4 Hacks For Hitting Your Macros
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I talk to you guys every single day in my direct messages and I know a lot of you are starting to count macros either for the first time or you're coming back to it. And whenever that happens, it's typically like when seasons change, people, you know, they start to realize, okay, something from this past season is not working and I have new goals for the next season, especially as we're heading in and as we're already into September heading into the fall season.
So if you are a first time macro counter and you're struggling to hit your macros or maybe you're coming back to macro accounting and you're struggling to hit your macros, this episode is for you just know that it truly does not mean that you're doing anything wrong.
What I discussed:
Don't drink your calories or just be mindful of that.
Utilizing those secondary protein sources.
Having a few favorite high volume, low calorie foods.
Have a few meals memorized that you can that are just super easy and have those ingredients or whatever it is in your pantry so that you can just throw them together really quick
Links mentioned in this episode:
Macro Counting Made Simple Online Academy: www.macrocountingmadesimple.com
If you want more from me, be sure to check out:
Instagram: @embraceyourreal | @movementwithjulie
Website: www.juliealedbetter.com
Free ebook: www.juliealedbetter.com/free-ebook
Amazon storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/influencer-6bda1ca8?ref=cm_sw_em_r_inf_pub_influencer-6bda1ca8_dp_DgsIam9salgfi
Transcript:
Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter. A podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I issue a dose of real talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace your real. Let's get hugs, girl. Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Embrace Your Podcast.
I'm really excited about today's episode. We're talking about for hacks to heading your macros. I talk to you guys every single day in my direct messages and I know a lot of you guys are starting to count macros either for the first time or you're coming back to it. And whenever that happens, it's typically like when seasons change, people, you know, they start to realize, okay, something from this past season is not working and I have new goals for the next season, especially as we're heading in and as we're already into September heading into the fall season.
So if you are, you know, first time macro counter and you're struggling to hit your macros or maybe you're coming back to macro accounting and you're struggling to hit your macros, this episode is for you just know that it truly does not mean that you're doing anything wrong. I know for me, when I first started Macro Counting, it took me a while. It took a lot of trial and error for me to find out what worked best for me, and hopefully episodes like this will help lessen that amount of time for you. Just like anything new, it's going to take time to figure out what is working absolutely best for you. And maybe what works for one person does not work for another person. And that doesn't mean that either person is wrong or either person is doing better or worse. It just means that you're finding your own path. And that's truly what's key to creating a sustainable approach and sustainable results is finding what works best for you in this season of your life. And also, one thing I wanted to know is one thing that maybe has worked well for you in a previous season might not be working well for you in this season. And if that's the case, that's okay.
That's a part of life. Life goes through ebbs and flows and you're going to be in busier seasons and not so busy seasons and seasons where your kids are really little in seasons where you're an empty nester like it is going to have ebbs and flows. And so it's really important to constantly check in with your self and ask yourself, is what I'm doing working and if not being open to learning from other people who have maybe been in your place. And so that's my hope for today's episode that you take something from it. I'm going to be giving you four hacks for hitting your macros, but before I dove in, I wanted to share this review. It comes from CTM 2494. She gave a five star review and said Helps my mindset. I'm so thankful for embrace Israel. It helps remind me to give myself grace and how little implements each day can truly make the difference quick and to the point, but loaded with amazing content and information to keep you on the right path to feeling good and confident. Again, I love this so much. I this is honestly my hope and prayer for this podcast is that it can be tangible information that is just kind of like sitting down, having a conversation with you at a coffee shop, but that it leads you in a direction to helping you live a more confident life. And so I am so grateful for this review. If you haven't already read it and read the podcast, it really just does help us out in terms of the podcasts charts and all that basically means is that we're able to reach more people and that's the hope and that's the prayer of this podcast is that we can reach a millions of women every year to help them embrace their real and truly live an authentic life and also see sustainable results in their health and fitness. Okay, so let's dove into these four hacks.
