Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Licensed psychologist Dr. Jen McWaters, and wellness coach Kaitlin Reed, join forces to help women create an abundant life through holistic wellness practices, mindset shifts, and fostering a healthy relationship with food and their bodies. Join us as we take a deep dive and uncover the raw truth about mental health, nutrition, fitness, and beyond, offering insights and strategies for transformative growth.
Dr. Jen McWaters is a licensed psychologist and a holistic wellness coach for women. She is a Certified Integrative Mental Health Professional and is passionate about helping high-achieving women overcome their mental blocks, find freedom from anxiety, and create an abundant life inside and out. Find out more about her work at: awakeningholistichealth.com
Kaitlin Reed is a fitness, nutrition, and mental wellness coach on a mission to help women build the body and life they deserve and desire. She has BAs in Health Promotion and Wellness & Fitness Management, MA in Performance Psychology, currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Health Psychology. Her goal is to help women finally understand the science and strategy of nutrition and exercise so they can achieve their goals and live an empowered life. Head over to kaitlinreedwellness.com to learn more.
DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult with your personal physician if you have any personal medical questions.
Welcome to the Counter Culture Health podcast. I'm doctor Jen McWaters. And I'm coach Caitlin Reed. We're here to help high achieving women overcome mental blocks, find freedom from anxiety, create an abundant life, and build the body and life
Jen:that they deserve and desire.
Kaitlin:In this weekly podcast, we'll uncover the raw truth about mental health, nutrition, fitness, and beyond. Let's get to it.
Jen:Hey, guys. Welcome back to Counter Culture Health. And today, we are so excited because Caitlin, our very own Caitlin Reed, is going to walk us through macronutrients and give us more depth and in-depth insight into what macros are, how we need to maybe calculate them and think about them, and why they're important, and all those other good things. So with that, Caitlin, so glad you're doing this topic today. I know we've had lots of questions around nutrition since our last few that we did quite a while back now.
Jen:So can you start us off by defining what macros are?
Kaitlin:Yes. So macros stand for macronutrients, and they are the nutrient composition of food. And that that determines, how we feel, how much the food fills us up, our health, and our ability to decrease body fat and build muscle. So the macros are protein, carbs, and salads. And I wanted to talk about this today because I feel like, you know, you hear macros and tracking macros, and it's kind of like a trendy thing and, and something that we always hear in the fitness and nutrition world, but I'm not sure that people totally understand, what that actually means.
Kaitlin:So today, I wanna talk about what that means and how to calculate your macros and how to track them and why it's important. So first, I wanted to talk about calories, before we get into macros. So calories are a unit of measure, u unit of measurement of how much energy is in food. So it it doesn't calories don't tell us anything else about food other than how much energy is in it. When you look at the macros, that tells us more about the composition of the food that we're consuming.
Kaitlin:So it's important to look at not just calories of what you're consuming, but also the makeup of the food that you're consuming.
Jen:Can we land there for a second? Yes. Because I know you and I have gone back and forth about this a little bit, and, actually, we or actually totally agree and on the same page, but there's so much language out there around around this. It can get confusing. So because, like, something I talk to my clients about is similar, when it comes to calories, which is your belief system too, that all calories are a calorie in measurement, right, in technical terms, but not all calories are created equal as far as their quality and new nutrition content.
Jen:Yes. I think it confusing because people still get really focused on calories and calorie burning, calorie in, calorie out, input, output, rather than thinking about the actual nutrition they're absorbing and, you know, eating 200 calories from gosh, what, chicken nuggets is different than 200 calories from maybe a green salad. It looks different. Right? Like and we need all these macronutrients, but it's not just about counting calories, especially if you're focused on weight loss.
Jen:So can you expand that a little bit more? I don't wanna butcher it.
