Rate of Weight Loss
You can’t lose weight because of this fact, among other things, the speed you want the weight to drop off isn’t realistic to the discipline you need to sustain it. Notice I didn’t use motivation here, because being motivated to start this journey isn’t going to be enough for you to be consistent when you stop feeling like it and that fountain of delusion runs dry. Here’s two ways you can approach this weight loss game, fast and furious, or slow and controlled.
When you decide to use a fast approach to losing weight, you have to understand that your life is going to dramatically change in ways that are going to challenge your determination. Let’s define “fast approach” as a 2lb + weight loss goal per week. You’re going to be uncomfortable with how little calories you’re allowed to consume plus the little energy you’re going to have as a result of this.
There’s a quote i recently read I like that goes like this: “you can have anything you want but you can’t have everything you want”
Are you prepared to give up time being social? When you meet up with friends, it usually involves food and drinks. You can say bye to those because it’s not fun being around people who aren’t on a diet when you are and it’s also not fun being around people who are on a diet when you’re not.
Are you willing to track every single calorie? Tracking calories sucks but it’s a necessary evil for knowing how many calories you’re eating to ensure you’re in a calorie deficit. It’s a skill you can learn with practice and something that’ll stay with you for the rest of your life. You don’t need to track calories forever either; the people who promote intuitive eating are the ones who spent time understanding food composition (protein, carbs, fats) and learned there’s no such thing as healthy or unhealthy foods. There are foods that’ll help you reach your goal and foods that’ll hurt your timeline for reaching your goal.
When you decide to use a slow and controlled approach to losing weight, you have to understand that change takes time and if this was easy, nobody in the world would be fat. Nobody brags about having the fastest sex or being able to scarf down food instantly, unless you’re in competition, and the same mindset should be used here too.
When your calorie deficit isn’t steep, you have more freedom in your life to make the process more enjoyable. You can have more “fun foods”, you can go out more without feeling guilty, and you don’t run the risk of sacrificing muscle for a lower number on the scale. When you take your time, you optimize your ability to make life-long habits which will prevent you from regaining weight after you’ve stopped dieting.
The more realistic you are about your goals and approach, the more likely you are to be successful with transforming your body. But if your mindset isn’t starting in a good place, your journey is going to be short-lived. Dieting isn’t for the faint of heart and it doesn’t take rocket science to figure out a weight loss plan.
What will separate you from those who succeed versus those who don’t is having a clearly defined “why” and a willingness to accept failure as a lesson for going forward. You’re going to encounter obstacles that will test you and my hope for you is you’re the person who adjusts their speed instead of calling it quits before you reach the finish line.
“The man who loves walking will walk further than the man who loves the destination”
Blood Pressure Update
“No disease that can be treated by diet should be treated with any other means.” ― Maimonides
Five months ago and for the first time in years, I went to the doctor and got a check up. I knew I was unhealthy but unless you have numbers in front of you, it’s hard to quantify the feeling of being unhealthy.
“What gets measured gets improved” - James Smith
If you don’t follow Jordan Syatt, you should do that right now because he was the first trainer I saw on here that started promoting monitoring your blood pressure as another means of progress.
As a personal trainer who only cared about hitting macros for a long time, this was a foreign concept to me. When we look at fitness influencers, the focus is on how your body looks, not how your body feels or performs. When you have visible abs, your body fat percentage is low which has adverse effects on your hormones that most people don’t know or realize until they reach that point.
Back to the point, my doctor gave me three months to get my shit together or else I’d be put on blood pressure medication. Why? My BP was 150/90. INSANE!
Honestly, I didn’t start until March to lose weight because the fear of medication didn’t hit me until then. You can only delay the inevitable for so long. It’s not like I could go to my doctor in april and tell him, “could you give me another three months?” You know what could happen by then? I could drop dead at any moment.
In march I lost 19 lbs and I couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t through fat burners, a waist trainer, detox teas, or any other kind of “fat loss supplement”, here’s the list as simple as possible:
Calorie Deficit (tracked my calories every day making sure my deficit was between 500-1000 calories)
Protein (My range was 200-240g daily)
Strength Training (2-4x/week with a lower/upper/2 full body workout split)
WALKING (the cardio I did was walking on a treadmill for 20-60 mins low/moderate intensity for an average of 5 days/week) (sometimes i added in high intensity but this should be relatively less in your program)
Sleep (from below 6 hours/night, I was able to get in a range of 7-9 hours every night)
This photo was two days ago, 4 months of hard work and dedication.
