Calorie Counting vs. Macro Tracking Through Aging

00:00Real quick, if you want to learn more about macronutrients and understand that methodology on how they can help you achieve your body composition goals of changing the way your body looks, I put together a free 15-minute training where I dive into macronutrients and how you can control your body for the rest of your life with them. That link is in the description below. Click on it after listening to the show today. Counting calories focuses on the total energy intake without paying particular attention to where those calories come from.

00:36What is going on, my friends? Welcome back to the show. Welcome to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkie Stott, co-founder of WarriorBabe. And on this podcast, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident. I am your host, Nikkie Stott, and welcome to episode number 83. So this episode came to mind when we did the live Q&A last week, which was so much fun. Got to speak to six participants, got to give them live coaching, and I know that the questions that they asked,

01:10I'm sure you guys had the same questions or wondered the same things, and so you got to hear my answer to those questions that I hope that you guys were able to take away from, maybe able to apply some things into your life. But what I wanted to do with this podcast today is take one of the questions that I got and elaborate more on the answer. And I thought, you know, what better space than to do this than on the podcast, and especially when it's all around macronutrients. And you guys know that I like to deem myself the queen of macronutrients.

01:41I love macronutrients. I am still looking for someone to argue against me why macronutrients isn't the thing. Because in all of the research and things and education and readings and things that I've done and applied and experienced, it always fundamentally comes back to macronutrients. And this being the methodology to use to get women the results that they are seeking, no matter what age. So I wanted to take one of the questions that I had from a newly signed up VIP.

02:12She's only like three weeks in, maybe four weeks in now. And she was like, Nikki, what makes macros so different than counting calories, right? And you guys may have already, don't stay with me, because you may have already heard my answer. I'm going to elaborate a little bit more here. And my hope from this podcast and having the space to be able to elaborate this answer even more than what I was able to give our participant on the Q&A is that you guys understand it even more. And you understand it at the level where you're like, hey, I want to now go and apply this even more because this makes so much sense.

02:48Okay. And so this is coming from somebody that has never tracked macros before. And so I'm sure this will resonate. I know this will resonate with a lot of you guys that maybe haven't dabbled in macros or have and haven't given it enough time to be able to see the results that you want or you've been in and out. Or like you're just unsure of like, why? Why this? Right? Why macros? Why should I even try it? So I want you guys to be able to walk away knowing all these things and even more reason to give it a go.

03:20But this one, you know, will resonate hard. I know it will because she came from the same boat that I know that a lot of you guys are in. Three weeks in, four weeks in, has never dabbled with macros before. Grew up, you know, thinking that counting calories was a way and worrying about the scale. And like, you know, again, it's not to fault of you or her or the women that are in the same bucket as she is. And, you know, a lot of the women that I speak to grew up in the era of like, you know, Weight Watchers and focusing on like containers and like the color of the top of the lids or, you know, skinny was the way.

03:55And so salads galore. Ro-ha. And so, you know, it's not to fault to them, but a lot of things and especially in this new fitness era, it's not even new. It's like things that we know, but it's coming more to light in like the fitness space and the marketing that you see. And it's all about building muscle and becoming strong and muscle is the organ of longevity. And, you know, you have to have maintain muscle mass for the longevity of your life and your muscle mass decreases at X rate after the age of 30.

04:28And, you know, you want to make sure that you have the muscle mass because it's going to make you feel stronger and have stronger bones and yada, yada, yada, right? And so the industry is pushing. And this is something that I've just this is never even faltered in my message and in my and in my everything in terms of building a body that you love and doing it in a healthy and sustainable way. And it's always a matter of fact of building muscle. But macros has been the foundation. It has been the fundamental foundation in all the things that I teach, preach, you know, walk the talk, do. Not to fault of that, but this is the way that this the way women grew up.

05:00But this is where we're going. And I want everybody else to jump on this train. But like everyone's like, why macros? Why macros, Nikki? Why are macros so different? What makes them so great? Why should I do this? It's so hard. But like maybe if I understood it a little bit more, I would do it. Right. And so I just wanted to take the time to elaborate a little bit more on why I believe this so hard to be true in terms of like following macronutrients. And like I want to emphasize really quick before I dive into my reasonings that, you know, both of them counting macros inherently involves counting calories.

