This is a question the comes through A LOT! When I first decided to really track my food I determined what my macros needed to be for a caloric deficit but a SLIGHT deficit. This was about 300-400 calories daily below maintenance calories. I wanted to lose around 10-12 pounds but continue to strength train the entire time. So it was important to keep my protein grams high in order to maintain and build muscle. I consumed 125 grams of protein daily!

So often I see women go on drastic calorie cuts and lose weight without even realizing they have lost muscle, and their body is in starvation mode. I wanted to do this with a smart, methodical, lifestyle approach. Once I was at my target bodyweight after 3 months of a cut I bumped up my calories to maintenance again keeping my protein optimal for those muscles. As I continued on in this process I would bump up my calories slightly over time as my body put on more muscle and demanded more. It’s been pretty cool science experiment! I’ve felt satiated (thank you protein!), fueled for my workouts, and found foods that I love and fit into my daily macros so I can maintain this as a LIFESTYLE!! I can see myself doing this for years to come because I love the way I eat and enjoy my food!!! I’m currently in maintenance calories.

Here’s a breakdown of how it works and a link to a FREE CALCULATOR to give you a baseline of where to start with your macros! This is the FOOD SCALE I use!

Calculating macros (macronutrients) involves determining the appropriate ratios of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats in your diet based on your goals, such as weight loss, muscle gain, or weight maintenance. Here’s a general guide on how to figure out your macros:

1. Determine Your Goals: Are you looking to lose weight, gain muscle, or maintain your current weight? Your goals will determine your macro ratios.
2. Calculate Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE): Use an online TDEE calculator to estimate how many calories you burn in a day based on factors like age, gender, weight, height, and activity level.
3. Set Your Caloric Intake: Based on your goals, adjust your caloric intake. For example, to lose weight, you’ll want to consume fewer calories than your TDEE; to gain weight, you’ll consume more; and for maintenance, you’ll aim to match your TDEE.
4. Distribute Calories Across Macros: Once you have your total daily calorie target, determine the breakdown of macros. Here are the general recommendations:
   • Protein: Aim for around 10-35% of your total daily calories from protein. A common recommendation for muscle building is around 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight (2.2 grams per kilogram). Protein has 4 calories per gram.
   • Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates typically make up 45-65% of your total daily calories. They are the body’s primary energy source. Carbohydrates also have 4 calories per gram.
   • Fats: Fats should make up around 20-35% of your total daily calories. Healthy fats are essential for various bodily functions. Fats have 9 calories per gram.
5. Calculate Grams of Each Macro: Once you’ve determined the percentage of calories each macro will contribute, convert these percentages into grams. To do this, multiply your total daily calorie intake by the percentage for each macro, then divide by the number of calories per gram for that macro.
   • Protein grams = (Protein calories ÷ 4)
   • Carb grams = (Carb calories ÷ 4)
   • Fat grams = (Fat calories ÷ 9)
6. Adjust as Necessary: Monitor your progress and adjust your macro ratios as needed based on how your body responds. You may need to tweak your ratios to achieve optimal results.

Remember, these are general guidelines, and individual needs may vary based on factors like metabolism, activity level, and overall health. It’s always a good idea to consult with a healthcare professional or a registered dietitian for personalized advice. Additionally, tracking your food intake using apps or journals can help you stay on track with your macro goals.

I personally love the MACROS FIRST app!!!

If you need help hitting your protein:

I love Clean Simple Eats protein powders. SO many delicious flavors! Use code ALICIAE for 10% off!

For protein bars G2G Bars are delicious! Use code MIDLIFEMAVEN for 15% off!

To order fresh grass fed meats delivered to your doorstep try JUST MEATS and use code ALICIAE for $25 (The default promotion on Just Meats website is always 25% off your first subscription order and 10% off all future subscription orders. With my code/link, the you will receive an additional $25.00)

I hope this gave you some insight into a deeper understanding of how to approach macros. Truly I love this approach because it allows me to fit the foods I love which create long term sustainability and makes it a lifestyle. If you do NOT want to track, make sure you get a palm size amount of protein, fist size starch, thumb tip size amount of fat at each meal! Or you can just track your protein grams. Start with 100 grams daily and work to hit that target!

You got this!!

Progressive overload is a fundamental principle in exercise science and strength training. It refers to gradually increasing the intensity, duration, frequency, or volume of exercise over time to continually challenge the body and promote adaptations, such as muscle growth, strength gains, or improvements in endurance.

The concept of progressive overload is based on the idea that in order for the body to make improvements in fitness or performance, it must be subjected to a stimulus that is greater than what it is accustomed to. By progressively increasing the demands placed on the body through exercise, individuals can stimulate physiological adaptations that lead to improvements in strength, endurance, muscle size, or other fitness-related goals.

