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 A monthly feature in our newsletter, thanks to Briana Crotinger LMT! Briana is on our team at CoreStrong and we are so lucky! Briana has a wealth of knowledge and loves to research and share her findings! With over a decade of bodywork, kinesiology, and pain management experience, she weaves her knowledge into her barefoot myofascial massage practice at Mend Bodywork MACROSTAX - The Nutrition App! “Kerry, how the (bad word) am I supposed to eat this much protein?” That was the text I sent immediately after I downloaded the Macrostax app and was duly informed that I need to consume 154 grams of protein every day. “Just listen to the podcast I sent you- trust me.” She replied. And thus began a full 30 days of tracking my macros. Now I sit here to tell you the good, the bad and the ugly of my experience. Why? Because in January, CoreStrong will be running a Macrostax challenge, and trust me when I say now is the time to familiarise yourself with tracking your macros because, as I learned, you can’t go from 0 to 100 overnight. So what does “tracking your macros” mean? The body runs off of three main macronutrients- carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Carbohydrates are the body’s main energy source and provide four calories per gram. Protein is the major repair nutrient for the body and also provides four calories per gram. Fat plays a huge role in satiety, hormone production, the uptake of fat soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D, K, and E, and carries nine calories per gram. When tracking macronutrients, the rationale is a 40/30/30 split of calories from carbohydrates, proteins, and fat in that order. Tracking macronutrients instead of calories allows the user to focus more on quality of food rather than quantity while still allowing freedom of choice when it comes to choosing food for the day. So, if you want a piece of chocolate cake and it fits your macros, go for it. If you are wondering, yes I absolutely ate cake and cookies and chocolate while tracking my macros, but before I can venture too far into the forest, a little groundwork first. I agreed to this assignment for various reasons. Since May, I’ve lost muscle, which was not a trend I was expecting. I’ve also been experiencing the most intense fatigue all summer. Not the, “I need a nap” fatigue, no, no. The “bury me in the ground six feet deep and wake me next year fatigue.” I’ve also noticed I bruise like a peach and my wounds don’t heal very quickly. My heart rate variability tanked and my workout recovery? What recovery? So when it came to downloading the app and sticking with it for a month- barring my fear of tracking my food and the ever lurking shadow of an eating disorder- what did I have to lose? All my important metrics were already trending down anyway. My experience can be broken down into three distinct phases. Phase one was a wakeup call, phase two was a period of overcompensation, and phase three was all about balance. The first week was rough. I faced the bleak reality of my ingrained habits and boy were they refusing to exit the stage without a fight. I was woefully unprepared for just how quickly I would have to flip my previous ideas of personal nutrition to get within a 7 mile radius of my target numbers. It became crystal clear, given my storied history with food, that I would have to put some concrete boundaries in place if I was going to make this experiment successful.
Even though that first week proved a huge challenge, I noticed a massive shift in energy after only three days. This was expected as I was easily eating at least 800 calories and 80 grams of protein more a day than I usually did. The notes from my journal during the first week are laced with elation; energy when I normally had none, and on October 10th, I hit a personal best on the VersaClimber. The second phase is clearly delineated by the advent of a migraine, which I battled off and on for an entire week. Regardless, I was still getting over 100 grams of protein every day, and noticed a positive trend in my sleep patterns and recovery rate. By the 15th, I noted how quick I was to recover after a workout, and how good it felt to go hard at the gym. On October 16th, after a few days of hitting roughly 120 grams of protein (and as my journal recorded, a lot of whining about protein yogurt and a subtle horror about how much processed food I was eating) I decided to commit and hit that 154 grams. In doing so, I made the most vile protein dish I have ever made in my entire life- one carton of egg whites, butter, and white rice. This meal was so vile in fact, that I had to take two days off from tracking because the thought of eating anything that even smelled like protein twisted my stomach. It was at this moment it became extremely clear I was not going to be hitting that 154g goal anytime soon. This ill fated meal threw me into phase three- balance. The beauty of tracking every piece of food that enters your mouth is that you can’t lie to yourself. Macrostax has a handy little feature that tracks important metrics like fiber and micronutrients. In my quest to jam as much protein as physically possible, I was ignoring healthy carbs like fruits and vegetables to my own detriment. And while I was still hitting my personal goal of at least 100 g of protein a day, I did a hard pivot and started focusing on whole food, nourishing meals like soups and stews. In the early days, I found myself shying away from dining out, because trying to dissect a restaurant meal into something acceptable to the Macrostax app was too much. And, to be honest, I was beginning to feel a little burnt out from tracking literally everything that came across my plate. So, I implemented tracking free days- usually a weekend day. By this point, I had a very good idea of what I needed to do to hit 100 grams of protein, and so when I finally went out to eat, I prioritized the protein, but still ate the cake. After these last 30 days will I continue to use the app? Yes, absolutely. This app helped me crystalize nutritional goals in a way I’ve never been able to do. I didn’t once obsess over calories while using this tool, which is the biggest win of them all. Because I prioritized protein, I never felt restricted in my food, neither did I feel hungry. I loved that the app has a barcode scanner built in, so food entry is a breeze. This feature also highlighted just how much ultra-processed food I ate, guiding me gently to choose more whole foods. However, the app is not without its faults. Tracking home-cooked meals is a giant pain in the butt. You can enter a recipe and then portion it out, which does make the process easier, but when it comes to dining out? You will be left guessing. I also found the macronutrient breakdown too aggressive for me. Even after 30 days, I still hadn’t hit my goal of 154 grams of protein but hit my fat goal by lunch everyday. This left me wondering what the heck I was supposed to do for dinner many nights. As mentioned, my body runs better off of fats, and so I disregarded the fat metric, letting carbohydrates and fats balance themselves out. As we inch closer to the MacroStax challenge, I encourage you to start playing with the app to work out your own personal bugs. Below are the six most helpful tips I implemented over the last 30 days to achieve my personal goals.
And now for the long awaited finale! So how did my numbers change over the last month? I’m happy to report only positive results. When I began this journey, I weighed 122.2, with a body fat mass of 27.0 lb, and a skeletal muscle mass of 52.5 lbs. At the end of my journey, a mere 30 days of me fumbling about to get this right, I weigh 120.8, with a body fat mass of 25.3 lbs and a skeletal muscle mass of 52.7 lbs. Mind you, I did not set about this journey to lose weight, but as a 33 year old woman, the change in trend alerted me that I needed to make some serious changes. So, after a mere 30 days and more macronutrients that equaled to a minimum of an extra 800 calories a day, I corrected the trend I was seeing. But beyond numbers, I feel fantastic. My sleep is now so good that my sleep app reset my baseline. My heart rate variability (a metric used for overall recovery) increased 6 points, and my resting heart rate dropped 3 points. My skin, once so dry it flaked like a snowglobe, is now much healthier. My workout recovery is phenomenal and for the first time ever, I was able to get over 200’ on the VersaClimber sprint. I no longer need a midday nap and have plenty of energy to do my workout and complete my physically demanding job. My mood has been more stable, and I’m a little less reactive to life’s daily stressors. For the first time in my entire life, I was able to eat dessert with zero guilt because I knew exactly what my body required, and if it fit my macros, then dessert was merely just part of my fuel. I encourage you to play with the app and get familiar with it and then when the challenge arrives, really commit. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much your body can do when given the proper tools. See you in class! -Briana, LMT, CES For access to the MacroStax app, check the email you used when you signed up with CoreStrong. It is free for members. Or send us an email at [email protected] and we'll send you a link to get signed up.  TRAINING STARTS IN JANUARY!
Please email Cathy at [email protected] to learn more. Comments are closed.
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