Speaker 1: 0:34

What is up and welcome back to Talking Nutrition, today's episode 79 about tracking macros, mastering your macros, doing it the right way, tracking the right way, going in with the right mindset Remember that word mindset Because there's a secret and I actually don't like using the word secret because you sometimes see that, right, there's a lot of secrets that are being used in marketing, but I do actually want to call this a secret to to be honest with you and it's. There's no gimmicky stuff here, but this was something that took me a long time to figure out and I recently did that, last month, in September I want to say it may be August or September, but it was very recent, and that's why I do want to call this a secret. The secret to mastering your macros, to actually hitting your macros, to doing it quickly, effectively, five to 10 minutes a day, doing it consistently. While being super busy, while having the need to save time, we need to figure out the right way to do this stuff. It's going to be a great tool for you. I know that, and maybe you're listening and you're like, hey, I already know how to do this stuff. Great, awesome. Still, listen to this, because I do think you also because you're a human being are also going through moments where you're like, ah, I'm much better than that track, whatever, maybe. And hey, if you are new, this is definitely for you. I want to kind of like set up the structure for this episode. We're going to start with the fact that tracking comes with the learning curve. They were also going to talk about why macros are important, why you want to learn how to track macros. We'll get to that.

Speaker 1: 2:20

I can barely read my own handwriting here, my notes, sorry, that's why you're supposed to just type this out. No, so then I want to talk about the phone call I had with a client of mine who shared the secret with me and again, it's something very normal and basic, whatever, it's not a secret, but you know what I mean. It took me a while to figure out and I was wrong here in my approach, I'll admit that the process of getting started and then, last but not least, where do we go from here? How are we going to start applying this stuff? So, like I said, my handwriting is absolutely terrible, but I managed to read it. So, first of all, there is a learning curve. Let's be honest, there is a learning curve. You are.

Speaker 1: 3:09

If you're completely new, you're going to have to go through a period of time where it's going to be tricky, going to have a hard time figuring it out. Maybe you can't find specific foods or whatever. It is A little analogy for you here and for the people watching on YouTube, which, by the way, if you're watching on YouTube or you would like to watch on YouTube, go to YouTube talk in nutrition podcast, subscribe, like this video and maybe drop a comment. It really does help, kind of like you know, get these videos to other people as well. Plus, I mean to be honest with you, just comment with any question and I'll drop it into the next Q&A episode.

Speaker 1: 3:46

But if you're watching, you see that I have in front of me a Norwegian keyboard. Now, I am not from Norway, I'm from Holland, so we have different keyboards. Why is that? In Norway they have three different letters at the end of the alphabet it is the A, ö and O. So there's three additional letters. It's the A with like a little circle at the top, then there's the O with like the dash, like through it, you know, and then there's the letter that looks like the A and E combined, which is the F. So long story short.

Speaker 1: 4:22

So I moved there, yeah, and I always had a like an older MacBook with a European keyboard. One day my keyboard got messed up and it was like one key. I was like you know what I actually want to get, like an external one. It's going to be more convenient anyway, so let me get one and I unpack it. I'm like, oh shit, it's a different keyboard and you have to go into settings and change that, you know. But I swear, for the first multiple weeks I was so frustrated. I was like hitting wrong keys and like they have some symbols in different spots, and I was like, holy shit, this is difficult. I just spend what is it? At the time, I spent like 31 or 32 years, you know. I mean, okay, I didn't use computers for my you know my first year on, but like, let's say, like 25 plus years, whatever it is you know long fucking time I use a European keyboard.

Speaker 1: 5:18

Now, all of a sudden, there's different letters in different spots. Stuff has moved around, has moved around. There's different symbols in different spots. This is really awkward, this is really annoying. Trust me, I'm gonna bring this back to tracking.

Speaker 1: 5:33

What did I do? I mean, initially I got really annoyed and I was like, oh, fuck it. So I switched back to the keyboard and I used the one on my laptop. And then, you know, I was like I'll give it another shot, because I was considering sending it back and ordering one from Europe. But okay, I gave it another try and you know what I guess still made mistakes and I put like different symbols in different weird places, but I managed to figure it out and then the next week it was a little better, and then the week after a little bit better, and I went from literally like every single sentence I would have an error, which was very frustrating. I went from that to being super like efficient, like fluent with this keyboard. I'm not even sure if that's the right way to say it, but you know what I mean. It turned into just being no issue and what I can do now is switch between the European and the Norwegian keyboard and just me knowing, hey, I'm on this keyboard, I change it in settings, boom, right away. I know where to find stuff. It's second nature.

