The Berman Method
The Berman Method
Episode #173: Macros vs Calorie Counting
Ever found yourself wondering if your child's stubbornness might just be a budding leadership trait? We certainly have, and in this episode, we share lighthearted stories from our own parenting journey with Walker and Vera. Join Dr. Jake Berman and me, Jenny Berman, as we laugh at the challenges of little ones' sleep patterns and discover how a shift in perspective can turn these difficulties into growth opportunities. With a touch of humor, we even recount a tale about a small-town stop sign that sparked a playful debate about rules and individual viewpoints.
Shifting from parenting to personal health, we tackle the big question: how many calories should you really be eating, especially after bringing a new life into the world? Forget the old "calories in versus calories out" mantra. I share my personal journey from counting calories to understanding the magic of macronutrients—proteins, carbs, and fats. We promise you’ll gain the confidence to tailor your fitness and nutrition strategies to your unique lifestyle and goals, without feeling drowned in complexity.
And if you’ve ever indulged in a cheat meal thinking it’s just a few extra minutes on the treadmill away from guilt-free bliss, think again. We bust this common myth and guide you towards a healthier mindset regarding nutrition and exercise. As we wrap up, we express our gratitude to our loyal subscribers and warmly welcome new listeners. Don't forget to explore the valuable resources on our website, including free reports that will keep you informed and inspired on your wellness journey.
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This is the Berman Method podcast, featuring Dr Jake Berman and physician assistant Jenny Berman. We are here to treat problems and not symptoms. Disclaimer this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and not to treat anyone or to give medical advice. If you are interested in any information that we are giving and would like to use this for yourself, we recommend that you contact your primary care physician or reach out to us and ask us questions about yourself specifically. Enjoy.
Speaker 2:And we are rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling on the Berman Method podcast. How was that octave? Was it a good one?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it's consistent with every week.
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness, it was like the voice of an angel.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I guess. Good morning everybody.
Speaker 2:The Berman Method Podcast focused on treating problems and not symptoms. Dr Jake Berman, here, my lovely co-hostesses.
Speaker 1:Jenny Berman, physician assistant, and Walker Ryan Berman sitting with us this morning.
Speaker 2:He's going to cooperate. I just know he's going to cooperate.
Speaker 1:We'll see. He's being a little antsy right at the moment. He'll be six weeks.
Speaker 2:Yep.
Speaker 1:At the time that we're recording this, he'll be six weeks tomorrow.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So awesome.
Speaker 2:And he's doing his job, perfectly, sleeping most of the day and not most of the night.
Speaker 1:I would not complain about his sleeping for the most part. There are nights that we don't sleep, but there are more good nights than bad.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And by good I mean he still wakes up two times. But I think some people have it worse. I think Vera was worse.
Speaker 2:Vera was brutal.
Speaker 1:Vera didn't sleep till like 10 months in, and even just last week she would come down the stairs at 12, midnight, 3 am. We're like what is happening.
Speaker 2:We put her in a stray jacket and locked the door, put her back in the crib put a lid on the crib oh wait, it's a dog cage.
Speaker 1:So, anyway, he's not sleeping bad in perspective and you know I've been thinking about this a lot lately and posting it on my social media a lot lately that it's all about your own perspective. Whatever is happening is about your own perspective, how you're seeing it.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:So, with Walker waking up two times a night, when we put him in bed at nine and we're up at four, 20, and he's still getting up two times in between that time most commonly sometimes one, and then wakes up at 4.20, and he's still getting up two times in between that time most commonly sometimes one, and then wakes up right 10 minutes before our alarm's going to go off, it could seem bad or it could seem like that's not so bad. It's all about how you perceive it.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:And with Stella trying us right now and being very Defiant, having amazing leadership skills aka being bossy, talking back, rolling her eyes of I'm almost five and I'm learning a lot from friends at school and when I ask her where did she learn some of these things? She'll tell me straight up who taught her at school these things. But you know we can. I try to think before I get overstimulated and angry and upset. How is this going to help her in life? Her bossiness is giving her leadership skills, her challenging us on when we say no not to do something, and she's challenging us. She's curious and figuring things out for herself.
