The Five Macro Counting Approaches: Which One is Best for You?
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Real talk: Macro Counting doesn’t have to be cut and dry. It doesn’t have to be black and white. And if this belief is what’s holding you back from starting your macro counting journey and ultimately building the body you want, it’s time to think again! Macro Counting can be what you need it to be. And, macro counting can evolve as you evolve on your fitness journey. In fact, there are 5 main approaches to macro counting and if you’re struggling to stay on track with your nutrition, it’s time you pick which approach is best for you.
What I discussed:
Approach # 1: “Testing the waters” Approach. You either track ONLY your protein intake or you only track breakfast and lunch.
Approach # 2: Flexible Approach. With this approach, you will focus on hitting your macros within 10g to 15g of each macro.
Approach # 3: Moderate Approach. This is where you are focusing on hitting macros within 5g to 10g.
Approach # 4: Non-Flexible Approach. This is where you will land within 1g to 5g of each macro.
Approach # 5: Strict Approach. This is where macro counting can trigger you to build an unhealthy relationship with food and it’s time for you to take a step back.
Link mentioned in this episode:
If you want more from me, be sure to check out:
Instagram: @embraceyourreal | @movementwithjulie
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. And welcome back to another episode of the Mercer podcast. I'm so pumped about today's episode. Nine Ways to Beat Workout Boredom. I honestly think that this is not an F, but when it comes, it can be really, really hard to stay consistent in honoring your body with movement and building the body that you want. If you are starting to feel bored, like you don't want to show up, you don't want to push yourself, and all you want to do is bail in on your workout. And those are real feelings and that's a real season that you will go through. And so I thought that I would just share like some ways to help you beat workout boredom because we've got goals to reach and I don't want our boredom to get in the way of that. And of course, this doesn't mean that it's always going to be perfect, but I do think that there are ways to combat boredom and change it up so that it's not so boring and so that it doesn't become this big excuse in your way. So that is what we're going to be diving into in today's episode. Before we do, I had to share the super trivia comes from R.M. Barker 314 Give a five star review and Z Changing My Outlook on fitness. After spending years as a slave to cardio, I enjoyed hearing the reason behind cutting back and doing the amount of cardio I love for the sake of love versus just calorie burn.
I look forward to the resistance training so much and then do the cardio that I want for pleasure. Thank you for sharing this valuable information. I love, love, love the movement with Julie app and workouts. Well, I'm so happy to hear this. I'm so grateful that you kind of had an aha moment when it comes to cardio. I know when I had that Aha moment it genuinely changed everything for me because for years my life I thought that I had to do X, Y and z cardio in order to get the body that I wanted. And boy, was I wrong. So I'm so grateful that you are finding joy in finding the balance between resistance training and then just doing the cardio that you love and doing it for the sake of loving it versus just feeling like you're a slave to your fitness tracker telling you X amount of calories is being burned because that's no way to live a sustainable lifestyle. So I'm so grateful that this podcast is helping you and I'm also so thankful to be doing these workouts alongside of you. I love doing all of these movement visually workouts and knowing that I have an army of thousands of women all over the world doing them alongside me every week like that is the coolest part about it. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. If you want to leave a reading interview, scooch over to Apple Podcasts, type in embrace your real and you will see it when you scroll down on that page. Thank you in advance for doing it. Let's dove into the episode. Number one attach your workouts to something that excites you. For example, if you're feeling stale, start doing your workouts along, something that brings you joy.
So if you're working out at home, maybe watching a favorite TV show, like the TV show is 45 minutes long, and you do your workout for the duration of it. It takes your mind off the workout as you're more kind of concentrated on what's going on in the show and not what you're doing. This works great for some people. It doesn't work at all for other people. I actually just did a workout with my sister and she was telling me how she loves. She does movement with Julie. She's been doing movement with Julie. I believe she started after her second child and she just had Olivia's one now a little over one. So she's been doing it for, gosh, I want to say maybe three. I think she started it right when I launched it. So about three years. And she watches Hartland, which is so funny because that is the TV show that's always on like on our smart TV when we turn it on for whatever reason. I don't know why it's on that channel, but Hartland is always on like as the default. And I'm like, Who watches this show? And my sister's like, It's so good. I love it. I only watch it in my workouts, but it like brings me so much joy to watch that and do the workout at the same time. So another reason why I am a firm believer can go at your own pace versus like instructor led workouts simply because there are so many things that you can do. I know I listen to podcasts all the time. I watch some YouTube videos, sometimes I'll turn on music like, and I just love having the ability to do kind of two things at once versus, you know, if you're following an instructor, obviously you can't really listen to anything else.