Kaitlin:Yeah. No. I'm glad you brought that up because we did get into this conversation not too long ago about, you know, good or or are there good calories and bad calories. And, well, when you look at calories, it it it only tells you how much energy is in a food. But, of course, we know that there are some foods that are more nutritious and some foods that are less nutritious.
Kaitlin:And so when we're looking at them from an energy standpoint, it's the same. But when we look at it from a nutritional standpoint, that's where things get different. So it's like, you know, 85 calories from a donut and 85 calories from a a chicken breast is still 85 calories. It still is giving you that much energy. But, of course, we know a chicken breast is going to give you more protein, you know, more nutrients than a donut is.
Kaitlin:And so it's it's too simple to say calorie is good or bad, but it's just it's too simple to say that. We have to look at the actual makeup of the food rather than only looking at calories.
Jen:And that's also why then exercising for the goal of just burning calories isn't really affected either because you would just be focused on consuming calories in this black and white way and then exercising to expend or, right, eliminate a certain amount of calories. And so why is that not effective for people that are trying to lose weight?
Kaitlin:Yeah. Well, when you're so we we often think of like cardio, you know, cardio or high intensity HIIT exercise to burn calories. Well, when you're exercising only to, burn calories, it's always tied to movement. But when you are strength training and building muscle, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn at rest. So you're not just burning calories while you're moving, you're burning calories at rest.
Kaitlin:So that's why having more muscle mass helps with weight loss and decreasing body fat because it's not just calorie expenditure during movement. It's calorie expenditure while you're sitting at your desk working all day or whatever, because that is the effect that muscle mass has on, on you. So, that's why I preach the importance too of strength training and building muscle when you have weight loss or fat loss goals.
Jen:Okay. So going back to the, analogy of 85 calories per doughnut versus 85 calories for a chicken breast, To your point, there's way more going on there than just the calories. Right? You have protein and fat and carbohydrates, etcetera. We also have blood sugar levels, how that's being impacted, which will impact mood and, I'm assuming weight gain, weight loss, and then inflammation.
Jen:Right? So you have something which is high sugar as well processed sugar, high processed ultra processed food versus unprocessed food. Right? Like, a cooked basically, cooked grilled chicken breast, just plain, let's say. So there's also that piece of it.
Jen:Right? So those are the other aspects that do impact your weight gain, your muscle gaining, your mental health, your mood, your sleep.
Kaitlin:Right? So Yeah. Do
Jen:you suggest that's the right way to think about it? It's like almost like, I always tell people, in my world to not focus on calories in a way. Like, I know that from weight loss perspective, if you have a calorie deficit, there will be weight loss. You've, you know, told me that. Now I'm clear on that.
Kaitlin:Yep. However, when I'm doing
Jen:more holistic stuff and not focused on weight loss, I encourage women to move away from calorie counting and instead look at nutrition content, how their body's feeling, trying to focus on lowering inflammation, blood sugar stability, all of that. So is that the right way to
Kaitlin:go for people who are wanting to really have total body health? Yeah. That's a it's a tricky one, because you you if you want if you want health, you know, you can just really focus on eating eating well. You know, eating high quality foods, making sure you're getting a full range of foods and nutrients and, you know, making sure you're getting enough protein, carbs, and fats, and just, like, well rounded. But if you have weight loss goals and body composition change goals, you have to know how much and and of what you're consuming.
Kaitlin:It's just how it is and how it works. You in order to lose body fat, in order to lose weight, you have to be in a calorie deficit. And how do you know if you're not tracking anything in of what you're consuming? You don't know what you've previously been consuming and you don't know what you're currently consuming. It's kind of like, finances.
Kaitlin:You know, if you're not tracking things, you're just spending coming in, but you don't know what, you know, it just gets lost. So it's like, how do you make financial progress if you're not tracking anything? Same thing goes here. Now it can be tricky because we know that tracking can be, problematic for some people. You know, some people can it can become really overwhelming and obsessive and, more detrimental than helpful.
