The Unf*ck Your Fitness Podcast

206. Macros Decoded: Why Protein, Carbs & Fats Actually Matter | Macros Series

• Kristy Castillo

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If you’ve ever felt confused about what protein, carbs, and fats actually do in your body, you’re NOT alone. Diet culture has made it way too easy to fear carbs, avoid fats, and under-eat protein.


The truth though? You need all THREE if you want lasting results on your fitness journey! 


Once I really learned about macros and how to apply them in my everyday life, my body started changing in the ways I wanted it to. That’s exactly what I want for you, too, and why I’m “decoding” macros for you in today’s episode!


Protein, carbohydrates, and fat ALL have a place in your diet. When you combine all three macros on your plate, your body runs better, your cravings go down, and food finally starts working with you, instead of against you!


It’s time to stop obsessing, start learning, and give your body the fuel it needs to perform, recover, and THRIVE!!


Episode recap:

  • Why understanding macros = the ultimate food freedom
  • Why protein is the “builder” macro + why most women need more of it
  • Why carbs are your primary energy source + how they actually fuel your body
  • Why fats are the regulator macro + why they’re ESSENTIAL
  • How to build balanced plates with all 3 macros
  • Simple action steps you can start TODAY


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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Un-Fuck-Your-Fitness Podcast. I am your host, Christy Castillo, and I'm here to give you real talk and cut the BS so you can actually enjoy building a body you love. I'm a personal trainer obsessed with giving you simple action steps to take you from feeling stuck to feeling sexy. Let's go.

Speaker 2:

Hey guys, what's up? Welcome to today's episode. I am having some technical difficulties which I'm hoping we can work around today, and also I am recording from home today. Maybe that's why I'm having technical difficulties, I don't know. But I don't know if I've talked about this on the podcast before. I feel like I have.

Speaker 2:

A couple months ago about three months ago maybe I started renting some office space so that I could not work from home solely solely work from home anymore and I could have a place to record so I wouldn't have to make sure my family was gone and just to kind of switch up my mentality. And it's been amazing. I love the office space. It's been truly, truly great, better than I even thought. But my son is a junior in high school this year and he started school this week, which means that I actually have the house to myself today for my daughter's at work. So all the schedules just are kind of working out. Where I have the house to myself today for the first time for more than like a 30 minutes to an hour is what I like, tops what. I get the house to myself lately and I'm just so excited and I couldn't bring myself to leave as soon as my daughter left for work, I was like I don't want to head into the office right now. I want to be home. My house is so quiet and chill, it's my happy place and yeah. So I'm just like I'm going to record from home and then I need to run in later and do some errands and stuff, but not that any of this matters. I'm just telling you about my day because we're friends and that's what friends do.

Speaker 2:

So, anyway, technical difficulties and recording at home aside, I am really excited to talk about this topic. I'm super excited about the macro series. We're discussing what the fuck are macros, unfucking your macros and I'm super pumped. I have had a really good time, I guess, drumming up, not the topic, because the topic is obviously macros. It's a macro series. We're diving into macros. What the fuck are they? Why are they important? Why is it not a diet? What do they do for our body? All the things. And so I'm definitely going to talk about in this particular episode. Actually, I'm going to be talking about protein, fats, carbs, what they do for our bodies, what they do for our workouts, like really diving into each macro, and I'm excited about that because I know that my goal for this entire macro series is to not just make it like any other macro series you can find on the internet, because there's a ton. But I want to make it different. I want to make it applicable. I want to make it super simple to understand and apply to your life, because I firmly believe that macros like I talked about in last week's episode macros are something I'm super passionate about.

Speaker 2:

Once I understood macros, it allowed me to and this is the goal for these. The series is for you, but what it did for me was it allowed me to have the education of macros. It allowed me to have the knowledge of what they are and how they apply to my body. So once I had education and that knowledge, I had more confidence in what this is. So I'm not scared of foods anymore. I know what they do for my bodies. I know how it affects my workouts. Once I had that confidence in that knowledge, I then was able to take better action, more action, more consistent action. Therefore, I got better results and my body looked completely different. For the first time in all of the years that I had spent working out, my body actually started to change and, in addition to that I no longer feared food and it was just such a great experience. And that process is exactly what I want for you. I want to give you knowledge and education so that you feel confident, so that you can take action, so that you can get results. That is the whole freaking point. What is the point if it's not that right? So last week's episode we talked about I talked about, we talked about what macros are, why they're not a diet, what they do for your body, all that kind of thing to kind of set the scene. And this week we are going to talk about macros decoded, so what protein, carbs and fats actually do and why you need all three. I'm excited about this because I had a podcast a little while back talking about why you don't just need protein.

