It’s almost 2023, do you have a plan for your nutrition yet?
Tune in to learn how me and my petite clients are crushing goals and taking names this new year!
Previous Episodes Mentioned:
102. 5 planning tips to meet your macros
98. My top 10 go-to quick & easy recipes
96. Food scale tiny tips & tricks
91. Why eating too little could be stalling your progress
87. How to calculate your macros [petite edition]
27. Small macros adjustments for small women
Links:
3-Part How I Meet My Macros Youtube Series
The Funsized Fitness App [Use code FUNFIT23 to get 3 months for just $5 each until Jan 31 2023]
Find me on Instagram: @funsized.life_ — Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/funsizedpodcast/support
Transcription
Hey everyone, Welcome back to the Funsized Podcast, I hope you had a very happy holiday season and I wanted to congratulate you for surviving yet another year. I know it can be stressful at times but you made it! YAY! Whether you’re listening to this as you’re putting away Christmas decorations, traveling back home, getting in a workout OR maybe the new year has already begun and you’re catching up on all the podcasts you missed – no shame in that – One thing is for certain, you’re kinda sorta thinking about your health and fitness goals. And there’s no shame in that either. I know the “new year new me” can kinda feel super cliche but if the time feels right for you, then it is what it is. But with all that being said, if you don’t feel the need to focus on your nutrition or fitness right now, that’s okay too. Just because you might be being bombarded with fitness and nutrition advertisements right now, doesn’t mean you have to lose weight. You do you.
Me, personally? I always feel this is the best time of the year to really get after my physical goals for a few reasons. I mean, obviously, there’s something refreshing about a new beginning and it definitely helps that there are no major holidays in sight for a while and last but not least, the introvert in me is kinda tired from the social gatherings of the last 2-3 months and I just need some me-time.
So today, I want to talk about how I get all my ducks in a row to start the first few months of the year off strong. Obviously, you know the importance of having a solid workout program from some of my previous episodes so I’m not gonna talk too much about the fitness side of things because it’s definitely simpler than the nutrition bit; find a program and stick with it. IF you don’t have a workout program yet, I want to personally invite you come try my Funsized Fitness app. As a New Year’s special for new subscribers, you can start for just $5 a month for 3 months. That’s just $15 to get 12 weeks of workouts. I dunno where else you’ll find a deal this good so Just head on over to funsized.life/app to check it out and use code FUNFIT23 to lock in this limited time deal.
Okay, now onto the fun part… I’m gonna to tell you exactly how I Plan, Prep & Succeed with my nutrition. And get ready because this one is going to have A LOT of free resources sprinkled in it.
Full disclaimer, what works for me might not always work for everyone but after years of trial and error, research, and application on my VIP clients, this is what I have found to be the most viable
- First thing is setting a realistic goal. I know, you probably just eye-rolled but seriously this bit is important because if your goal is to lose 10lbs in January and you end up losing 5lbs, you’re going to be disappointed but meanwhile you lost 5! That is FANTASTIC for a petite girl. If you lose any more than that in one month, I’d be worried that you lost it too fast and will gain it all back just as fast. Slow and steady wins the race – but you already know this. If you’re someone who easily gets discouraged by the scale, I want to challenge you to something different this year: Maybe this year instead of having a weight loss goal, you have a different goal. Maybe you aim to lose 2 inches off your waist or maybe your goal is to fit into a certain pair of pants or maybe you want to be able to do 3 unassisted pullups. Maybe it’s more muscle definition in your arms or simply having more energy throughout the day. Some of these things are harder to measure than just stepping on a scale but I promise you, they are all much more rewarding that that stupid number. My personal goal these next few months is to see a little more muscle definition in my upper body. I think I’ve built up quite a bit of muscle in the last few months but now it’s time to reveal it by cutting a tad bit. Most of that will be achieved via nutrition but I also have to make sure my training aligns with that goal. For example, If I had 3 leg days and 2 upper body days a week, I’m more likely to define my legs than my arms so I have to flip that. And the same goes for my nutrition – it needs to align with my goal so in this case it makes sense to be in a small deficit with high protein so that I preserve as much muscle as possible while losing just a tad bit of body fat. But what I always like to do is start at my maintenance calories because this ensures that I’m not cutting too fast and because I know I overindulged this holiday season – no guilt, just honest – and I know that I’m definitely going to see some results by returning to my normal calorie intake. And the cool thing about this is A) it actually works and B) if you’re truly at maintenance, you won’t be starving so C) all the effort you’re putting doesn’t feel so hard. I mean, feeling satisfied AND seeing results, sounds like a dream come true, right?
