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If you lift hard with me,
Then I’ll lift hard with you,
We’ll drink protein shakes and ride home in my automobile…
– Eazy-E (probably)
If you wish, you can grab the N.W.A. Newsletter Playlist on Spotify here, all of the songs that have been featured in the newsletter are on the playlist.
Happy Friday, Coach J here from Anyman Fitness – and welcome to the latest edition of The N.W.A. Newsletter.
Each Friday’s N.W.A. Newsletter will have 3 parts:
- A Nutritional Tip to help make your diet healthier and easier to stick to.
- A Workout Tip to help make your training sessions more effective and fun.
- An Attitude/Mindset tip to help you strengthen your greatest asset – your mental toughness.
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I will also give you my single favorite piece of social media content from AF over the past week and link to it on either Instagram or Twitter.
Without any further ado… let’s get started, shall we?
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Everything You Need To Know About Why We Track Our Macros
It’s not a secret I’m a fan of tracking nutrition.
Tracking my macronutrients was the #1 thing that changed the way I viewed nutrition, and it was the catalyst for me losing 90 pounds and keeping it ALL off over the last decade.
The first thing our clients receive when they join our team is a set of recommended macronutrients for their specific, unique metabolism and goals.
Our recommendations are top notch – they aren’t created by an “algorithm” or an equation.
I’ve found most online “macro calculators” are pure crap.
They drastically overestimate how much food people need.
For example, my maintenance is around 3,000 calories per day.
Most online calculators tell me my maintenance is around 3,800 calories per day.
If I ate 3,800 calories per day, I would gain body fat QUICKLY! (I’ve tried it before…)
After working with tens of thousands of men and women on fat loss, I had an enormous amount of empirical data on my hands.
I used this data to hand craft our recommendations, and as such, they are the most accurate recommendations I’ve found on the internet, hands down.
BUT that doesn’t mean our clients never have questions about them.
Last week, I received an email from a client and he had an excellent question – he asked me:
Hey, Jason, I know we have our recommendations, but I’m wondering what’s the most important part of our recommendations?
Is it necessary to hit every single macro?If not, what macro is the most important to hit?If I come up short on a macro, but go over on another macro, is that okay?
I’d love it if in one of your newsletters, you covered this so I have a better understanding of what I should be trying to do.
Hell yeah! What an awesome question, and it’s one I’m happy to answer for you.
Buckle up… let’s dive into Macro Counting 101…
First things first… why do we track our macros?
This is an important question to answer, as it will give you perspective and a framework on why you’re doing what you’re doing.
At its crux, you track your macros to learn proper portion sizes, and understand portion control.
Our portion sizes have been bastardized over the years.
We dine out at restaurants and we’re given ENORMOUS servings of food.
Restaurants want you to think their food is both tasty, and a good value.
And they do this by giving you huge portions, and slathering the food in sugar and butter to give it better taste.
Digging a little bit deeper, you track your macros so you don’t end up under-eating while you’re on a diet.
You don’t need to starve yourself when dieting.
Many people get super restrictive on very low calorie diet plans when trying to lose fat.
This causes people to binge and end up “cracking” on their diet.
Tracking your macros allows you to stay fueled, reduce your hunger, and make dieting more sustainable over time.
But if I had to truly simplify it down, the best reason I can give to track your macros is simple…
You track your macros to ensure you #1 – eat enough protein, and #2 – keep your calories in the right range.
I cannot emphasize how important it is to eat enough protein while you’re dieting.
Wait… let me change that sentence…
I cannot emphasize how important it is to eat enough protein, PERIOD, whether you’re dieting or not…
Eating ample amounts of protein is the #1 thing you can do to reduce your body fat, maintain your muscle, and improve your nutritional well being.
Number ONE.
There is no #2, either…
Quick question – how many grams of protein are you eating each day?
If you cannot answer this question, you aren’t eating enough (unless you’re eating at least 1 pound, if not 2 pounds of meat every single day, which most people are not).
There are lots of reasons why protein is so important…
Protein is the most filling macronutrient (by FAR).
Eating protein reduces your hunger and practically eliminates blood sugar crashes.
It fills you up and gives you a steady stream of energy to go about your day.