If there’s anything I can do to help, send me an email and I’ll be happy to assist - Email
Keep Dreaming, Keep Believing, Keep Working, Be Somebody!
Eat Slowly
The enjoyment you have from eating food doesn’t make you a foodie.
If the gratification you get from food leads to a dissatisfaction from the way you look, then it may be time to change the way you eat and think about eating.
Comfort foods are like a drug that temporarily shift your focus from the problems you’re trying to run away from into an addiction that will cause more short & long term problems.
Weight gain isn’t the problem, it’s a symptom.
Whether you’re unhappy with your job, career path, significant other, family or friends, the fact remains that eating because you’re stressed or anxious is not going to solve the symptoms.
If good habits follow good habits, the same is true about bad habits.
Food can make us FEEL better or worse.
Are you aware of the foods that have a positive effect on your stomach and mood?
What about the foods that make you feel sluggish or cause an upset stomach?
Ideally, you’re going to eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full.
So why do you eat when you’re bored and stop when you feel pregnant?
This is a question I’ve asked myself numerous times.
I’ve also found that when you ask silly questions, your brain gives you a silly answer.
When you have nothing better to do, instead of eating, ask yourself what’s something you enjoy doing that doesn’t add calories? You can build on this and think about cooking a meal that has less calories and still tastes good.
In the same context, how can you stop eating past full if your fullness cues aren’t working?
Eat Slowly
Put your utensils/food down and pause for a moment after each bite.
Easy?
Eat Slowly Without Distractions
On top of eating slowly, put your phone away/turn off the TV.
Easy?
Eat Very Slowly, Without Distractions, and with Full Presence and Attention
Notice your food’s taste, texture, and smell.
Savor each bite like you’re doing an expensive wine tasting.
Pause after each bite and notice the thoughts and feelings attached.
If you need help with deciding which foods you’re currently eating that help or hurt you, send me an email & let’s figure it out together.
Cardio Before Or After Weights?
Before you tell me what you’ve always done, ask yourself if you’re happy with the way your body looks?
Are you happy with the way your body performs in the gym?
If the answer is no then telling me what you’ve always done is not going to change my mind.
In most cases, my answer would be “It depends.”
This isn't most cases.
For the majority of people in America, fat loss is the goal.
Fat loss depends entirely on diet. How much is entirely? About 80-85% which means the majority.
What you do for movement will enhance strength and to a degree, aesthetics.
It's not the fact that you want to lose weight, it's that you want to lose weight and look good naked.
For that purpose, lifting weights should be the priority and cardio is supplemental as well as optional.
Do you have to choose either or? No
However, I believe in doing the least amount of work to get the most amount of benefits.
Contrary to popular belief, I spend about one hour a day, 3 to 4 times a week working out.
The days of me working out for 3 to 4 hours are long gone.
The more literature I read, the more people I train, the more I learn about how the body works and how to pair that with what people want.
If you like spending 2+ hours in the gym, be my guest.
If you like being efficient in the gym, less is more meaning pick 1-3 exercises per muscle group and lift heavy.
If you want to add cardio to your workout, only do so when your calories are in check and you don’t want to decrease your calorie intake further.
Another reason to do cardio after your workout is if you actually like it.
Here’s another reason why I suggest cardio after weights.
Strength training builds muscle.
Cardio builds aerobic capacity aka conditioning.
It’s harder to strength train when you’re fatigued from cardio.
It’s easier to do cardio even when you’re fatigued from strength training.
You’re also more likely to injure yourself in a fatigued-state lifting weights versus doing cardio.
So to answer the question about cardio before or after weights... Weights first, cardio after IF YOU WANT.
The only scenario I can think of where you would do cardio before weights is if you're training for a cardio-based event.
Training for a marathon?
Training for a swim?
Training for cycling?
Cardio first.
However, there are numerous amounts of literature that explains how strength training improves cardiovascular ability…
But that's a different conversation for a different day.
