The Real Science Of Fat Loss: 3 Benefits To Tracking Macronutrients

00:00You, yourself, your excuses are getting in the way of your results. Like we know macro tracking is a great avenue to go towards getting to your results. So you have to figure out how to make that system work for you and not allow excuses to overplay the system. What's up, you guys? Welcome to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkie Stott, co-founder and brand personality of WarriorBabe, where we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong,

00:30and feel insanely confident. I am your host, Nikkie Stott, and welcome to episode number eight, all about the real science of fat loss. And today I'm going to share with you three benefits to tracking macros and why they're better than focusing on just calories. So calories determine like your weight loss, guys. Macros are going to determine how firm and toned that you're going to look. And then the quality of food that you eat is going to determine how you feel. So in this podcast today, I'm going to talk about the real science of fat loss and give you three benefits why paying attention to macronutrients

01:04is the best thing that you could do to be on the right path to achieving body comp goals versus just focusing on counting calories, which is like the Stone Age. But like also too, like I get it. Like it's like what marketing was used to tell you, like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, X, Y, and Z, put it into containers, focus on these calories, yada, yada, yada. But like, yeah, that's like the Stone Age. And like we're going to dive into like what the actual truth is going to help you to gaining the body comp goals that you have in mind for yourself. So contrary to popular belief, it's not just about calories in versus calories out.

01:41It's about the type of macronutrients that make up those calories that you're eating and how they impact your body and your body composition to get optimal results. So the first one I want to talk about is macro tracking is a way more accurate way to lose fat and to build muscle. So when you focus on just counting calories, like I just said, like you will just lose weight. It's the way of any fad diet out there. They'll put you on a low caloric intake and yes, you will lose weight.

02:13But this losing weight will just leave you looking like a skinnier, fatter version of yourselves because you will have no muscle tone underneath of your skin. Like when you lose just weight and you're focusing on just weight loss, like I spoke about this in previous episodes, the difference between weight loss and difference between fat loss. But when like you just focus on losing weight, unfortunately, you're going to lose the weight. Unfortunately, the weight that you will lose will be a little bit of everything. It's going to be fat. It's going to be muscle. It's going to be fluids. It's going to be like your organs are going to get smaller. So it's going to be like everything.

02:44So like you could be 170 pounds and focus on just weight loss and like you will lose all of that. It was fat, muscle, fluids, organs, but like and you will become just a skinnier, fatter version of yourself. But like if you want to achieve body composition goals, meaning building muscle and changing the way your body looks and being more toned, you don't want to lose muscle in the process. You want to lose fat. Okay, so macro tracking is a way more accurate way to lose fat and to build muscle.

03:16It's not it's going to give you way more than just trying to lose weight. Okay, so the ultimate goal to successful fat loss is to preserve as much muscle as possible or even gain some along the way while at the same time you're losing as much body fat as possible. So like, again, one is like you're going to be skinny fat. Two is like, you know, more athletic fit figure looking skinny fat focus just on calories lose weight, yada yada focus on macronutrients lose body fat be more athletic and be more toned.

03:50Okay, you're not going to get that but to put more tone more building muscles focus on calories. You'll achieve that when you focus on macronutrients that will make up those overall calories. Right? So like, let's say, like you're on a 2000 calorie diet. Okay, and like you're watching how many calories in each of your meals in order to hit that 2000 calories. That's just calorie counting. But like, I want you to focus on okay, you 2000 calories. What percentage of that 2000 calories is coming from carbs coming from fats and it's coming from protein because macronutrients are the essential building blocks of our body, comprising proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

04:27And the tracking allows us or you guys like target these nutrients according to your individual goals and needs. Again, fat loss, weight loss, all the macronutrients are necessary to have in your everyday diet to build muscle and to lose body fat. And it helps to ensure that we that you guys consume the the appropriate amounts of each macronutrient for optimal health fat loss and to see most importantly to see body composition changes. So number one, macronutrient tracking is just a way more accurate way to lose fat and to build muscle against different than weight loss.

05:04Counting calories can get you to achieve weight loss. But like, if you're in the goal arena of like athletic, fit, muscle, X, Y, and Z, then like macronutrient tracking is the way that you're going to get there. Okay, so number two, macronutrients provide way more of sustained energy levels throughout your day because they help to maintain blood sugar levels and prevent spikes in hunger hormones, which allows you to feel fuller for longer during your day.

05:35Another way to say what I just said is macronutrients provide signals that can help us stay satisfied between meals. So it's making it easier to follow a healthy meal plan without feeling overly hungry or deprived. And this is all thanks to why you're going to feel fuller for longer or why you're going to be satisfied in between meals is all thanks to the macronutrient king protein. And like, so counting calories is just an arbitrary number. Like I just said and kind of explained like 2000 calories.