Number one, do not drink your calories. So when we don't count our macros, oftentimes we're very unaware of the calories that are made up from the drinks alone. I know for me, when I first started counting macros like there were things, I was like, wait, why? This has how many grams of carbs or how many grams of sugar in it? And you know, this is from the fancy coffee or soda or juice or smoothies or alcoholic beverages, whatever it is. They oftentimes have a lot of calories and typically a lot of carbs due to the sugar content. And they really don't provide any real value to your macros. Now, if you find a lot of joy in these things, then by all means drink them. I'm not saying that these are off limits, but what I am saying is that when you count your macros, you have the liberty to eat and drink things that you want. However, if you find yourself really hungry, at the end of the day, you might need to reevaluate the approach that you're taking with your macronutrients, the approach that you're taking to your nutrition, whether that is the amount of meals or the amount of snacks that you're having, maybe you need to ask yourself like, are you drinking more calories than you need to, which is then leading you to not get the micro and macronutrients that you need and keep you feeling full and satisfied throughout the day. This does not mean that you need to cut out alcohol or drink black coffee or drink only zero calorie drinks. Like please by all means here my heart on this. You can still enjoy the caloric drinks that you love, but just be mindful of it. And some, you know, some examples is instead of getting and a latte, for example, you could get a cafe. Olé! Which is basically just half. Coffee have steamed milk. So instead of having ten ounces of steamed milk in your latte, which is about how much milk that there would be in like a 12 ounce latte, you would have six ounces of steamed milk. This could, you know, save 75 calories. Or instead of getting the full pumps in a certain Starbucks drink, getting half a pump or sugar free pumps or whatever it is, there's so many different ways to save calories. And if you're looking for a great person to follow in terms of Starbucks, I believe his account is called macro barista. Don't quote me on it, but I'm I think I'm like seeing it in my head. I'm seeing his face in my head. But if you just type into Instagram like macro friendly Starbucks drinks or into tick tock, macro friendly Starbucks drinks, you will find people that give great Starbucks drinks that are super delicious and that are, you know, cutting the calories in half. Again, if this is if it's like your pride and joy and you don't want to do that, totally fine. But this is a hack that can help you. Or instead of dumping a bunch of creamer into your coffee, switch to oat milk, which has less sugar, or maybe add some stevia or trivia to get some sweetness back. Or instead of having like a full glass of lemonade or orange juice, you can do lemonade and sparkling water. I know for me, I have people ask me all the time like, how do you have protein every single day? Like how do you have your protein shake? And my personal favorite protein shake, which I've been having since I want to say I found out about it in February or March of this year. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that there has been one week and that was the week that I was in California this summer that I have taken off from having it. Otherwise I have it every single morning for my breakfast and it's the reduced sugar orange juice. So I do eight ounces of that and then I do eight ounces of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and then one scoop of pea science, vanilla protein and just ice. And then I blend it up and it is so delicious. It tastes like the Orange Julius protein shakes. They're so, so good. So there's always ways to kind of cut back or just be mindful, just more mindful of the drinks that you're having. Another example like with alcoholic beverages, like doing a half a glass of white wine with sparkling water to make like a yummy spritzer. I also have it amazing. I call it Macro Margarita. I haven't shared it in a while. I need to share it again because I know that people are missing out. And so basically what it is, is it's a shot of tequila. And then I do like a cup of full strawberries and then I do the lower calorie lime margarita mix that you just get at any grocery store and then ice. And then I blend it up and it's so, so good. I'm telling you, it's delicious. Sometimes if I don't have the real strawberries, I'll do a packet of crystal like the wild strawberry crystal light. And it's so good. So that's another good alternative that is very macro friendly when it comes to a margarita. But ultimately, there's just so many ways that you could cut down on your calories from drinks while still enjoying the drinks that you love.