Speaker 2:

Protein is a very hot topic. It's all the rage, right. You need protein, protein shakes, protein bars, protein freaking, everything, proteins and everything cottage cheese, everything, greek yogurt, everything, put an egg in everything, proteins everywhere. And that's important because very rarely will a client of mine, or myself included, hit a protein goal or over consume protein rarely. You will definitely not do it without awareness, without tracking and without planning, and you really have to be conscious of it. I can eat Oreos all day and fill my carbs all day, but protein I don't really just want to snack on a chicken breast, I would rather snack on an Oreo. So protein is something that is very commonly talked about and I love that.

Speaker 2:

But I do feel like it leaves out the conversation for carbs and fats. And you know, people are very. I never get pushback of okay, here I set your protein at 140 grams of protein. People very rarely say, oh, I feel like that's too much. I'm, you know that's going to make me fat, I'm over consuming protein. But if I set carbs at 160, or I set fats at 60, people are like oh my God, that's a lot of carbs. I've never eaten that many carbs before, even though 140 grams of protein and 140 grams of carbs are the same calories. But we fear carbs. Why? So? I want to talk about that and really dive into it. Because once I realized that's the thing is, when you realize the grams and you realize the calories and you realize what it does for your body and you actually need these things, that's when you start to say, okay, maybe I don't need to cut out carbs, maybe I do need carbs, you know, and your mindset can shift, and so keep that in mind as I'm talking.

Speaker 2:

I am going to get into the basics. I am going to just give lists. You know, this is protein. This is what it does for your body. I am going to break up each macro in terms of let's see, I have a ton of notes with me, which usually I don't have. Usually I'm just speaking from the heart, but I want to make sure that I touch on all of this. So we are going to talk about each macro, we're going to talk about what it does, we're going to talk about real life benefits and we're going to talk about workout benefits, and then we're going to dive a little bit further into what each macro does inside of your body and then a little quick guide. So I do want to touch on each macro and give you this information, because I don't just want to jump on here, which I have been doing for years now in this podcast, and I love that I've been doing that.

Speaker 2:

I'm not saying that this is wrong. I don't just want to get on here and say protein is really important and it's the building block of your body, and amino acids and all the things. Yes, that is so true, but I want to break it down in a way that you can understand and in just enough scientific fact that it makes sense to you. If you want to dive into the scientific part of it, go ahead. I'm not doing that. That's not what this podcast is about.

Speaker 2:

Because, for me, yeah, I know that stuff and I learned that stuff when I was taking my classes and I listen to podcasts and educate myself. But, honestly, listen to podcasts and educate myself, but, honestly, it's good to have that information, but knowing the scientific reason of why a protein is a building block for my hair doesn't get me out of bed to work out in the morning, and that's more what I'm concerned about. I need the knowledge of, yeah, what is a protein, how does it relate to my hair and my skin and my body, and what is a carb? And how does it relate to my hair and my skin and my body and my energy. I need to know those things. But at the end of the day, I need that practical part, I need the other part, and that's what this podcast is based on.

Speaker 2:

So, without further ado, almost 10 minutes in, let me start decoding these macros for you. So keep in mind, if you are just tuning into this podcast and you haven't listened to last week's or the previous like 204 episodes please do. But start with last week's because it will really set the foundation for this week. Or go ahead and listen to this one, maybe then go back and listen to last week's, but these episodes are going to build on top of each other. So please pause, if you would like, and go back and listen to last week's episode and then come back and listen to this one. I think it'll make more sense. And again, I'm doing it in an order that is going to set you up for success, because who gives a shit about protein, carbs and fats if you haven't listened to last week's to know that this can lead to food freedom. It can lead to less food noise. It can lead to better body composition. It can lead to food freedom. It can lead to less food noise. It can lead to better body composition. It can lead to less body dysmorphia, as you understand these things. So last week's episode is really important to set you up on why you should even care about any of this. So, all right, let's dive in.

