5 Signs You Need to Change Your Macros
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Alright, sister, you know I’m all about my macro counting, and recently I’ve had quite a few people ask me, how do you know when to change your macros? Such a great question! And that’s why I’m going to dive into it today!
So here’s a recap on how you know it’s time to change your macros…
#1: Your Progress has Plateaued
#2: You’ve Dropped A LOT of Weight
#3: You’ve Lost A Significant Amount Of Weight TOO Fast
#4: Your Goals Have Changed
#5: You’re Not Feeling Great
If you loved this episode, I know you’ll also love Episode 46: Why You Should Consider a Reverse Diet (TheOnly Diet I Support!)
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 dish you 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 in, let's go.
Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Embrace Real podcast. I am so grateful that you are here spending some time with you today. Wherever you're tuning in, we have listeners all over the globe, whether you're walking, you're jogging, you're driving, you're cooking, you're cleaning, you're running, you're working out, you're doing the dang thing. You are choosing to show up to prioritize yourself, so that you can become the best version of yourself to serve others and the things that you love in your best capacity. And, that's why I love you. That's why you are a part of this community.
I am really excited about today's episode. As you already see the title, When You Should Change Your Macros. So, if you've been following me for a while, you know that it's not a secret, that I am a huge firm believer in macro counting. If you kind of have listened to my story at all, in any capacity, you know that macro counting has played a very vital role in my journey over the last eight to nine years as I have ventured from a very unhealthy disordered relationship with food to really over-exercising and under-eating, and also at the same time yearning for education around food, but not knowing what to do.
And, I didn't want to go on a diet. I had done that for years and years, and so when I really learned about macro counting and learning how to properly fuel your body through a balanced intake approach, my life was transformed. If I can be completely honest, just learning how to properly feel my body in terms of protein, carbs and fats, how to manipulate my food, intake based on my goals and where I'm at, and just knowing that I have that tool for the rest of my life is invaluable. And, being able to see thousands of other women that we have worked with over the years, and just seeing how this tool of macro counting has really changed their life. It's changed the way that they look at food, it's changed the way that they properly fuel their body and reach their goals. I do believe that there is unfortunately a misconception in the social media realm around macro counting.
And, I know that there's people very for it, and then there is people very against it, which obviously I will always say, you are free to have your own opinion and I believe that we all are beautiful and unique in that way, because we all have our own experiences around certain things. I will also never say that macro counting is the end all, be all, and that every single person needs to do it in order to reach your goals. Because, I feel like that would be naive and foolish of me. However, there have been, like I said, thousands of women that I've worked with personally over the last eight years, and to see how impactful macro counting has been in their journey has been incredible. So, just to kind of preface this episode, for those of you who are interested in macro counting, learning how to properly fuel your body, like how much your body needs.
And, one thing that I wanted to point out about macro counting is I keep referring to it as a tool, because I believe that it is. Because for example, if you were to put a hundred macro counters in a room together and ask them what they have for breakfast, lunch and dinner, what their favorite foods are, what times of day that they eat, you will get a hundred different answers. Because number one, every single person's macros are different from another, because it's unique to where you're at in your journey. Your body, your goals, age, weight, height, all of those things, they're so many different factors that play into your personal macro count. Also, the beautiful thing about macro counting is that you get to pick and choose what foods you love. And, I've talked about this before, but we all have different loves.
We all have different types of food that we kind of gravitate towards that we really enjoy. And then, there's other foods that maybe don't sit well in our stomach. And so, I don't believe that macro counting is a cookie cutter way of eating. I, in fact, believe that is a tool and it is one of the most personalized ways of eating that is out there. So, that's kind of my two cents on macro counting. Before I dive into this episode, I have to share this super sweet review. It comes from Maddie Bishop. She says, "Life-changing podcast Julie oh Julie, you have inspired me so much. "I binge listened to your podcast practically every day to and from work." "I have altered my lifestyle because of you." "I use your Movement With Julie App daily and incorporate your tips to embracing my real into my everyday life." "I feel the happiest and healthiest I have in years."
"Thank you for being on this journey with me and guiding me." "You have opened me back up to God and I believe you have such a great purpose, you are a true leader." "Love you, PS, your voice is so soothing." I love that. Thank you so much Maddie, for this review. If you haven't already rated and reviewed the podcast. If you aren't an Apple, iPhone or iPad, you can actually download the Apple podcast app, if it's not already on your phone for free. Type in embrace your real, and you'll be able to subscribe and scroll all the way down, you can leave a five star review. I love reading your reviews. They truly mean the world to me, and it really does help us out in the podcast world. Okay. So, back to how do you know if you should change your macros? To preface this, I am going to be giving you kind of five scenarios and this is very generic.