Number two is utilizing secondary protein sources. So I know what you are thinking. What the heck are secondary protein sources? So let me break that down for you. I had a big aha moment like a few months ago when I was putting together a meal and I was like, Oh my gosh, I just need to share this. And since then, that post on Pinterest has actually gone completely viral on secondary protein sources. And there are so many people asking like, can you do more? Like examples of secondary proteins is super helpful. So essentially your primary protein source like is the protein source that your meal centers around. And so this might be like your eggs at breakfast or chicken at lunch or ground turkey at dinner. This is like where the bulk of your protein at each meal is coming from. This could also be salmon if you are a fish eater or it could be shrimp. But here's the thing. Most of us are not eating more than like 30 grams of chicken or turkey or tofu or whatever your primary protein source is each meal. Like, if I did eat 30 grams of primary protein source each meal, I would still only be getting 90 grams of protein a day. And somedays to be quite frank, I'm not in the mood to just eat a bunch of meat. And so how do I make up the remainder of the protein that I need? That's where the secondary protein sources come in handy. So these are foods aside from your primary source, that also contain protein. So these foods can double as other macros or be used in substitute sources or dressings or whatnot. Let me break that down for you. So let's say, for example, your target for carbs at dinner is 40 grams. So it's kind of low, but just go with it for the example, right. So 40 grams of carbs at dinner along with your chicken or turkey or whatever you have for your primary protein source. Now you have a few options. You could select carb that is strictly a carb like a potato or white rice, or you could select a carb that is used as a secondary protein source. So, for instance, black beans like one cup of black beans contains 40 grams of carbs, but it also contains 16 grams of protein. So again, you could eat 40 grams of carbs from potatoes with zero protein, or you could choose 40 grams of carbs from black beans and get 16 grams of protein from that. So if you're you know, if you're doing that, that's six extra grams of protein that you're just getting through a secondary protein source. Another example is, if you know me, you know that I love to eat chicken salad. I absolutely am just a chicken salad person. I grew up on chicken salad. I don't know if it's a New York thing, but any time I went to my grandma's house, any time I went to my aunt's house, chicken salad, was it like it was either chicken or tuna salad? And that was that was it. And so I grew up on it. But typical chicken salad is made with mayo exclusively. At least I know many chicken salads that I've eaten in the past are that. But I personally like to mix avocado mayo so it's lower in fat avocado mer mayo with Greek yogurt. So I use the 0% Greek yogurt and that's a great you know, it's used as a secondary protein source. The Greek yogurt that I use is primarily protein. It's the 0%. So it obviously has zero fat, zero carbs and it's all protein. But I'm using it as a secondary protein source in this meal because my chicken obviously is my primary protein source. So for example, a half a cup of Greek yogurt has around 12 grams of protein. So this is an extra 12 grams of protein on top of, let's say, the 30 grams of protein that I'm getting for my chicken. So now I'm sitting at 42 grams of protein instead of 30 grams. Right. And if then I top if I top it, if I want to have like a chicken salad sandwich, then I'm super mindful of the bread that I'm using for my chicken salad. So most bread honestly doesn't contain a lot of protein, but there are certain brands out there if you look, that do have protein in it. So I use Dave's killer bread for bagels. And the bagel that I have has 11 grams of protein and a bagel, which in my opinion is awesome because now I've added 11 grams of protein from that bagel and then the 12 grams from the yogurt. That's an extra 23 grams of secondary protein on top of my 30 grams of primary protein that I already had like centered my meal around. So right there I have already consumed 50 grams of protein. So that's kind of a great example when it comes to secondary protein sources, some other noteworthy secondary protein sources are nuts and seeds. So most of us think of nuts and seeds as a fat source. They are a fat source primarily, but they still can typically contain anywhere from 6 to 8 grams of protein per serving. One cup of cooked quinoa has eight grams of protein nutritional yeast, which kind of just gives your food like a delicious cheesy flavor without having any additional cheese, gives you eight grams of protein in two tablespoons. Cottage cheese is another great option when it comes to protein. Other secondary sources could be goat cheese, you know, black beans, like I mentioned, lentils, chickpea pasta at a mama at a mommy noodles, which can honestly contain up to 20 grams of protein, which is nuts. Hemp seeds are the highest source of protein for seeds and nuts, and they actually are considered to be a complete protein. And even vegetables like broccoli can contain protein. So again, you don't need to live off of protein shakes and protein bars to hit your protein goals. I personally love to have, like I mentioned, my orange juice protein shake and I also typically have a protein bar just because I love the one bars. I have the birthday cake flavor, I love it. It's delicious. They can be a great supplement, but please, please, please, always focus on real food first. That's what's going to give you your micro, your macronutrients, and it's going to leave you feeling more satisfied and give you more energy in the long run.