Speaker 2:

The goal of this episode is to break down each macro in a practical way so that you understand their purpose. You stop fearing food groups, especially carbs and fats, like I said, and you feel empowered to eat different foods, and eat foods that you thought were off limits. I talked about Oreos. If you're new here, I am obsessed with Oreos. I actually ate almost a whole row with my daughter the other night while we were playing Farkle, and she was like put these away, we've just eaten an entire row in like five seconds.

Speaker 2:

But there were years where my husband and I would stack up Oreos and like who has the biggest stack? And we would just, you know, eat them, dip them in milk, of course, while watching TV. And then, once we decided we're going to be healthy and fit, we're going to cut out, you know, all these food groups and carbs and fats, fats. Basically, before we knew what we were doing, we said goodbye to oreos. They were bad, pizza was bad, chips were bad, everything was bad, and we had a list of foods that were quote-unquote good, and so I've been there and but now these are foods that I thought were off limits and I can very simply put into my day without feeling guilty, without waking up feeling like shit all the time, because I understand what they are and what they do for my body and that I can say no and I can say yes, I can do whatever I want, that I am in control. So, instead of being confused around food, I want you to understand food. So that is the goal of this episode.

Speaker 2:

So, like I said last week, the reason that you're still not seeing progress in your body, a lot of people are working out, going to the gym two hours in the gym five to seven days a week and either not seeing progress on the scale or not seeing progress in their body, just feeling stuck, maybe doing really great Monday through Friday, not so great on the weekends, kind of falling apart with it. It's the nutrition piece. You can work out until you are blue in the face, but if you don't have one, a workout plan, that is good for you, but then, most importantly, if your nutrition isn't in line with your body and your goals, you will still feel lost. Because you have to fuel your body period. You have to fuel your body for energy and then, on top of that energy, it needs a little bit more. It needs a little bit of a specific breakdown, if you will, of macros to be able to have the body that you want. So today we're going to dive into all three of the macros proteins, carbs and fats and I'm going to show you what they actually do in your body which is pretty cool and why you need all of them, and how to make peace with food while still making progress. Because if you always fear food and you're always nervous around food, you will not have the body you want. Trust me, bodybuilders aside because, well, they don't even fear food. They just have to stick to a certain schedule.

Speaker 2:

Anyone you see pretty much, with a strong, healthy body. I've had a skinny, fit-ish, looking not really fit, but fit-looking body where people thought, oh my God, you look great, you look great. This is kind of when I did hair and did beach body workouts. I was skinny, I was small, I was restricting, I was not in a good place with food, but if you see someone who is strong, fit, at a healthy weight, healthy they are eating foods that you think are off limits. And this is how and I want to explain this to you you will never have the body you want if you don't understand how to eat proteins, carbs and fats. Trust me, this is such an important piece and if you don't understand, proteins, carbs and fats are macronutrients the breakdown of calories. I talked about that in last week's episode.

Speaker 2:

So let's dive into protein. Protein we're going to call the builder, because I think of it as really building my body. I can't build muscle, I can't be strong, I can't literally build muscle without protein. So this is the macro that most women definitely are. That's who I usually talk to. But men are definitely under eating protein as well. But I feel like men just have a different mindset around food. At least my husband, my experience with working with men, even in just seeing men in general out and about, they consume a little bit more protein where women are kind of like I'm going to get a salad, I'm going to have something light, something like that. So even when we think we're doing things right, if you're not tracking to know if you've gotten enough protein in, you probably haven't. So we're going to start with protein being the builder. Think of it as building your body, building the body you want.

Speaker 2:

Okay, what it does? Protein builds and repairs muscle tissue. It keeps you full and satisfied so important because I could endlessly eat Oreos, right, but if I add in a protein shake with my Oreos, a little more balance and I don't want to eat the entire package. Protein supports fat loss and muscle retention during a cut, which is great. It boosts your metabolism and it improves recovery and energy. A few real life benefits which I told you we're going to dive into of protein are because I love this, because I can tell you right that protein builds muscle and it supports fat loss. But it's like, okay, cool, what does that actually mean In real life? This will keep you fuller longer, which means less snacking and less cravings fewer cravings. So this is where you're like I am starving all the time, I eat all day long, but I'm just snacking. I want a snack, I want to eat. I'm always hungry, probably lacking in protein. It keeps you fuller longer.