Now, there’s a few ways you can go about finding your maintenance calories. A) You can use a calorie calculator. I personally don’t love this method because it’s just an estimate and there are sooo many factors that could affect that number either up or down. The other way is by B) Listen to episode 87 of this podcast about how to calculate your macros which requires you to do a few days of tracking and finding the average to determine your starting point. It takes a little more time than the calculator but it will be a bit more accurate so check that episode out for more detailed instructions.
- Next up is Planning. Now that my personal goals are defined and I have my starting macro goals, it’s time to make a plan that aligns with those goals AND with what I’m feeling. It doesn’t make any sense to plan oatmeal for breakfast if you despise oatmeal and the thought of it makes you want to vomit – even if that one fitness influencer claims its the best or her favorite. There’s nothing wrong with getting inspo from said girl BUT you also have to stay true to you and what you actually enjoy. The cool thing about counting macros and creating your own meal plan is that it is truly yours. What I like to do for the sake of ease is create one day of meals that fits my macros and repeat that menu for a full week because I think it’s easiest to prep and execute for a full week.(and I’ll talk more about that in step 3) But I’ve had clients who succeed with 2 different meal plans that they alternate. I’ve also had clients who succeed on a carb cycling or a macro-cycling 3-day plan but usually I like to implement those later down the line once they have mastered the one meal plan a week thing. Anyway, what I like to do is plan a full day of meals that meet my macros in MyFitnessPal. There are other apps out there that do the same thing so feel free to use the one that works best for you. When I plan, I think about the things I’m in the mood to eat, or things I already have in the fridge or the pantry and when that’s not enough, you could find me on Pinterest looking for inspiration or ideas. When I plan them out, I usually always start off with the meal I’m most excited about which is usually my breakfast or post-workout meal, then I add my dinner meal because that’s the one meal I eat with Justin and I want to make sure that I can eat the same thing as him that way I don’t get envious. I remember the days when I had to eat salads because I didn’t have many macros left while my ex got to eat 2 burgers and I’d just be grumpy. So to avoid all that, I make sure that meal goes into myfitnesspal early so that I can plan all my other meals around it. Next is usually lunch and then I fill in the gaps with snacky meals. Of course, you can go in any order you want but this is just what I have found to work for me. BTW I have a whole Youtube video of my mapping out my meals in real time and I’ll link that in the show-notes for those of you who want to see how it’s done. Speaking of order… I’m kinda messy with this next bit so again, find what works for you but sometimes, I’ll plan my meals first and then go to the store and pick up what I need. And other times, I’ll go grocery shopping first and then make a meal plan after. All depends on my mood – sometimes I just need to go to the store to get inspo but if I’m being honest, I tend to enjoy my meals more and have less waste when I plan first, then shop. And usually I like to shop on Fridays or Saturdays so that Sunday is solely dedicated to prepping which is step number 3.
- So now that my plan is ready, it’s time to start cooking or preparing whatever it is in a big batch to last me through the entire week. Some of my clients like to split it up into two smaller batches on Sunday & Wednesday nights for example and that’s totally fine if you know you have the time during the week. I just know that I don’t and likely won’t make the time so getting it all done on Sunday works best for me. And I like cooking because I can throw on a podcast or some music and just get out of my head for a little bit and I always feel super productive when I see all my food portioned out and ready to go! Again, some people like me find it best to put everything into individual portions so that it’s a quick grab and go but I also know other people who lump a whole bunch of cooked chicken into one container, cooked rice in another, and so on and then weight their portions and make the meal when it’s time. This works well when doing carb cycling especially.