Speaker 2:It's frustrating for us. The rest of the law abiding citizens now have to suffer because one idiot did something so egregious that the government says you know what? We can't risk this happening again. So we're going to make this a law and the 99.999% of law abiding citizens now have to revolve around this dumb rule. So I think she gets that from me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I 100% agree with you that her majority of her stubbornness comes from you. I'm very strong-willed and I always have been. I mean, vera also is giving us a run for our money and is very strong-willed, so it takes largely after me, but I'm not. I don't go against rules. I'm not a rule breaker, you're a rule follower. I'm a rule follower, but I'm strong willed. You're stubborn.
Speaker 1:And I think there's a difference and when you were just saying that about the rule following, it reminds me of every summer we go to this little tiny podunk town called Weelaka and it's on the St John's River and you guys have probably heard us talk about it before if you've been following our podcast, but that's where we spend a week at 4th of July at a condo with our my family and do water skiing and it's like this thing that we've done. We just had our 25th year anniversary doing it, so we've done it every single summer for 25 years with my family. But anyways, the point of the story is it's a one stop light town and on the street to go to our condo there is a little midget stop sign. It's only about four feet tall stop sign on the road A three-way stop sign.
Speaker 2:So the main road is going straight and then there's a side street and they put up a stop sign for the straight road. We're like this is a normal straight road with this little T and they should have the stop sign.
Speaker 1:The T should have a stop sign. Yeah, the side street that's turning should have the stop sign.
Speaker 2:Yes and a few years ago out of nowhere. There was never a stop sign. Here. This is brand new.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Out of nowhere, somebody decided that they were going to bury a stop sign there. Not even regulation. You can tell that Billy Bob did this and he buries this thing down. It's four feet off the ground and I'm going this is dumb, this stop sign should not be here. So I never stop at it. I don't even come close to stopping at it. No, he treats it as an optional stop sign.
Speaker 1:I don't even come close to stopping at it. No, he treats it as an optional stop sign.
Speaker 2:I'm like I don't even slow down for this stop sign because it's so dumb. Anybody in the right mind assesses this situation and goes why would this be a three-way stop? This should definitely only be a one-way stop. We're in the middle of nowhere and the speed limits, by the way, the speed limits are 20 miles an hour.
Speaker 1:I think it's actually 15, but yes, it's like you should not put a stop sign here.
Speaker 2:It drives me absolutely nuts and I vent, audibly, vent every single time I see it. We're going on almost 10 years of me venting on this thing. They finally, just this past year, raised it to normal height.
Speaker 1:Now it's a normal height stop sign, so now you might have to actually comply.
Speaker 2:I am not complying, but you still didn't comply, he's still breaking the rules? Absolutely not.
Speaker 1:That just reminds me of that perfect example of this. Stop sign in Jake's mind is optional, it is.
Speaker 2:Wait a minute, we're seven minutes in this thing.
Speaker 1:I know we need to really talk about something real.
Speaker 2:So, david against Goliath, we're going against Goliath being the corporate medical system. We don't believe that big pharma, the insurance companies, have your best interests in mind. They will choose profits over patient outcomes every single time. Western medicine is 100% focused on treating symptoms and not the actual problem. This is very explicitly evident in 100% of the medical schools in this country. 80% of the curriculum revolves around pharmacology. There's not a single pharmaceutical in the world that doesn't focus on treating symptoms versus actual problem causing the symptom. So it just goes on and on and on. And here we are in the new year and you have been getting a ton of questions on your socials about Macronutrients and calories.
Speaker 1:And then a couple more specific questions, specifically about macros, with exercising and what kind of macros we should be focused on with our exercising or even before we go exercise if we're a morning exerciser, what our exercising, or even before we go exercise If we're a morning exerciser, what should we be eating before we go? So let me break it down a little bit and just say explain what macros are. I mean, we've talked about it many times on this podcast, but if you're new, macronutrients are the makeup, the proteins, carbohydrates and fats in your diet. So you have the three main macronutrients proteins, carbohydrates and fats in your diet. So you have the three main macronutrients proteins, carbs and fats and then we have micronutrients, which is where you're going to get your fiber and your sugars and your certain vitamins and amino acids and things like that. But focusing more on proteins, carbs and fats.
Speaker 1:And actually the question that I've been getting very consistently the last couple of weeks I got it from several different people the last couple of weeks with the start of the new year is how many calories do I eat, able to get back into my exercise and getting back into some of my normal clothing?
