The Great Macros Debate: Striking a Balance for Lasting Wellness

00:00You, as a human, just need to learn how to be a little bit more disciplined in your regime to stop eating the whole bag of Doritos or to stop having the whole bag of Dove chocolate. And listen, that is something that doesn't switch automatically. What is up, my friends? Hello and welcome back to The WarriorBabe Show or if you are a new listener as of recent.

00:30Welcome to the 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 80. So this morning, I was on a podcast that will be releasing in August. And this one little sliver of a topic that I'm going to extrapolate on in this podcast today came up in that podcast this morning.

01:09And I was like, ooh, this is juicy. I really didn't elaborate it too, too, too much on that podcast. I'm not taking away from it. But I wanted to elaborate it here on this podcast today. And so we're going to dive into talking about how many women look at tracking macronutrients as something restrictive. And, you know, that they feel like they're restricting themselves from certain foods.

01:40And on the contrary, I look at it as something that is very sustainable, realistic, and matter of fact. I look at macros as a skill set that will serve you for the rest of your life. So what this podcast is going to be all about is just debunking that type of mentality that women have around macronutrients. And if you think it is restrictive, let me ask you, how is it restrictive? Why do you think it's restrictive?

02:12Because the answer to those questions on my point of view is you can really have any and all of the foods that you want to. So there's something a little bit deeper that makes you feel like it's restrictive. Maybe it's because you think that if you're going on a new eating regime that you have to eliminate things that you once had or once enjoyed because you are trying to eat better. That ain't macros, my friends. Now, to unpack that one a little bit, if you're looking at things that you're thinking about giving up or what you once had, you had too much of those things.

02:46And so, therefore, those things controlled you as opposed to you controlling them. So for an example, you guys know from listening to the podcast, I absolutely, and still to this day, love sugar. Okay, I love candy. I love sweets. I love dessert. Like, hashtag to the Harmosis, never skip dessert. However, before my journey, that shit controlled me. I didn't control it. So when I got into eating better and focusing on eating right and choosing healthier foods, I completely understand where you guys are coming from in terms of where you think it may be restricted, but it ain't macronutrients.

03:22That's the problem. It's the overall arching idea of you think that you have to shift from what once controlled you and what you were eating too much of in order to get the result that you want. And yes, that is the fact. However, it's not restrictive because with macronutrients, you can still have those things that you want and enjoyed. And you can have them in moderation and balance. So it's not that you're going to have like a whole bag of Doritos or a whole bag of, you know, or whole, you know, what I'm trying to think of in terms of what I love, you know, a whole bag of Dove chocolate.

03:58Right? You guys know I still to this day have Dove chocolate at the end of the day. It's not that you're going to have a whole bag of this stuff. It's like, how can you develop a self-discipline that still allows you to have some of that stuff but stops when it's like too much? Or like you feel like you're going to eat the whole bag, but then you're like, hey, I have a self-awareness where I'm going to stop eating this right now because that's what needs to shift. We really want to unpack that entire statement. It's so much deeper than, oh, this is, this macros is just too restrictive.

04:31So let me, that's where I love to get curious. Why? And typically it's that. You think that you have to give up all of the things that you enjoy when you really don't have to. You, as a human, just need to learn how to be a little bit more disciplined in your regime to stop eating the whole bag of Doritos or to stop having the whole bag of Dove chocolate. And listen, that is something that doesn't switch automatically. Okay? That's not something that you're able to tackle in three months.

05:03This is the way I look like to think of it as. Okay? So I've talked about in episode, I think number four, about the person that you want to become. Right? So right now, obviously, maybe you are in this state where you've allowed these types of eating patterns or, you know, eating a whole bag of Doritos or not really caring about what you're eating and like not and loving ice cream and like all of this stuff. And you're having it all the time. And, you know, you're in this state of your body that you're just not happy with. So then I want you to think about where you want to become and who you want to become and what kind of body you want to have and things that you want to build for yourself.

05:38So how is that person acting? How is that person eating? How is that person speaking? How is that person going about her day to day? Right? And you need to start acting like that person. So here for me, for example, I'm just going to use my personal story because I feel like this will help paint a little bit of a better picture. Right? I did all. I loved sweets. I loved all of the ice cream. I loved all of the things mainly because I wasn't feeling my body properly, which is another thing that I could get into. Like I wasn't giving my body enough protein, which helps you feel full and also combats your cravings.