But side note, that is definitely a great way to keep you entertained and also helps the time go by a lot faster. Number two, shorten your workouts. Now I believe nothing in your life should be force like I genuinely used to force myself to spend hours upon hours in the gym. And no matter how bored I was during my workout, I felt like I was just at a standstill. And I felt like if I didn't spend, you know, an hour and a half in the gym, that I didn't get a good workout in. If you're feeling bored, like just commit to 20 or 30 minutes. And I always tell myself, like when I feel this urge coming on, like, man, I'm just not feeling it. I'm really bored. I will tell myself I'm just going to go through and I do 10 minutes and I'm going to make myself go downstairs when I walk downstairs. I want to just do 10 minutes and sometimes that's me getting dressed in workout clothes. Other times it's legit. Me and my slippers and my pajamas and I'm like, I know I need to honor my body with movement and. I don't want to say I'm just going to commit to 10 minutes. And I'm telling you, 10 minutes typically turns into 20, which typically turns into 30. And by the end of the 30 minutes, I feel so much better because you have to remember that your excitement isn't going to come back if you just keep forcing yourself to do long workouts. So sometimes it's okay, shorten your workout and if it is only 10 minutes that day, again, my motto Do what you can with what you have and let that be enough. And that's also why I love the movement.
Julia Because I have 30 minute variations for every single movement. And that's also why I love the movement. Julia Because I have 30 minute variations for every single workout. And so if you're looking for something shorter, it's a very effective workout. And here's the thing. Sometimes people say, Well, I'm not able to get all three rounds in because my 30 minute workouts are giant circuit. And I tell you, that's fine. If you can commit to one round or two rounds, that's great. Know that my 30 minute workouts are effectively programed in the sense that you're going to be hitting all of the major muscle groups that you need to. And so if that's just one or two rounds, know that you got a very effective workout in and be proud of that. Number three, change up your workouts if you're following a repetitive workout plan where you're doing the same exercises week in and week out, that can cause boredom. On the flip side, if you're running on a treadmill for 45 minutes, five days a week, of course you're going to get bored. It's time to change things up. And here's a thing. People tell me this all the time. They say, Well, I've heard that you can get strong and you can build the body that you want, but you have to do the same workout and over and over and over again and implement progressive overload. And I tell people, yes, like if you genuinely want strength and you generally want to focus strictly on strength and not on enjoyment, then you need to be following the same exact workout and implement progressive overload over time. With that being said, I believe that you can still get stronger, you can still see results, but not be bored by doing something like my movement with Julie app.
Because here's the thing inside my movement with Julie app, I give you five training workouts every single week and there's never the same workout twice. But this doesn't mean that you can't progress because you have to know that there is plenty of room for progression in my workouts for you to get stronger because the majority of my programing comes from the same foundational movements. Except the cool thing about my programing is that I add in variations to keep it fun and exciting. And I always tell people, okay, so if you're going to start and do like an eight or 16 week program and you get bored on week two and then you stop, it's not even going to be effective, right? So half of the battle is really making sure that you're having fun and being consistent, because half the time I see these people go into this workout and they're like, Oh my gosh, I just did this workout a week ago. And or I just I've been doing the same workout for the past month and they get bored and so they give up and I'm like, Okay, well, you're not going to see results if you give up. So half of the journey, in my opinion, is having fun. And that's why I love kind of the balance of the movement actually workouts because they're effective. I'm programing similar foundational movements. You're able to track what you use for weight in terms of the last time that that movement was program so that you're able to implement that progressive overload and challenge yourself. But it's not going to be the same exact workout which keeps it fine, it keeps it spicy. And I personally love that it's something new and fresh every single week.
