Some Context Around My History
Have you ever heard that losing weight is 80% diet and 20% exercise?! You might hear this well-rehearsed line in our household anytime we see one of those commercials for instant weight loss pills on TV. My husband and I are firm skeptics, so we don't say this because it's a cool thing to say; we say it because it's tried and true for both of us.For years my husband preached about how we need to create a healthier lifestyle than the ones we grew up living. We're both from The South so we grew up in households where reusing bacon grease for seasoning and frying anything that would fit into a pot of boiling grease was the norm! Hypertension runs rampant throughout both families, so we want to do better because we know better.
Why Count Macros?
My husband has been working out for years. Coupled with his workouts, he does a lot of research to maximize his results. Counting macros came from this research. He tried it, saw results and has been using it ever since. I saw him doing it and thought it was crazy! You have to weigh and measure everything you eat??!!
Who has time for that?!
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I was not down for adding that to my schedule but over time, I watched him manipulate his weight loss any way he wanted to and it was magical! I was definitely intrigued but still put off by the tediousness of it all.
My coworkers and I did the Green Smoothie Challenge together. My husband supported me and watched me as I did this cleanse. It was hard because my relationship with food has certainly changed over the years. We've become very best friends! My appetite has increased and, apparently, my metabolism is slowing down. 👀 ...Lol! I did the challenge because I was curious...and again, skeptical that I would even see results. I did but when I went back to the challenge to try second and third rounds, I saw quickly that this green smoothie diet wasn't going to be a long-term solution for me.
Things had gotten real. My then-boyfriend (now-husband) had asked me to marry him. I wasn't worried about weight during wedding planning because I loved my size and I thought even if I did put on weight it wouldn't be too much and I could manage it. Well, I put on weight...and most of it went straight to my tummy!! This ended up being a HUGE problem during wedding planning because I had to reorder my dress and get it fitted all within a few weeks before the wedding. We were all nervous that the dress wasn't going to make it in time...BUT GOD!! 🙏
Even through all that I was ok with the weight I'd put on because I had corset-like undergarments to suck everything in a little but this weight had to go before our 10-day, 4-island, honeymoon cruise!! So, I had to get a little more serious about my weight loss than I'd ever been.
My husband had been wanting to work with me for the longest. I've been working out for a few years myself, but I wasn't as regimented as he is in the gym. My initial goal was to lose 14 pounds in a month and a half. I knew I had to get serious, so I knew I needed the push and the accountability. I allowed him to be my personal trainer in the gym and make my meal plans. He was going to lay out everything I needed to do, I just had to execute. That was a deal I was willing to take to get the results I wanted.
"What You Not Gon' Do Is..."
I'd only heard of people counting calories up to this point. To put it simply, counting macros is a gradual way to change the way you eat so you lose weight. Much like some of the other diets I talked about, counting macros ensures that your body has a certain ratio of carbs, proteins, and fats to function efficiently.One very important this to remember is this: regardless of the diet you choose, you don't want to starve yourself!
You have to be mindful of what's going on with your body when you decide to diet. A lot of people think it's as easy as cutting your diet down significantly to lose a ton of weight. You cannot go from eating 3000 calories on Monday to only eating 1000 calories on Tuesday and expect your body to recieve that well. You can't go from eating burgers and fries every day to only eating salads and expect to consistently lose weight that way! Considerably changing your diet may cause you to lose weight initially, but your body is going to crash...hence this type of dieting being called a "crash diet".
Crash dieting is a surefire way to gain weight! Your body will begin to think it's starving because of the stark contrast in nutrients it's getting. Your metabolism will slow and your body will go into conserve mode... conserving all the energy it can! There are a number of reasons & resources that advise against crash diets. If you think you want to do this, research, Research, RESEARCH!!Whenever you do anything to your body, you want to be smart about it. We only get one body and once we get to a certain point in life, we're charged with taking care of it the best way we know how to take care of it. I try to do my due diligence and be as knowledgeable as possible about anything I decide to take part in because I feel it's the least I can do. I also told you I was a skeptic, so if I do as much research as possible, I can be sure there's no catch down the line!
Next, I'll get into the real deal about this counting macros thing. I'll talk about getting started and what counting macros looks like for me.
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