Macro Tracking Made Simple

00:00When you restrict your calories without adequate protein intake, your body doesn't just burn fat, it burns muscle too. And losing muscle is the last thing that you want. Because muscle is what helps to keep your metabolism elevated, and it gives your body the shape and the definition that you want, and it makes fat loss sustainable. This is why I say that protein is the macronutrient king. It does so much for internally for your body, for repairing and building, but then externally for the results that you want to see in your body.

00:36What's going on, everybody? Hey, you guys. Welcome back to another episode of The WarriorBabe Show. Or if this is one of your first episodes, welcome to the show with your host, Nikkie Stott. And on these episodes, my friends, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident. In today's episode, episode number 346, we're going to dive into some simplicity and bringing back the basics.

01:11For the majority of you maybe already know what this is, but for those of you that don't, we're going to dive into the world of macros. Okay, and this episode is for every woman who has ever nodded along when someone said the word macros and then like quietly went off the sideline and like googled what that actually means later. And there's no shame in that. The fitness industry throws the word around a lot. Like everybody already knows what it is. Like I was, you know, I mentioned this in a few episodes ago that I'm 10, I'm over a decade into this space in the fitness industry.

01:43And what is so just second nature to me is not to the person that I meet at a dog park and they're like, what are macronutrients? I have no idea what they are. So the fitness industry can toss around like everybody knows what it is. But then there's a lot of women out there that feel confused and then they give up, you know, three days into a tracking app. And, you know, we're wondering why is that? And it's because, you know, there's a huge, there's beginners still starting their journey. And I want to lean into that with you guys today.

02:13And if you're, you know, I already know macros and I follow macros, blah, blah, blah. This could also just be a refresher for you guys diving back into this and also will help you maybe like articulate this to somebody else that is in, is starting their journey or does know what macros are or, you know, has been where you are when you're a couple years in and know what macros are and are tracking it. Okay. So overall, this can help everybody. So we're going to dive into macros one-on-one, like the very foundation of it.

02:44And by the end of the episode, I want you guys to be able to leave understanding what macros are, why they matter for your body specifically, what they actually do, and then what to do with that information moving forward. Okay. I'm going to break it down. There's no jargon, no science. There's gonna be science, but it's going to be just at like a level, which I know you guys can understand. All right. And no overwhelm. So first, let's dive into like what are macronutrients? Well, macros are short for macronutrients. And they are three main categories of nutrients that make up your food and give your body energy.

03:19So every single thing that you eat is made up of some type of combination of these three of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. That's it. Just those three. Everything you eat, what you have for breakfast was made up of those three. What majority people eat for breakfast is made up of only two of them, which is carbohydrates and fat. Um, so just keeping those three in mind, right? Then a lot of people wonder what calorie, like talking about calories, what about calories? Calories are simply the unit of energy that the macros provide you.

03:50Okay. So how do they break down per gram? So protein is four calories per gram. So if you were to look at the back of a nutritional label and there was 28 grams of protein, that means you times 28 by four. And that's what makes up the overall protein calories in the total calorie number. Carbohydrates are also four calories per gram. And the fats are a little bit more calorically dense, where they are nine calories per gram.

04:23So if you ever want to figure out like lining up the nutrition label with the calories, minus like the sugar, alcohols, and the fibers. So that give or take to the calorie number. But you just times what number you're seeing on the back of nutrition label, times that by four or times that by nine. And that will give you like the fat calories of the overall calorie number. So when you track your macros, you're tracking where your calories are coming from. Not just how much you're eating, but what those calories are made up of.

04:55And that distinction is what makes macro tracking so much more powerful than just counting calories. And I'm going to circle back to that in the middle of this episode. But before I do, I want you guys to know exactly what each macronutrient does. Protein is your body's primary building and repair material. It builds muscle. It builds or repairs your tissues. It produces hormones. It supports your immune system. It keeps you full or longer than any other macronutrient does. And for women who want to lose fat and to build muscle and to change their body composition,

05:28protein is the most important macronutrient to get right. Like hands down, period. This is the macronutrient, what I call is the macronutrient king of all the macronutrients. It's the most important one in regard to that goal. Carbohydrates are your body's preferred energy source, especially for your brain and your muscles during training. Your body breaks down carbs into glucose for immediate energy,

05:58or it stores them as glycogen for later. So carbs fuel your workouts to help you recover. And let me just say this like point blank plainly. Carbs are not the enemy. They are not the enemy. They are fuel. And if you avoid them entirely, that is not the answer. You have to learn how to use them strategically. That is the answer. I have seen so many women remove carbohydrates from their diet because of being on keto or because it makes them gain weight or X, Y, and Z or their insulin, you know, they need to be on

06:34lower carbs. That is a different category of talking about. But you don't need to cut them out entirely. There's a strategic way to go about implementing them into your overall intake on a daily basis. And plus, think about it realistically. If you're on keto, can you not eat carbs for the rest of your life? No. So it's not sustainable. Fat is essential and so important for your hormone production. So including for hormone production, that means your estrogen and your progesterone.

