WHAT ARE MACROS? WHAT MAKES IT A “LIFESTYLE” VERUS A “DIET”?

Flexibility, balance, lifestyle...Are you craving that?

Have you been teetering back and fourth whether or not to try out macros?

You probably see people eating ice cream and losing weight. Yep, you're seeing right! You CAN actually fit the yummy "junk" foods within your macros.

But how does it work?

"Why do I insist it is such a “lifestyle” over all other “diets” per se?"

Let me explain why.....

Macros are short for "Macronutrients". They are the energy giving components to fuel our body. Macros are the break down of your protein, carbs, and fats, which is where calories come from. As we know, each person is unique in their own way. Depending on their shape, size, health history, activity level in their job and daily activity, age and weight, we all require a different macro break down resulting in a different amount of calories as well! No two macro break downs are the same.
By following a protein, carb, and fat breakdown custom tailored for you, this will allow you balance and properly fueling your body with the macronutrients it needs.

Before we go any further, here are 8 benefits of following macros:

1. You will become more educated about food by tracking your meals into your food tracking app. You learn the nutritional content of what is actually in your food.
2. You will improve your performance in the gym and everyday life. Need I explain? By balancing out your diet, your energy will naturally increase causing strength and performance in the gym, but also everyday life!
3. You can still go out with friends and enjoy a meal because now that restrictions are thrown out the window, all you have to do is track your meal. What is even better is, most restaurants provide the nutrition facts online and you can plan ahead!
4. Boost your immunity by following a balanced diet with loading up on vitamins and minerals from the food you eat when filling your macros.
5. Enjoy a wide variety of foods as there are no restrictions when following macros, As its vital to make sure you eating your whole, nutrient dense foods, its emotionally important to fit those "junk" foods like pizza that you crave in as well.
6. Travel made simple. You don't have to pack containers of chicken and take it through TSA. There are plenty of sources in the airports and anywhere you go to be able to find foods to fit in your macros.
7. You learn moderation. I understand counting everything that goes into your mouth is not for everyone, BUT by doing it for at least a few months, you learn what an actual serving size is in everything you eat. You will learn what you thought was one serving of peanut butter, was actually 2. This will make a huge difference and can carry this throughout the rest of your life!
8. IT WORKS! There is so much science and many success stories that have shown following macros works. With a little guidance, which I can provide you with, and getting set up with your correct macro count no matter what your goal, you WILL succeed!

Whatever your goal is, whether it is to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain your weight, you CAN achieve it by following macros.
When given your custom Macro breakdown from a coach, like myself, it is going to be up to you fill your macros however you please, as long as you zero out your numbers by the end of the day. There can be controversy with some people when I say "eat what you want as long as you fill your macros by the end of the day" because people think I assume it's ok to eat twinkies and egg whites to fill your macros.
Not necessarily. In fact, I don't mean this at all.
I actually encourage you make healthy choices, however, if you DO want a Twinkie one day, well guess what, you CAN have it. 😉

What makes following macros such a lifestyle? 

I know that zeroing out to a certain number of protein, carbs, and fats doesn't sound the most simple. Especially if you're new to this and I understand that!
Like anything new, it is going to take some time adjusting to. WITH TIME, you WILL succeed. In fact, you’ll succeed the first week! It will just get even better with consistency.
I mean come on, did you ride your bike on two wheels like a champ the first day the training wheels came off? No, unless you’re super kid! It took a few falls and attempts, and then one day you got it. The key was that you didn't give up! ...and consistency 😉

Do you think you are eating healthy already and the right amounts? Except with one problem...you are not seeing the results you are looking for. Why? Here are a few examples:
Example 1: Most people who don't have a grip on nutrition & just eat whatever they want throughout the day. They eat when they are hungry and until they are full. This is normal, people don't know better! But you can always learn 😉
Example 2: There are people who eat "healthy" but think if it's protein, they can have as much as they want, as long as it's not excess carbs or fat.
WRONG. If you are trying to lose weight or maintain your weight, eating more calories then you are burning a day, will keep you from losing weight. It does NOT matter if it is protein, carbs, or fat as they are ALL calories. If you are eating more than you are burning a day, forget about seeing weight loss.
Example 3: You have the people who eat healthy, whole foods and assume they can eat as much healthy food as they want, because it's "healthy". Kudos to you for eating clean, but again, back to the main concept, if you're eating too many calories, the weight isn't going to budge. Possibly in the opposite direction you want it to.
But with macros, we focus on balance!
Example 4: It looks like a small amount of food so it’s ok to eat and you’re doing great! 
So you have a handful of granola. It looks like a little baby snack. But it’s really about 30-40 carbs. Do you know how much you can have for 40 carbs and with much more volume?
Example, 6 servings of broccoli you can have for 36g carbs. That’s an overloading entire plate of broccoli. With more volume, you’ll feel full and satisfied. Do you get my gist?
There are diets like paleo where you stray away from most carbs, and are restricted to eating certain carbs, but can have all the fat you want. What's wrong here? RESTRICTION.
How about Keto? Ugh, this is a great diet for some people and people who need to overcome health issues but over all, it is NOT a sustainable way of eating. With Keto, if you are eating over 20-30 grams of carbs a day TOTAL(yes this also includes vegetables!), depending on the person, forget about actually being in "Ketosis". (When the body doesn't have enough glucose to use as energy, it burns stored fat instead. This is VERY tedious to do & difficult to stay in actual ketosis mode).
What else is wrong here? RESTRICTION.
All of these diets out there are so restricted to what you can eat which...
1. Makes it unsustainable.
2. Can cause you to slip off the deep end by telling yourself you are just going to have a little bit of pizza and that one slice turns into 5. Now you feel lethargic and mad you completely messed up for the day!
This is why it is SO important to think of these two things with your diet:
1. A lifestyle
2. Balanced
Balance with your macro break down.
Balance with your choices of foods. 80/20 rule.
80-90% whole & nutrient dense
10-20% food that is not particularly healthy and that you enjoy
Let's cut it to the chase. If you are craving a philly cheese steak sandwich one day, guess what: You CAN fit it. Use that 20% for the day to enjoy what you are craving and fit it in your macros. Make up for it later or earlier in the day, depending on when you have it, by filling the rest of your macros with whole, nutrient dense foods like vegetables and lean meats like chicken. This brings us back to the simple thing we want to keep in mind, balance!
By doing this, you not only fit it within your macros, but you also satisfied a craving without completely saying "F*ck it". You killed two birds with one stone and in return, are still losing weight by eating that philly cheese steak 😉

It is sustainable no matter where you are, whether it is at work, home, traveling, or social events.

Are you still on the fence? What are you waiting for?
Feel free to email me at hello@hanahrae.com if any question have come up after reading this.

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