Mastering Nutrition Even on a Busy Schedule
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Ever wondered how you can stay on top of your diet and fitness goals even when life gets incredibly busy? In this episode of Embrace Your Real, I dive into the power of integrating essential macronutrients—carbs, proteins, and fats—into your daily routine without stress. You’ll discover how carbs fuel your energy, proteins support muscle growth, and healthy fats keep your hormones balanced and aid in nutrient absorption. With simple, actionable tips, you’ll learn how to make nutrition an effortless part of your life.
We also explore reverse macro engineering, a game-changer for those hectic days when counting macros seems impossible. By focusing on protein and using handy portion control methods, you can stay on track even during the busiest of times.
We also discuss:
(07:07) Macro Stacking for Meal Planning
(12:04) Reverse macro engineering for indulgent meals
(16:51) Importance of Accountability in Macro Tracking
And more!
If you want more from me, be sure to check out...
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Get my eBook: FREE Macro Counting Ebook
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Transcript:
[00:00:00] 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 and issue a dose of real talk and actionable advice for. [00:00:12]
[00:00:12] Building your confidence, honoring your body and. [00:00:15]
[00:00:15] Unconditionally. [00:00:15]
[00:00:16] Loving your authentic self. [00:00:17]
[00:00:18] Stay tuned. If you're ready to embrace your real, let's get hands, girl. [00:00:21]
[00:00:28] Hello and welcome back to another episode on the Embrace Roll Podcast. I am so excited about today's episode because we're going to be diving into a topic that I believe is going to be a real game changer for anyone looking to kind of manage their diet and achieve their health and fitness goals. I get it. Life is busy, especially as we head into the fall. Maybe our schedules are changing and we just are. We feel overwhelmed. We feel like we're super busy, whether we're juggling work or family, everything in between. And we just feel like, man, there is just no way I can get my nutrition on track. Trust me when I tell you there are a couple of tips and hacks that I want to mention in today's episode that it is possible for you to stay on track with your macronutrients, even when life gets hectic, even when this season of life just feels super, super busy and overwhelming. I get it though. Like it can feel very stressful and overwhelming with all of the macro tracking advice out there. But I. I truly believe that once you understand a few of the basics and really implement some simple strategies, it can become second nature and it can be something that is easily implemented into your day to day. And so in today's episode, I want to break down kind of the roles of each macronutrient and share why they're number one, crucial for your body. And also I want to give you some easy tips to help you track your macros consistently, no matter how busy your schedule is. So whether your schedule has changed this fall and that's why you're super overwhelmed or you've tried it before and you just feel like, Man, I can't get it down. This is too overwhelming. I want you to tune in. If you can write some notes or at the very least, make sure you bookmark this episode so that you can go back to it. And I think that it will help you so much. Just kind of understand how macros work, why they're important, how they work, and how you can implement them into your busy lifestyle. So I first want to start off by just giving you an overview of macronutrients and the three macronutrients of protein, carbs and fat. So for any of my listeners, there's going to be brand new information. Hopefully this serves you for those long time listener, as you've probably heard me talk about this so much. But I hope that it's just either a refresher or at the very least it gives you that knowledge and just that reassurance of, yeah, that's right. This is what carbs do. Or yeah, that's right. This is the role that protein has in my body. Or this is why fats are so important, because we are so bombarded by these fitness myths all the time of carbs are bad or you need to cut your carbs out or too much protein is going to make you bulky, all these things. So I want to just reassure you and again, reeducate you on the three macronutrients and the roles that they place a number one, carbs. So carbohydrates, these oftentimes get a bad rap. Whether you are hearing someone say that or they're saying they're going on a low carb diet or don't eat too many carbs are going to make you fat, They are actually your body's preferred source of energy, especially during high intense workouts. They help to fuel your brain. So while most people know that carbs are stored as glycogen, right sugar in your liver and muscles, what's less talked about is what's actually how crucial they are. And these glycogen stores are for helping your body to maintain blood sugar levels between meals and during fasting. So when you don't maintain these blood sugar levels, your energy crashes and this is what's going to lead you to get overly hungry and also experience these crazy cravings, plus certain carbs like resistant starches or soluble fiber. These do wonders for your gut health by feeding the beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract. This is not only going to help to support your immune system, but also help to positively impact your mood, because we do have that brain to gut connection. So whether you are prepping for a marathon or you're just simply aiming to build the body that you want, your body needs those carbs. Number two, protein. So proteins are often celebrated as the building blocks of muscles, but they also do so much more. Proteins are