Vlog 075: Responsibility & Forgiveness
This video is to help anyone in their fat loss journey understand the concept of responsibility & forgiveness. The way you look is a reflection of your thoughts and self-esteem. If you think high of yourself, your habits reflect that & the same goes for thinking low of yourself. Good habits follow good habits. If you continue to leave a problem unattended, it doesn't get better, it gets significantly worse. My goal with this video to bring awareness to a reality you're suppressing and taking action to fix it. Forgive yourself for not being perfect and making mistakes. Being human means you're going to fail more times than you can count but it also means you have the ability to overcome. Be the one who figures out the solution vs the one who admits defeat.
How To Meal Prep 4 Meals in 6 mins
Meal prep is one of the easiest things you can do to change your body. For those of you that have never done a meal prep, the idea is to prepare as many meals as you can in the shortest amount of time for the most amount of days. That's the simplest way to describe meal prep. To give context, I'm a personal trainer and lived most of my day away from home. This means I'm unable to cook my food as I get hungry which leads me to buying a lot of the foods that I eat. This gets expensive real fast. Personally, the hardest things I think about is how can I stay in a calorie deficit so I can lose weight and how can I get the right amount of protein every day so I don't lose muscle. In this video, my go-to breakfast his overnight oats, my go to post workout meal is chicken and rice after a post workout shake, and my snack is a protein bar. For the most part, I use intermittent fasting as a tool to help me lose weight by limiting my eating window. This way, I'm able to condense the amount of times I'm eating in a day and still hit my macros.
Lunch wise: I don't like soggy chicken so I order cooked chicken from the deli downstairs where I live. I use instant rice for carbs.
Breakfast wise: I use Maple and brown sugar oatmeal packets. I use unsweetened vanilla cashew milk. One scoop of meal replacement protein powder.
Supplement wise: I use a multivitamin with greens powder, Fish oil, Post workout shake with Ignition & Creatine, BCAAs, and a pre-workout without caffeine.
The simpler your diet is, the easier it will be for you to follow it. I don't recommend this for everyone, but I do recommend you try what works and try what doesn't work for others to see what's optimal for you.
Action Steps You Can Take Now
Start tracking you calories for weight-loss today —> Learn how here
Use Intermittent Fasting as a tool for losing fat today —> Here
Hit your Goal Body Weight in protein every day. Find your protein number here
Strength Train 2-3 times a week. Have 1 Day of cardio if you want. Don’t have a routine? Send me an email & I’ll give you a FREE 4 week program here: abel@aymhigher.com with the subject “4 Week AYM Higher Program”
Full Body Workout + The Successful Dieter's Mindset
Welcome,
The full body workout mentioned in this video is going to have a total of 8 exercises:
A: Barbell Back Squat
3 sets x 5 reps w/3 min rest break between sets.
Superset: 3 sets x 5 reps each with a 1-2 min rest break between sets
B1: Dumbbell Chest Press
B2: Kettlebell Prone Row w/pause
C: Barbell Romanian Deadlift 3 sets x 8-10 reps w/1 min break
Superset: 3 sets x 8-10 reps/side w/1 min break
D1: Dumbbell Shoulder Press
D2: Cable Lat Pulldowns (underhand grip)
Arms Finisher:
Dumbbell Bicep Curls 1 set x 10 reps
Dumbbell Tricep Kickbacks 1 set x 10 reps
The second part of this video is about the mindset it takes to be successful with a diet.
It’s not easy to give up the foods you enjoy but it’s necessary to control the portions of everything you eat in order to lose weight & ultimately body fat.
The difference I see in people who succeed in weight loss versus those who don’t is patience. Everyone wants results but very few people are willing to do the work it takes. Losing weight is a result, changing your habits is what makes the results appear. Someone who isn’t patient will take every shortcut in the book and become frustrated when the progress they expected to happen in a few days or weeks doesn’t happen. How does one become a millionaire? By working hard, smart, and giving it time. The result you're looking for is planted in the work through the modification of your daily routine.
The body you have right now is the result of eating intuitively, not working out consistently, and spending too much time with people aren't aligned with your own goals. Successful people don't hang out with unsuccessful people in the same way that most people who are fit don't hang out with people who are out of shape. You'll be surprised at how quickly your life turns around when you change the people in circle. We're four months into 2019, how much of you have accomplished from your New Year's resolution list? If you have things still uncrossed, what's one thing in your day you can change right now that's going to get you closer to crossing off that particular goal?