Kaitlin:But there's also research that shows that people that have more chaotic eating habits, binge eating or just chaotic eating, it can also help. It it bring, like, structure to their eating. So it really can go both ways and it, depends on the person and their history. But I think that it can be very helpful, and it teaches people a ton about food and what they're consuming and what foods are made up of and portion sizes. And it just it it gives you data.
Kaitlin:It gives you facts. So there's no more guessing. There's no more saying, well, I'm I'm eating healthy, and I'm not making progress. It's like, okay. Here it all is.
Kaitlin:This is exactly what it looks like. So now we have facts and data to look at, so now we can make the change. And and it also helps you understand food the time because what you thought might have been like a healthier option and you put it in there, you're like, oh, woah. Maybe it wasn't as great as I thought it was. You know, I'm thinking, like, granola, for example, or peanut butter even, you know, things that were people think high protein, but then they they log in and they're like, woah.
Kaitlin:That actually has way more fat and carbs than protein. I was all wrong with this. Like, it really teaches you a lot. So in that aspect, it can be very helpful. But, of course, people that I work with, I can I can tell where it's gonna be a helpful thing and where it's not going to be a helpful thing?
Kaitlin:So I definitely, look out for signs and things where it might not be the best approach.
Jen:That's a great explanation. I think that's always good for us and everyone listening to hear. It is so bioindividual because I agree. It's like someone's coming in to work with you. It's different than that they're coming in to work with me.
Jen:They're coming to you for potentially weight loss, body composition, so that makes more sense that that tool is maybe more necessary needed and maybe time limited. I don't know how long you use that for.
Kaitlin:Yep.
Jen:But it's you're doing it really mindful of their history because, because obviously someone who's more obsessive and perfectionistic, that could be abused and actually be more detrimental than helpful. And if someone's coming to me, they're usually not necessarily looking for a weight focus they're not looking for weight focus work, body composition. We're working more on total body health, mental health with a focus. Often my clients are at average normal weights or even underweight, so we're focusing more on nutritious food and getting nutrients. And maybe the next step would be once they're they're healthy and grounded, and that could be doing that if they wanted to work on composition, for example.
Kaitlin:Yeah. Yeah. I'm glad you brought up the timeline tinewine aspect too because it's, we don't want to do this forever. You know, we don't want to be logging and tracking our food for the rest of our lives. So it's definitely like a tool to learn at first and, and, you know, I encourage pea people to do it at least 2 weeks just to see what your nutrition looks like and what you're consuming.
Kaitlin:You know, and then it can be through phases of life. So, you know, maybe it's 4 months we're gonna dial things in and track, and then you go more into like a lifestyle phase or, maybe you're just kinda spot checking your nutrition every once in a while. So it's deaf it's a tool to help you, but definitely not meant to be used forever. Because once you learn food and things, you just kinda know what you should be consuming and about, you know, how much certain foods, provide us to macronutrients. So, definitely not a forever thing, but very helpful for periods of time in life.
Jen:Well, thank you for that, and I kinda derailed us. So can you take us back to macros?
Kaitlin:Yeah. Well, going back to, like, composition of foods and and calories too, it's you know, someone that eat 1800 calories of processed food is going to look and feel very different than somebody who is eating 1800 calories of whole foods. So it's like, even though the calories are the same, the look and feel of the person, if you put them side by side, they would look very different. Their body composition would look very different and their, they would feel very different, you know, if we ask them about mood, energy, digestion, you know, all these things. So that's where it's like, yeah, you could, just look at calories, but if you really want body composition changes and and health, that's where the macros, become important.
Kaitlin:Now when you're tracking calories, you're tracking one number, and that could work for weight loss. You know, you can just track calories if your goal is to lose weight, but we have to remember that the goal is to not just lose weight. The goal is to hold on, build, and maintain as much muscle mass as we possibly can while, decreasing body fat. So that's why I really steer people of like, okay, let's let go of just the weight loss goals and the numbers and focus on body composition changes because you could not lose any weight at all, but look totally different. So it's like you could weigh the same number, everything, numbers stay the same, but your body looks totally different.