Speaker 1: 6:42

Why the hell do I bring this up? Why the hell do I talk to you about a Norwegian keyboard? You're gonna feel the same with tracking if it's completely new to you, you are gonna open that app and you're gonna be like, wow, I've never done this before. This is weird, annoying. Now I have to weigh my food. I feel you, I've been there, every single person has been there, every single person who's tracked before. So, first of all, know that you're gonna feel like that and be okay with that. It's fine, it's cool.

Speaker 1: 7:10

Now here's the thing. Guess what? Just how? I continue to mess with the keyboard and I gave it a shot, and then I still messed up a bit less. And then I still messed up a bit less, and I still messed up, but less and less and less, until I get actually good at it. Just how that was the case for me, that will be the case for you as well.

Speaker 1: 7:31

I've seen too many people try to track for one day and then they stop for the rest of the week. They try it for two days and then they stop for the rest of the week. They log two foods and then they stop tracking for the rest of the day. That is not giving it an honest shot. That's kind of like giving up, knowing that it's something you've never done before, which obviously is going to be new and weird and awkward, like, okay, let's first of all go in with a learning mindset, like we're going to be open to this new thing and no tracking will not give you an eating disorder. It's like, hey, if you're already struggling with those kind of things, okay, hey, then this podcast is not for you, because if there's an actual eating disorder, you need professional help from a specialist and that's not found on a podcast, on social media, in a Facebook group, whatever it is, or even an nutrition coach. If there's a little bit of disorder eating, we can talk about that, but that's different.

Speaker 1: 8:32

Now, going back to that, tracking will not give you those issues. It's the person who does take it too far, and I'm not saying, I'm not putting it all on the person, but there is a way to use this tool to your advantage to relearn portion control, to learn what's in nutrition, to guide you through your journey, to make sure that you lose weight fast enough, but not too fast, not too slow. You in a muscle gaining phase you gain weight not too fast, not too slow, just right. And at maintenance, you learn how to eat enough, which is such an important phase. We can use tracking to achieve all of that. Tracking macros specifically. But just how? A hammer, a screwdriver, whatever it may be, whatever tool we want to use for this analogy, analogy fest today. Now, like whatever that tool is, it can be used to fix stuff and damage stuff. So you can use macros to your advantage and you can also allow it to bother you to take it too far, to get too stressed around. It makes sense. So there is going to be a learning curve. Before I go too much on a rant, it's going to take a little bit of time, but that's okay.

Speaker 1: 10:24

We have a tutorial video for our new members, new clients. What is? It's basically like a very basic, like hey, here's how to track. This is what I want you to do. Do not track calories burned Anyone listening. Do not track calories burned If your fitness device is sinking and if you're watching I'm literally wearing one here. I'm wearing the whoop, which is for sleep, those kind of things. Heart rate, calories burned it's always incorrect. Turn that function off in your app. If it's sinking with your app and we always use chronometer turn it off. Do not go and add exercise in your food tracking app either. It's not worth it. We're looking at tracking food here so that we can start to make changes.

Speaker 1: 11:08

Now, that being said, we have the tutorial video, we have a couple resources for that and a little tips and tricks you know sections but I was thinking. I was thinking like, how can we get people? Because I see a huge difference. I see a huge difference between people absolutely killing it, being super consistent even during the busiest, craziest times, and then I see people who struggle with it for many, many months, and that's why I wanted to share this episode with you. I just wanted to share the secret with you, because here's the thing, and there's a reason I'm mentioning all this stuff. It's like I went this was my plan, right. I wanted to create the perfect how to track macros, training and guide. I wanted to turn it almost like have like a specific ebook for that. I wanted to turn it into a guide with a video, training and with multiple parts and right, and I set out to figure out the difference between those two people the person who really struggles and the person who really kills it with tracking. And they have no, it's not even. It doesn't even bother them whatsoever. It barely costs them any time they hit their macros, which means they get better results than anyone else. They go through reverse diets and even through ups and downs, they're able to stay consistent. How does that person do that? How do they do it? I wanted to figure it out.

Speaker 1: 12:44

So when I was on the phone with a client of mine and I told her like hey, I don't like comparing and I don't tell anyone this like all the time, but it's like we're everyone, but it's like I think you're the most consistent person in terms of tracking macros and hitting your macros and doing your check-ins and all of that out of everyone. And this is guys. This is someone who is going through gut issues, hormonal issues. We're also on top of food. We're also tracking menstrual cycle, body temperature, stool. So anytime she goes to the bathroom, she tracks her stool through the Bristol stool chart. And I want to mention all of this because it's not just tracking macros, she's doing all of those other things as well.