07:06It supports your brain function. It absorbs fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K, and keeps your cells so healthy. And it also helps with your digestive tract. So the more fat you have, the more regular you will be. Now, as I mentioned, it's calorically dense. So it has nine calories per gram. So when you eat fats, the portions matter there because you can easily add up. This is what probably people have gotten the term of eating fat makes you fat.

07:38And yes, rightfully so if you're eating tons of calories of fat because they're calorically dense. So you want to keep them in mind. Like mine are at 90 grams a day for my fat intake. So my carbs is up in the 200s. My protein is at my body weight, right? So like you can see that that number is going to be lower. And it's easy for a lot of people to overconsume. But I don't want you guys to eliminate it. You just need to know the portions matter with it. And your hormones depend on your fat intake. For any of you guys that know, remember my story back when I was bodybuilding.

08:12I only had 14 grams of fat in my day for like eight weeks plus straight while I was in prep. And that's what landed me in the emergency room because I was completely backed up. I had poop in both of my intestines all the way up to the top of my x-ray. And it was the most expensive poop in my life because I didn't have insurance at the time. So and that was because I didn't have a high number of fat intake in my day. Just to consider if you guys feel like you're constipated or whatever, like implementing fats can make a huge improvement to your digestive system.

08:45Okay, so overall, the big takeaway with that is your body needs all three of these macros. Cutting any one of them out entirely will create an imbalance and work against you, even when it seems to be working short term. Okay, just like the carbohydrate I talked about. Or when you cut them out, you're not you people think they're losing weight, you're losing water because carbs hold on to water, right? So just reminding you guys of that. So cutting it out short term, even though you think it works, it's it's working against you long term. And it will create some type of imbalance. Okay, so you probably heard calories and calories out, right?

09:17At least for a lot of women growing up, that was a golden rule for fat loss. Calories in calories out. I burn this many calories and I can eat this many calories and the cycle goes on. Yes, calories matter. But here's why that is an incomplete picture. Two women can eat this the same exact number of calories and get completely different results based entirely on their macro intake. So the example that I've always used, I probably said this in episodes before is a woman A eats 1800 calories, mostly processed carbs, very little protein and high fat.

09:49Women B eats 1800 calories, high protein, moderate carbs, moderate fat. Over time, woman B builds more muscle, loses more fat, feels fuller and more energized and sees dramatically more change in her body composition. Guys, same calories are both eating 1800 calories, but they're completely different results because the composition of what they are eating and what their body can do with those calories is entirely different. Hey, while you're listening, if you're getting value from this episode, take a moment to tap

10:24that review button or share this podcast with a friend. It's a small gesture that goes a long way in helping more women find their way to feeling stronger and more confident in their skin. I appreciate you so much for taking the time to support this show. Now, let's talk about what happens when women just restrict calories without thinking about macros because I know so many of you guys have been there. You can eat less, maybe a lot less, and it works for a little bit, then it stops.

10:54Or you lose weight, but you feel tired, you feel soft, you know, you're not really getting to go work out and you're not toned. Or you lose it all and then you gain it all right back. Here's what's happening. When you restrict your calories without adequate protein intake, your body doesn't just burn fat, it burns muscle too. And losing muscle is the last thing that you want. Because muscle is what helps to keep your metabolism elevated and it gives your body the shape and the definition that you want.

11:25And it makes fat loss sustainable. This is why I say that protein is the macronutrient king. It does so much for internally for your body, for repairing and building, but then externally for the results that you want to see in your body. So the skinny fat thing that I mentioned earlier where you lose weight, but you're not toned. You know, you're just looking skinny fat, the number on the scale will go down, but the body doesn't look or feel the way that you hope that it would. This was me when I first started my journey over a decade ago.

11:57I had no definition. I was low energy. My metabolism was tanked. Macro tracking, specifically making sure that you're eating enough protein while managing your overall calorie intake protects your muscle while you lose fat. I can't tell you that was a drastic difference that I saw and what a lot of women see that are in Warrior Babe. Because a lot of women come to us, either they don't know what protein is or they don't know where to get protein from. They don't know what to eat that has protein in it.

