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! Make sure you are also getting at least 25g of fiber daily!
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. If you need a lifting program I have a variety to choose from! Check them out HERE! (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 would recommend when you are starting out, to measure and track everything! Every sip, bite, lick. Because the calories can add up quickly! As you become more familiar you will not need to track as closely. I now follow a more 80/20 rule. I’m on point 80% of the time and have flex 20% of the time. I enjoy eating out with friends and family!
I have continued to recomp my body through maintenance over the past year. Lifting heavy and eating around 1700-1800 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!