Now, when it comes to food, I am a repetition girl. I love a good repetition. I love having the same breakfast. I love having the same lunch I have. I go through like 10 to 15 different dinners that I love. And of course that changes from season to season. But when it comes down to workouts, man, I can't do that. Like, I have to have it be fun. I have to have it be exciting so that I can show up excited for each and every workout. Number four Get a fun playlist. Don't underestimate the power of a good playlist like seriously having a different playlist ready to go depending on your mood is so important and I don't want you to stop there. And this is why I love working out from home. Because I can like dance my little heart out. And if you're working out at a gym and you want to do that, go, go for it. Dance your little heart out. Know that you know 99.9% of people, they're so worried about what other people are thinking, that they're not looking at you, you know, dancing along to whatever you have. But I personally love just jamming in my basement and dancing along and dancing between sets. And not only is it like super freeing and helps me release some stress depending on what type of music I'm listening to. But it also is a great way to have active recovery between my set. So you're able to get that heart rate up a little bit more throughout the workout, and I'm literally always dancing to my playlist like you guys now, if you've done any of my live workouts, which I'm going to be implementing a lot more inside with Julie this fall, I'm really excited to do a lot more live workouts alongside of you ladies.
But I love a good dance sesh. Like in between rounds. I'm like, I turn up that music and I listen to a lot of like clean EDM in my music or in my workouts. If you are looking for a playlist, I have a playlist. It's called Movement with Julie. So if you just search Julie Ledbetter on Spotify, you should be able to see it. But I think I'm going to be adding a couple more playlists in there, like I want to do, like a dance movement with Julie. I want to do kind of a calm. I want to do like, a throwback. So, yeah, be on the look out there. I'm going to be adding more playlist. But I already do have a movement with Julie playlists public on my Spotify number five where workout gear that you're excited to wear. Honestly, there is nothing that gets me more in the mood to crush a workout than a new cute sports bra. Shorts. Like I feel so excited to work out. And you know, like I mentioned before, sometimes it's me in my slippers, in a baggy shirt, in baggy pants, and that's great. And there's a time and place for that. But other times, like when you throw on a cue, whether it's a matching outfit or a mismatching outfit, but it's like new and it's exciting and it's something that you worked hard for. Like, it is fun. It's really, really fun. So maybe try putting a little more intention into what you're wearing for your workouts like that could really just change the whole vibe when it comes to you experiencing boredom in your workouts. Number six Track your progression. I love this so, so much because nothing makes working out more fun than seeing your progress.
Rather than just showing up and working out mindlessly, you're not really paying attention to your progress. That can be boring and you can overlook a lot of really great progress that you've made. I think anything in life, if you don't feel like you have a goal or purpose, you're going to feel bored and you're going to be unmotivated. So give yourself a goal and track your progression. Like I know inside the Julie app you can track how much weight you moved in your entire workout. So maybe try to increase that on the next upper body day or in the next lower body day. Or if you can't do that in the overall workout, like try to increase and push yourself on certain movements, whether that's adding a couple more reps or adding a whole another set or whatever, but really tracking your progress and seeing those small wins, that's a great way to overcome boredom because you're able to track something and see the progression in it. Number seven, change the place where you workout now. So I know for me, when I first stopped working out at a gym, I previously was getting so bored going to the gym like I was so bored. I felt like every day I walked in, it was like, I have to I don't get to. And the switch alone from me to workout at the gym versus at home like was an entirely different mentality. And it really did help spice it up for me. And so if that's for if that's you, if you're working out at the gym and you're like, Yeah, maybe that's me too. Like, I feel kind of crazy and I know that this sounds silly because I was at one of the most expensive gyms in Colorado Springs.
I was at Lifetime Fitness. It had like state of the art gym equipment, and it was a beautiful facility, but I was like, Dang, I feel so bored. And I kind of felt silly for saying that, but it really is like that's a thing and you're going to again go through ebbs and flows in your season. And so that's important to remember. But if that's you like try to maybe switch it up, start working out from home or vice versa. If you've been working out from home and you're like, I just really want to do my workouts at the gym, like even if it's one or two times a week, try it. Like, I know a girl who's been in movement with Julie for the last since we've launched it. She's a mom of five. Bri for listening, shout out to you. She started working out at a gym a few weeks ago and she I remember she posted in our group and she was just very intimidated and she's like, I haven't worked out at the gym in a while. I've just been working out at home and she's loved it. Like I was talking to her in DMS and I was like, How's it going? And she's like, It's awesome. I love it so, so much. And so if that's you like maybe it's vice versa for you and you want to start working out at the gym a few days a week. Amazing. Just a change of scenery could really change it up a lot. And that could keep you excited to continue to show up to honor your body with movement number eight. Find a workout buddy. Now, working out with a friend can really make you feel like you're hanging out and not actually working out.