Protein provides a (huge) metabolic advantage.
Every macronutrient has a “TEF” – a “thermal effect of food”.
This TEF is the % of the macronutrient your body uses in the digestive process.
Fat has a TEF of 2-3%.
Carbs has a TEF of 10%.
Protein has a TEF of a whopping 25%.
This means for every calorie of protein you consume, 25% of that calorie isn’t absorbed; it’s used in the digestive process.
This gives you an enormous advantage when dieting…
Protein is nearly impossible to turn into stored body fat.
It’s been studied time and time again – if you overeat protein, you do not gain body fat.
You may gain weight, but it will be in the form of muscle mass (which is a very good thing).
If there’s one macronutrient to “go over” on, it’s protein, it won’t hurt you, and it will probably help you.
There is only one “catch” with eating ample amounts of protein…
You need to be mindful of the overall calories you’re consuming at all times.
Many foods that have been deemed “high protein” are also high fat.
These foods include:
- Nuts, peanuts, and almonds
- Salmon and fatty fish
- Ribeye, steak, and ground beef/red meat
- Eggs (yes, eggs – they’re around 70% FAT, not protein)
- Chicken thighs
While there’s nothing “wrong” with these foods, if you eat them strictly, you’ll likely have trouble losing fat.
You need to mix some leaner protein sources into your diet, here are a few options…
- Whey protein isolate shakes
- Chicken breast
- Deli lunchmeat (chicken or turkey breast, ham, etc)
- White fish (cod or tilapia)
- Shrimp or scallops
- Beef jerky
- Low-fat, low-carb dairy/Greek yogurt
The above list is a great list for healthy snacks.
While in general, I advise against snacking, if you’re hungry and you have to snack, grab an item off of the last list I gave you.
The additional protein will reduce your hunger, and it’s an excellent choice if you’re truly hungry.
Now that you are armed with some helpful information, let’s circle back and answer my client’s question.
What is the most important part of tracking your macros?
The most important part of tracking your macros is making sure you’re eating the right number of calories.
This is the most important part of weight loss, and weight maintenance, period.
BUT nearly as important is making sure you get enough protein into your diet, for a multitude of reasons I gave you above.
If you’re a bit under on your fat macro, or your carb macro, no big deal.
If you’re a bit over on one of those macros, and you’re still in the proper calorie range, again, no big deal.
You don’t need to “force feed” yourself to hit your macros, either.
If you’re full and satisfied, “bank” your calories and save them for another day – that’s just fine as well.
As long as you get your protein in, and you stay at or under your calorie goal for the day, YOU ARE GOLDEN.
And if you do this consistently over time, your body will change in ways you never thought possible.
IF you need a kickstart and help getting your diet and training set up for you, Full Access: Anyman Fitness will shred fat faster than you’d ever believe.
The average client loses 15 pounds and 3″ off their waist in the first 6 weeks of working with us.
You can join our squad for just $20 for your first month here.
N.W.A. Mindset Tip Of The Week
Did you read the above section about tracking your nutrition, and think “there’s no way I would ever do that…”
Some people think tracking their nutrition is “obsessive”…
That which gets tracked, gets managed.
Why is it “responsible” to track your finances, but not your nutrition?
Why is it “responsible” to track your blood work and health markers, but not your nutrition?
Why is it “responsible” to track your speed limit when driving, but not your nutrition?
Why is it “responsible” to track your net worth, but not your nutrition?
For years, I avoided the hard work of nutrition tracking.
And my results were not good.
As soon as I just got over it, and spent 5 minutes per day writing down what I was eating, and prepping my meals for the next day, my results took off like a rocket ship.
Stop avoiding the hard work.
It’s HARD WORK to get lean and stay lean.
Embrace the work, start tracking your nutrition religiously, and I promise you, everything will change for you.
It’s guaranteed.
One Favorite Social Media Post Of The Week:
One of the best parts about being fit is my wardrobe consists of mainly plain, fitted t-shirts all summer long.
I get them for $10 off Amazon and they look great on me.
Being fit saves money, time, and mental space.
I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Anyman Fitness N.W.A. Newsletter.
I’ll be back next week.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Best,
Coach J
Anyman Fitness
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