Speaker 2:

So if you want to feel satisfied after you eat a meal, you have got to add protein. And really, if you want to, adding protein to snacks is such a good idea. I have often told my clients finding snacks that have protein in them is a game changer because you can add 10 grams here, 10 grams there, 15 grams here with a snack. You're going to feel more satisfied after that snack because it has protein and it's going to just increase your daily amount without you really even having to plan a huge meal full of things that I don't really want to eat all day. It also helps you feel tighter, so it kind of that toned feeling it doesn't make you feel puffy or soft. Protein really does help you to feel tighter in your body, which who doesn't love that? And it helps maintain muscle as you age which who doesn't love that? And it helps maintain muscle as you age, which is important for metabolism and strength. So those are some real life benefits. Now that I'm 44 years old, maintaining muscle. I can 100% say that that is true because, as this year, especially this year, while I have not been able to lift as much and I've been focusing on health, blood pressure issues, heart rate issues, just hitting my protein every day, pretty much anyway, has allowed me to maintain my muscle mass without having to lift and lift and lift like crazy. So protein has some amazing real life benefits.

Speaker 2:

Workout benefits also important. Protein builds and repairs muscle after training. It helps recover faster between workouts. It supports your strength and muscle gain during a build phase. So your build phases, you do need to increase protein a little bit and it preserves lean muscle mass during fat loss, which I mentioned above. If you are in a cut and you, you want to keep your protein high because it will preserve that muscle mass. So, as you are losing weight on a cut and you want to keep your protein high because it will preserve that muscle mass. So as you are losing weight on a cut, you want it to be fat that you're losing, you don't want to lose muscle. So protein, being the builder and the repair crew, is what I was just talking about.

Speaker 2:

Inside your body, protein is broken down into amino acids which are used to, which is why I love essential amino acids. I have an episode just a while back with Liz Plosser from Kian Aminos and I have a 20% off code that you can click and purchase these. These are absolutely amazing, crucial, love them so much and that's why I love these amino acids. It's because it's if you're not consuming enough protein or even if you are, it's helping consume those amino acids in the best form, in their most able to be processed form, which is so good because of the repair and the rebuilding of muscle tissue after workouts, after an injury or daily wear and tear. As I get older, things are going to fall apart on my body and I need my body to be able to repair and build that muscle tissue, whether it be I'm trying to build muscle after a workout, or whether I'm hurt or whether I'm just aches and pains.

Speaker 2:

Right, we get it. It also builds enzymes and hormones and immune cells. It's great for that. It literally keeps your body functioning. Eaas from protein keeps your body functioning. It is the base. We need protein. Are we getting that? Are we understanding that? Protein also helps to preserve lean muscle mass, just like I said, especially when in a calorie deficit, and it also supports hair, skin, nails, bones and connective tissue. So I want you to think of protein as the materials like the building blocks, the building materials that you would need for a construction project. You are literally trying to build your body like you're going to build a house. You need some materials to build that house. These are the materials you need to build your body Protein baby, all right.

Speaker 2:

So I want you to aim for one gram per pound of your goal body weight in protein. Most common best ways to get in protein chicken, turkey, fish, greek yogurt, eggs, protein powder, protein bars, cottage cheese, lean beef, etc. Those are the most natural forms, of course. And then a tip that I have is to hit 25 to 30 grams per meal and then get some in snacks as well. So if you're like, oh my God, 140 grams of protein, if that's your goal weight, that's what I need. Like that's crazy, if you break it down into three meals a day, you're gonna hit 30 grams per meal and then divide the rest out into a couple snacks. You're good, it's not as hard as you think. It is All right, let's get into carbs.

Speaker 2:

Carbs are the fuel. Carbs are your energy source. These are, for some reason, a macro that we have been trained to fear. Low carb, right. And then everyone is struggling with their hormones and their energy levels and they're not satiated after meals and we feel like shit and we're hungry all the time and we binge eat. So this is why carbs are so important. So what carbs do? They provide quick energy for workouts and for daily life. They fuel your brain and your muscles. Hello, they fuel your brain and your muscles and we're cutting them out. That's crazy. Carbs help with performance recovery and hormone health. Carbs support better sleep and mood. And carbs prevent binge cycles caused by low energy when you are just so tired and you don't want to do anything and you feel like shit.