Number three have a few favorite high volume, low calorie foods. So again, sometimes you just like want a snack, you just like whether you're on your period or you're just having one of those days, you're like, I need a friggin snack. I'm just in a snacking mood, but you know, you don't want to go over your macros, so what do you do? Well, there's tons of high volume, low calorie food combos that kind of come into play. One place that I absolutely love to look is just Pinterest, like literally typing in Pinterest, high volume, low calorie foods. And you will find an immense amount of recipes like more than you can even imagine. And it will be it will cover you for years and years and years. I know it can be overwhelming, but just pick one or pick a few and say, okay, in the next few weeks I'm going to try these out. Right? But in those moments when you're wanting a snack but you don't really know what to do, this is where the high volume low. Calorie foods can come into play. There is you know, these are the foods that you can eat a lot of without eating a lot of calories simply because they're low in calories. So, for example, chips, those are a low volume, high calorie food, you know, because 10 to 12 chips could add up to 150 to 170 calories and could be upwards of ten grams of fat. But popcorn, on the other hand, is a high volume, low calorie food because you can have 3 to 4 cups of popcorn and typically get the same macros that you would from the chips. Another high volume, low calorie food that I personally love and use a lot in my daily intake are rice cakes. So instead of having two slices of toast, again, nothing is wrong with the toast. But if you are struggling with going over your macros, this is where these simple substitutions can come into play and can make a huge difference. So instead of having two slices of toast, you know, that would give you and roughly 240 calories or 40 grams of carbs depending on the bread. You can swap it out for rice cakes. I know rice cakes get a bad rap, but I personally love rice cakes. There are so many ways you can dress up rice cakes. You don't even need to just simply go with the lightly salted, like boring ones. Either they have the caramel ones, they have the dark chocolate ones, they have tomato and basil, they have everything bagel like they have so many different flavors and they can honestly taste just as good as bread. And they're 35 calories, seven grams, 7 to 12 grams of carbs per piece. Right. So again, it's finding foods that you can eat more of. But consuming was another example. That's like quick is if you're eating hummus or walk, you know, obviously you pair that typically with pita chips or tortilla chips. Again, nothing wrong with that. But if you're wanting to have more high volume, you can swap it out for veggies like cucumbers or salary or carrots. And you can still enjoy the hummus in New York, but with a fraction of the calories and the carbs. So my encouragement to you is to find some of your favorite high volume, low calorie foods that you can eat and just make sure that you have them on hand when you get in the mood to snack.