Speaker 1:Postpartum is well. How many calories are you eating to be able to do that? Counted calories in years. I think the last time I counted my calories was maybe four years ago, after having Stella, when I was not keeping up appropriately with the amount of milk I was pumping for her and my exercise, and I lost a significant amount of weight postpartum, and so I actually did have to count calories and say how many am I expending and how many am I consuming. But since then I've really only been focused on my macronutrients the amount of proteins, carbs and fats for the expenditure, for the activity level, for the stress response, for the amount of muscle mass and fat mass that I have. And that's how it should be for everyone and that's how we treat it with our clients as well.
Speaker 2:So the big difference is the old school thought process of gaining weight or losing weight was as simple as calories calories in versus calories out. If you consume more calories per day than you burn, you're going to gain weight. If you consume less calories per day and you burn more, then you're going to lose weight. That's the old school thought process, and now we've got this new school thought process that is way more efficient, way more simpler, where you don't necessarily have to count calories, because not all calories are created equal.
Speaker 1:That is 100% true. Not all calories are equal, meaning you can consume 1500 calories in one meal at McDonald's.
Speaker 2:I just did for breakfast yesterday, right With my Chickie Chonga from.
Speaker 1:First Watch. Chickie Chonga from First Watch with the right With my chicky chonga from first watch. Chicky chonga from first watch with the potatoes.
Speaker 2:Finished off my grits? Yeah, you probably did, so that was easily 1,500 calories.
Speaker 1:So 1,500 calories in one meal out like first watch, even though that's a relatively healthy restaurant. People like to think of it as or tropical smoothie. You can easily get 1,500 calories in one meal from tropical smoothie McDonald's. Those 1500 calories are not equal to consuming a lean, adequate protein and vegetable every two to three hours and getting 1500 calories at the end of your day that way. So, for one, calories are not made equal with the amount of proteins, carbs and fats that are in the calories. But secondly, you're right that you have to burn more than you consume to lose weight. However, depending what your fitness goals are, you may not want to be in a calorie deficit. If we're trying to gain lean muscle mass and lean out meaning burn fat, gain muscle we don't particularly want to be in a calorie deficit. So that's where understanding macronutrients proteins, carbs and fats for your body is significantly important. The amount of protein your body needs depends on your insulin level, meaning the hormone released from your pancreas to help stabilize your blood sugar level and respond to blood sugar levels, depending on your hemoglobin A1c, which is that average of your blood sugar over 90 days.
Speaker 1:Your activity level, the amount of exercise you're doing, the type of exercise you're doing. Are you a cardiovascular exerciser meaning running, rowing, biking, swimming or are you a weightlifter? Are you a combination of both? How much muscle mass do you have compared to fat mass? The amount of protein and carbs you need depends on how much fat mass you have and what your goal fat mass is how much muscle mass you have, what your goal muscle mass is. What does your magnesium red blood cell magnesium level look like, which, by the way, is a blood test that majority of doctors don't even look at? What is your vitamin D level look like, because that affects our blood sugar stability? So there's so many things that go into what your macronutrients should be and where your fitness goals are, but we should not be counting calories anymore.
Speaker 2:So what I'm hearing you say is, if I'm the listener and I just heard that two minute spiel of what you just got done, saying I'm overwhelmed because I don't know what any of that stuff is, and I'm going, what the hell is the point? If it's that complicated? What's the point? I'm not even going to exercise at all and it's not. You shouldn't think of it that way. You should think of it as two different levels of quality, of intensity or whatever your two different goals are. So there's the basic level. You could go to a car dealership and get a brand new car. You go get a brand new Hyundai, a brand new Camry and it'll be a very nice car and it'll get you from point A to point B. However, it will be in slight comparison to if you go to a Maserati dealership or a Bentley dealership or some high end dealerships. I know I always talk about cars. I don't know anything about cars, but I do know that there is a giant price gap between buying a Hyundai or Camry and a Maserati. There has to be there's got to be like a $100,000 price gap, and it's not necessarily just the name brand, it's the performance that you'll get from the vehicle in return. So, yes, the Camry turns on, it has AC, power windows, gets you from point A to point B. However, the performance of it will be vastly different from a Maybach, right?