Speaker 2:

Oh my God, what are you going to grab? A chicken breast? Or are you going to grab an Oreo? For me, Oreo every time, which is fine if it fits in your macros, but we're going to need to kind of grab something that's a little healthier. Right, we can actually grab a banana. We can grab an apple. We can grab a sweet. I've been addicted to sweet potatoes lately Put some honey on top after they're cooked. So we need these carbs because a balanced meal is great. Maybe the protein and the carb, but if you are grabbing some carbs before you have low energy, before you're in that cycle of ugh, I just wanna eat everything in sight. Grab some carbs, you will feel better.

Speaker 2:

Real life benefits. They give you energy to get through your day so you're not dragging at 3 pm. Actually, the 2 to 3 pm slump is a great time to consume a meal in general, but some carbs. Have that sweet potato, have a protein bar, have some fruit, have some nuts, have something like that at that time so that you're getting a little energy. People are like. It's 2 o'clock, I'm ready for my nap, I want to grab my coffee, my energy drink, girl, same. But let's try to grab some quick carbs that are healthier-ish so that we have some energy from that. Another real life benefit better focus, mood and sleep. So this is how it pertains to your life and then it helps prevent those binge episodes caused by low energy or craving.

Speaker 2:

Something I love is a Greek yogurt bowl, just having. I love the Chobani Greek yogurt right now. I think it only has 12 grams of protein, which I still love it, and sometimes I have two containers of the yogurt, honestly, but I just put a whole banana, raspberries, blueberries, some whipped cream and it's like the perfect amount of healthy carbs, healthy protein, to prevent that cycle of feeling like I have no energy and also feeling like I want to binge eat a row of Oreos. How many times can I talk about Oreos in this episode? Crazy, take a shot every time. No, I'm kidding.

Speaker 2:

Workout benefits, carbs fuel your lifts. So I've been having a rice cake or two chocolate, typically with chocolate hummus on top, or some chocolate like, or some dessert spread, some like whatever. I don't even care what you put on top, even like some cherry pie filling. I know that's processed and like quote-unquote bad, but that's the thing is that none of this is really bad because it's carbs. But I've been having some chocolate rice cakes smeared with something yummy on top right before my workout. It's not too heavy but it does give me a little kick of some quick energy. So it does fuel your lifts. Carbs do fuel your lifts, especially heavy or high intensity sessions.

Speaker 2:

Carbs helps you push harder. Better strength plus physique results. That's what we want and that's what you get from pushing harder in the gym. If you have energy, you can push harder, meaning you can increase progressive overload and you actually see your physique change. It refuels muscles post-workout, it replenishes glycogen, which we'll talk about in a minute, and it also helps to preserve muscle while dieting. So having the correct macros, a correct amount and then the correct balance of macros while you are cutting helps you to preserve muscle, which is also so, so important. Otherwise, you're just gaining fat, losing muscle. We definitely don't want to do that, but we're gaining fat and muscle a little bit in like a surplus and then when we go in a cut we're losing all the muscle. That, literally what's the point of lifting heavy and going to the gym and working so hard to build that muscle if you're just going to lose it. So, carbs being our primary energy source, this is so important. If you think of protein as the builder but you think of carbs as the energy that you need to build, you can't just survive on protein and have the building blocks. You have to have the energy to be able to lift, to build that muscle.

Speaker 2:

So inside your body, carbs are broken down into glucose, which is stored in your muscles and liver as glycogen. Glycogen holds water with it, so about three grams of water per one gram of glycogen. This is why you look and you feel a little fuller when you're eating enough carbs. So sometimes people will say I'm eating carbs and I'm feeling bloated, I'm feeling puffy. It's not that the carbs are making you fat or making you gain weight. It's that they're causing you to hold on to a little bit of water to feel fuller. It's energy. Your body is holding onto that water. With the glycogen, it needs both for energy. So it's okay. We need to stop thinking that we need to be feeling and looking super lean all the time. It's okay for your body to be ready to be energized, to be full. It's okay to have food in your belly and have a little protruding belly sometimes. There's food in there, there's organs in your body. Okay, we need to stop acting like feeling full is such a bad thing. Same thing with creatine. People always act like it's making you feel bloated, and that's a myth, usually unless your body is kind of reacting to it. But creatine also helps, causes your body to hold on to water, and that just makes you feel a little fuller, and that's okay. Having muscle being strong and healthy, you're not going to look like a little stick version all the time, and that's okay.