So, keep that in mind when I'm doing something like a podcast or a video or a post on Instagram, all of that is very generic information. And, I do that because every single person's body, every single person's journey is different, we're all in different parts of our journey and we all have different goals. And so, I try to keep it as generic as possible just to kind of relate to everybody. But when you hire a coach, whether it be a one-on-one coach or you're buying a program like we have the Macro Counting Made Simple Online Academy, and you're actually filling out an extensive questionnaire form, that is what allows the coach to be able to really personalize it for you based on where you're at and what your goals are. But, I'm going to try and do my best to give you kind of a broad sense of what you can do if you want to take this advice, just to kind of start with if this is something that you're interested in.
So number one, your progress has plateaued. So, maybe you are seeing amazing results, whether that be fat loss or muscle gain. And now, it's impossible for you to make any more progress. This could be a sign that you need to switch up your macros. One thing that I always say is that we can't always expect to see the amazing results that we are seeing like down the road in our journey. And, the longer that we're on our journey, the last change will be noticeable even though it's happening. You probably have heard this before, people, when they get into weightlifting, it's like newbie gains. I know for me, the first six to 12, even 24 months of lifting, I saw my body transform in a way that was unlike anything I have ever seen.
I've also been lifting weights now for eight years. And, if you look at like my 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, pretty much my body looks very similar. I mean, maybe I'm like plus or minus, a few pounds or lean body mass going up and down and whatnot. But for the most part, I would say, it's a lot harder for me to completely change my body over time, just because our body adapts to it. So, why does changing your macros help you to get over the plateau? Well, as you continue to nourish your body with what it needs, your body's going to begin to adapt to the amount of food that you're eating. So, if we're consistent with hitting our macros, your body is smart and is very adaptable, so it'll figure out what you're doing and it will work to adjust to match it, which is a beautiful thing.
It's a beautiful thing that our body's adaptive, especially if you are in a reverse diet, which if you're not familiar with what a reverse diet is, I go a lot more in detail about what it is in episode 46. So, we sure to tune into that, I kind of share my whole story. I've gone through four full reverse diets in the last eight or nine years. And man, they have completely transformed my metabolism. AKA, I'm able to eat a higher number of calories without worrying about gaining weight, and my maintenance calories are a lot higher from when I first started. So, this kind of depends on what your goal is.
So scenario number one, you've plateaued and you're on a reverse diet. You've been consistent with hitting your macros, to then one to five grams of protein, carbs and fat, and your weight has stayed the same for a minimum of three to four weeks. Now, this is really important for me to say consistency is everything, especially when you're counting your macros and you have goals.
Because, if you are only staying consistent Monday through Friday, and then you're going completely off the rails on Saturday, Sunday, and then trying to get back to it, you have to look at your average number of calories per week. And, we don't typically do this with our clients, simply because it can be really overwhelming and it's a lot easier to just look day-to-day, instead of averaging number of calories per week. But, if you're not staying consistent day-to-day, and then you try to just change your macros because you're not seeing progress because it's plateaued, your body doesn't have a chance to be adaptive, which is why I always say, I know it's going to be different than what you've been doing, especially when you first start counting macros, you're getting the hang of it. You're learning what foods, and how much foods and all of those things, which it totally gets easier over time.
I can tell you, speaking from experience, I remember when I first started counting macros, I was pretty overwhelmed, if I can be honest, I was like, "This is totally new," but it also gave me a lot of hope. Because, I had previously never been able to eat pop tarts, and cereal and not fear food in general. And so, to be able to learn foods and learn how much my body needed and then say, "Oh, a serving size looks like this," it's actually not just my handful and I'm thinking that's a serving size. So very, very important with consistency. And, when I say your weight hasn't stayed the same, if a weight or a scale is triggering for you, you can totally do body measurements, progress photos. In fact, I encourage that.
I always encourage clients, if it's not triggering for you, step on a scale to start your journey so that you can get your base weight, so that you can get your macros calculated. And then once that's done, you don't have to step on a scale again. You can literally go off of body measurements and progress photos. There's so many other ways to monitor your progress besides your weight, and your weight honestly is going to fluctuate, which can be deceiving when it comes to just trying to monitor your progress based on your weight. It's not going to be accurate. So, if you have stayed within one to five grams of protein, carbs and fats, and maybe your body measurements have stayed the same, it's time for you to implement the next set of macros, which is increasing your macros by eight to 10 grams of carbs and two to three grams of fat.