Speaker 2:So one of our clients, longtime clients and good friends I just went and visited his farm out in Missouri. He's got a Maybach and every time he's in town I go for a ride in it and I'm going. This thing is absolutely amazing. Over the top, all the bells and whistles, the back seats recline. I mean it's just amazing. But it's for that person that wants that much more.
Speaker 2:So when you're getting these generic questions on Instagram or all the socials saying what am I supposed to be eating, you can't answer that question because you're a Maybach dealer, you're not a Hyundai dealer. If you're a Hyundai dealer, it's easy. It's calories in, calories out. Drink a protein shake before you go work out and you should be okay. But if you're going to the Maybach dealership and you're looking at a quarter million dollar car, well, okay. Well, what are you looking for? What is it exactly that you're trying to achieve here? We need to look at your blood level or your supplements, your blood levels, weight, body fat mass, all of these things to make the right decision. Am I hearing you correctly?
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, you are. And so let me summarize simply to say, depending, like Jake said, what you want to accomplish, you may consider coming to a functional medicine clinic hopefully ours having an evaluation of a medical consultation, having your blood work done, having an understanding of what your goals are, where you want to be, what you want to do, and let's get specific in figuring out what's best for your body and your metabolism. What's best for your body and your metabolism If you just want something to get started, something to start thinking about, start tracking on your own focus on getting a lean, adequate protein. So this is going to be doesn't have to be meat-based protein, but a protein source every two to three hours, starting within an hour of waking up in the morning. So if you're waking up at 5am, by 6am you're getting a protein source. Hopefully, that's around 20 to 30 grams of protein for somebody starting out, something basic 20 to 30 grams of protein. That could be through something like eggs and chicken or turkey sausage, it could be a protein shake, it could be cottage cheese, it could be Greek yogurt, it can be turkey sausage with a sweet potato, just something to get in lean protein. And again, there's certainly vegan options or vegetarian options if you're not a meat person, especially in the morning time, and then every two to three hours after that, you're getting a lean source of protein.
Speaker 1:Focus on your snacks mid-morning, mid-afternoon being 10, 15, 20 grams of protein. Focus on your meals breakfast, lunch and dinner being in that 20 to 30 gram protein range. Then, for your next macro, you're focusing on a cooked vegetable. Cooked vegetable with two meals a day. That could be with lunch and dinner. That could be with breakfast and dinner. It could be with breakfast and lunch.
Speaker 1:However, you can consume two cooked vegetables a day. There's your carbohydrate and fiber intake that you need to be getting. And then healthy fats, so olive oil with cooking your vegetables, getting in some walnuts, some Brazil nuts, some pecans with your snacks, maybe getting in some avocado a quarter to a half of an avocado with your breakfast or with your lunch. There's your healthy fat sources. So, generally speaking, we're getting about two grams per kilogram. So, depending on what your weight is, divide it by 2.2 to figure out how many kilograms you weigh, and focus on getting two grams of protein per kilogram of your weight and have that be your starting point. It may be too much for you, maybe too little for you, but that's where that Maybach dealership determines that. But at least it's a starting point that Maybach dealership determines that, but at least it's a starting point.
Speaker 2:Love it, love it, love it, love it. So again, if you're feeling overwhelmed from this, you shouldn't be feeling overwhelmed. That's why we are the experts in this, we're the guides. Come here. We've already figured this out for countless people. Jenny's already figured it out for countless people nationwide. So much of your business, jenny, is nationwide, with customers, clients that you've never even met face to face. So this is all virtual, but it really does come down to how specific do you want to get? How much smarter not harder do you want to work?
Speaker 2:Working out is not easy. It's not fun. I do not enjoy when the alarm goes off. The first five minutes of my day are an absolute battle every single day, especially now that we've got a newborn in the house again and we're not getting straight sleep through the night. We're getting interrupted, broken sleep the first five minutes of my day are an absolute battle. Sleep the first five minutes of my day are an absolute battle.