Speaker 2:

Also fuels intense physical activity, especially lifting and cardio, and carbs also support brain function, mood and hormone balance all important for a healthy lifestyle. So examples pre-workout carbs equal better lifts. I know this is a common thing with intermittent fasting or fasted lifts and fasted cardio. Fuck that, I'm not doing that, absolutely not. I want some fuel in my body so that I can actually run. I want some fuel in my body so I can actually lift. I'm not interested in just fasting for whatever reason, fasting before a lift so that during your lift you are using the fat on your body for energy. That works only if your body is set up for success.

Speaker 2:

If you're already under eating calorie wise and you're already not eating the right macronutrients for your body, your body is not burning correctly anyway the fat that you have on your body. So what you're thinking you're doing is like I'm doing a fasted workout and you think that's burning the fat on your body. Or maybe you don't even know why you're doing it. You just heard it online and thought, yeah, that sounds right. If I, if I'm starving and I work out, then clearly my body must be doing something right because I'm hungry. No, you need to feed your body. Okay, I won't get into all that right now, but you need to. You need to feel your body. So eat some carbs before your workout so that you can actually feel freaking good. And then low carb for too long equals brain fog, cravings, fatigue. We all know that because we've all been there. So let's just stop and let's feed our body.

Speaker 2:

Okay, if you are constantly tired, sore or freaking starving at night, chances are you're not eating enough carbs. I have this happen all the time with clients where they're like I am starving at night. Save some carbs for the end of the day. Eat some more carbs. You are just not eating enough food for your body period. So start eating enough carbs. Start eating them in the afternoon, start eating them in the evening. A lot of clients I've heard before, too, that I work with say I wanna eat all my carbs in the morning so that I'm not eating them later and storing them as fat when I go to sleep. That's just not how it works. It's not how it works. So, yeah, I want you to eat in the morning and I also want you to eat at night. I want you to eat right before you go to bed. I don't care. Get your macros in and eat your food and feel your body.

Speaker 2:

So a quick guide to think about carbs are not just sugar, they are fruit, they are rice, they are oats, potatoes, beans, quinoa, veggies, bread, pasta. Eat it, okay. Yes, I'm talking about Oreos, that's in here too. But carbs are all of these healthy things. Okay, and I eat all these, and I used to be scared of all of these, but it's also. You can have some pizza, you can have some cookies, you can have Cadbury eggs. Okay, that counts too. We don't want that to make up our entire diet, obviously, but it's not off of limits. It's not off limits. I said that wrong. Carbs are muscle sparing. They help your body preserve muscle during a cut, so you need them, and carbs are stored in your muscles as glycogen that's your workout fuel.

Speaker 2:

Okay, last but definitely not least, we are going to talk about fats, another macro that is demonized by diet culture. We want low-fat cottage cheese and low-fat milk and low-fat everything. Why you don't know. You don't know why you just do it, so let's talk about it. What fat does is supports hormone production and regulation Pretty important, if you ask me. It helps absorb fat-soluble vitamins A, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K. It protects your brain and your nervous system. It adds satisfaction and flavor to meals. Think peanut butter, think avocado, think oils and dressings that you cook with. It keeps your skin and nails and hair healthy. You guys, that is so important. We need this so much. It regulates our body. Fat is the regulator. It's kind of like that final straw right, you're building, you have energy, and now let's put it all together because hormones matter so much.

Speaker 2:

I'm finding out in my 40s Can I get an amen? All right, real life benefits. It supports hormones, which means better mood, better periods, better sex drive and better sleep. It keeps meals satisfying Absolutely and it helps you feel done once when you're done eating. It helps you feel like, oh, I'm done eating because you had a good balance of proteins, fats and carbs. So you're not thinking, oh, I still want cake, I still want ice cream. That's me. It promotes healthy hair, skin and nails. So those are the real life benefits Better mood, better sleep, healthier hair, healthier skin. Let's go. These are all so important. This is actually my favorite macro, I think, to talk about lately, I think just because I'm in my hormone stage of life, so it's really hitting home for me.

Speaker 2:

Workout benefits from fats are helps to regulate recovery hormones testosterone, estrogen very important for regulating that recovery after a workout which helps to build muscle. All of that is all intertwined. It supports long-term health so you can keep training without burnout, metabolism, diving hormones tanked you're not going to feel good to train me the last two years. Provides steady, low burning energy for lower intensity movement, which is great. So if you're just going for a walk, if you're doing some lifts, if you're just jogging really slow things like that, fats are really good for providing that steady, that long-term low-building energy. So it's not a quick burn. It's a slower burn as opposed to carbs.