12:28So they're not consuming enough on a daily basis. They think a Clif Bar is healthy, giving you 10 grams of protein, right? So there's that mindset. That was me too. Or there's people that start tracking it, they're bringing awareness and they're only eating like 80 grams of protein in a day. All of that to say that when I made the shift to eating more protein when I first started my journey, when I got into the bodybuilding space and was competing, that was what gave me drastic results. The difference between losing weight and actually transforming your body composition. And that's why I'm so passionate about the macronutrients and so passionate about protein

13:01and so passionate about because the majority of you guys all want to lose fat and build muscle, but you don't do the things needed to get there, which is not eating enough protein strength training, right? There's, there's cardio and, and overtraining and yada, yada, yada, and all those approaches I've talked about. But macro tracking is so important. That's the goal that you want to get to. Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause?

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14:04Take charge of your health and join our community of strong, empowered women. Visit warriorbabe.com forward slash apply today to start your transformation. That's warriorbabe.com forward slash apply. All right, let's get back to the show. And I know you're like, well, I don't want to track macros for the rest of my life. I hear you. You don't have to track macros for the rest of your life, but you do need to develop a skill set that you don't have yet. Because if you're where you are right now, you need to change something.

14:35You can't keep doing what you're doing. So implementing something new to develop a learning educational skill set is what is needed of you in order to get to the results that you want. And then once you do have it down, like I'm telling you guys, five years in, six years in, I don't need to track macros anymore. I know it. I know it through and through. I know what protein is. I know what carbs are. I know what fats are. I know portions because I've been weighing out and looking at portions for years. It just becomes this ingrained identity skill set.

15:06Okay? So don't let those excuses get in the way of implementing these things. A lot of you guys are probably like, how much of each macronutrient should you actually be eating? This is what's called your macro split, which is the ratio of protein, carbs, and fat in your daily intake. An honest answer. You guys know this. There is no single perfect split that works for every single person. Your ideal macros depend on your goals, your current body composition, how active you are, your age, your hormones, your lifestyle. And this is why we have VIP one-on-one coaching in Warrior Beam.

15:36Because you go into an onboarding for 45 minutes with your coach and she gets to know where you are in relation to all of what I'm talking about right now. Do you know macros? Do you not know macros? Where's your level of understanding with it? Have you ever been implementing it? And then we get down to the, okay, this is the reality where you are and how can we get a clear path goal to where, you know, we can start implementing the macros and then also getting you to where you want to be with your goals. There's no right answer. But that said, there are principles that work for most women focused on fat loss and focusing

16:07on those who want to change their body composition. That being protein is always the highest priority. Most women doing well with body composition and changing their body composition eat somewhere between 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. So at 150 pounds, that's roughly either 108 or 105 or quick math to 150 grams of protein daily. And I know that probably sounds like a lot because for most women, like I said, significantly

16:38more than what you're actually currently eating. Like if you're only eating 80 grams of protein in a day, you don't just go to 150. You could jump up a little bit to maybe 100 and then allow your body to adapt and adjust. And then two weeks later, do a slight increase up again and then again to get there. So you don't just go from where you are right now to eating all of that protein. And trust me, when you do it that way, you're going to feel your metabolism just being like, thank you for giving me this food. You may feel fuller because protein is making you feel fuller because it's job.

17:14Okay, carbs and fat, fill in the rest of that based on your preferences and your training style and how your body responds, right? I've talked about insulin resistance and being or insulin sensitive. Like what can your body take when it comes to carbohydrates? Some women feel and perform better with higher carbs. Others do better with a more balanced fat to carb ratio. More people do better with a higher fat, especially in menopause and post-menopause, really in menopause. And like perimenopause, like where I'm at, why I'm eating 90 grams of fat is because my hormones

17:49need it because I'm starting to feel the changes entering into perimenopause. This is where real individualization matters because you get to know those things and how your body responds. Like I'll tell you this, there's times where coaches set somebody off on their macros and the body, the woman doesn't respond the way that where she feels great and she feels energized. And just a little tweak of the fats and the carbs makes a world of a difference how that person feels in two weeks.

18:19Okay. What I don't want you to do is to Google a random split and assume that it is right for you. Because eating the wrong ratios for your body can not only slow down your results significantly, but it can also just make you spiral and think something is wrong with you and wondering why the macros aren't working. Right. Even when you're doing everything else right. So I would not recommend that. What I would recommend is checking out a program that you feel is aligned with the vision and the goals that you want to accomplish and get inside of that and work with a coach. AKA check out Warrior Babe if you're not inside of it.

18:51All right. Before we start closing down this episode, I want to talk about some of the most common mistakes that I see women making and knowing what not to do because that's important leaving this episode. So number one mistake that I see is not eating enough protein. I've talked about this over and over and over again. The most, this is the most common one that I see by far. Most women are eating half or less of the protein that they actually need. And without it, you can't build muscle. You can't preserve muscle. Your hunger is harder to manage.