Kaitlin:And that's the importance of macros because when you have your macros dialed in, or you're focusing on those hitting your protein targets, that's what's going to help you maintain build muscle and also maintain as much muscle mass as you possibly can. So if you're only focused on calories, you could not be hitting your protein targets. Your macros could be all out of whack, therefore not really achieving the goal that that you wanted to. So that's why macros is important because it helps you it determines your body composition and helps you maintain as much muscle mass, which is the goal. Because we know, as we've talked about before, how important it is to have muscle mass and keep as much of it as you can for as long as you can.
Jen:And also ask so for comparing it, some 2 people with 1800 calorie consumption, but the type of food is different, I would also imagine that one person would be more satiated on that 1800 calories than the other person. So can you talk about that too? Because that's what often people don't think about, again, focusing on calories versus, appetite and being satiated and, blood sugar too. Right? All those things play into how doable it is to be on 1800 calories if that's right for that person.
Jen:We're not saying that's right for everybody.
Kaitlin:That's an example number. Yeah.
Jen:Full example number, just theoretical, just for the example. Right? Yes. Yeah. It's gonna be really hard.
Jen:I think that's why a lot of diets don't work is because they're trying to move stay in this deficit, but without having sufficient macros. And so it's really painful to be able to do that way. Right? Unless you're getting the other nutrients that you need.
Kaitlin:Yep. Yep. Good point. Yeah. And I mean, typically processed foods are more dense, so you you wouldn't be able to eat a large volume of foods because they're so dense.
Kaitlin:So you're eating a small amount, but it adds up to so many calories. Whereas if you're eating whole real foods, you get to eat, you know, they're not as dense, calorically dense, they're nutrient dense, but not so much calorically dense. So you get to eat a larger volume of foods, to keep you fuller longer, along with getting a ton of other nutrients too. And as you know, like protein is satiating, keeps you fuller longer. Healthy fats are satiating, keeps you fuller longer.
Kaitlin:So that's why, eating a whole foods diet is definitely a better route to, because you don't have those spikes and crashes. You stay fuller longer. You're getting your fiber. You know, all those things that that we need are important.
Jen:So that makes sense why it's ease I mean, it'd be easy to overeat like, a bag of chips. Yeah. But it is harder to overeat, like, a piece of steak. Like, you eat and then you're like, okay. I'm really full.
Jen:Right? But that fullness, that sensation doesn't really come with those snacky foods that are typically ultra processed.
Kaitlin:Yep. Yep. Good point. Yeah. And that's it's important to bring that up with tracking macros too because, you know, we've heard as, you know, as long as it fits.
Kaitlin:If it fits your macros, it's okay to eat. Sometime, this is something I have to be, you know, watch out for people that I work with because when you have macros, you have more flexibility. You can enjoy, you know, like other things and still make it fit. So it's not like you can't ever have dessert or whatever and not reach your goals. Like you can make that fit into your macros and still enjoy that.
Kaitlin:But what we don't want to happen is having all of these processed foods because it fits the macros, and then we're missing out on, the nutrient dense foods. Sometimes that can happen where people start going off on the it feels, you know, compared to, like, any other diet or restrictive diet that they've done, where it feels so restrictive. They're having to cut all this stuff out, and now I'm tracking my macros and I have all this flexibility and can make things fit. Being careful not to make it a majority of processed foods just because it fits and making sure we're still staying on on the real whole foods and then allowing, you know, some things in for enjoyment and flexibility. So I always say, like, 80 80% whole natural foods, 20%, you know, room for all that other stuff, and that makes it pretty, doable and sustainable.