05:37So they both interchangeably work together, but they vary in their approach. So I just want to say that like there's nothing wrong with counting calories. However, that pertains to a particular goal that an individual may be going after. Weight management, maintenance, right? While macros inherently focuses on making sure you're getting the right nutrients to build more muscle. And when you build more muscle, you become more toned.

06:08When you decrease body fat, which works with those three macronutrients, protein, fats, and carbs, and you're playing around with the amount of each macronutrient that the body gets, you then have the ability to decrease body fat, preserve more muscle, hold on to the muscle mass that you've either built or have. And so you're decreasing the body fat around them. And then you look more toned. Right. That's what tone is. It's just building more muscle. And when you build more muscle, you decrease body fat around it, you're going to be able to see that muscle mass a little bit more.

06:39And that requires you working with each individual macronutrient, protein, fat, and carbs. And the reason being is that, hey, guys, love so much that you guys are listening to this podcast. If you ever want to have the video version of this, which usually has more effects and all that good stuff for those of you who are visual learners, check it out. Follow your YouTube channel, Warrior Babe, if that's what you like. Either way, keep enjoying the show. Counting calories focuses on the total energy intake without paying particular attention to where those calories come from.

07:15Okay. And like I said, this can be really useful for like overall just generic weight loss, like someone going from like 200 pounds to like 150 pounds, or if they're way overweight from 300 pounds to like 200 pounds. This approach can work for that instance, right? Because your weight generally changes based on whether you take in more or fewer calories than you burn, right? Calorie deficit and calorie surplus and all that jazz. However, it doesn't take into account when you count calories, it doesn't take into account the nutritional quality of your food.

07:47For example, a calorie from a protein has a different impact on your body than a calorie from a fat or a carbohydrate. Okay. So think about that. People that consume 1800 calories or 2000 calories, right? And they're just counting calories. That calorie count makeup could come from a different array of a number of protein, a different array of a number of fat, and a different array of number of carbohydrates on a regular basis.

08:18So there's no consistency at the level of macronutrients that this human is getting. They're just trying to hit an overall calorie goal. And it doesn't take into account people could be like, oh, this has 500 calories. I'm going to eat that. And it could be a slice of pizza rather than like, this has 500 calories and it's a chicken sandwich. Okay. So it doesn't take into account the nutritional quality that somebody is consuming, right? A protein does something different to your body. A protein gram, chicken, does something to your body differently than what fat or what carbohydrates would do.

08:52The most important thing, which I'm going to elaborate on in a second, is that when people focus on just hitting a calorie count and a calorie goal, is I guarantee you that a lot of women are getting by far lower than what they need in a protein count. They're not focusing on hitting the overall protein because a lot of people go for protein bars because they have protein in it. But really, there's only 10 grams of protein in that protein bar. And you think that you're getting protein, but that's not, that is not. And this is something that I fell into at the beginning of my journey.

09:23I was like, oh, a protein bar has 10 grams of protein or, oh, a peanut butter has 7 grams of protein. I was like, I didn't actually know how much protein I actually need. I was like, oh, it just has protein. But that is, those things are not an efficient amount of protein that the body actually needs. In order to get to what I spoke to earlier about the type of goal that I speak to and that a lot of women that come to me want. And that is to build more muscle and to be more toned, right? Decrease body fat, all of those things. And so counting calories, and on a regular basis, man, it could be 1,800, 2,000 calories that you're going after.

09:54But like one day, it's 15% of protein. And then all the rest from fats and carbs are one day, you're 50% protein. And then like 25% fat and 25% carbs. Who knows? People don't pay attention to that makeup. And people don't pay attention to the quality of food that they're consuming. A lot of people are like, I'm eating 2,000 calories and I'm eating healthy. Okay, cool. But what really are you eating to make up that 2,000 calorie count? And usually when I try to unpack that with a client, they're like, oh, wow, I'm really not eating enough protein. Or, oh, wow, like the quality of my food really just isn't there as to where it should be, right?

10:31And so when you track macros, on the other hand, this involves counting the grams of the macronutrients, the protein, the carbohydrates, and the fats that you consume. And this method not only looks at the total calorie intake, but also where the calories are coming from. And so the advantage of tracking macros is that can help ensure a balanced and nutritious diet. It can help you ensure that you are getting the right quality of foods into your nutritional goal every single day. Which from there, when you're consuming the right amount from a protein, fat, and a carb standpoint, this is going to promote muscle growth.