Speaker 1: 13:33

By the way, crazy busy times with exams, school, phd, Also working, also going through a fat loss phase and then a long time reverse dieting, maintenance, where we stayed for a long time cutting. Now she had so much going on and I was like you know what? Like I have to ask you this, like, how do you do it? Because I'm actually trying to figure this out. I want to figure out that difference and I want to bridge that gap and I want to basically be like, hey, you know what? Okay, here's a resource and this is going to teach you exactly what to do and you're going to be all good. And then she gave me an answer and I was like fuck, of course, like that is it. Now we're getting to the secret.

Speaker 1: 14:17

Because I was looking at stuff, tactics, tools but she's like you know, I sometimes ask myself that as well, and I think I'm just someone when I do like, when I say something, I do it. And when I say I have this goal, I'm going to do what it takes to reach that goal and I'm going to figure it out. And I was like, yes, that is it, that's it. It's a mindset. It's not about any tutorials or guides or whatever. And, yes, those things help, don't get me wrong, I want to teach you still how to track your macros in chronometer and how to use that. But also, there, it's not about the tools, the guides, the videos, whatever it is, it's about your mindset going into this.

Speaker 1: 15:11

So if you are like my client and you are, hey, I am someone who, when they say something, they do it and they figure it out. If they don't know how to do it yet, yet that's a big word and they'll make it work. And guess what? If they can't, they ask for help, they look for help and in her case, we're coaching. So the help is there. But it's like it was such an eye opener for me Because it's that mindset and we need to go in with that right mindset.

Speaker 1: 15:45

And I know this is maybe, hey, maybe you're like, really, that's it. Yes, because here's the thing when you go in and you're like, hey, you know what, I'm sick and tired of not being able to lose weight. I'm sick and tired of going to the gym and I'm not able to, you know, build the muscle, I don't recover well, I don't look like I work out, even though I go hard at the gym. It's frustrating We've all been there Not getting the results, even though we think we do everything right. If we're in that state and we're like, hey, you know what, something needs to change, I'm going to do what it takes to change that.

Speaker 1: 16:22

I'm going to make sure that I'll figure it out what I need to do in this case tracking macros. I will find a way. I'm not good at it currently. I'm not good at it yet, but I will do what it takes to learn. I will ask for help. I will look up tips and tricks, watch videos, ask my coach, ask a friend. But I am going to make sure that this tracking thing is going to get an honest shot by me and I'm going to do what it takes to get to a point where I get to use tracking to my advantage.

Speaker 1: 16:57

I get to relearn portion control because, guys, there's a reason we're here listening to this podcast. We're going to relearn portion control. We're going to learn what's in nutrition macro nutrients, micronutrients, fiber, calories. We're going through different phases. Like I said earlier, it is so key because it's not just about weight loss, whatever it is, but through your different phases, like initially, you need your macros to establish your actual maintenance calories and that should be a whole different episode as well. But you can't just calculate it and like, oh, that's it. It's usually close enough, but you actually have to go there and find out hey, how does the body respond? So we're going to track our food.

Speaker 1: 17:40

Like I said, we don't track calories burned, so get rid of that. But you track your body weight average weekly, at least three times a week, even every day, but you use the average. Then we have measurements, then we have photos. Measurements can be bi-weekly, photos every four weeks and then we see over time how the body responds. But we use tracking to find that maintenance. We look at it and say, hey, ok, that's your expected maintenance. Where are you currently at? Is that like way low? Ok, cool, let's bring you up, let's increase protein, get you closer to the maintenance while we track your metrics, see how you respond.

Speaker 1: 18:15

Then during your transformation, like I said, weight loss, we want to control that rate between 0.5% or 1% per week because you don't want to lose muscle either. We're just going to look lighter. Otherwise, in a lean gaining phase, we want to stick to just about 0.25% up to 0.5% of weight gain per week so that you build muscle with very minimal fat gain. We also want to use tracking to do a reverse diet after a cut. Step by step we reestablish maintenance, we keep you in check and we move away from tracking once you are at maintenance, once you are back at basically your baseline, but now a new baseline. You're stronger, more muscular, healthier, more leaner, more leaner. You know what I mean. Baseline, the new you and hey, maybe you want to do a round two. Great, but do not move away from tracking until you've gone through those three different phases that we take our clients through.