Jen:Yeah. I love the 80 20 rule too. I think it just creates freedom, but also this focus and intention of this is my lifestyle, right, that I am committed to cooking food at home and buying quality food and, you know, but then I can go out to eat, you know, and I can enjoy dessert, and I can have freedom, because it's not about restriction. It's about this lifestyle and wanting to really nourish my body in the right way. And when you do that, you feel better, so you're more motivated to do that.
Jen:It's not, again, a diet. It comes your lifestyle and how you yourself and your family.
Kaitlin:Yeah. And that's why I really love macros and teaching that because it feels like a lifestyle. When people start, they feel they're like, oh, I can see myself doing this for the rest of my life rather than this diet where it's restrictive. And you're like, it's so miserable and you're like, I can't do this forever. How am I ever gonna achieve my goals if I'm trying to do this?
Kaitlin:It's like, no. Let's think about what we can do that feels more natural and more like a lifestyle than this diet that you're following. And so that's why I really love macros too.
Jen:Can you walk us through calculating?
Kaitlin:Yes. Okay. Are we gonna go there?
Jen:I don't know if you're gonna go there. Yes. Okay.
Kaitlin:Yeah. Yeah. Let's go there. So I want everyone out there to grab a pen and a paper and get ready to write things down, and I'll try to make this as simple as possible. So first, I wanna talk about, like, energy of macronutrients.
Kaitlin:So protein has 4 calories per gram. Carbs have 4 calories per gram, and fats have 9 calories per gram. Alcohol is not a macronutrient, but I wanna throw that in there because it's very important for people to know that alcohol also has 7 calories per gram. So you can see, like, how dense alcohol is and how quickly that could add up. So I just want to throw that one in there.
Kaitlin:We're not going to focus on that today, but just so you guys know. So let's get into the formula, and I'm gonna go through this, kind of slowly so everyone, gets this. So the example that I'm going to give is for if somebody has a weight loss or a fat loss goal. So you would take your goal body weight, then multiply that by 12, and that gives you your total calories that we are going to work with. I'm gonna pause there with with goals.
Kaitlin:So 12 is for if you have a weight loss or a fat loss goal. If you have a maintenance goal, like you're trying to find maintenance calories for your weights, where you want to, like, maintain your weight, but change your body composition. So just kinda change how you would look. You would take your body weight times 14 or 15, and that gives you your maintenance calories. If you wanted to build muscle, you would take your body weight times 18 or 19, and that will give you your surplus calories because we know we have to if we want to build muscle and create new tissue, we have to be eating more than what we're expending.
Kaitlin:So you have to be in a surplus to build muscle. So we're gonna work with the fat loss numbers just because typically that is, most people's goal. So we're gonna work with that today. And this isn't going to be perfect, but these numbers will give you a pretty good idea. And then, of course, it's always good to work with a coach so your coach can adjust numbers and macros as you are progressing and and working towards your goals.
Kaitlin:So it's never set. Like, they're they're changing over time too as you are making changes, and that's where a coach becomes really important.
Jen:Question, Caitlin. Yes? Does age factor into that? Is there any cofactor for age? Right?
Jen:Like, someone who's 20 versus 40 versus 60, would this calculation be the same?
Kaitlin:Yes. Okay. If if you are so you this is just very general. This will put you in a pretty good place. If you're working with somebody else, they're going to do a little more in-depth calculation, for you and take a ton of other things into account and consideration.
Kaitlin:But for just, like, general, this is going to put somebody in a pretty good place. So for this calculation, yes. The same for age And gender? Gender. Yes.
Kaitlin:Yep. Mhmm. Age, gender, all of that. So you have a fat loss or weight loss goal. You're taking your goal body weight times 12.
Kaitlin:That gives you your total calories that we are going to work with. Now in order to find your protein targets, you take your goal body weight times 1, because we want 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight or goal body weight. So goal body weight times 1 is protein. To find our fat, we are going to take your total calories times point 25 divided by 9 because there are 9 calories in 1 gram of fat. So that will give you your grams of fat for the day.