There are several ways to apply progressive overload:

1. Increasing resistance: This involves lifting heavier weights over time, which places greater stress on the muscles and promotes strength gains.
2. Increasing repetitions or sets: Gradually adding more repetitions or sets to an exercise routine can increase the total workload and stimulate muscle growth or endurance improvements.
3. Increasing frequency: Increasing the number of workouts per week can provide more opportunities for the body to adapt and improve.
4. Increasing intensity: This can involve increasing the speed of movement, reducing rest periods between sets, or incorporating more challenging exercises.
5. Progressing exercise complexity: Advancing to more difficult variations of exercises as strength and skill improve can also contribute to progressive overload.

By consistently applying the principle of progressive overload in their training programs, individuals can continue to make gains and avoid plateauing in their fitness progress over time. However, it’s important to progressively increase the workload gradually and safely to minimize the risk of injury and allow for proper recovery.

Why is this such an effective approach?

1. Stimulates muscle growth: Progressive overload challenges your muscles by gradually increasing the intensity of your workouts. This constant challenge forces your muscles to adapt and grow stronger over time. By progressively lifting heavier weights, you continuously stimulate muscle growth, leading to gains in strength and muscle mass.
2. Prevents plateau: When you perform the same exercises with the same weights and repetitions for an extended period, your progress may stagnate as your muscles adapt to the workload. Progressive overload prevents this plateau by continually increasing the demands placed on your muscles, ensuring that they continue to adapt and grow.
3. Improves strength: Gradually increasing the weight you lift in your workouts improves your muscular strength. This increased strength not only helps you lift heavier weights but also enhances your overall functional abilities, making daily tasks easier and reducing the risk of injury.
4. Promotes muscle hypertrophy: Progressive overload is essential for muscle hypertrophy, which is the process of increasing muscle size. By progressively challenging your muscles with heavier weights, you create micro-tears in the muscle fibers, stimulating the body to repair and rebuild them to be larger and stronger.
5. Enhances performance: Whether you’re a competitive weightlifter or an athlete in another sport, progressive overload is crucial for improving athletic performance. By continually pushing your limits and increasing the demands placed on your muscles, you develop the strength, power, and endurance needed to excel in your chosen activity.
6. Increases metabolic rate: Building lean muscle mass through progressive overload can increase your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the number of calories your body burns at rest. This means that you’ll burn more calories even when you’re not exercising, making it easier to manage your weight and body composition.
7. Builds confidence and motivation: Seeing tangible progress in your strength and muscle gains can be incredibly motivating and boost your confidence in your abilities. Knowing that you’re getting stronger and making improvements in your workouts can keep you motivated to continue pushing yourself and striving for your fitness goals.

This is the intention I have been training with consistently, along with proper nutrition for the past 1.5 years, and the results show! If you’re ready to start building that SCULPTY bod with the progressive overload approach, I have a number of PROGRAMS for you to choose from!!

This is a question I get A LOT! I’m going to break it down here!

Photo on left taken June 2021 Photo on right taken March 2024

When I decided it was time for the jerk perimenopause layer to be gone, I knew that in conjunction with my fitness, I would need to dial in my nutrition to achieve the results I was after. Personally, I love the macro approach because you have your set Macros (Protein, Carbohydrates, Fats) according to your goals, then you plug in the foods you want and enjoy eating to fit the numbers. It’s almost like a puzzle piece. It takes some work and focus to make it all fit, but once you get it figured out, you’ll feel like an old pro!

These are my stats: I started at around 133 pounds (I am 5’3″) and I wanted to lose around 10 pounds while still maintaining muscle. In all of my research, I saw that lifting heavy weights and walking daily was the ticket along with high protein, so this is what I did!!

I started by figuring out what my MACROS needed to be. This CALCULATOR is a great tool to figure out your baseline! I plugged in my current weight and entered “Moderate exercise”. Even though I was lifting 4-5 days a week and getting 10k steps a day, the rest of the day was mostly sitting and did not include a lot of activity. Unless you have a very active job that requires a lot of physical activity, I would enter “light” or “moderate” exercise even if you workout most days. Once I saw my numbers I clicked to the “cutting” tab with “moderate carbs”. I increased my protein number of grams to match my goal ideal body weight (pounds). I adjusted the carbs and fats to fit the calories. This is the food scale I used!

For example: at a weight of 130, the calculator tells me at a “cut with moderate carbs”, these need to be my macros: 100 grams protein, 52 grams fat, 116 grams carbs. I bumped up my protein to 125 grams, kept fat around 40-50 grams, and adjusted my carbs to around 100 grams. (Note to add: I do not drink alcohol or eat refined sugar. I do stevia, honey, and coconut sugar as well as fruit. Just none of the refined stuff!)

Within 2-3 months (first month the scale didn’t move! My body was adjusting to the protein intake!) I was at my goal weight so I increased my calories to maintenance. Side note: if you’re struggling with the protein intake and bowels aren’t moving, here is my ANTI-CONSTO hack!

What I realized soon was that my maintenance baseline was increasing as I was putting on muscle because the scale kept going down. This is why I recommend listening to your body and adjusting as you go because each person is their own unique individual! I have gone back and forth between maintenance and slight increase in calories (2 weeks 150-200 over maintenance) and back to maintenance.

