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Weighing in After 3 Month Scale Break

3/20/2015

4 Comments

 
Hey guys! I'm about to get vulnerable up in here... because why even have a blog if I don't keep it totally real? So yeah. As you may have read in previous posts, for the past three months of my lean bulk I did not use a scale. Once I saw 118 on the scale mid-December, it started messing with my head bigtime. I had an overwhelming urge to lower calories and revert back to my old eating disordered ways. So I said F the scale because Logic>Crazy. I was at a caloric surplus for about 9 months and as of last week, I am now CUTTING. In case you are wondering, cutting in a nutshell = lowering calories in the form of carbs/fat (keeping protein high) and adding more cardio to establish a caloric deficit aiming to lose about 1-2 lb/week. You still lift heavy and hard to retain as much muscle as possible, although some will inevitably be lost just as some fat is inevitably gained during a bulk (going slowly keeps it minimal). I know that with this specific goal in mind, a scale is a very helpful tool in assessing how much of a deficit is needed aka changes to make to macros/cardio as I progress in the cut.

So I did it. I prayed, gave myself a pep talk, and prepared myself mentally as much as possible. My heart was beating so fast and I felt sick to my stomach. I knew in my HEAD how illogical it was to place such weight (ha) on a number, but I couldn't escape the old ED part of my brain that had been stuck in crazy mode for over a decade. For anyone who has never experienced this scale adrenaline rush, it's kind of like being infatuated with someone... it makes you think and act a lil bit cray cray, no matter what the absolute truth is.

I took a deep breath and I stepped on the scale... and I was SHOCKED. I had only gained 4 pounds in 3 months. I was right on track with where I wanted to be for a slow lean gaining phase. I'm the kind of person who always "hopes for the best but expects the worst" so that I don't set myself up for massive disappointment. But I was pretty freakin stoked, and almost wished the scale was a little higher. And THAT is a true feat for someone who used to obsessively starve herself any time the scale deviated from the 100-104 range.

All that to say -- having appropriate macros for your goal (bulking/cutting/recomp/etc), tracking accurately, and training hard freaking WORKS... without a scale. If scale weight is messing with your head, I recommend ditching it for a while. Take a mental break and see how it totally changes your life! Much love!

- C

PS: Stay tuned for a new cover song about why chicks should lift... T-SWIFT this time :P
4 Comments

Week 20: Lessons Learned & Team #ATP

10/22/2014

4 Comments

 
Sheeeeeeesh, where to begin. As you know, I like to keep it 100% real so I will just tell you like it is.

This blog post is called lessons learned because I'd rather you learn from my experience than suffer through it yourself. So lemme spare you some gray hairs and tears, aight?! :)

REVERSE DIET & CUTTING LESSONS:
1) Don't do a mini-cut right after you get your period for the first time in a year. Chances are, weight gain is water retention due to crazy hormone changes. Being a girl just straight up sucks sometimes.
2) Don't do a mini-cut during the most stressful time of your life. Because cortisol. 
3) Don't do a mini-cut when you are only getting 3-4 hours of sleep a night. Because cortisol.
4) The scale is not the best measurement tool so chill out and don't put your faith in it.

As you can see, I have not changed my macros at ALL. I have been on POINT with hitting my exact macros every day and have not had one "cheat day" because I don't do those. Yet my weight has increased. Interestingly enough, exactly one month ago to this day my weight had increased about 2 lbs (and then went back down a week later…) because my period happened for the first time in a year. I expect that to happen again soon, probably this week. Sorry for any dudes who read my blog but it is what it is. I'm a girl. :)

LIFE LESSONS:
I'm not going number these, but this week I learned a lot about myself. I am a perfectionist in most areas of my life and that characteristic can really mess me up when I am stretched too thin. I am not the kind of person who half-a$$es anything. When I commit to something, I give it my all and that is difficult when there is a lack of time. To me, that means I have to compensate by overkilling everything. I have felt so much pressure lately in ALL ares of my life (personal, school, work). On top of that, I felt like my mini-cut was essentially a waste of time (and precious carbs that I could have eaten dangit!!) that I will be totally honest -- there came a point where I Just had to sit down and cry for like an hour straight. I had to just let it out and it felt freaking amazing.