06:09At the end of the night, if you're not eating throughout the day, you may have all these cravings that you want all of these sweet, tasty, salty things. But if you feel your body the right way and you give your body enough protein, you'll notice that those cravings actually start to subside. Anyway, you know, I was the one that was being controlled by the food instead of me controlling it. And so the way that once you get a little bit deeper and you ask these types of questions that it's not actually pack or nutrients, it's like, okay, if this person here where I am today, right, I was that person here. And a lot of you guys may be struggling with trying to get over that type of mentality or letting the food control you and not controlling it.

06:43And where I wanted to go and where I am today here where I still enjoy these things. But because my journey and like if you guys are watching my video, I'm creating a line from like where I am now to where I want to be. And this line is like almost like a zigzag upwards because there's points that I've achieved, that I was really, really good. And there's points that I would step back. And there's points I was really, really good. And there's points where I just failed. And there's points that I was really, really good. And there's points that like and then just started to smooth out as I realized that these things that I wanted to let go of really didn't serve who I was trying to become, right?

07:20That food wasn't trying, wasn't really serving the body that I wanted to have. And so I started to eliminate those things in respect to the goals that I wanted to have. Okay, now, and then it was just like, okay, now here I am moving on upward and it's just becoming more of a lifestyle at this point. But now I've reached a lot of physical goals with myself and my physique. And I'm really happy with where I am. I can do better always. I always think about like, you know, I'm happy, but I can do better.

07:51I'm blissfully dissatisfied, right? And so here I am at the achievement of where I am with my body right now. And it's not that I completely gave up those things. I just gave up the quantity at which I was eating them. Meaning like the whole bag or a dessert like every single night. And I know I just mentioned Hermoses and I know they do that also, but they're not going towards specific goals with their body. So I'm asking in respect to you and in the relation to being restrictive and to how I see macronutrients,

08:23I'm going to dive into like that world of what it actually truly looks like when you just accept the fact that like tracking your macronutrients is like a milestone to be able to live an entire lifestyle out the way you want to and not have to worry about meticulously tracking. So let me say this right now loud and clear. When people say they're restrictive and they have this mentality around food and they don't want to track macronutrients because it feels restrictive and they're eliminating foods, it's like you're actually the one eliminating the foods.

08:54You can put the food into your routine, but then you have to learn when it's in your routine not to eat the whole damn thing. Okay, so it's on you. It's not macronutrients. And that's a big distinction to be able to identify and accept. So when you make that identification and you make that awareness for yourself that it's really you that needs to be able to build the habits and the discipline around tracking macronutrients the right way. And I don't think I said what I wanted to say. I don't expect you for the rest of your life, A, to track.

09:24And I don't expect you when you come into the world of macronutrients to bring your damn food scale to a restaurant and start weighing your food. Like, I think these are misconceptions that people have when they start hearing macronutrients and start hearing the actual work that it takes to start tracking them and be, you know, committed to the process, which is something that, again, is a milestone and a stepping stone to, like, living life, like, in full enjoyment around food. Okay, because the main thing is that women think that, like, I'm kind of going all over the place.

09:59This is actually just, like, you know, turning into a ramp. But, you know, we're just going to go with it, you guys. Okay, just stay with me here. 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. YouTube channel, Warrior Babe, if that's what you like. Either way, keep enjoying the show. So a lot of women think that when they, you know, are eating in a way that before they dive into macronutrients that they're eating healthy.

10:30And then when they're introduced to having to pay attention to their food, they're like, holy cow, I'm actually not eating enough. You're maybe eating, like, people think they're eating healthy. They're probably eating, like, 1100 calories. And I guarantee you, majority of those are coming from fats and carbs and not so much protein. Because protein is the one, I've talked about this in a previous podcast. It's the one macronutrient that a lot of women struggle to get in. And so once you become more aware of, like, which macronutrients opens your eyes, when you start paying attention and actually become aware of the food that you're eating via the methods of tracking it and paying attention to the things that you're putting on your plate,

11:07it is such an eye-opening, more of, like, a self-discovery, self-journey, self-awareness for yourself around food and realizing that you're actually not eating enough food for what is needed in order to fuel building muscle, losing body fat, all of the things that women want to achieve within their journey. That is, like, the number one thing that women are struggling with. They're not eating enough food. And I guarantee you guys who are listening to this podcast, you can totally resonate with that. But, you know, and so that's, like, a thing that women get into when they think, okay,

11:39when they become more self-aware of needing to eat more, obviously. But then it's like, oh, well, macronutrients is time-intuitive. Macronutrients is restrictive. Macronutrients is X, Y, and Z. And then I'm like, are you actually taking the time to actually do this? Because that's where it comes down to. It's not macros. Macros aren't the problem. Macros has helped thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people in their life to learn how to eat better and feel their body and eat right and get the results that they want. So it's not macronutrients. It's you.