Action Steps You Can Take Now
Start tracking you calories for weight-loss today! Learn how here
Lose weight without a diet. Learn how here
Use Intermittent Fasting to lose weight. Learn how here
Hit your Goal Body Weight in protein every day. Find your protein number here
Strength Train 2-3 times a week. Have 1 Day of cardio if you want. Don’t have a routine? Send me an email & I’ll give you a FREE 4 week program here: abel@aymhigher.com with the subject “4 Week AYM Higher Program”
2019: Year Of Offense
I was 24 years old.
I just had a second operation on my chest. I was “diagnosed” with gynecomastia. Some people call them "large male breasts", others call them "Bitch Tits", either way, it was something I struggled with my entire childhood & was going to take over my adult life…
I had this same operation a year prior. Long story short, we decided to take a risk and have a no-scar-surgery that would eliminate this problem that became a part of my identity. It didn’t work and I suffered another year of insecurity because every time I looked in the mirror, I saw two reasons why I wasn’t a man, I wasn’t attractive, I wasn’t good enough…
The first tattoo I got was to cover my scars…
Two years of diet & training. The first time I looked in the mirror shocked at what I saw…
I was 25 years old.
What started out as another night out with my best friend, ended up being the night I met the girl of my dreams, or so I thought. We got into an argument because I took the side of the girl that he was dating at the time. I was always a third wheel, something I've grown accustomed to being, again, I was getting closer to the body that I wanted but still miles away from the confidence I needed. My best friend left me to go do a DJ gig, my phone was on 3%, if felt like my world was coming to an end. I relied on Austin for my social life. I’m an introvert & a homebody by nature. I was also broke as shit so I told myself I was the lucky one that he even wanted to be friends with me & take me places. The only thing that was on my mind was getting to him so I could apologize. Despite having a few drinks in my system, I was able to locate him and we immediately had a conversation. Next thing I know, I get a tap on my shoulder followed by the question: "are you QuoteAbel?”. It was from the girl that I was in love with through Instagram.
Eight months later, on and off dating, the main thing that I feared from day one finally happened. So afraid to lose something I work so hard at making last, I was blind sided with "we need to talk”. It wasn’t the closure conversation that saves you years of frustration & suicidal-depression, it was the type of conversation that fuels insecurity & kills any type of dignity you had. It was the second & last time I gave everything I had to one woman. Despite my valiant efforts, I wasn’t assertive, I wasn’t a man, I wasn’t good enough…
Hollywood Millz
Angela
I was 28 years old.
I was two years into my corporate job, I was making good money for the first time in my life, I was also a soulless zombie. My prior years of creativity were dead. I didn’t care about music, I didn’t care about poetry, I didn’t care about anything besides working, working out & making more money. 6 months prior, I finally decided to study for my personal training certification. I couldn’t last one more second at that job but wasn’t assertive or man enough to leave. The people around me were negative, the commute was always crowded, the gym was always packed, I was living for the weekends.
August 2016, after 6 months of spending all my free time studying, I passed the NASM CPT test. FUCKING ECSTATIC! I spent the next month training a few friends for cheap just to get experience & money in. September 2016, I spent my birthday in Dominican Republic. I could get used to this. Work 9-5 & train people afterwards until I had enough clients/money to leave that soul-sucking job. It’s funny whenever you think you have a plan of how things will go, the universe likes to throw a wrench in there to show you who’s the real boss. I came back from DR & we had a meeting (something that never happens unless it’s bad news). Long story short, no one in that department had a job anymore & we had two months to figure out what to do next. I stayed on for the transition period & after two months, I was offered another position in the company or, take my severance & look for something else. I just turned 28 years old. I didn’t have any real responsibilities. I didn’t have a girlfriend or a child. This was it for me. This was my chance to see what I was made of. It was my time to see if the life I wanted to live was possible. No one was going to baby me anymore. How great do you want to be? How bad do you want it? Are you good enough?
Collateral Analyst. After hours
Puerto Plata, DR
I’m 30 years old.
I’m at my 3rd personal training job.
It took me almost two years to feel comfortable in this profession.
Two years of failing, doubting myself, & grinding.
What I’ve learned is the harder you work, the faster the results come.
What’s overwhelming at the beginning, becomes routine after a few months.
If you do right by people, help out as many people as you can for free, experience & character grows exponentially.
When you focus on becoming a better version of yourself daily, instead of comparing yourself to others, that momentum lands you new opportunities.
If you live in your truth, no one can own you.