Speaker 2:So if I'm going to the gym and I don't really know what I'm going to the gym for, if I don't really know with 100% certainty that what I'm consuming, food-wise, is going to help me get the results that I'm looking for. It would be so easy to not get out of bed at 4.20 in the morning. It would be so easy to hit that snooze button and just say, screw it, I'll work out tomorrow or I'll skip it, I'll make it up some other day. And you never do make it up. But when you know what the plan is, if you know what the map is and you get weekly accountability and check-ins to see the numbers changing, it makes it so much easier to get your ass up out of bed and go to the gym, makes it so much easier to do the hard work. Because you see the results, you know that you're on the right path, versus guessing that you're on the right path.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you know you always hear 80% of your physique, your fitness level, your weight, your goal, whatever 80% comes from the kitchen, and I kind of argue a little bit more than that.
Speaker 1:I think 90% really comes from our food intake, our water intake, the amount of inflammatory foods we're getting, so meaning that the types of foods, your gut health 90% is going to come from what you have control over putting in your mouth, whereas the other 10% then comes from the exercise and the sleep component. So the exercise is important, but really, ultimately, you could kill yourself in the gym, but you can't outrun your fork, you can't outrun your gut health, so you have to identify your macros, your gut health, to be able to see the results. The other big question I've been getting on social media is what do you eat before you work out, and so I think that's something we should talk about on the next episode. Is you know if you're a morning workout person or an afternoon workout person? What are you consuming before you work out and what are you consuming after you work out to see real benefit?
Speaker 2:I love it. Let's try to remember to talk about that next time. However, you just brought up let's end with what you just said you can't outrun your fork. The saying that I say all the time is you'll never outwork a bad diet. Here's the brutal reality of it. One chocolate chip cookie on average is 100 calories. One beer on average is 100 to 140 calories.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:How many calories does the average person burn in a workout, a 45-minute workout?
Speaker 1:Less than 200.
Speaker 2:Less than 200. So if you have three cookies the night before you work out, you cannot work off those three cookies. If you have two beers per day, you're not out working those two beers per day.
Speaker 1:And, by the way, your Apple Watch telling you that you burned 450 calories in your workout. It's not accurate. That's a blatant lie, so sorry yeah blatant lie.
Speaker 2:That is marketing to a T. That is hitting dopamine receptors. It's the same exact psychologically and pathophysiology as social media. When you see that number 430 calories I burned 430 calories at the gym today. That stimulates the dopamine receptors, which makes you even more addicted to your Apple watch. So make sure that you know what's happening there. You did not do that. How intense would a workout have to be to burn 450 calories?
Speaker 1:Well, it would be several hours, I mean at least over an hour, it'd be at least 90 minutes to be able to burn 450 calories. But yeah, you would be at 80 plus percent perceived exertion For that long, For that long.
Speaker 2:Like it's just insane. You're not doing it. If you're doing it, you're not listening to this podcast. Right, you're training for the CrossFit Games. You're an elite athlete. Yeah, you're an elite athlete. Yeah, you're an elite athlete. You're training for the CrossFit Games to compete on the national level. That's who's burning those kind of calories? Not Bob, not Sally, not when we're doing a 45-minute workout and it's really probably 15 to 20 minutes of solid work during that 45 minutes Of, actually yeah, movement and exercise.
Speaker 2:Just because you're on the treadmill doesn't mean that you're working right.
Speaker 1:Right right, especially if you're on the treadmill doesn't mean that you're working right, right right, especially if you're holding on. But yeah, if you're, you know, doing long distance training, biking, marathon running, like those are the times yes, you will burn that amount of calories, but you're hitting that perceived exertion too, so all right. Well, next time we will talk more about fueling your body before and after your workout. Have a great week everybody. Fueling your body before and after your workout. Have a great week.
Speaker 2:everybody Like subscribe. Share this podcast. Yes, share this podcast with that person that you know is eating a cheat meal and then says they're going to go burn it off at the gym the next day. It ain't happening.
Speaker 1:Ciao for now. Thank you for subscribing on your social media and podcast platforms to the Berman Method Dr Jake Berman with Berman Physical Therapy and Jenny Berman, physician Assistant, with Berman Health and Wellness. You can find more information on our website wwwbermanptcom for physical therapy. Wwwbermanptcom forward slash wellness for the health and wellness. You can also find us on social media, facebook, instagram and on your podcast platform, so be sure to follow us, like us, subscribe to us and, if you would like any further information, definitely visit our website and reach out to us. You may also find our free reports on the websites as well, where you can download this free information for yourself. Have a great day.