12:10And so you can't blame the program that has helped thousands and thousands and thousands of people. It's like, what is getting in the way of you? And, like, how are you getting in the way of yourself to actually put the work that is needed into understanding how to use macronutrients to fuel the results that you want? Okay, because when you do that, and now I'm going to kind of pivot into why, from my perspective, and first, if you're saying that macronutrients is restrictive and you're looking at it that way, it's totally a mindset.

12:43You're looking at it in a negative light. And now, pumping the brakes there, if you've had some type of eating disorder or things in the past, again, those are the things that you need to nurture, not macronutrients. You need to nurture the things that you've experienced in your life and how you view food and why you view it that way and get curious with why you've been through that avenue of, you know, because it's always something usually deeper. It's like something you've experienced in your life that led you to have this relationship around food.

13:14And once you unpack that and you have more self-awareness to it, then you can have a better relationship with food. So it's not macros. Macros may be a triggering word, but it's not the actual, it's not the actual physical thing of like, it's the, of the approach, right? It's not the approach. It's always a level a bit deeper into the human that has the type of experience that they do around X, Y, and Z. Okay. And then you want to pull that back and you want to get curious about how you can heal that type of thing or nurture that type of thing. And then you introduce this type of skill set.

13:48Like I said, it's a skill set that will serve you for the rest of your life. So once you switch the mentality around from being restrictive to actually being in a, an array of abundance, because you can have the foods that you want. I'm very big on like, don't restrict, please don't restrict. Don't restrict yourself in foods that you want. Because if you've restrict yourself in foods that you want, guess what's going to happen? You're going to eat those foods. It's like me telling you, and I just said this in a podcast too as well. It's like me telling you to not think about a pink elephant. What are you thinking about right now?

14:20A pink elephant. Okay. So please don't restrict, but better yet, become more self-aware, become curious, become like an observer of why you think those things are restrictive so that you can switch the mentality around to embrace the absolute abundance that, the array of abundance, I like to say, of what macronutrients can give you in terms of such a beautiful relationship with food. And so like I said, like I don't expect you to track macros for the rest of your life,

14:50but I expect you to understand how to track because what that is going to bring to light for you is as you continually track for, you know, a year or a year and a half or two years, and, you know, you're, you're putting things and you're weighing things, you're putting on a plate, guess what you're doing? You're subconsciously programming your mind to see how much of X is a carbohydrate. Like how much right now is three ounces of this chicken breast. It's probably like 25 grams of protein,

15:23right? And so you're becoming accustomed to seeing these portion sizes on your plate. And the more that you become accustomed to that, the more that you ingrain these things into your brain, the better it's going to be able to serve you for when like you don't need to track macronutrients. Now it's just become a habit and it's become your lifestyle and it's become a way of living that when you're not doing that, you know what portion sizes look like. You know, when you go out to eat, you've already instilled these types of habits to ask for more protein

15:54because whenever you go to restaurants, protein is always the number one macronutrient that typically lacks on salads or on entrees. And so you always want to ask for double. That's something personally that I do. And I've learned through having macronutrients to fall back on. Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause? It's time to take control.

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16:56of 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 feel like not a lot of women look at it in this light that macronutrients is something that can truly just overall help you build such a better relationship with food, better discipline with food, overall

17:26just a better, more sustainable, realistic path to be on. But I think that's a really hard concept to understand because a lot of women aren't there yet. And I'm speaking from the other side, right? So like what I want to do the best I possibly can do is kind of put my hand back out behind me and hold your hand and pull you along. And this is why I love to say that we do inside of Warrior B because wherever you are at along your journey, whether you know macronutrients or you don't, we are going to meet you

17:56where you are at. We're not going to then throw though you X, Y, and Z macros to follow. We're going to be like, hey, I think it's best that you start to track because you're not even aware of how much food do you eat. I can't tell you how much to eat because it may not even be the right equation that we need to fuel your fat loss. So let's just pay attention in the first week for you tracking your normal way of tracking and then we're going to from there build where our starting foundation is going to be.