11:08This is going to promote fat loss. There's a difference, like I said earlier, in podcasts. So go back and find the difference of what I'm about to say between weight loss and fat loss. So I said calorie counting can work for overall weight loss. But when it comes to fat loss, it's a different beast to tackle. And there's an entire podcast on this. The difference between weight loss and the difference between fat loss. Because there is a distinct difference that I think that every one of you guys should understand.

11:39And so when you're tracking macronutrients, the advantage of doing this is making sure that you have the right macronutrients in your day on a consistent basis to promote that goal that you want with muscle growth and with fat loss. And it also will increase your ability and your performance with your workouts on a day-to-day basis. And then not just that as well, but it's also, and I guarantee you this because I see this from the women inside of our worry babe community

12:12where they come back and they're like, my blood pressure has never been this good. My A1C has never been this good. My blood pressure, blood sugar, my thyroid numbers have never been this good. And so it improves by you having the right things. Your body needs all three macronutrients. Okay, you can't cut out one of them. And I know that a lot of people preach that. You just can't. Your body needs them in order to function properly. Not even just your body, your organs need them in order to function properly. Your brain needs carbohydrates to function properly.

12:45Your hormones need fats in order to function properly. Protein, overall muscle quality and muscle building, which is going to help you live a more healthy life with more muscle that you have. You need protein to do that. Okay, so it's going to improve health markers. When women usually have some type of diagnosis, it's coming back from their doctor. Their blood works as X, Y, and Z. Or they have low thyroid. They have A1C problems. Or they have blood sugar problems. Or they have... Some of them is genetic. But majority of the things can be fixed so easily.

13:15We're just eating the right freaking thing on a regular basis for months on end. For years on end. I promise you that. Okay? And so that's really like overall arching. Counting calories, counting macros. The overarching huge distinction between them. Now, I want to just dive back into the quality of the foods. Because in my personal main distinction between counting calories and counting macros, counting calories does not consider the quality or nutritional composition of the foods that you are consuming.

13:47Again, like I said, protein impact on your body different than what fats do and what carbs do. But here's another example for you guys. Take a sugary soft drink. A Coca-Cola. And a piece of fruit. They have similar calorie counts. Their nutritional values are vastly different. Okay? So if you're like counting calories, but like you're having sugary drinks in your day and you're attributing it to your calorie count, that is a different type of quality of choice of nutritional focus and value than a piece of fruit.

14:24You got what I'm saying here? Are people like, you know, a lot of people can look at an Oreo in relation to a sweet potato. Vastly different qualities of nutritional value that your body, that you are giving your body. Whereas when you track macros, it focuses on the quality of the calories you consume, ensuring that you get the right balance of each of the macronutrients, like I said, that your body needs in order to fuel the type of results that, like I said, majority of you guys want.

14:58Muscle growth, fat loss, overall better in performance and energy, and improving anything with your health for the longevity of your life. Counting calories is not going to get you there. Point blank. End of story, my friends. I hope that like this is just like, okay, boom, bam. I get it, Nikki. You're telling me to count macros. I can't just count calories. Please understand it. If you want those goals that I said, counting calories, it's good for weight loss. It's good for like that vast majority of women that need to just focus on doing that, right?

15:32Counting macros is going to get you to that muscle growth and focusing on all the things. I don't even need to repeat myself. You guys get it, right? You should get it up at this point, right? When you track macros, it recognizes that not all calories are created equally. Protein calories can help you build muscle. Carbohydrate calories provide energy. And fat calories support cell health and hormone function, like I just mentioned. So by focusing on macros, you can ensure that your body is getting the nutrients it needs to function optimally.

16:05If you're just focused on counting calories, you may not be giving your body the things that it needs to function optimally, right? Because like I said, in some ratios that vary day to day, they may fluctuate. And you're not giving your body it consistently. You're just trying to go for an overarching number, a really like an arbitrary number. And you don't know what the foods that are made of that you're consuming to get to that number. That's why macros is so freaking amazing. Because they're giving your body exactly what it needs, which leads to overall improved health, wellness, all of the things.