06:05Okay, cool. Like all the meals that you're making up of in the day are like focused on 400 calories, 500 calories. But like, what are those meals made up of? Like you wouldn't know how much protein is in something since you aren't paying attention to that. You're only paying attention to how many calories are in this meal. Like it could be all carbs and fats with little protein. And like protein is king here, especially if your goal is to build more muscle and to change your body composition. And appropriate protein intake helps you to maintain blood sugar levels. It helps to prevent hunger spikes and helps you to feel fuller for longer.

06:36So and it's going to help curb your cravings. Like if you're having more protein in your day, you are going to notice. And I'm speaking insanely from experience right now. You are going to notice a dramatic decrease in the level cravings that you have for something that you want that's bad. Like when I first started my journey and I shared with you guys in episode number one, I had no idea what foods were made up of protein. And like I googled that stuff. And then I started and I was obsessed with sweets. Like I still am, but I have way more control over it than it had control over me at that point.

07:10And so I had sweets every single day, you guys, like no joke, like every single day. But as soon as I started incorporating more protein into my everyday nutritional needs and like gave my body that, my cravings subsided dramatically. So when you're eating the right protein number, the right intake for you, what's recommended you guys is like 0.8 to like 1.0 grams per body weight.

07:40So like if you weigh 150 pounds, you want to eat 150 grams of protein. It's like it is a game changer, y'all. Another big thing too, when just focusing on calories, you consume way more simple carbohydrates without knowing because you're just focused on an arbitrary calorie number and not on what the calorie is made up of or the calories are made up of. Those simple carbs can cause an insulin spike followed by a crash in energy.

08:11Whereas complex carbs, on the other hand, and you would know this by learning more about macronutrients, complex carbohydrates are a better source of long-term energy, which prevent crashes from happening. Okay, so like, you know, this is why I love macronutrients because to me, macronutrients is a skill set that can serve you for the rest of your life. When you know what food is made up of, you learn about portion sizes, you learn what's going to fuel your body the right way. And like, again, you wouldn't know what simple and complex carbs are when you're just focusing on calories.

08:44Like, again, you're just like, oh, this attributes to my overall calorie number for the day. So this woman shared somewhere about this podcast. I forget exactly where it was, but she was saying that she just had this conversation with her husband about calories and how she doesn't track calories because her husband was like, wanted to have these prinkles or something like that. And he was like, oh, it's just this many calories, though. And she was like, I don't track calories. Look at how many carbs are in that. And not only, that is a simple carbohydrate.

09:17They are made up of absolute trash, you guys. And so following your Pringles, you're going to have an insulin spike followed by a crash in energy. Okay, so like, knowing, that's why I love macros. You will learn this. So you will know this and you will know what fuels your body the right way. And so, and to all of these other points as well, like why macronutrients provide more sustained energy throughout the day. They also contain micronutrients that can help boost your metabolism and provide essential vitamins and minerals to fuel your body's processes.

09:51Okay, so tracking macros instead of counting calories helps provide stable energy levels throughout the day. While optimizing fat loss and muscle gain at the same time. All right, so that's number two. Number three, and last one for today, is that macro tracking is actually easier than counting calories. And like contrary to popular belief, it's true. Macros aren't that hard once you get the hang of them. And with macronutrient tracking, you can adjust your macros quickly when needed by simply adding or subtracting from one or two macronutrient sources, rather than having to count every calorie in all of your meals and snacks.

10:31Like for example, and this is how we teach Inside of Worry, babe. If you are over for your protein intake on the day, all you need to do is go into one of your meals on your tracking device and lower the quantity of protein in one of your meals. So for instance, if you have four ounces of chicken in your salad for lunch, all you need to do is change that to two ounces and that will help you hit your target protein for the day. Okay, so this makes macro tracking much more flexible for those who have busy schedules or don't have time to count calories every single day.

11:06And like for those of you that are like, well, macro tracking consists of counting X, Y, and Z every single day too. You plan ahead. Don't let these excuses get the best of you, you guys. Excuses are the ones like getting in the way. You're getting in the way. You yourself, your excuses are getting in the way of your results. Like we know macro tracking is a great avenue to go towards getting to your results. So you have to figure out how to make that system work for you and not allow excuses to overplay the system. Hey, hey, real 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.

11:42I 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. If you have busy schedules, you think macro tracking is time consuming, make it a priority to plan ahead. Plan in your tracking device, put the meals together by preparing them, and then execute it on the next day. That's it. Like you make the time that you say this and complain about how time consuming is, how busy it is.