18:27It is such a beautiful thing. And so then from there, a lot of women get frustrated frustrated because macronutrients takes time and it does feel restrictive. And again, that is just because we are changing habits from what you were used to doing to what we want to do so you can get the results that you are seeking. And so people have deemed it restrictive because you're not allowed to do all the things that you did before. Well, guess what? All the things that you were doing before led you to where you are

18:57right now. So why would we do all those things before? Right? Maybe just allow yourself instead of the whole bag of chocolate like I do. I allow myself four pieces of chocolate every night and I build a discipline to stop there. Okay? So please like and then that's the restrictive thing and then people say it's too hard. Well, I mean, you know, when you ride a bike the first time it was freaking hard, right? Yeah. So if you never tracked macronutrients before and then you start tracking macronutrients, duh, it's going

19:28to be hard. There's a learning curve, okay? But are you really that willing to give up that quickly? I don't think you are. I know that the women that at least stand behind me are very strong, very determined, very dedicated and they're willing to try this new thing that they probably never did or didn't try long enough in order to give it the results that they wanted. And, you know, then you do that and you give it, again, like I already stated, macronutrients has helped so many people. So once you accept that it is actually something that can

19:58fuel and drive the results that you want, it is actually the catalyst for change. Once you accept that and you stop thinking about it in a restrictive light and you surrender to the fact that sure it's going to be hard, you may have some bumps along the road like I said from here to here and the line upwards would jagged but it got me up here, right? That's going to be you. That's normal. If you don't expect to fail, you need to accept to fail. You're not a super human, okay? And then when you fail, it's not that you fail, it's like it's a learning opportunity to be

20:29like, oh, okay, I can just do this a little bit better next time. And guess what? Once you get over the hump of tracking macronutrients initially, which, you know, the first three, four months may be a learning curve like anything is when you're trying something new. Again, let me just reiterate that. And you get to like five months, six months to a year to now me being like year five. I can do this shit in the blink of an eye. I can do it in a matter of three minutes. I can look at my plate and know what it is. I don't have to track macronutrients all the time. Quite frankly, I don't

21:00track macronutrients all the time. But I still have been able to maintain the results of my body because I use the tools, the resources, the skill set that I've developed through tracking macronutrients for a couple of years into now this next phase I'm in, which is intuitive eating and enjoying my life, which I want you all to get to. But you have to understand macronutrients and you have to give macronutrients what it deserves. You have to give it the time. You have to give it the commitment.

21:30You have to give it the dedication. You can't just fucking half-ass it. You can't just say, oh, yeah, I tracked my macros all week and really in actuality you only track two out of the seven days or five out of the seven days for my weekenders. You know what I mean? So it's like, can you sacrifice just learning this skill set for a couple of years? Because guess what? The fruition and what it's going to surmount to in terms of you being able to live a realistic, better relationship with food and have a sustainable approach to nutrition is fucking 20 times

22:02the couple years it's going to take you to learn it. A couple months. Okay? That's what I mean about the other side. That's what I mean about the array of abundance when it comes to learning this skill set, knowing that you're not restricting anything, unpacking that a little bit more like I said and really getting down to the true root cause of why you think it's like that because it's not truly macronutrients. It's not truly the word. It's whatever your experience was in the past that is leading you to think that.

22:32And then when people say that stuff online, you know, valid, it's a part of your story, but you can't blame it on like, you know, you can't blame it on a tool that has truly helped so many people. And then I don't think people really, you know, the ones that do track the macros or, you know, like what I'm sharing with you is like, it's not something that I would hold women to have to do for the rest of their life. I don't want you to have to do that. I want you to learn the abundance that is on the other side of learning what macronutrients are, of learning what's on your food, of learning about

23:03the relationship that you can actually truly have with food. And knowing that some of the food, once you just switch to that different habits, really, you won't really turn to that food anymore. And that's a beautiful thing. Okay, it's your, it's a part of evolution. It's part of growth, all of these things I'm sharing with you. So, you know, in that rant, of all the things that I said, I really hope this podcast helped you have a different approach and understanding when it comes to macronutrients and not looking at so much in a restrictive light, looking at it

23:34more and like, why do I think it's like that? Why do I think it's restrictive? What are things I need to unpack? What am I hearing all social media that makes me think it's that way? And really switch the mindset to what I said and taking you along that whole aspect of like, you know, what we do with our women to how we help them kind of level up in the aspect of macronutrients and tracking macronutrients to then where I'm at, which is like, I don't have to track macronutrients all the time right now, but I can still maintain my

24:05body and my results because it's my lifestyle and I can look at food and understand it. And I have a really good relationship with it. So that's that, my friends. If you guys enjoyed this podcast, please, please, please, I ask you just to take a couple of seconds following this podcast to rate it, to review it, leave some awesome words about how you feel about this podcast. If this is your first time listening to it, leave a review on what you think about this first episode that maybe you were listening to. Or, you know, if you listen to a few of them

24:35and you haven't yet, you've reviewed it yet, I would greatly appreciate that so, so, so freaking much. And I'll see you guys in the next podcast. Peace out. 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 and all you need to do is just do the work that she tells you to do to get to

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This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.