16:39And so like I said, to be in the podcast and I opened it up, it's worth noting here and reminding you guys that counting calories inherently involves counting macros. However, the emphasis is not on the total caloric intake, but rather on the distribution of calories across different types of nutrients. That is my argument between counting calories and counting macros, you guys. And I hope that I relate it in a way that is understood and then makes you guys want to go and give macros a try.

17:09Because there is a significant difference between counting calories and counting macros. What I just said. And why macros? What's the big deal about it? What makes it so different? All the things that I just said. It truly comes down to like overall health. Really? I was going to say your goals are, but truly overall health. Because you're giving your body the nutrients, all three of them that it needs. Another thing that she had asked, how do we know we're giving our body the right things and like that we're doing the right things as we continue to age? And particularly, I speak to a lot of women that are going through menopause.

17:39They're either before menopause, after menopause, but primarily they're normally going through menopause. And so when it comes to changes related to aging and menopause, your nutritional needs evolve. I'm going to say it that way. Right? They evolve from where you were when you were 20, from where you were when you were 30, from where you were even like your early 40s. They evolve. So for instance, as you age, you need more protein to help maintain muscle mass. Every decade after the age of 30, your muscle mass decreases from like 3 to 8%.

18:12And that's because a lot of people don't eat enough protein. And so when you age, what I mean by evolution in terms of your nutritional focus is you have to focus on getting enough protein into your everyday nutritional needs. And with the hormone fluctuations that a lot of you guys experience with going through menopause, that can lead to weight gain. And that can lead to a condition that I have spoken to in numerous times in numerous podcasts, osteoporosis.

18:46And so when you have and you evolve into focusing on the right macronutrients, both protein, all three, protein, fats, and carbs, a nutritional focus rich in that can help lower the things that you may feel while going through menopause, the experiences you may feel going through menopause. And also lower these risks of these things happening to you later in life. And you guys know in previous podcasts that I have been on or even here at The WarriorBabe Show, I've spoken to why the two paths you can go down.

19:18You either go down a path where you are honing in on making sure you're eating the right things and doing strength training and you're at age 70 and the world is vastly different from whether if you don't focus on strength training and you don't focus on eating right. It's vastly different. I've personally seen it. I've worked in the healthcare field for nine years before I turned it over to Warrior Babe. And I've seen what life can do for women that work out and for women that don't. And so I just say, which path do you choose? Do you want to be strong and running around with your grandkids later in life?

19:50Or do you want to be the one that's sitting back having to watch them because you're not physically capable to go play and enjoy those memories? And it comes down to everything I just talked about in this podcast. In addition to strength training, in addition to reprogramming your mindset to learn and understand that food is literally and eating the right types of food and the right quantities that you need is literally the catalyst to changing not only overall body composition, but just your overall health and longevity. And where you go from now to the years beyond, to the years moving forward.

20:25Okay, so that's all I got for today, you guys. You know, I actually really enjoyed speaking to that out loud because it's just, it's just, again, like I said at the beginning, man, the fundamental understanding and aspect of macronutrients. And I don't look at it as another diet. I literally look at it as a skill set that will serve you for the rest of your life. I will leave you here with saying you don't have to track macros for the rest of your life. But boy, when you do track macros for a period of time, how that can just evolve to you having such an incredible relationship, an array of abundance with knowing what food is out there that you can consume on a regular basis and enjoy yourself with the types of food that you want.

21:04That is just something that is profound. Like, I'm speaking because that's my existence now. But, you know, I want you guys to just have a better relationship with understanding that, sure, macros may be hard at the beginning, but like, it's worth it. It's so worth it. And again, like, there's nothing that has really shown me otherwise, right? There's no other research or aspect of following nutrition or doing X, Y, and Z in a certain way that has gotten to create women, to give women results or build muscle or fat loss or longevity than macronutrients.

21:36So please just give macronutrients a shot. Okay? It works. It works for the hundreds of thousands of women. So I know it can work for you. You just got to open your mind up to it. All right? So I hope you guys enjoyed it. And I'll see you in the next podcast. Hey, guys, real quick. If you're interested in taking your body to the next level, lose body fat, build more muscle, feel more confident, do it alongside one of our 30 plus professional coaches. Work one-on-one with her to eliminate all of the guesswork that you may have.

22:09And all you need to do is just do the work that she tells you to do to get to those goals of yours. Now to learn more, click the link below this podcast and apply to our VIP program right now.

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