made up of amino acids, which are also the foundation for hormones, enzymes, neurotransmitters and even your immune system. So for those focused on body composition, it's important to note that the protein has the highest thermic effect of food, which is just if you ever see t f in capitals, that's what it means. Thermic effect of food, meaning that your body burns more calories, digesting and processing protein compared to carbs and fats. But not all protein sources are equal. Animal proteins generally offer a complete amino acid profile, while plant proteins might be combined. Right, like pairing rice with beans to give you the essential amino acids. And if you're heading the weights, kind of distributing your protein intake evenly throughout the day, this can really help to maximize muscle protein synthesis, which is just essentially muscle growth for getting a lean and toned body. And last but not least, fats. So fats might be very calorie dense. They actually are the most calorie dense. There's nine calories for one gram of fat, whereas there's four calories for one gram of protein and four calories for one gram of carb. But they're absolutely essential for your health beyond just providing energy, fats actually play a critical. Whole role in producing key hormones like estrogen and testosterone. Fats also help your body absorb fat soluble vitamins like a D, E and K, which are essential from every, you know, for everything from bone health to immune function and eating fat at each meal. This is going to help you feel full for hours and also help to prevent those blood sugar spikes which can cause those crazy cravings and hunger. So now you kind of know like what the roles and why each macronutrient is important. I kind of want to talk about how you can stay on top of your macro game, even on the busiest days. Because here's the thing. Many of you and this was me before I knew how to implement macro accounting on the busiest day think that macro accounting is so difficult to stay consistent and you just say, I just don't have the time to count macros. It's super stressful. And while yes, I understand that sentiment, I'm telling you there are tips and tricks that will really help to overcome this and also help you to stay consistent. And at this point, it's just second nature to me because I've been doing it for so long and I've been able to implement some of these tips that I'm about to share with you. So, number one, I need you to master the art of macro stacking. This means that your meals do not have to be fancy. They just need to stack each macro. So when you're short on time, I want you to figure out three things. Figure out one carb that you can eat, figure out one serving a protein that you can eat and figure out one serving of fat that you can eat. Not all meals have to be super glamorous. It's okay to be, you know, a very routine eater sometimes if that's something that, you know, just fits into your schedule, you know that this meal is going to give you energy. It's going to provide you with the protein, carbs and fats that you need, Then it's okay to be a creature of habit, right? That's something that, you know, I have this same breakfast every single day, and that's because I know that it's going to set me up for success. It has a ton of protein. It's tasty and it gives me energy for hours. So whether this meal for you is like a bowl of rice with chicken, avocado on top, maybe some salad dressing or sauce. To top it off, that can be a super easy lunch or dinner idea, right? It's easy. It's quick. It helps you to dial in all of those protein, carbs and fats. And it's also tasty. Maybe if you're on the go, it could be a single serving of Greek yogurt and apple almonds. You have your Greek yogurt for the protein, the apple for the carbs and the almonds for the fat. Right. There's so many different combinations that you can do. But when you start thinking about meals, I just want you to think of meals in terms of macro stacking, because I really think that that's going to help you understand and help you to allow it to be a lot easier and not a stressful number. To use a macro tracking app to help you automate your planning. This is so, so important and this is something that I believe will really help take the guesswork out of it. So what I recommend is really saving your favorite meals or, you know, the entire the entirety of a day. That just makes you feel good in terms of energy. And overall, it's tasty. The meals are satisfying to you and it's also helping you with reaching your protein goal, your carb goal and your fat allotment. And this will help you if you can enter that into your macro tracking app. This is going to help you so much. So I always tell people like it will take you maybe an hour to an hour and a half at most set to set up your Mac macro tracking app. I know that's a lot of time, but I'm telling you, even if you break that up over the week into like ten minute increments to set up your Mac or Mac macro tracking app with foods that you eat regularly, go to breakfast, go to lunches, go to dinners. It will serve you long term because if you are someone who likes to have a same meal on repeat, all you literally do is you set it up in your mac or tracking app and you just click copy paste to the new day and it's going to help you. You don't have to think about it. Or if you have, you know, let's say you have for breakfast that you have regularly on rotation and or those into your Mac or tracking app, or you have 4 or 5 lunch options or dinner options. Enter those into your Mac or a tracking app, have those on rotation and it's going to allow you so much freedom and flexibility to just know that, okay, I know how much protein carbon fat is in this breakfast and lunch and dinner. And if I can entered into my macro tracking app one time, I can just copy and paste about a room by being