

Awesome. Thanks, Elizabeth, so much for coming on the podcast.

Elizabeth De Groot  32:50  

Yeah, thank you for having me.

Amber B  32:52  

I hope you enjoyed the interview with Elizabeth. And for those of you who are listening who are similar to her and have been tracking for a really long time and are kind of at the point where you're like, you know what, I just want to be healthy. And I just want to have, you know, have balance in my life and you've been tracking for a while and you're kind of at that tipping point that she's at have starting to let go of My Fitness Pal and release. release some of that hold on My Fitness Pal or whatever tracking app that you're using. Hopefully, some of the tips that I gave are helpful to you as well, of how you can make that process a little less dramatic, a little bit more step by step and maybe a little bit less scary to slowly let go of it rather than you know, just saying, Okay, well today I'm not tracking anything at all. So hopefully that offered something for you. If you are enjoying Biceps After Babies Radio and you enjoyed this episode, I would love it if you would go and leave a review on iTunes that helps people to find the podcast. It helps us rank higher in iTunes, which is really important for getting the word out about the podcast. Another awesome thing that you can do and I love it when I see it is screenshotting the episode sharing your takeaways and posting it on social media and making sure you tag me. I love to be able to see that you guys are listening to that podcast and what you're getting out of it. That's really really fun for me to be able to connect with you on there. So if you're not following me at Biceps After Babies, definitely make sure that is a next step for you. 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.