12:15Like, yes, it may be in like the first couple of days you're trying to do this, just like any new learned skill is. But the more that you do it over time, it's going to get easier and easier. It's just like riding a bike. Okay. Macronutrients, they also provide a better representation of overall diet quality. As they're more inclusive of like vitamins and minerals, like I spoke to like your micronutrients that are essential for health, while calories don't really take into account nutritional value at all. And this is what I mean by that.

12:45Like I said earlier, calories is an arbitrary number. So you're only focusing on the quantity of a meal. So if you're focusing on like a 400 calorie meal that goes towards your 2000 calorie goal for the day, yet that meal could be like slices of pizza, all carbs and fats, like I said, with little protein. And it's not really quality there. And your energy will likely be mush afterwards. Like, guys, here's a story. When I used to work in the emergency room of the hospital, I share with you guys in episode number one, when I shared my journey, man, to my nurses friends and to my doctor friends, to everybody that I worked with, you guys know, or if you're a nurse or in your healthcare profession, the break room is like a recipe for gaining weight.

13:34And not only that, a recipe for your energy to be absolutely shit after you eat the meals that people bring into there. People brought in donuts, pies, pizza, wings, like everything that you could possibly imagine. And yes, like if you're on a diet and you're just focusing on calories, like, yeah, that slice of pizza, 400, 500, maybe 600 calories attributing to your 200 calorie intake. But like it's not really quality. And like your energy, like guys, I would be eating my meals off to the side because I had the goal and I was working my systems and I was thinking about the person I wanted to become.

14:12And so I'm eating my, you know, already pre-packed meals, my, you know, staying on track. And I was the one like high energy afterwards. Let's go squad. Like keeping it, like running circles around the doctors in the ER. And everybody else is sitting there on the computer, like doing their notes, logging all of their stuff, like charting their, their things that they had to chart their patients, like ready to fall asleep. So like, you see what I mean? Whereas if you focus on quality of 400 calorie meal, like steak, potatoes, vegetables that consists of all macronutrients, consists of protein, consists of carbs, good carbs, fats.

14:51You will notice a dramatic increase in your energy levels. Okay. So like, stop just focusing on like, oh, cool. It goes back to the Pringles thing. Like, it's like, this only has this many calories in it, bro. Like there's like, it's the shit carbs or simple carbohydrates. They're going to cause insulin spikes. Your energy is going to be absolutely shit afterwards in like 30 minutes. And like the ingredients in Pringles is like, what? Corn oil?

15:21Like shit like that. Like, come on. Look at the quality. Quality matters. Okay. And like macronutrients and tracking, like hell yeah, you can have like a burger in there. But like I'm saying 80% of your day is consisting of quality food. Maybe the other 20% is like, do you want to have an ice cream sandwich at the end of the night? Do you want to have some chocolate at the end of the night? Absolutely. Because that's how it's going to be sustainable and realistic to you. But don't make the 80% of your day being shit food and the 20% of it being healthy. Right? So I know I kind of got a little off topic right there with number three, macro tracking

15:55is easier than counting calories. But like I already spoke, I spoke to the why it's easier. And also how, you know, even though people think that counting calories or macros is like time consuming, it's not. You can make it work for you by planning, preparing and executing on it. Okay. Lastly, macronutrient tracking is so much more sustainable, like I already just spoke to in the long term, because it allows people to make small changes over time that add up to big results without having to be restrictive with their diet.

16:29So calorie counting and just focusing on calories is very restrictive. Whereas macronutrients, you can make adjustments. You can change your numbers up over time. You can add in more carbohydrates over time. You can add in more X, Y, and Z over time. And you're going to make these small changes with your body composition over time. That's what I say. Get obsessed with delayed gratification, you guys. Okay. So there you have it. Three benefits of tracking macronutrients instead of counting calories for fat loss and building muscle. Guys, if you're looking to take your fitness game up a notch, I highly recommend you start

17:03tracking your macros instead of counting calories. Macronutrient tracking is a much more accurate way to gauge how many nutrients you're eating. And it helps to ensure that you're getting the right amount of each macronutrient for optimal health and performance. And also make sure you're getting quality food, which is going to help with your energy levels throughout the day. And if you're not sure where to start, you guys, make sure to check out a free training that I put together about macros and using them to be in control of your body for the rest of your life. That link is in the description below this podcast.

17:36So thanks so much for listening today. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I hope you guys received insane value from this. Don't forget to subscribe, follow the channel. Please leave a review. I would highly appreciate that and appreciate you guys tons. All right. I'll see you in the next episode. See ya. Real quick. The only ask I could ever have of you guys is to help spread the word so we can help more women lose body fat, build muscle, reach their goals, and feel insanely confident. And the only way we can do that is if you rate, review, and share this podcast.

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