Even though this blog is primarily about physical changes--reverse dieting, building muscle, optimizing body composition, etc.--this whole experience is changing me from the outside in. This week, during that "good cry" sesh, I had a defining moment. I'm legitimately done with letting the scale dictate my level of happiness. The logic finally trumped the crazy. It was a huge breakthrough for me. I was seriously contemplating quitting the scale altogether and not weighing myself anymore, but I decided that I need to continue for the sake of the macro experiment so I can keep up with this data for you guys. I also know that in order to gain legit muscle, I will probably see the scale weight increase and that is not a bad thing. I am going to focus now on increasing my strength and increasing my macros relative to that. I want to build some solid muscle and then do a real cut. And perfect timing 'cause guess what?!

I have never had a coach before… until now!
I am so excited to officially be with team Alpha Training Protocols. I have followed them since the beginning of the macro experiment… and I remember when I first found them on IG thinking "holy crap this is THE gold mine of IIFYM!!" I respect these guys so much. Excited, honored, grateful, STOKED to say the least. They are the perfect combo of solid evidence-based coaching and GOOD PEOPLE (crazy nice, ethical, hilarious...) So... huge shout out to Alpha Training Protocols. You should follow them on FB and IG if you don't already. <3 

STATS:
REVERSE DIET 2: 
Date                 Weight (lb)           BF%              Protein (g)          Carbs         Fat          Total Cal
9.22.14            114                        15.5               120                     150             35           1,395 (+95)

MINI-CUT 1:
Date                 Weight (lb)           BF%              Protein (g)          Carbs         Fat          Total Cal
10.15.14          112.5                     15.5               120                      140            29           1,300 (-0)
10.8.14            111.5                     15.2               120                      140             29          1,300 (-0)
10.1.14            113.5                     15                  120                      140             29          1,300 (-0)
9.24.14            115                        16.0               120                      140             29          1,300 (-350)

REVERSE DIET 1: 
Date                 Weight (lb)           BF%              Protein (g)          Carbs         Fat          Total Cal
9.17.14            113                       15.4                117                     201             42            1,650 (+0)
9.10.14            111.5                    16.2                117                     201             42            1,650 (+58)
9.3.14              111                        16.8               117                     191              40           1,592 (+58)
8.27.14            111.5                    16.4                117                     181              38           1,534 (+58)
8.20.14            111.5                    15.7                117                     171              36           1,476 (+58)**
8.13.14            110                        16.0               117                     161              34           1,418 (+58)
8.6.14              110                        15.7               117                     151              32           1,360 (+58) 
7.30.14            109.5                    15.5                117                     141              30           1,302 (+58)
7.23.14            110.5                    15.7                117                     131              28           1, 244 (+18)
7.16.14            109                        15.0               117                     131              26           1,226 (+58)
7.9.14              109                        14.9               117                     121              24           1,168 (+49)
7.2.14              110                        15.6               117                     111              23           1,119 (+49)
6.25.14            110.5                     15.4               117                     101              22           1,070 (+40)
6.18.14            110                        16.1               117                      91               22           1,030 (+43)
6.11.14            112.5                     16.8               117                      81               20           987 (+40)*
START                                                                   117                      77               19            947

Much <3,
- C
4 Comments

Week 19: Mini Cut Feelz

10/15/2014

13 Comments

 
Meh.

MINI-CUT 1:
Date                 Weight (lb)           BF%              Protein (g)          Carbs         Fat          Total Cal
10.15.14          112.5                     15.5               120                      140            29           1,300 (-0)
10.8.14            111.5                     15.2               120                      140             29          1,300 (-0)
10.1.14            113.5                     15                  120                      140             29          1,300 (-0)
9.24.14            115                        16.0               120                      140             29          1,300 (-350)