Speaker 1: 19:14

Right, you prepare, you get ready first, then you transform effectively without messing around, and then we go to that lifestyle maintenance place where we bring you back to feeling enough, or feeling good, eating enough, sorry, and I always also call that like feeling. You know, feeling good season. It's like we're gonna have good energy, good performance, good recovery. It's a great time we get lots of food in. That is also where I always push clients to step away from tracking to where, hey, we've done every single day for months. Okay, let's go from seven times a week to maybe five, to maybe four, three. We'll remove you from tracking because it's going to be a tool, not a lifestyle thing. Guess what? Same going, you know, going back to the hammer, screwdriver thing, like it is a tool that can be very useful, but it can also kind of mess with you If you take it too far, because that is on you, if you get too stressed during the weekends because you can't weigh the carrots, that you're right, that you're your family member cooked or whatever it is, or you go out for food once and we start to stress around that more than that it's actually useful, then we need to find a different way and, by the way, also there we learn how to eyeball during special scenarios, depending on the phase.

Speaker 1: 20:38

Hey, we may. We maybe even decide for you to step away from tracking for the evening, for the day, whatever it is. It's gonna depend on a person, though. Some people do great with that, some people do not really. The long story short, like when you use tracking, like, give it an honest shot. It's so important to use it and it's maybe not for everyone, I know that, but I truly believe that every single person can learn so much from proactively that's a big word proactively tracking macros.

Speaker 1: 21:13

Don't just look at the number on the skill and at the app, like, no, still. Like, stop yourself and be like okay, we have the food that goes on the plate, okay. You look at the weight. Look at the food. Hey, okay, 100 grams chicken. Okay, that's this roughly this much, okay, cool. Then, of course, put it in the app. Look at the numbers. Okay, cool, so I get 25 grams of protein per 100. You know this. Fats, you know carbs, whatever. Cool, like now we're proactively, we're learning.

Speaker 1: 21:41

So that here's the thing when you do go out and you decide not to track and you do have something that's, for example, a chicken breast or maybe similar, you're going to be familiar with, like, hey, you know, like that's pretty much 100 grams. Well, that's pretty much 150 or 125, whatever it is, it doesn't have to be spot on, it doesn't have to be you thinking I'm going out for food and all I'm seeing is numbers like no, we need to teach you to do well with as well as without. But once again, I really think that people can really benefit off that, even if, if you do it for a half a year, trust me, like your, your life will change. Assuming that you don't take it too far, assuming that you do have the right tools and you also continue to learn how to be flexible with it, how to make changes, how to have variety, how to not be too restrictive, because people think tracking is restrictive, but it's like no, it allows you to be more flexible and, of course, food quality, those kind of things are going to matter, but you're striking to your advantage. So I kind of want to wrap it up with that, because it's nice to do a little bit for a shorter episode. But it's also something that's kept coming up recently, like over and over again.

Speaker 1: 22:56

I get these questions a lot, especially in our free community. People ask how do I start? How do I find maintenance? What's my maintenance? I got to calculate that, this and that and I get that Right. And that's why I also wanted to give you a little bit of context, because if you are new to this stuff, it's gonna take some time.

Speaker 1: 23:14

But remember, the actual secret to mastering your, your macros and Just learning how to do this right is your mindset. Because if you have that mindset, let's just determined and you will. It's not, it's not an if, but you will right. It's when you will learn how to try macros. You. You promise yourself, hey, I'm gonna figure this out. Then is what you're gonna need, because then is not a matter of oh, like, I kind of tried macros, but you know kind it wasn't for me. Bullshit Anyone who says that they didn't give it an auto shot. They tried for like 10 seconds, they gave up. Now. If you have that mindset of hey, I want to learn, I want to grow, I'm gonna use this to my advantage. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to learn and how to do it right. Trust me, you're gonna learn so so much.

Speaker 1: 24:07

I Hope you like this episode a little bit shorter. If you did, do me a massive favor drop me a quick rating and review, and or review on Spotify, apple, wherever you listen to a podcast, subscribe on YouTube, share your stories right on Instagram, do whatever you want to do either way, share this episode with a friend, right. Let's make sure, though, that, when you do give tracking and on the shot, that you also give yourself a little bit of time and that you also allow yourself the the freedom of being able to fuck up every now and then, because, like I said earlier, with my keyboard, I'm just holding it up from the camera Took me a little while, but I did manage, and right now it's something I use every single day and Just how, with the tracking right it's, it doesn't cost me any extra time. It's just kind of like something I do. So I will talk to you again on Thursday, See you.