and it's super, super easy. Number three batch cooking with a twist. So we all know about meal prepping, but I kind of want to take it up a notch with batch cooking specific macro components instead of prepping entire meals. So I want you to to think about this like preparing large quantities of protein. So think about chicken or ground turkey or tofu or beans or carbs like quinoa or sweet potatoes or rice or sour dough or fats like avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, healthy dressings, all of those things. And you can mix and match throughout the week. So instead of trying to do this entire day where you're just meal prepping and it's so overwhelming because you have so many emails that you have to think about, I want you to just focus on proteins, having a couple proteins that you can have. On hand throughout the day or throughout the week that you can put together in different meals. So I personally I do shredded chicken a lot. And even if you don't have time to cook it, you know, we've been getting we're in a busy season right now. We have a newborn baby. We are very limited on times who've been going to sprouts and getting the shredded chicken from sprouts in the large quantities. It's great because you can still make it in a Mexican bowl. You can make it in an Italian bowl, you can make it in an American bowl like however you want to use it. You can spice it up with avocados or nuts or sauces or seasonings, and you're able to use it in multiple different dishes. And so that has been such a game changer in terms of just having batch proteins that you can our go tos that you can reach throughout the week. Number four, I want you to implement a macro bank system. So I want you to think about your macros like a bank account. If you have, you know, an event or a meal out, really trying to focus on looking at it like a budget. So if you think about this, if you know that you're going to be going out on the weekend and you know you're going to be spending X amount of money, you're likely going to throughout the that week prior leading up, you're going to be saving. And so that way you have the money or whatever it is to ensure that you're able to afford what it is that you're going to be doing on the weekend. It's kind of the same thing when it comes to macro accounting for the day. So if you know that you're going to be going out to eat that night, it's kind of really allows you the freedom and flexibility to enjoy social occasions without feeling like you go off track. So just like you do with finances, making sure to balance it out over time to help you stay on course with your goals. Right? So I want you to look at it like this. Like if you have a craving or a special meal and you want to indulge in that, use their reverse macro engineering to work backwards from that first meal. So I want you to implement that meal that you're going to have. So whether that's a margarita and some tacos or some pizza and a beer, whatever it is, you're going to enter that into your macro tracking app first and then you're going to see, okay, now that I know that that's already entered into my macros and that's subtracted from my daily allotment of protein, carbs and fats for the day, what do I have remaining and how am I going what am I going to do for breakfast now? What am I going to do for lunch now knowing that that dinner or whatever it is, meal out is already accounted for in your macro tracking app? This is going to help so, so much to ensure that you're able to indulge in these things guilt free and also know that you're able to still reach your health and fitness goals. One of the cool things that features that I utilize a lot on the my macros plus is the macro pie. So it helps you to just visualize, okay, you know, this protein, carbs and fat allotment left for the day and it just allows you that freedom and flexibility. Number five, if macro accounting feels impossible one day, just focus on counting protein. So if it feels super overwhelming for you to focus on protein, carbs and fats, I want you to simplify by just solely focusing on your protein intake. And when you ensure that you're hitting your protein goal, this is going to allow you to still support your fitness and nutrition objectives without getting so caught up in the complexities of every single macro. And this can also, you know, if you're in a busy season of life, like right now, I am taking care of a newborn. I am simply focusing on macro counting in terms of protein. Like I want to make sure that I'm eating enough protein. I'm also exclusively breastfeeding. So to make sure I'm getting enough calories and I'm focusing on protein, I am not focusing on protein, carbs and fats right now in this season of life too stressful for me. It's not something that is I know is going to be sustainable. And so if you're able to prioritize protein first, I'll tell you, when you prioritize protein first, it's also going to help to curb those cravings because, again, protein is the most it's going to be the longest in terms of digesting and it's going to keep you fuller longer than any other macronutrient. And so if that is what you can do in this season of life, that is totally great, celebrate it. Chalk it up as a win and move on. Number six, use your hands to measure portions. I want you to consider this as like kind of the ultimate hack. You don't need to carry a food scale everywhere you go. Let's be honest. Like nobody wants to have a food scale and pull it out. That is totally ridiculous. That is not sustainable. And so I want you to remember these things when it comes to your hand in terms of portion sizes. So your palm for protein, so a palm sized portion of meat, poultry or fish, this is generally going to be around 20 to 30g of protein. This is perfect for visualizing how much protein you're getting without ever weighing a bite. So