Throughout this process I was lifting progressive overload, 5-6 days a week body part split and walking 10 thousand steps per day. (this is the WALKING PAD I use to help get those steps in!) I was very disciplined with measuring food, and as I became familiar with portion sizes, eating a lot the same types of foods daily, I didn’t count as closely. But I would recommend when you are starting out, to measure and track everything! Every sip, bite, lick. Because the calories can add up quickly!

I have continued to recomp my body through maintenance over the past year. Lifting heavy and eating around 1800 calories daily (weight around 115-117). My current macros are around 140 grams protein, 155 carbs, 60 fats. I love the way I look and feel and plan to maintain from here. If I want to add muscle, I will work in a slight surplus (100-200 calories above maintenance) for a 2-3 weeks then return to maintenance.

I’m still learning a lot about macros and that each person is so unique in their personal needs and how their body responds. But I wanted to share what has worked for me!!

Foods that I love: eggs, egg whites, chicken, greek yogurt, rice cakes with nut butter, beef, salmon, shrimp, scallops, PROTEIN POWDER (use code ALICIAE for 10% off) and PROTEIN BARS (use code MIDLIFEMAVEN for 15% off), berries of all kinds, apples, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, oats, rice, potatoes, Banzai chickpea noodles, Lily’s chocolates and Ninja Creami Protein Ice cream to satisfy my sweet tooth, to name a FEW! I’m coming out with a recipe book soon so keep your eyes peeled for that!

I hope this helps you gain a little more understanding about how macros work and what might be a good starting point! I will be offering MACRO coaching in the near future!!

Thank you for being here and remember it’s a process! Good things take time!

I will sing about it until every midlife queen knows the truth!! This is all you need to know!

Lifting weights can positively impact hormone regulation during menopause in so many ways:

1. Increased Testosterone Production: Weightlifting can lead to an increase in testosterone production in women. Testosterone levels tend to decline during menopause, contributing to symptoms like decreased libido and reduced muscle mass. By increasing testosterone levels through weightlifting, women may experience improvements in these symptoms.
2. Estrogen Balance: Weightlifting can also help maintain a healthy balance of estrogen during menopause. Estrogen levels decline during menopause, leading to symptoms such as hot flashes, mood swings, and bone density loss. Weightlifting can help support bone health by promoting bone density through increased stress on the bones, which can help mitigate the effects of estrogen decline.
3. Endorphin Release: Weightlifting, like other forms of exercise, can stimulate the release of endorphins, which are neurotransmitters that act as natural painkillers and mood elevators. This can help alleviate symptoms of mood swings, depression, and anxiety that are common during menopause.
4. Stress Reduction: Regular exercise, including weightlifting, can help reduce stress levels. High levels of stress can exacerbate menopausal symptoms and disrupt hormone balance. By managing stress through exercise, women may experience improvements in their overall hormonal health during menopause.
5. Metabolic Regulation: Weightlifting can also help regulate metabolism, which can be affected by hormonal changes during menopause. Maintaining a healthy metabolism is important for managing weight, energy levels, and overall well-being during this life stage.

How does adding muscle affect hormone regulation?

1. Insulin Sensitivity: Building muscle improves insulin sensitivity, meaning your body can more effectively regulate blood sugar levels. This can lead to better control of insulin and glucose levels in the bloodstream, which in turn can positively impact other hormones involved in metabolism.
2. Growth Hormone (GH) Release: Resistance training, which is often associated with muscle building, can stimulate the release of growth hormone. Growth hormone plays a role in metabolism, muscle growth, and fat metabolism. Increased muscle mass can thus lead to more efficient utilization of growth hormone.
3. Testosterone Production: Resistance training and muscle building can also lead to increased production of testosterone, a key hormone for muscle growth and maintenance. Testosterone has various metabolic effects and can influence other hormone levels in the body.
4. Cortisol Regulation: Regular resistance training can help regulate cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone that, when chronically elevated, can negatively impact various bodily functions, including metabolism and immune function. Building muscle and engaging in regular exercise can help maintain cortisol levels within a healthy range.
5. Leptin and Ghrelin Balance: Muscle tissue plays a role in energy metabolism and can affect the balance of hormones involved in appetite regulation, such as leptin and ghrelin. Adequate muscle mass can contribute to a healthier balance of these hormones, potentially helping with weight management and metabolic health.
6. Thyroid Hormones: While the relationship between muscle and thyroid hormones is complex, some studies suggest that resistance training and muscle building can positively influence thyroid hormone levels. Thyroid hormones play a crucial role in metabolism regulation.

Building muscle through resistance training can have multiple positive effects on hormone regulation, impacting various aspects of metabolism, energy balance, and overall health.

I want you to experience the joy of implementing these lifestyle habits and reaping the rewards! It’s not too late you can start NOW!! For more info click here for MY LIFTING PROGRAMS.

I love you and want you to set yourself up for success in the 2nd half!!! My next advanced program is launching in March. Stay tuned!!!