Counting Macros: Yes or No?
Mizar Fuentes-Ortega was interested to discuss this topic because he’s worked with so many clients who came to him wanting to do macro counting right away, and Mizar’s thoughts on it are really beneficial for anybody who is trying to dial in their health/wellness/performance.
Should you count your macronutrients (macros)?
Mizar immediately went into what we call BLG’s - basic lifestyle guidelines - and said that you won’t get nearly as much success with macro counting if you aren’t following a consistent cadence of quality BLG’s.
Those BLG’s look like:
● Are you getting enough sleep?
● Are you getting enough sleep prior to midnight?
● Are you drinking enough water? - rarely is it “are you drinking too much water?”
● Are you taking time to eat/chew (prepare if you can), chew, and digest your food?
● Do you have good rhythm (circadian rhythm) throughout the day/night?
● Do you have good purpose in your life
● Are you getting enough sunshine on your skin? - but not too much, of course
● Are you sourcing your food from quality sources?
Mizar lead with BLG’s because they have a very important foundational impact on your body’s ability to pull the proper nutrients from the food and assimilate them. If you wake up with a brutal alarm clock - ie scaring yourself to wake up haha - sprint to the car, get a drive through coffee and bagel, if that somehow hits your macros, you’re still missing a large impactful part of your food because you are in such a stressed rush.
Mizar likened the BLG’s vs. Macros to A push up - or plank - to a muscle up. Would you expect to gain great progress in muscle ups if you cannot yet do a push up or a plank? No. BLG’s are foundational and without them in place, you can’t build a higher scaffolding - macros - on top of it.
Mizar also spoke about a level of awareness that goes even deeper than BLG’s. If you are aware of the quality of your food, water, lifestyle, etc, you will be more successful when you ultimately do add macros into your nutrition protocols.
Create quality habits prior to trying to compound on top of them
We see often that clients want to put the cart before the horse. They want to succeed so greatly that they want to skip the foundation and get right to the “sizzle” because it seems like if they can do the complicated things that they will be better off.
Unfortunately, getting to your optimal level of performance doesn’t work that way. It’s only when you create consistent habits that they become automatic enough for you to then compound complexity, such as macros, on top of them.
When should you count your macros?
Mizar went back to automatic habits. When you have created habits that are truly engrained inside of you, you can build on top of them. For macros, if you are sleeping well, eating/drinking well, training consistently, getting sun (when possible), enjoying rhythm and purpose, and you aren’t stressing out to do those things - ie automatic - you'd better be prepared to receive better success from adding macros, as a tool to your arsenal.
Until the next time my friends!
I Cancelled my Ticket for the Hype Train: Fernanda Sazo
I need to start out by saying that joining OPEX RC and working with Sam is the BEST decision I have made for MY fitness and my goals.
"I felt that I was being put on the back burner because I am not "elite" or "competitive" yet."
I worked with another well known remote coaching company who assigned me a coach. I was with them for a year, but there were a few things that were not working for me. I felt that I was being put on the back burner because I am not "elite" or "competitive" yet. When I had the opportunity to attend an in person seminar and their attention was on the athletes that already had big numbers. I actually didn’t even go back the second day, I felt like I was wasting my time and like I didn’t belong there.
Over time this began to upset me and I made the decision to leave. The hype and popularity of that company were not worth the lack of attention to my individual needs, and my growing goals to be a real competitor.
I am currently taking the OPEX CCP program and I know I believe in the OPEX way of personalized fitness, so I made the decision to try out OPEX RC with the 4-week trial and the difference was immediately noticeable. From the intake forms, to the movement test, to the video consultation... I knew that this was the place for me. OPEX RC and Coach Sam Smith aren't just good, they are the best.
"...so I made the decision to try out OPEX RC with the 4-week trial and the difference was immediately noticeable."
I am a person that loves to communicate and I take the time and make the effort to make notes on my workouts and I ask a lot of questions. Sam is AWESOME... he always responds, he is hilarious, and he knows ME.
We have talked about my goals and he helped me know where I am, where I need to be, and together we decided how I am going to get there with his help.
Fitness should be personal and and personalized. I am very happy that I made the decision to change (which I didn't do lightly) and I look forward to continuing my work with Sam and being a part of the OPEX RC Pack for the long term.
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