Kaitlin:Now to find your carbohydrates, you're going to take the remainder calories from your total calories divided by 4, because there are 4 calories and 1 gram of carbohydrates. So that gives you your grams of carbs. Now I'm going to give us some examples with numbers here just so we can kind of better follow that. So say somebody had, their goal weight is a £115 or a £150, and they have a a fat loss goal. So we're gonna use the number 12, and their goal weight is a 150.
Kaitlin:So you take a 150 times 12, that equals 1800 calories. So that's their target calories for the day, is 1800. Now to find the protein, we're taking a 150 times 1, and that's a 150 grams of protein, times 4 to find our calories from protein. So a 150 times 4 because there's 4 calories in a one gram of protein. That's 600 calories of your 1800 calories is coming from protein.
Kaitlin:Now to find fat, remember, we have to take our total calories times 0.25 divided by 9. So we are taking 1800 times 0.25, and that equals 450 divided by 9, because there are 9 calories and 1 gram of fat. So that equals 50 grams of fat for the day. So so far, we're at a 150 grams of protein for the day, 50 grams of fat for the day. Now we need to find carbohydrates.
Kaitlin:So to find carbs, remember we take your total calories minus your remaining calories divided by 4. So because we had 600 calories came from protein, 450 calories came from fat, now we take 600 plus 450, which is 1,050.
Jen:It's a lot of math.
Kaitlin:Yes. Are you following so far? 80%. Okay. 80, 20 rule.
Kaitlin:So so we have 1800 minus 1,050 is 750 divided by 4, because that's how many calories are in 1 gram of carbohydrates, and that equals a 187. So if you if your goal weight is a £150, you have a fat loss goal to weigh a £150, you're going to consume a 150 grams of protein, a 187 grams of carbs, and 50 grams of fat would be your macro breakdown for the day. The total 1800 calories.
Jen:Got it. So just then as a reminder, when we do the initial calc of body weight times 12 or body weight times 14, 15, or 18, It's ideal body weight, not your current body weight unless you're in maintenance. Right? So that would be so for weight loss, you're gonna put your ideal body weight. For maintenance, you would put your current body weight.
Jen:Yep. So building, you would put what?
Kaitlin:Current body weight times 18 or 19, and that will give you, like, a surplus of calories.
Jen:So each one would be current except for the weight loss one would be your ideal. So that's Yep. So the caveat there. So that's ideal body weight for that one, but the other 2 are your current body weight. Correct.
Jen:Okay.
Kaitlin:Yep. Mhmm. And then the same formula works whether you're using 12 or whether you're using 14 or 15 or 18 or 19 Mhmm. To determine your macros. K.
Kaitlin:So people might need to listen to this again and slow it down or, you know, go back to get to get that formula to determine your macros. It sounds confusing. It is at first until it's just like anything else. You you know, if you're learning something new, it seems hard and you're kind of resistant to it and feels a little overwhelming. But just like anything else, the more you do it, the more you practice it, the easier it gets and the more you understand it.
Kaitlin:So I always tell people, like, at least a month or 2 to really kinda get the flow. It just like any other new skill or new thing that you're learning. It takes time. It takes practice. But the more you do it, the better, you get and the more it makes sense.
Jen:Yeah. I definitely agree, though. Slow down, rewind, write it out with paper, then that'll make sense. And then probably be good to work with a coach, like, Caitlin, so you can get someone to guide you through that, especially if it feels amazing.
Kaitlin:Yeah. Yeah. And especially if you're like, I don't wanna do the calculation, you know, work with somebody so you don't have to deal with that side of things. You don't have think about it. They'll handle everything for you and, you know, do all the calculations for you, break things down.
Kaitlin:All you have to do is just do it. So this is just for, people out there that kinda wanna get a good idea or are curious about, like, how do how do you get these numbers and how does this work? This gives a pretty good general, area. But if you wanna get more fine tuned and, then it's all in and have adjustments made as you make progress and work towards your goals, always better to work with a coach. And of course, if you don't wanna deal with any of the calculations and just have somebody else do it for you, work with a coach.