OVER DELIVER EVERY TIME!
Consistency > Perfection
Discipline > Motivation
Waiting for closure is like holding your breath, it feels like you’re dying the longer time passes.
If you give up, you’ll never reach your goals.
Which brings us to the title of this blog, Offense. It took me 30 years to realize why I’m not where I want to be yet. I was waiting for someone to save me. I was waiting for things to happen. I was waiting for permission, to be told it’s okay for you to try a little harder now, you’re ready for what’s next. The truth is, you’ll never be ready for what’s next until you start now. I thought surgery was going to fix my body image issues, I thought Angela was going to be the last girl I was ever with, I thought that 9-5 was going to be the last job I ever had… There’s a few things I’m certain of, if you don’t like your body, do something about it. If you don’t like your job, do something about it. If you don’t like feeling hopeless, do something about it!
The road to becoming is a long journey that will test your faith, resiliency & strength.
Every “no” is a speed bump, not a dead end.
& If you’re good enough, NO ONE is stopping you... You’re more than capable.
If you want to lose weight, google is your best friend, or hire a coach.
If you want to get further in business, read a shit load of “how to’s”, or hire a mentor.
You have a gift & a story that needs to be shared, to save someone else’s life, to remind them that things they wish for, dream about, cry about is possible with faith & work. Sacrifice something now for something better in the future.
Here’s to a productive & offensive 2019.
Structure Personal Fitness
Heavy Is The Head Who Wears The Crown
There’s people in this world who honestly have no friends or family left… then there’s people like me.
I have a Mom, Brother & Niece. I have plenty of friends that I can call or text everyday w/o any limitations.
However, This was me on Thanksgiving Day 2018.
I just checked my photos app from a year ago & also… no picture of food, family or friends.
I like to rely on the descriptions “introvert” & “homebody” as my reasons aka excuses for wanting to be alone a majority of the time & excluding myself from get togethers.
What this technique has brought me is distance vs the things in life we enjoy but can’t buy, love.
If you’re feeling sorry for me at this point, don’t.
I believe every adult is more than capable of choosing his/her fate.
You can’t have your cake & eat it too.
You can’t have the space for quiet as well as the presence of love.
You can't be selfish with other people's time when it's convenient for you.
A day that's created for busy people to connect with the people that they love, I chose to spend it doing the "important thing" that I value.
How did I get here?
I chose myself again and again to the point where I didn't make time for others.
You can't tell someone that you miss them, you have to show them.
You can't tell someone they're important to you, you have to show them.
November 30, 2016, I made a decision that being in an office all day wasn't the best thing for me.
I jumped in without thinking. I took a leap of faith.
I refused to be surrounded with people who were draining me of my energy.
I'm not someone that likes to complain when I know I can control the outcome.
Being 30 years old, I don't feel that much different than when I was 21.
What makes me feel physically good is the decision that I made over a decade ago to start working out and six years ago to change my nutrition.
My mom couldn't cook for me anymore because I refused to eat her food.
I couldn't hang out with my brother as much because I was too picky to eats chips and burgers every day.
I couldn't hang out with my friends because I didn't have the money to afford drinks or eat out multiple times a week.
I didn't want to let family or culture dictate the way did I lived.
When you choose to live life on your terms, it's going to come with a lot of lonely days, it's going to come with a lot of frustration, it's going to come with the days that test your will.
Why would any sane person choose to diet and workout when most of their friends & family will not participate.
Why would you want to put so much stress on your plate, when most of the people that love you will let you down?
Heavy Is The Head Who Wears The Crown
Leave a comment below on how you handle this?
How To Track Your Macros
The goal after reading this blog post is that you understand the following:
What are macros?
What my macros "should" be
Foods with a nutrition label vs foods without
How to track macros: Measuring and Weighing
Macronutrients vs Calories
For the 60 second reader, here is the app I used that helped me lose 30 lbs in 2017 over the course of 7 months with strength training 3-4x/week supplementing cardio & ab work MAYBE once every other week. Download the (FREE) Macros App by Mike Vacanti. Macros, short for macronutrients, are comprised of protein, carbohydrates, & dietary fats that make up the calories (energy) you consume in a given day. There’s three options you can choose from, fat loss, maintenance or muscle gain.