And number four is to have a few meals, a memory. So when you're super tired or you're hungry or you're busy and you just don't have time, this is typically when staying on track with your nutrition fails, you want to just grab the nearest thing in sight and then chow down. And this is why it's really important to be prepared. I always talk about this. You don't have to go all out on a meal prep, but having some protein sources, meal prep, having some meals and snacks ready for you, especially if you get the vegetables like when you come home from the grocery store. Don't just put them in the fridge, wash them, cut them and then store them. So that way they're super easy for you to grab when you're super hungry and you're busy and you're tired or whatever it is, right? So for me, I like to have a few things that are just kind of my go to use when it comes to just low effort foods that I know are going to make me feel satisfied, but also not take a lot of time. So recently some of those, I'll just give some dinner examples. I found these birds eye lentil veggie pastas and I do like the rotini one. So freaking good you can get them at Target. I get them at King Soopers as well. They're Italian, so they have the red sauce one. They also have the Alfredo one. And I love those so much. So you just pop it in the microwave four and a half minutes and then I add typically four ounces of chicken, which I always prep. I always have shredded plain chicken on hand just because you can dress that up. And then I also add some shredded mozzarella cheese and then a little bit of Caesar dressing. I'm telling you, it tastes like a gourmet Italian meal and I'm from an Italian family, so that's saying something. But that's one thing that's super quick, super easy, and it makes me feel satisfied. And it's also it hits right within my my dinner macro targets that I have. Another one that I do is cilantro and my minute rice. So there are the minute cups. Every time I say this, I regret it because every time I go to the store again, they're not there because people have discovered it, but they're cilantro and lime minute cups of rice. And I do that. And then I do the shredded chicken again, shredded mozzarella cheese, and then I do some of the guacamole, salsa that you can get. It's in the Mexican aisle of any grocery store and it's I think it's her HDR desi. I'm probably butchering it, but you'll see it. It's in a glass jar and it's called guacamole. Salsa. I get the mild, mild, kind. It's so freaking good. And it's just like a mexican bowl. And then I also typically add in some fire roasted corn. Those are amazing. I know the macros by heart. It literally takes me about the same amount of time as the pasta, so it takes me like 5 to 7 minutes and it's so good, so filling and like I said, just hits my macro targets for dinner. So those are that's definitely something I recommend is just having a few meals memorized when it comes to those days if you're wanting or needing help. Finding kind of some go to delicious meals, like I mentioned, Pinterest, that's completely free typing. And I know it can be overwhelming, but it's I mean, it's an endless source for you. I also do have recipe guides if you want to head over to my website, Julia Ledbetter dot com forward slash recipe dash guides. I'll link it in the show notes below, but I have so many different guides from previous challenges that will give you unlimited options. And the cool thing about my guides are that they're very simple ingredients. They're not ingredients that you're going to find at Whole Foods. They're not super expensive ingredients. I wanted to make sure that they're just everyday recipes, things that everyday people can make that are realistic for you to prepare, but also extremely satisfying. So if you want to head over there again, it's juliealedbetter.com/recipe-guides and you can check those out there. So there you have it. Those are the four tips for nourishing your body.
Let me recap those. Number one, don't drink your calories or just be mindful of that. Number two, utilizing those secondary protein sources. Number three, having a few favorite high volume, low calorie foods. And number four, have a few meals memorized that you can that are just super easy and have those ingredients or whatever it is in your pantry so that you can just throw them together really quick. If you have no idea what macros are or you want to have more guidance when it comes to your macro counting journey, I do have an online course. It's called Macro Counting Made Simple, and it's an online academy that teaches you not only calculates your customized macros based on where you're at and what your goals are, but we also have and teach you how to track your macros, how to measure food, how to count your macros while traveling, and so, so much more. It's an endless guide inside this online academy we give you. It's comprehensive, so we give you tons and tons of information. But our goal with it was to try to simplify it as much as possible. So not, you know, not cut back and not give you all the information, but give you the information in a very digestible manner. That is very simple. So if you want to learn more, you can head over to macrocountingmadesimple.com again, that's macrocountingmadesimple.com.
I will link both of those in the show notes, both the online academy as well as the recipe guides. If you found this episode helpful, I would love to hear it. I would love for you to share this out. You can also screenshot this and post it up on your story. We love connecting with you. We love seeing your aha moments and that is all that I have for today's episode. But I will be back for more on the bonus episode later this week. I love you so, so much and I'll talk to you then. All right, sister. That's all I got for you today. But I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so, @juliealedbetter. Yes, it's with an A in the middle for that Daily Post workout. Real talk, healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world and I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember, that beauty goes so much deeper than you surface. So go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it.