Speaker 2:

Fats are the hormone and cell supporter Inside your body. Fats are broken down into fatty acids which are used to build hormones like estrogen, testosterone and cortisol protect your brain and nerves with a fatty layer called myelin. It helps absorb fat soluble vitamins, like I mentioned before, and it helps to form the outer layer of every cell membrane in your body. I don't even know what else to say after this. This is like a duh, okay. So fats are so great for hormone health, satisfaction and adherence to your plan. Fats regulate your internal systems. They're essential for hormones, brain health and long-term recovery.

Speaker 2:

So many times we think of health macros, protein, muscle building, fat loss yes, health macros, protein, muscle building, fat loss yes, I talk about that all the time. But if your hormones and your metabolism and estrogen, testosterone, if your brain and your nerves are always broken down, suffering, if you're always on edge, if your cell membranes aren't formed properly, all of that matters too. We can't deny the cells and the hormones and the innermost parts of our body, our internal systems that run our entire body. It's like the base of our body. If you think from the inside out, yes, I want healthy skin and then, yes, under that there's some fat, and then, yes, under that is some beautiful muscle that we have to build, and then under that, so many things that also need these micronutrients man macronutrients to be able to run properly, and we can't deny that. So I also want to talk about fats being in the sense that fats don't make you fat. It's not.

Speaker 2:

I had too much fat today in my diet so I'm fat. I don't really. I don't really hear that so much anymore, but I used to hear that a lot fat doesn't make you fat. If you eat some fat you eat avocado it doesn't turn into fat in your body. That's not what happens. I just told you what does happen, and that's not it. Eating too much of anything without balance can lead to fat gain, but it's not specifically fat. Healthy fat sources are avocado, olive oil, nuts, nut butter, seeds, whole eggs, salmon, grass-fed butter, etc. But be mindful of portion sizes here.

Speaker 2:

I used to eat so many freaking almonds. There's these Brooks I think they're called Brookside little chocolates, and they are like raspberry flavors, so good and I thought, since those were like expensive chocolates, I think is what I thought and a little bit better for you, like they were dark chocolate and just not so many shitty ingredients. Not as bad as Oreos, probably. I used to have those little Brookside chocolate balls I want to try those again actually it's kind of making me want them and almonds and that would be my snack. But now I know that I can eat them in moderation. I used to eat that because I thought it was so healthy and it is. But I would eat the entire bag of almonds and the entire bag of Brookside chocolates Probably.

Speaker 2:

I mean more than a thousand calories in a setting, at least in a day, because I would eat them on my way to work and my way home from work when I lived about 20 minutes away from work. This was so long ago, more than 10 years ago but yeah, I mean I would eat these almonds, thinking these are so healthy, almonds are heart healthy and I need almonds and I need fats. Yes, I do. What I didn't know is that fat has nine calories per gram, carbs have four calories per gram, protein has four calories per gram. So since fat has more than carbs and fats more calories per gram almost double a little bit more than double actually, it adds up faster. So I'm thinking it's super healthy it is and you can think all these things are healthy Avocado, olive oil, the dressings, like I said, seeds, salmon, all of that stuff is super healthy.

Speaker 2:

The salmon actually doesn't have too many calories. I don't think I wouldn't lump that in here, but you know what I'm trying to say. Okay, if you're just chowing down three avocados and, yeah, avocados and some almonds, that's really high calorie, really filling, really, really good for you. But if you are overeating that, then you're over in calories, you've eaten too many fats, your body doesn't need all of that fat, doesn't need all of those calories. And now you've consumed too much, you're overeating and now you have fat gain. So that's how that works. So be mindful a little more mindful of your portion sizes with fats than carbs and protein, because it does add up calories twice as fast. So something I just wanted to throw in there so bringing it all together, building balanced plates. I just want to touch on this really quickly.

Speaker 2:

The sweet spot for most of us is that each meal should have all three macros, meaning, when you're planning a meal, you should have a high-quality protein source, you should have a high carb for energy and you should have a healthy amount of fat for hormone support and for satisfaction adherence right, making yourself feel full. So you want to have a balance of all these. So when you're looking at the nutrition labels, make sure that the yogurt you're having. Or maybe, if the yogurt you're having is high in protein and medium in carbs, maybe you wanna add some fruit and then you wanna add some almonds to it, which is actually, I think, an example I wrote down later. But, getting ahead of myself, you can kind of add ingredients to things to make them balanced.