Jen:So a question I have for you is, especially you previously, in an episode, talked about your own eating disorder journey. So, you know, I think it's rare when you meet someone who has recovered and is able to do this kind of work and do things like this, like track and monitor without swinging it back into a place of obsession or something unhealthy. So what do you recommend for people listening who are maybe in that boat? Like Like like, well, I've been in this unhealthy place. I've been restrictive, or I've had, you know, more disordered eating behavior, but I do have some goals.
Jen:Like, I do wanna gain muscle or I do wanna maybe even lose some weight. I have clients like that who, like, recovered, and they actually now need to lose some weight to be healthy. But it's so tricky because we don't wanna sneak back into that mindset. Right? So any ideas on that?
Jen:How can people navigate that and, like, do this without crossing the bounds?
Kaitlin:Yeah. Well, where I have found that, people tend to get obsessive or stressed or overwhelmed is when they're they're trying to do too extreme of a cut and a deficit, like, where this becomes, they're doing something that's not appropriate and not necessary to achieve their goals. It's way too extreme. It's way too as, restrictive, and that's where this gets a little bit messy. You know, you hear people when you when you look at, like, 1800 calories, like, pretty decent that's a pretty solid amount.
Kaitlin:And then to think like, oh, that's it. That's deficit calories. Because most people are trying to eat 1200 calories, 1,000 calories. It's like, yeah, that's not going to work. That's not appropriate.
Kaitlin:That's way too restrictive. So I have found when people actually learn what is appropriate, and what's not extreme, not doing anything extreme, then this feels way more natural and it's just easier to do it, a totally easier process and more sustainable. So that would be the first thing that I say is like, don't do anything inappropriate and way too restrictive because then it is going to become obsessive and, and, and too hard. And also just, I always check-in with people, you know, is this making you stressed out? Is this overwhelming?
Kaitlin:Is it too much? Always checking in with with people on that? And also people that have had a history of eating disorder or disordered eating, I don't think it's always a good idea to put them in a deficit. Usually never a good idea. And so really I just work with them around their maintenance calories and, and keeping them in just a really good and healthy place.
Kaitlin:People that have had struggles with food or anything should not be focusing on a deficit. And that's where it gets a little little messy too. Now I've also had people, and this was my personal experience where, tracking has actually helped with their eating disorder and disordered eating habits. And, specifically for me, it allowed me to not fear food anymore. And it helped me realize like, wow, I can eat all of this food and nothing bad is going to happen to me.
Kaitlin:So it kind of proved like all this food that you're able to consume and, like nothing bad happens. And so it kind of, it helped, I don't know what it was about that, but it helped me realize, how much you can sue can consume and, you know, the impact that getting your macros right has on how you feel and your body composition and how much you can actually eat and you survived. Then nothing nothing terrible came from it. So really tracking for me helped me eat enough and and make sure I wasn't under eating. So and that's kind of where I, I used it was to make sure that I was eating enough and not restricting and not, under doing it.
Kaitlin:And so in that aspect, it's been really helpful for a lot of people too, that have the tendency to under eat. It's kind of that accountability factor to make sure you're eating enough and getting enough nutrients.
Jen:That's a great point. I think you can see this in different ways, but you can take the angle that this is empowering. It's empowering to know what food is, what it what its nutrients are, what the density is, and how it will fuel your body and also help you reach goals if you have those. And at minimum, maintain your health and maintain your stability and your blood sugar and all those things and and not let you be on a roller coaster because that's what a lot of women complain of. Right?
Jen:It's the roller coaster and both sometimes emotionally and physically with weight. And I think I'm all about that too. I think knowledge is power. And so I I'm always about taking a, you know, a middle path approach and and what works for the person and be by individual, and I'm about empowering with knowledge rather than being afraid. I think oftentimes we lean towards fear, and that hurts us more than helps us.