19:23Your fat loss is going to stall. The single mistake can explain why so many women aren't seeing results. The second one is cutting and fearing carbs and cutting them way too low. Very low carb might move the scale quickly. Okay. You're going to see that in the first week if you cut carbs, but most of that is water. Like I said, not fat. Over time, chronically under eating carbs is going to tank your energy. It's going to hurt your performance. It's going to disrupt your hormones. And it's going to make building muscle nearly impossible.

19:58Please understand that carbs are fuel and you need to use them. Since I'm doing each one of the macronutrients, something that I see with fats is not accounting for fat. Fat is calorie dense, which means that it makes it easy to go over and consume fats without realizing it. So a tablespoon of olive oil, a handful of almonds. Like people, when I do explaining peanut butter and how people take a scoop of peanut butter and they think that that's the serving size and the serving size is literally like almost

20:29a quarter, if not half of that. They add up fast and not tracking this means that your calories can be way higher than you actually think. Even when you're eating quote unquote clean. I'm eating an avocado. I'm having a handful of almonds. I'm putting olive oil on my salad or I'm having peanut butter. That adds up fast. And it sounds like you're eating clean, but you could over consume calories there. Mistake number four is tracking inconsistently. You're perfect Monday through Friday and you completely fall off the rails on the weekend.

21:01Especially if you're new to this and you were just starting out, you have to be honest. This is incredibly common and one of the main reasons women don't see progress that they expect. Consistency over the full week matters more than perfection on any single day. If you just track Monday through Sunday, you can not only see the inconsistency and the consistency, but you can also see where you maybe need areas of improvement. You're not going to be perfect at this and that's okay. You don't need perfection every day.

21:31It may look like 80% on one day, 40% on the next day, 90% on the next day, 70%, 50%, 10%. Okay? But you tracking every single day will help you guys see why progress may be stalling and where you can improve. And then the last one is someone using someone else's macronutrients. This one gets me. Like someone shares their numbers from online and suddenly hundreds of women are trying to eat those exact numbers. This is why you won't see me on social media sharing my numbers all the time.

22:04Because they copy and people copy and paste that. And then they try it themselves. Your macros need to be calculated for your body, your goals, your lifestyle. Using someone else's numbers is like wearing someone else's prescription glasses. It's close, but almost definitely not right for you. Okay? Let that just sink in for a second. You, every human being on this earth should have different macronutrient numbers.

22:35Now, practical steps. Here's how to get started without feeling overwhelmed. Step one, download a tracking app. MyFitnessPal. Those ones are great. There's a couple, there's different ones out there. Chronometer. Both free and they're user friendly. Pick one and set it up. Two, just log. Don't change anything yet. For the first week, just track what you're eating. Don't be perfect. Don't try and hit targets. Just get comfortable with the process and see what your current intake actually looks like. Most women are genuinely surprised at this in both directions.

23:05Okay? Step three is set your protein goal first. Everything else builds from there. Working with a coach is the best way to get your accurate targets for your body. But as a starting point, get your protein number set and work towards hitting it consistently. And then step four is build meals around that protein. So choose your protein source first and then fill in the carbs and fat around it. This makes hitting your protein goal way more consistent and removes a lot of daily guesswork. And then if you guys can probably guess what I'm going to say for step five is just be consistent.

23:35It's not perfect. You will always have days where the numbers are off. That's normal. And it does not erase your progress. Just remember that. Tracking is a skill. And it gets way more intuitive the more that you do it. Most women who've been at this for a few months can eyeball their macros pretty accurately. I'm telling you. Without even opening the app. And I'm telling you with where I said earlier like being 10 years into this, I don't need to track a macronutrient. It just becomes second nature. That's all I got for this episode today.

24:07That's macros 101. I hope that, you know, this maybe clicked in a way that a lot of it hopefully just resonates with you guys. And it leaves you feeling more aware and in alignment with how to get your results that you want. Dialing it in a little bit more. And if you guys want to go deeper and actually learn how to track your macronutrients, build your plan. And, you know, take the real accountability from the coach. That's exactly what the Worry Be a VIP program is for. Real one-on-one coaching.

24:37A strategy built specifically for your body and your goals. It's not a template. It's something that's actually yours. All right? The link is probably below this. So you go to worrybe.com forward slash VIP. And if this episode helped you guys, please, like I said at the beginning, maybe some of you guys already know this. Share it with a friend who needs it. You know, be able to maybe play back and articulate this to a family member or a co-worker. So get them on the right track, right? You hear it and then you go encourage others to do the same thing.

25:09All right, guys. I appreciate y'all. And I'll see you in the next episode. Peace out. Real quick. If this episode resonated with you or gave you the push that you needed, I'd love for you to pay it forward. Drop a quick rating and review. Share the podcast with someone who might need it. And help me keep spreading the word. Your feedback not only helps the show grow, but it might just be the nudge someone else needs to kickstart their transformation. Thank you so, so, so much for your support. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

25:39Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.