- Finally, Executing. Now that I did the first 3 steps, this is the easy part! There’s no thinking at this point. Just doing and eating! And if you’re anything like me, if you don’t eat these meals that you put so much effort into planning and time into prepping, then you’re likely to feel pretty guilty. I think that guilt of wasting food is what keeps me on track on the days when everything feels hard – because trust me, we will always have those days. And I always feel like the first few days are the hardest – especially after the holiday when you’re detoxing your body from all the sugar from the holiday treats but I know that I just have to make it through that first week to lock in those healthy habits and essentially keep going.
- At the end of each week and before making my next meal plan, I assess what happened. What went well, what didn’t go so well, did I make any progress, is there anything I’m craving, etc. And I use all this information to determine any macro or training adjustments and then I repeat steps 2-5 every week until I achieve my goal or need to take a break. I usually change my macros every 1-2 weeks. If things are going super smooth, I usually don’t change them. Like lets say you lose 1lb in your first week. I usually keep my macros the same OR if I feel I lost too much too fast, I bump my macros up just a tad and then bring them down the following week. And this is because a well-fed body responds better than a under-nourished one. A few other times where I won’t change my macros is when I start a new training program – that’s usually enough of a stimulus to push the body to adapt, or sometimes when I’m on my period and I feel bloated, I know it’s just my cycle and not that my progress went backwards so I usually don’t change it and then my body returns to normal once my period is over. And lastly, if I’m sick or traveling or anything that knocks me off my normal routine, I usually keep my macros the same until I have a solid week of consistency. IF I were to just keep bringing my macros down lower and lower each week without assessing the situation or my progress, I’d run the risk of slowing down my metabolism which means it will take longer to see progress. It’s actually better to shimmy along week by week. For example if you bring carbs down and protein up or fats down and carbs up. As far as How much to increase or decrease depends on you and everything else that’s going on and a process of trial and error but it usually only takes 2-5g adjustments for us petite women. I talk about this more in episode 27:Small macro adjustments for small women. And once I decide on what I’m changing, then I make a new meal plan. Sometimes if I’m enjoying a meal or 2, I’ll keep it the same, but most of the time, I’ll switch everything up so that I get variety and don’t get bored. For example, if I’m enjoying a yogurt bowl with fruit and granola, I might just switch from blueberries to strawberries to keep it interesting and if I had a beef burrito bowl for lunch the first week, I might do a asian chicken bowl the next. BTW Both of those recipes are inside my Funsized Recipe library so feel free to use that when you’re needing some inspo. With that being said, I also have a few more episodes for you to check out to really set you up for success this new year. You might have already heard them but it can’t hurt to go back and refresh your memory.
102. 5 planning tips to meet your macros
98. My top 10 go-to quick & easy recipes
96. Food scale tiny tips & tricks
91. Why eating too little could be stalling your progress
As well as the other two I mentioned earlier:
87 How to calculate your macros [petite edition]
27. Small macros adjustments for small women.
Also, that Youtube series I mentioned earlier is a great resources if you want to see how it’s all done. It’s called How I Meet My Macros and I break it down into 3 parts aka videos: planning, prepping & executing. https://youtu.be/q60n_7277As
I have attached links to everything in the shownotes for ya so that you have all the resources you need to start this year off strong! I know I just threw a lot at you so just take it one chunk at a time. I know the hardest part is both determining your macros and weekly adjustments as well as planning meals to meet those macros and that’s why my 1:1 VIP program is dedicated to help you do exactly that. I help you take the guesswork out of it so that you can simply execute and reach your goal. IF you want to find out more just head over to funsized.life/coaching for all the details and the application.
And, don’t forget it’s important to have a plan for your workouts too! Don’t just go into your gym or your home gym and expect to wing it because you’ll likely either not follow-through or end-up disappointed with your lack of results. If you’re looking for a solid plan that you can just follow and not have to think about that aligns with your petite structure, I want to invite you to try The Funsized Fitness App for just $5 a month for your first 3 months using coupon code FUNFIT23 . Again, this special is for new subscribers only Learn more and sign up at funsized.life/app.
Alright, that’s enough for now, go check out those resources, Dm me if you have questions and hit that subscribe if you want to hear more episodes like this! Thanks so much for listening and as always, I’ll catch ya in the next one!