Jen:So, yeah, so if you struggle with disordered eating, if you work with someone like Caitlin who understands eating disorders, you can move into this space without fear, assuming that you are being honest and doing what your coach is asking you to do and learning, right, and being open and receptive. I think there are really safe ways, healthy ways to do this. And that's a really good thing because I know both of us coming from having worked as well in eating disorder treatment, there's just so much fear around all this stuff. When you get out of treatment, it's like this whole new world of like, well, now what how do I what do I do with food? Now they don't have maybe a dietitian.
Jen:They're giving me a perfect meal plan. How do I do this? How do I live my life and have this new normal lifestyle and not have to fear food? I think that's a great message
Kaitlin:for all of us. Yes. Yes. And this is, this is why I don't create meal plans too. Yeah.
Kaitlin:I mean, you see a lot of nutrition coaches that will just tell you exactly what to eat and how much to eat, and that doesn't teach you anything about food. You don't have to think about it. You're so what happens when you're no longer working with that person? You don't know what to do, and you revert right back to what you were doing before, because you were being told what to do and how much to eat and what to eat. And you don't have to think about anything with this.
Kaitlin:You actually learn food, learn the process, you know, the why behind it all. And so that's, that's why I don't create meal plans either and also take this approach.
Jen:I love that. Yes. Do you have anything else for us here? Or
Kaitlin:Oh, no. That was kind of a lot.
Jen:Always more than we planned.
Kaitlin:Oh, I know. Just kinda let people digest, and, I encourage you to rewind back to the, breakdown, you know, slow it down, pause it, write this out and, you know, put this back to doing it. And, of course, reach out if you have questions and just to throw it out there, my favorite tracking app is chronometer. That's what I use and teach, to everybody. It's wonderful.
Kaitlin:It has the amount of food searchable foods in there is amazing. You can also search different restaurants. You can, it also has a bar, barcode scanner, so you can scan in the foods that you're eating, tracks, fiber, water, all your vitamins and minerals that tracks everything. And also as a coach, I have the ability to go in the backend and look at everybody's diaries too. So, can see what's going on there and what people are doing.
Kaitlin:So
Jen:That's chronometer, c h Yes.
Kaitlin:Chronometer? Okay. P r p r. O n o m e t e r. It's, orange square with a white apple.
Kaitlin:Got it. Well, thank you. I'm glad you brought that
Jen:up because I was giving my last question for you. It's like, where do people track? We have to look up the food and the composition, all of that. So Cronometer is your recommended choice app.
Kaitlin:Yes. Awesome. Super easy to use, user friendly. I love it. And there's a free version of it, so even better.
Jen:Free is always great, the least to start.
Kaitlin:Yes.
Jen:Well, Caitlin, I so appreciate this conversation today. I learned a lot, so I know other people did too. I was taking notes and, like, I'm gonna do my calcs later and do my spouse's and see where we are because we're working on our protein in particular for our macros. So thank you for that and for being so generous with all that information and the calculation so we have practical tool to use and walk away with. And I'm sure we'll do more content like this because there's so right?
Jen:It's like endless supply of information when it comes to nutrition. So thank you again. Information when it comes to nutrition so thank you again and guys if you want to learn more about Caitlin you know where to find her our information's in the show notes but thanks so much for joining us this week and we will see you next time. Thanks for joining us on the counterculture health podcast. To support this show, please rate review and share with your friends and family.
Jen:If you wanna be reminded of new episodes, click the subscribe button on your preferred podcast cast player. You can find me, Jen, at awaken.holistic.healthandatawakeningholistichealth.com.
Kaitlin:And me, Caitlin, at Caitlin Reed Wellness and Caitlin Reed Wellness.com. The content of the show is for educational and informational purposes only. As always, talk to your doctor and health team. See you next time.