Part 1: counting macros

I was in the process of writing a blog post a few days ago, but it got so big, I decided it would be best to split it up into parts.

I wanted to mention that after being about 5 weeks into my 12 week timeline, I have not seen the results like I had hoped [yet]. SOooooo, that means it's time to tweak the diet. Ugh...

I had listened to a video by Jimmy Smith, [he has a top 50 fitness blog], and he was talking about how most people get it wrong trying to count calories because it's not really about calories. It's about MACROS. When you lower your calorie intake, you are lowering numbers across the board. What you need to be doing is specifically lower certain macros (say carbs) while raising others (like fats) and still be in the calorie range for losing FAT.

Hmmm....ok, I'll bite.

I had planned on carb cycling if reducing calories didn't work anyway. I've done it before but I've never actually sat down and planned everything I was going to eat and meticulously counted every gram and totalled every meal. Well, guess what I've been doing? That's right. Meticulously and painfully planning, down to the last gram, every macro nutrient that I eat. BEFORE I eat it.

The biggest portion of my calculations happened over the weekend when I didn't have anything pressing to do. First, I figured out HOW I was going to cycle my carbs. In the past, I'd done 3 low days, 1 high day, repeat. There are two reasons I don't like this pattern; one being that the high day falls on a different day every week and the other being my low days are bound to fall on some training days. And by the third low carb day I'm so hungry and void of energy. Not to mention crabby.

So this time I set it up to where I'm doing 3 low carb days, 3 moderate carb days and 1 high carb day per week. Not in that order though. It's going to follow my training schedule.

Monday: weight training followed by 20 min. cardio (mod. carb day)
Tuesday: HIIT training followed by 20 min. cardio (low carb day)
Wednesday: weight training followed by 20 min. cardio (mod. carb day)
Thursday: Rest (low carb day)
Friday: weight training followed by 20 min. cardio (high carb day)
Saturday: HIIT training followed by 20 min. cardio (mod. carb day)
Sunday: Rest (low carb day)

...repeat

*It might look like I'm doing an awful lot of cardio here but keep in mind that it's AFTER weight training, when I'm depleted so I can burn FAT. And it's a short amount, only 20 minutes a crack. So there won't be any muscle wasting. Plus, I refuel the second I hit the locker room with a protein drink, L-Glutamine and a banana.

My moderate and high carb days will always follow weight training days and my low days will always fall on rest days and one HIIT day. So it will work out good in terms of keeping energy levels high for the training that counts. My high carb day is always on a Friday, which I love because that is the night we most often like to have pizza night with the kids. And I'm not doing "cheat" days anymore. I think I over eat and it cancels out any progress I make during the week which is why I am not seeing results. Instead of cheating and binging on crappy foods, I'm going to eat more, but healthier. And when you are cycling carbs, having things like bread and pasta seems like a cheat anyway.

I had to figure out just what the heck my macros and calorie intake should be for each day. I'll be honest, it was a pain. And I'll have do redo them EVERY week [if] my weight changes. I found a good website about carb cycling and why it works. If it didn't, bodybuilders and figure competitors wouldn't use it. I was able to figure out my caloric needs, and macros for each of the three types of days. Then, I just divided it up into how many meals I plan on eating during the day, making sure to count my bedtime protein shake and post workout protein shake on weight training days, to figure what I can have at each meal.

I've been writing EVERYTHING down so that eventually, I won't have to think so much about it and do all the calculations. Especially if I'm in a hurry. I can just look back to a particular day (low, mod. or high carb) and pick a meal that sounds good and it will already have the right ratios of carb/prot/fat. I usually eat pretty much the same stuff every day anyway, so it'll be easier the more days I have behind me.

A little while back, I was wondering if the fat content in my diet was too high. Even though it was from good fats, I thought it might be one of those 'too much of a good thing' deals. Hey! Like cardio? Yes...like cardio *wink*

But look at this gem I found:

"Fat is needed by every cell in our body, as it is a crucial component in building the cell wall. Furthermore, body fat is stored energy. When your body needs energy, it turns to your fat cells. But when your body isn’t getting enough fat in its diet, it will try to conserve what it has, turning instead to muscle, and endangering that tricep definition that was finally starting to show up. Your actual weight may decrease, because muscle weighs more than fat, but chances are you won’t be as strong or as shapely. "

And this is why it's good to eat protein and fat before you workout. I workout in the morning, so the good fats and protein I eat at breakfast will sustain my workout and my body will go burn stored fat instead of the carbs I might have eaten for breakfast.
Hooray for natural peanut butter and avocados!!

This was an important piece to the puzzle that I was missing before when I tried carb cycling. I was so focused on taking in minimal starchy carbs that I wasn't taking into account that I needed to up my fat intake to keep my energy up. NOW, I know better. On my low days, I am only taking in 60g carbs BUT I'm eating around 55g fat to make up for it. Protein, for the most part, stays unchanged every day. I keep it around 130-140 grams. That way I am ensuring that I don't lose muscle.

On my high carb day, I can take up to 270g carbs and still keep my calorie level below maintenance! (around 1888 - which is my highest calorie day of the week also). And it's those days that I will lower fat intake. Genius! Within one week, I will have eaten a substantial amount of carbs/protein/fat to fuel my workouts and feed my muscles, yet still be in a caloric deficit to create over a pound of fat loss, and that's not even counting exercise! There is just no way this can't work!!

I've only made it through two days so far, but I've done it with laser precision. I actually figure out my meals before I eat them (making sure I have the right ratios - it's kind of like a puzzle). I absolutely KNOW that I'm eating properly this way. This is something I have never done. So I have actually met my calorie needs so closely to the predetermined goal that I was literally like 2 calories away today. Man I'm good!

Today, instead of eyeballing the pasta and sauce for dinner tonight, I weighed my whole wheat angel hair pasta dry before I cooked it. After I cooked the extra lean ground beef, I weighed that too, to make sure I got 3oz. and then I added tomato sauce (home made). It creates more dishes because I can't just get it from the "family pot", but this is about being precise. I have been spinning my wheels long enough, it's time to get down to the nitty gritty. It's time to get serious. 7 more weeks - I can do this!