Again, this is very generic. It's based on each individual person, but I would say overall, eight to 10 grams of carbs, two to three grams of fat is what you would be increasing if you're on a reverse diet. Remember that reverse dieting is coming out of a caloric deficit into your maintenance, pass maintenance into a caloric surplus. So, you're increasing your metabolic capacity. So week-by-week or in this case, every three to four weeks, you're increasing your caloric intake. Aka, you're increasing your macro set. If your goal is body fat loss, and you've been consistent with hitting your macros within one to five grams of protein, carbs and fats, and your body measurements have stayed the same for a minimum of three to four weeks, it's time to implement the next set of macros, which is typically decreasing your macros by eight to 10 grams or two to three grams of fat.
Again, I kind of hesitate talking about numbers on a podcast, because it can feel overwhelming if you've never done it. But I promise you, if you hire a coach or if you invest, like we have our Macro Counting Made Simple Online Academy, we break it down for you step-by-step and we show you exactly like, "Okay, here are your customized macros, this is how you convert them into food." Like, "This is what it would look like for your plate to have 23 grams of carbs, 24 grams of protein and about 10 grams of fat." Like, "This is what a plate would look like." So, I know it might sound overwhelming, especially if you've never done it, but just bear with me and know that if you invest in a program, hopefully the person, the coach is going to walk you through it. I know a lot of coaches that don't unfortunately. However, in our program, the Macro Counting Made Simple Online Academy, we break it down for you.
We have no secrets to hide. We want to show you and empower you as much as we can, because I know the feeling of feeling like you have to rely on your coach. And, I don't ever want that for people. I want people to be able to come to their coach if they have questions, but also feel empowered that they know exactly what their coach did and why they did it. Scenario number two, you've dropped a lot of weight. So, someone who carries more mass, whether that be muscle mass or fat mass will require more calories. So, let's say suddenly you drop 20 to 30 pounds, your body is literally going to require less calories because there's less mass that it needs to fuel. So thus, your caloric intake required to maintain your new body composition is going to be different. I would only do this though, if you feel like your progress has plateaued.
If you're continuing to see results with the lower mass and the same amount of calories, don't change it. I never recommend changing something that is working. However, I know people that maybe they went into something, they dropped 20 to 30 pounds or 15 to 20 pounds, and then you have to know that your body, that new body weight is going to require a different number of calories typically, typically. And, that's kind of the stipulation that I say like, "Never change something that's working, this is all dependent on the body." But, that is something to take into consideration. Number three, you've lost a significant amount of weight too fast. So, it's not healthy to lose weight fast, plain and simple. If you lose more than, I say about two pounds per week max, anything more than that, I would question your strategies and whether or not they're actually healthy and sustainable long-term.
I know that it might sound ideal to drop weight fast, but typically that means that you're eating way less than what you should be, and it's not maintainable long-term. And, once you can't maintain it any longer, you'll simply gain all the way back and probably more. And thus, you've worked to lose weight for absolutely nothing. So, if your macros have dropped your weight super fast, it's probably a clear sign that your macros need to be adjusted. Aka, you need to be eating more food in most cases. Scenario number four, your goals have changed. So, the macros you need for fat loss are going to be entirely different from the macros that you need to build muscle, or if you want to reverse diet. If you're wanting to lose fat and fat alone, your macros will typically be lower than, well, pretty much always be lower than your maintenance calories.
However, if you want to gain muscle, most likely your macros will be higher than your maintenance macros which is, aka, a caloric surplus. This is why a lot of people go through cycles with their macros. So, they'll spend a few months building and a few months cutting. Aka, focusing on losing fat, and then a few months in maintenance mode. I always recommend spending time in maintenance mode, because it's not healthy to always be changing and fluctuating your body so much. For me, most of my time is spent in maintenance. In fact, I would say probably 90% of the last two and a half years I have spent in maintenance mode. Sometimes, like for example, we're coming out of the 2021 Honor Your Body Challenge winter, and I personally did a slight deficit. For me, a slight deficit is like 12%, because I've reversed dieted to a point where my calories are high enough. So, even if I dip into a very small caloric deficit, I can drop body fat, just because my metabolism has become more efficient over the years.
But immediately after the challenge, I typically just reverse back. So, if I'm in a 12% caloric deficit, in a matter of six to eight weeks, I'll be back into maintenance mode. So, I'll slowly reverse back. And this time, I'll be on a lower body fat percentage than even when I was 10 weeks ago, because the challenge is about four weeks. So all that to say is, it's really important that you recognize that your macros are going to change based on what your goals are at, and that's also why it's important that you're educated as to how to do that. You want to be in a body fat loss, what is your macros look like?