Speaker 2:

This is a key in tracking macros is looking at the back of something or scanning it in my fitness pal or scanning it into my app, seeing the macros and then saying I need a little more. This isn't balanced. I need more fats. What can I put in this yogurt? Or what can I put in this cottage cheese to make it taste good and also have a more balanced feeling, more balanced outcome if you're tracking.

Speaker 2:

So some samples are chicken, rice and avocado, protein, carb, fat, eggs, toast and peanut butter. Protein, carbs, fat, greek yogurt, berries and almonds my favorite example I need to get those almonds and Brookside chocolates again. I'm going to do that. You're going to see it on my social media and protein smoothie with oats and nut butter. A lot of people have protein and they will have, you know, a protein shake and they'll make it into a smoothie and put some fruit in there. Well, put in some carbs that are going to fill you up a little bit more. Put in some nut butter. Make it filling. Don't just have high protein everything you're lacking. The other things okay. So your plate should work with your body, not against it. You want the food that you're consuming to really set yourself up for success. So what to try this week?

Speaker 2:

I want to give you some action steps. Track one day of eating and look at the macro balance, not just the calories. Pick one meal to optimize by adding a missing macro. So dissect your meals and add a macro that's missing and report back to me in a comment or DM me and let me know how you feel. Aim for 25 to 30 grams of protein in two to three meals a day. Add pre or post workout carb if you're training, which you freaking should be. So add a pre and, honestly, add a pre and a post workout if you're training, that's what I do pre and, honestly, at a pre and a post workout If you're training. That's what I do and screenshot that, let me know, send it to me.

Speaker 2:

I want to see how you're building your place and screenshot your meals or screenshot your MyFitnessPals. Inside of Fit Club, we have a new recipe chat so you can put it in there. If you're inside of Fit Club, I also help apply all of this with macro targets inside of my app. Like I said, we have that recipe group chat so you ladies can all be in there sharing your macros. Now I want to see screenshots of your MyFitnessPals. I want to see the screenshot inside of MyFitnessPal of a meal and say what can I add to this to bump up the fat content, the carb content? That's what that group chat is for, so we can really support each other inside of there. And then, of course, add those workouts, add that weightlifting, so you can use that food to build muscle to shape that body that you want. So I want you to remember, finally, that this is about understanding the food. It's not about being obsessive. It's just about learning and putting this into application.

Speaker 2:

And the next week we are going to be talking about tracking these macros and why it's important to have a balance and what this means for the goals that you're trying to achieve. I about these macros and why it's important to have a balance and what this means for the goals that you're trying to achieve. I'm not going to get into specifics of exactly how to track. I mean, I will talk about that, of course, but what I want to talk about more is just what you're looking for and how to change your mindset around tracking your macros so that you can apply it in a very, very healthy way. So, super pumped for the rest of this macro series Again, I don't really even know how many episodes I'm going to have.

Speaker 2:

I'm just going to talk about it. I'm just going to have a macro series. That's however long it needs to be for me to get this info out and feel super accomplished by it, and I'm getting messages letting me know that you guys are loving this and that makes me feel happy, and I don't mean like I wanna feel accomplished. I wanna feel accomplished in the sense that, like I taught you what you need to know. That's what I mean, but I hope this was super helpful.

Speaker 2:

As usual, send me a DM with any questions or thoughts that you have, because I'm taking all the DMs and or comments on Spotify and like I wanna be able to dive into those. As this series goes on, you're gonna have more questions and maybe I'll do another Q&A at the end, like I did on the phases series, but I wanna be able to answer your questions and make sure that you're putting it into, you know, the understanding and the practical side of things. I probably won't get to all of the questions, but I'm hoping to get to quite a few and it helps me to just know where your head is at. If you're asking a question, I can think, okay, this is how they're viewing it. So I need to really work on that mindset piece. So I'm super excited, but I hope this episode was helpful and I will talk to you again next week.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for listening to today's show. Go ahead and leave a rating and a review and, of course, follow the podcast so you don't miss out on any future episodes. So much If you came to connect with me over on Instagram at Christy Castillo Fit. I will see you next time. Bye.