kind of take a look at your palm and see, okay, is it a palm? If it's a palm of chicken, that's about going to be, you know, 20 to 25, sometimes 30g of protein. Same for poultry fish. A fist is going to be carbs. So a fist sized portion for rice, pasta or other grains typically contains 30 to 40g of carbohydrates. This bees visual cue alone is going to help to keep portions in check, especially when dining out. And last but not least, a thumb for fat. So the size of your thumb is roughly the equivalent to a tablespoon of fat. So whether that's olive oil, peanut butter, butter, it's typically going to be about 14g of fat. Number seven, I need you to get creative with macro specific snacks. And this is something, again, that it doesn't have to be stressful. Literally type into Pinterest or Tik Tok or Instagram like macro friendly snacks and you will get so many ideas. So, so many ideas. Because this will help you to kind of fill in the gaps throughout the day. So, for example, if you need more protein, have, you know, an egg white muffin or some Greek yogurt or some string cheese. Or if you're low on carbs, opt for fruit, opt for rice cakes or some cereal. Like having these macro targeted snacks readily available is going to help you to stay on track effortlessly. This is also why I love protein bars, right? I am always going to tell you that whole nutrient dense foods are going to be obviously the best in terms of optimal nutrition. But sometimes your low end protein, a protein bar can help so much. 20g of protein, you know, typically 15 to 20g of carbs, 7 to 10, sometimes 14g of fat. But a boom, bada bing. There you go. Like it doesn't you don't have to overcomplicate it. You don't have to overthink it. And last but not least, number eight, stay accountable with macro tracking challenges. Being a part of a group provides a sense of accountability because you're surrounded by other individuals who are also working towards their health and fitness goals. So whether that's, you know, you have a friend in real life or you find somebody on the Internet sharing your progress, challenges, successes with others, this can help so much to help you stay on track and also to help you to provide this built in support system. When motivation comes and goes, plus knowing that there's other people cheering you on to help make it easier and push you through those tough days. This is going to help so much to help you maintain your commitment to your goals. Also, these groups are great for getting macro friendly meal ideas when you feel like you know things are getting stale. So if you have challenges, you can come to them and ask if you have questions, you can come to them and ask if you have something that you know, a hack that you found, you can come and share. There are so many benefits to just being a part of a group of like minded individuals. And if you actually join my macro accounting meet simple online Academy, you get access to a private Facebook group where there are thousands of women who are all on this same journey that are ready to help support and encourage you on this journey. So if you want to learn more about that, I will link my Mac Academy Temple Online Academy. But if not, if there's another group on the internet, I just want to encourage you to get involved and to really put yourself out there, whether that again is in person. Maybe there's someone in your life that wants to do this alongside of you or someone virtual. It will help you to stay consistent. It will help you to stay encouraged and it will also help you to answer any questions that you have to help you integrate that macro tracking into your busy lifestyle. All right. So there you have it. Let me recap the eight tips for consistency when it comes to tracking your macros on a busy schedule. Number one, master the art of macro stacking. Number two, use a macro tracking app to automate your planning. Number three, batch cooking with a twist. So really focusing on those batch proteins. Number four, implement a macro bank system. Number five, if macro accounting feels impossible, just focus on implementing and counting your protein. Number six, Using your hands as a guide to measure portion sizes. Number seven Getting creative with macro specific snacks. And last but not least, number eight saying accountable with other like minded individuals. If you love this episode, I know you will also love Episode 47 Real Talk. I'm struggling with back counting and weight loss. So I'll go ahead and link that in the show notes below. But just remember that every small step counts. You've got this. I am cheering you on every step of the way. And again, if you need any help figuring out what your macros are or getting involved in a like minded community by macro counting need, simple online academy is for you and is the perfect way to learn more about macro accounting so you can stay consistent, make it a lifestyle and finally build the body that you want. So I'll go ahead and link that in this sentence below. That is all that I have for today's episode. Thanks so much for tuning in. I love you so much. I'll fight in that sun. [00:19:53]
[00:20:00] All right, sister. That's all I got for you today. But I have two. [00:20:03]
[00:20:04] Things that I need you to. [00:20:05]
[00:20:05] Do. First thing, if you're not already following me on the gram. [00:20:08]
[00:20:09] Be sure to do so, Julie. A lot better. Yes, it's with an A in. [00:20:12]
[00:20:12] The middle for that Daily Post workout rail talk. Healthy tips and tricks and honest. [00:20:17]
[00:20:17] Accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. [00:20:19]
[00:20:20] 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. [00:20:29]
[00:20:29] And I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful. [00:20:32]
[00:20:32] 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. [00:20:32]