Fat loss is achieved through being in a calorie deficit over an extended period of time; maintenance is achieved through eating enough calories to stay at the same weight; and muscle gain is achieved through being in a calorie surplus for an extended period of time.
For the rest of you who want to understand WHY this option might be best for you, keep reading ;)
What are macros?
Macros, short for macronutrients, are comprised of three (technically four if count alcohol) components: Protein, Carbohydrates & Fat. They are the foods & drinks we consume that contains calories. Your favorite bacon, egg, & cheese breakfast sandwich, salads doused in dressing for lunch & fast-food chain takeouts for dinner are all made up of macros (in different ratios), some “good", some "bad”.
Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories
Think building muscle & appetite control
Its primary function is to build & repair body tissues & structures. It is also necessary for the production and protection of antibodies that prevent us from illness and infections. Additionally, protein can be used for energy if calories or carbohydrates are insufficient in the diet (gluconeogenesis).
Protein can be obtained from meat, dairy products, eggs, fish, nuts, legumes, vegetables, grains, & protein powder. A highly-advertised “good source of protein” that you should be careful with is nuts as they are a great source of fats, not protein. For example, 1 serving of almonds has 6 grams of protein, 6 grams of carbs, & 14… FOURTEEN grams of fat! A high-protein diet during your fat loss journey will help you maintain as much lean mass as possible and can even help build muscle. But, consuming too much protein can lead to harmful effects such as kidney dysfunction, constipation, dehydration & even weight gain.
How much protein should you consume? Good question. It depends where you’re currently at, where do you want to go, & what method (diet style) do you want to choose. Sorry it’s not a simple question/answer. To make this simple, say you are 200 lbs with 25% body fat. You can go as low as 0.5-1.5 g/lb of lean body mass/day. Lean body mass is your total weight minus your weight in fat. For example: 200 - (200 x 0.25) = 150 lbs. So if you weigh 200 lbs & have 150 lbs of lean body mass, 0.5 x 150 = 75 grams of protein.
My go-to sources of protein are skinless chicken breast, lean ground turkey/beef, sometimes fish (wild caught salmon), a meal replacement shake & post workout shake from 1st Phorm.
Carbohydrate: 1 gram = 4 calories
Think performance & recovery
If you want to enjoy working out & want to recover at a normal rate, you need to consume carbs. Carbs are compounds containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen and are generally classified as sugars (simple), starches (complex), and fiber.
Who cares about simple, complex carbs & fiber, right? Your stomach & body does, duh! What you need to know about the difference between these two is how they’re digested & absorbed. Simple sugars (glucose, fructose, galactose) are best for quick energy because of how fast they are absorbed by the body. Be careful with ingesting a lot of simple carbs because they have little nutritional value (no fiber) so people who are trying to lose weight, should limit their simple carb intake. Complex carbs (polysaccharides) are best for energy that lasts and because they are longer in chain than simple sugars, they take a longer time for the body to breakdown. They come in the form of rice, bread, potatoes, cake, candy, & countless other enjoyable/less enjoyable sources.
Fiber is an indigestible carbohydrate. There’s two types: soluble and insoluble.
Soluble fiber is dissolved by water and forms a gel-like substance in the digestive tract. Soluble fiber has many benefits, including moderating blood glucose levels and lowering cholesterol.
Insoluble fiber does not absorb or dissolve in water. It passes through the digestive tract close to its original form. Insoluble fiber offers many benefits to intestinal health, including a reduction in the risk and occurrence of colorectal cancer, hemorrhoids, and constipation
The more refined a carb is, the less nutritious & filling it will be. That’s not to say that there are good & bad carbs, that’s just to say that depending on where you are in your body goal journey, certain carbs at certain times of the day will help you or hurt your progress.
How much carbs should you consume? You technically don’t need any or that much (keto) but then again, I don’t promote or suggest cutting anything out of your diet because the internet said so. I do carb-cycling meaning on the days where I train, I consume “a lot” of carbs, & the days I don’t workout, I consume about half that amount. In the interest of simplicity & consistency, aim for 0.5-2 g/lb of lean body mass.
My go-to sources of carbs include cinnamon raisin bagels, sour patch kids, oatmeal, whole wheat bread, brown rice, bananas, blueberries, cinnamon toast crunch, strawberry cheesecake flavored yogurt, & Halo Top.