Like you can chitchat, you can motivate each other, you can laugh, you can have fun together while you're working out. And honestly, this doesn't even have to be in person. I know some someone who face times their best friend every morning and they workout together over FaceTime. Or if you don't have anyone who wants to work out with you like literally inside the movement. Julie app you can ask, I guarantee there's someone that will be brave enough to be like, Yeah, well I'll do the workout virtually with you. Like, I love to see that. I love to see when people are able to move their bodies or in person. I know for me, I've been working out with my friends on Tuesdays, so I've been like putting them through a movement with Julie app workout on Tuesdays and it is so fun to work out with each other just in person. So there are so many different ways to do it, whether it's in person, whether it's on face time or you're in a virtual community. Get connected and ask somebody. Just ask somebody like say, hey, you ought to do a workout together, whether that's virtual or in person. You never know how that can really impact your excitement and your workouts. And number nine, visualize yourself in the morning, working out and enjoying it. You guys know, I talk about visualization all the time in the podcast, but our thoughts literally create our reality. And that's why I am a huge advocate for visualization. Like, our thoughts are our reality. So if you're tell yourself that you're bored, you're definitely going to be bored. So instead, I encourage you to start spending some minutes in the morning, like visualizing yourself, actually enjoying your workout and asking yourself like, what are some ways that I can implement today to help me enjoy my workouts? Whether that's being more intentional about your your workout outfit or changing up your scenery, or I've also seen people kind of going back to number seven, like changing up your scenery.
I've also seen people like move their workout area, so like if they were doing it in their room, they move it to the living room or vice versa or they move it to a garage. And just even doing that for like a week like that can just reignite your excitement and just kind of change up your scenery by asking yourself like, what are some ways that I can implement this week to help me enjoy my workout? And like, really when you're doing this visualization, like seeing yourself, have fun, seeing yourself smiling, feeling energized, feeling excited and really kind of override those thoughts of like, I hate working out. It's so boring into I love this workout, it's so fun. It gives me so much energy. It makes me feel so much better. So visualization is truly everything, and I really don't want you to underestimate the power that it can have. Okay, let me recap those nine ways to have more fun while working out. Number one, attach your workouts to something that excites you. Number two, shorten your workouts. Number three, change up your workouts. Number four, get a fun playlist. Number five, wear workout gear that you're excited to wear. Number six, track your progression. Number seven, change the place where you work out. And number eight, find a workout buddy. Or number nine. Visualize yourself in the morning working out and actually enjoying it again. If you are looking for workouts, if you're wanting to try them in a July app like a you've heard me talk about it a bazillion times on this podcast because I only tell you guys things that I personally do myself or that I know will change your life. And I'm telling you, the movement with Julie app workouts have literally changed thousands of people's lives, and that just brings so much joy to me because I know the feeling of getting burnt out and I know the feeling of losing my spark for moving my body.
And really, these Zumba workouts have changed my life in so many ways. One of them being that I feel excited everyday to honor my body with movement and I know that I'm honoring my body. When I'm honoring my body, I am being a good steward of my body and I'm honoring God. And that ultimately is so important to me and just being a good steward of my body. And so if you're wanting to learn more, if you're wanting to join in, you can go to sale. That's Sally Dot movement with Julie dot com and you can learn for yourself you can check it out. The first month is 50% off. If you go through that link, it's a monthly subscription cancel at any time. There's literally no contracts, nothing. I just want you to experience it for yourself. I want you to feel excited again about your workout. So if that's something you're interested in, go to sale. That's Sally dot movement julie dot com. I will link that in the show notes below. I hope that this podcast gave you some good wisdom or gave you some insights or good ideas to implement so that you can stop being bored of your movement and really start enjoying it again. Because girl, we've got goals to conquer, especially in this fall season as we head into one of the colder, darker months, especially if you're in America. I want you to continue showing up for yourself because I know that you will feel better doing it. That is all that I have for today's episode. If you found this episode helpful, I would love for you to share it out. You can copy the link, send it to them in a text message. You can also screenshot this and post it up on your Instagram story.
I love, love, love connecting with you. I love you so much and I'll talk to you in the next time. 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, Julie. A lot better. Yes, it's with within 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 the surface. So go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it.