What does it look to calculate your macros for a body fat loss phase, versus a reverse diet, versus muscle gain or maintenance? Number five, you're not feeling great. You're always tired. You never have enough energy here, you're always hungry after hitting your macros. If you feel weak in your workouts, or you feel like a lot of brain fog throughout the day, it's most likely that you probably need to change your macros, nourishing your body with what it needs should make you feel great. You should feel stronger, more energized and satisfied after eating. For the majority of it, I would say, when you are hitting kind of your last macro set in a body fat loss, that's when you could be nearing to the point where you're like, "Okay, I can definitely feel I'm on my last macro set," maybe you stay there for three to four weeks. You feel like you're at a point where you can start to reverse diet back into maintenance. But for the majority of the time, you should be feeling really great, you should be feeling strong.
And, this also has to do with your food choices. Learning that, yes, you might have 170 grams of carbs per day, if the hundred of those grams of carbs are coming from pop tarts alone, you're not probably going to feel your best, just simply because that is a non-nutrient dense food. Aka, it's not a lot of volume. And so, you're probably left going to feel hungry within an hour or two hours, versus having a very voluminous meal that's going to be satisfying and nourishing your body, which will keep you fuller longer. Ultimately, this should be the number one indicator, whether or not you need to change your macros is based on how you feel. That always should be kind of going back to, how am I feeling right now? Is this something that I feel good, I feel like I'm at a place where I'm feeling stronger, I'm feeling satisfied with my food?
So, really be intuitive with how you're feeling in this journey of macro counting. Yes, macro counting is hitting your protein, carbs and fats, but don't leave out the intuition part. I think that's really, really important that you kind of connect those two and really make sure that you're listening to your body. So, let me recap. You know it's time to change your macros when number one, your progress has plateaued, number two, you've maybe dropped a lot of weight. You need to recalculate those macros, those restarting macros based on your new body mass. Number three, you've lost a significant amount of weight too fast. Number four, your goals have changed and number five, you're not feeling great. So like I said, I know that these episodes can be nitty-gritty, especially when it comes to talking about macros, and caloric deficit, and caloric surplus.
But I promise you, if you invest in a program that will teach you, it's one of those things that once you learn it, it's like, "Oh yeah, I know how to do it." And, anything else related to that just comes a lot faster, because you've learned the fundamentals of it. So, I started out on a body fat last phase in macro counting. When I was really versed in macro counting, then when I learned how to do a reverse diet, I was like, "Okay, well I already know how to count macros, it's almost like an accessory in this." If that kind of makes sense. So all that to say is, I just encourage you to invest in a coach, invest in your knowledge. It's just like riding a bike. Once you learn it, it's going to be something on autopilot, and it's going to be almost mindless the more time that you do it.
If you want to learn more, I do, like I said, have a program. It's called Macro Counting Made Simple Online Academy. I will link that in the show notes below, or if you want to just learn more, I do have a free ebook. It's 39 pages. And, it really just kind of goes through what macro counting is, my journey with macro counting. And then, I kind of give you a step-by-step approach as to how to calculate your maintenance macros. And, that is a completely free ebook. You can go to www.juliealedbetter.com/free-ebook. And, you'll be able to see that ebook. Also, if you don't see that, or if you don't see a link, you can also DM us at embraceyourreal Instagram, and then just type in, hey, I want to download the free ebook, can you give me the link? That way, we can get that sent out to you a ASAP.
I hope that you found this episode helpful. If you have questions, as always, feel free to reach out on Instagram, feel free to reach out on email. You can email us at hello@juliealedbetter.com. I always love connecting with you guys in email. If you love this episode, I know you will also love episode 46, Why You Should Consider a Reverse Diet, the only diet that I support. Again, I've gone through personally four full reverse diets, and I can say that they've transformed the way that I'm able to properly feel my body now. So definitely, tune into the episode if you haven't already. I love you so much. If you have somebody or a group of people in your life that you feel like would really benefit from this episode, I just ask that you share it out with them. You can also screenshot this, post it up on your story. Tag me, juliealedbetter, I love connecting with you guys and I love seeing your aha moments. Until next time, I'll talk to you in the next episode, much love.
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're not already following me on the Gram, be sure to do so, juliealedbetter, yes, it's with a name and 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 the surface. So, go out there and embrace your real, because you're worth it.