Fat (Lipids): 1 gram = 9 calories
Think hormone production & regulation, vitamin absorption, energy, brain function & maintaining body core temperature
Fats are a key component to your diet as they are the basic building blocks of your cell membranes. Every cell in your body is surrounded by a fatty membrane that allows the balance of hormones to enter. Cholesterol, aka fat, is responsible for the production of testosterone & estrogen (hormones) so avoiding fats altogether, will result in hormonal imbalances that will affect metabolism, fertility & life expectancy.
Some types of vitamins rely on fat for absorption & storage such as Vitamin A, D, E & K. These fat-soluble vitamins cannot function without adequate daily fat intake. Fat is also your back up source of energy when carbs are depleted, keep this in mind especially when you’re working out. Your brain is made up of nearly 60% fat so at times if you’ve experienced “brain fog”, you’re not getting enough high-quality fats. Where can you get high-quality fats from? Nuts, seeds, avocados, coconut/olive oil & fatty meats.
How much fats should you consume? Aim for 0.25-1 g/lb of lean body mass.
My go-to sources of fat are eggs, beef bacon, vegan cheese, almond butter, coconut/olive oil & fish oil supplements.
Foods with Nutrition Labels vs Foods Without
Every nutrition label will give you:
Serving size
Servings per container
Calories
Total Fat
Cholesterol
Sodium
Total Carbohydrate
Protein
Micronutrient %s
For the purpose of macros, we’re only going to focus on protein, carbs & fats.
1 gram of protein & carb = 4 calories each.
1 gram of fat = 9 calories.
These three macronutrients make up calories. From the example to our right, we find that:
Protein: 14 x 4 = 56 calories
Carbohydrate: 77 x 4 = 308 calories
Fat: 2.5 x 9 = 22.5 calories
So… 56 + 308 + 22.5 = 386.5 calories.
I thought about finding a different label but I’m not going to because there’s two valuable lessons to learn here:
Just because a nutrition label says how many calories there are, mistakes happen in counting.
Due diligence will be rewarded.
The more you practice this, the less time it will take & the less confused/anxious you will be. Also, note that micronutrients (vitamins & minerals) do not contain calories so we don’t have to do any calculations there.
Now, for the foods that do not contain nutrition facts, I use:
last & certainly least, myfitnesspal.com
I think it’s also important to mention that most fast-food chain restaurants have on their website a nutritional database. The more fancy or less popular a restaurant is, the less likely you’ll be able to know exactly how many macros you’re consuming. These are three places I often go to:
Here’s an honorary member to the nutrition calculator (just found this while searching for these restaurants)
How to Track Macros: Measuring and Weighing
The easiest way for you to understand portion size in my opinion is to cook your food using a food scale, measuring cups & spoons. You can order one online from amazon or go to target & pick one up (or order online as well). I measure foods/liquids in grams or ounces keeping it simple, stupid (KISS). The main objection I get from people is that it is tedious & annoying to do. Okay... I don’t disagree with them but… BUT BUT BUT(T), if it took you less than a month to acquire a skill that will benefit you for the REST of your life, would you say no? You don’t need to spell the alphabet out anymore to form sentences; once you get accustomed to your job, you don’t need a to do list to remind you of the basics.
Macros vs Calories
Think about it like this. You wouldn’t work your job without know how much you’re earning an hour, so why eat foods if you don’t know their caloric DNA. You can lose weight just counting calories, but for the purpose of body composition, you’re going to have to increase your intake of protein & reduce your intake of carbohydrates & fats. If we don’t track our calories, it’s very easy to go over in carbs & fats & barely hit your protein goal because we like taste over discipline & (veggies lol).
But I promise you, learning how to track your macros will take the confusion out of life & give you more time to focus on important things like buying slimmer clothes because your old ones don’t fit or responding to tinder/bumble messages because appearance matters no matter how many times people say “it’s what’s on the inside that counts” (btw that’s still important, but it’s much more rewarding to look & feel like a Porsche)
In Conclusion
Tracking macros is not a forever thing. It's something you do for a while until it becomes second nature & you no longer have to think about it. This can be overwhelming if you're new to this so if that's the case, please send me an email at abel@aymhigher.com or drop a question in the comment section, I'll be more than happy to help you out. I am also accepting online coaching clients if you're in need of help with nutrition, don't know where to begin in the gym or you hit the wall & plateaued. You will receive 24/7 access to me & customized training programs.