REVERSE DIET 1: 
Date                 Weight (lb)           BF%              Protein (g)          Carbs         Fat          Total Cal
9.17.14            113                       15.4                117                     201             42            1,650 (+0)
9.10.14            111.5                    16.2                117                     201             42            1,650 (+58)
9.3.14              111                        16.8               117                     191              40           1,592 (+58)
8.27.14            111.5                    16.4                117                     181              38           1,534 (+58)
8.20.14            111.5                    15.7                117                     171              36           1,476 (+58)**
8.13.14            110                        16.0               117                     161              34           1,418 (+58)
8.6.14              110                        15.7               117                     151              32           1,360 (+58) 
7.30.14            109.5                    15.5                117                     141              30           1,302 (+58)
7.23.14            110.5                    15.7                117                     131              28           1, 244 (+18)
7.16.14            109                        15.0               117                     131              26           1,226 (+58)
7.9.14              109                        14.9               117                     121              24           1,168 (+49)
7.2.14              110                        15.6               117                     111              23           1,119 (+49)
6.25.14            110.5                     15.4               117                     101              22           1,070 (+40)
6.18.14            110                        16.1               117                      91               22           1,030 (+43)
6.11.14            112.5                     16.8               117                      81               20           987 (+40)*
START                                                                   117                      77               19            947

What the heck yo. I gained a pound this week. Whatevs. I've been feeling crazy bloated the past few days and I'm not sure why. I think this is going to be the last week of my "mini-cut." My purpose was to lose a few pounds and I did. 112.5 is exactly where I started the macro experiment, except I was about 17% body fat then. So I'm cool with it. I just hate this feeling of having reduced energy during my workouts and throughout the day. It especially sucks because my life has been about 100x more stressful than usual the past few weeks. I'm not trying to be negative, just gotta keep it real up in here and tell you like it is! ;)

I've also been thinking a lot… I need to chill out with the value I place in scale weight. Yes, it is a subjective standardized measurement. But that's all it is. Scale weight doesn't tell you your body fat%, water retention, and most importantly it does NOT indicate self-worth or how happy/sad you should feel during the day… it's lit-ch-rally just a stupid number that reflects one's mass x acceleration of gravity at that moment in time. I'm so sick of letting the scale weight of the day have an effect on my overall happiness. It sounds so dumb and ridiculous, but it's honestly hard for me to shake it. Just a part of my old eating disorder that still likes to hang out and mess with me.


So with this next reverse, I'm not going to flip my shiz every time I gain a pound. Hold me to it people, keep me accountable! :) I want to get stronger--mentally and physically. I'm super excited about some things coming up with the macro experiment so I will keep ya posted! <3
13 Comments

Week 17: Updates and Observations

10/1/2014

1 Comment

 
Hey guys! Just a quick update. I lost 1.5 lbs this week, which I think is an appropriate amount so I'll hang onto these macros until/unless my body adapts. I already want to go back into reverse mode because I got so used to eating so much food! I miss it already, haha!

I did make one interesting observation this week. This week I did my first HIIT session in over a month. I noticed that my heart rate elevated much higher and faster than it used to, it was pretty cool. Maybe my body is becoming more conditioned from all of the strength gains during the reverse and was kind of shocked by the random HIIT session so it was like "WTF I need to get this heart rate up!" That could be totally wrong but I like speculating just for fun. :)

Soooo I'm running into some technical difficulties with the VLog this morning. It's a Rude Magic cover called "FOOD" all about IIFYM/Flexible Dieting! So nerdy but I had fun with it. I will be posting that tomorrow along with a quick review of the Reverse Diet book. So check back for that tomorrow morning!

STATS:


MINI-CUT 1:
Date                 Weight (lb)           BF%              Protein (g)          Carbs         Fat          Total Cal
10.1.14            113.5                     15                  120                      140             29          1,300 (-350)
9.24.14            115                        16.0               120                      140             29          1,300 (-350)

REVERSE DIET 1: 
Date                 Weight (lb)           BF%              Protein (g)          Carbs         Fat          Total Cal
9.17.14            113                       15.4                117                     201             42            1,650 (+0)
9.10.14            111.5                    16.2                117                     201             42            1,650 (+58)
9.3.14              111                        16.8               117                     191              40           1,592 (+58)
8.27.14            111.5                    16.4                117                     181              38           1,534 (+58)
8.20.14            111.5                    15.7                117                     171              36           1,476 (+58)**
8.13.14            110                        16.0               117                     161              34           1,418 (+58)
8.6.14              110                        15.7               117                     151              32           1,360 (+58) 
7.30.14            109.5                    15.5                117                     141              30           1,302 (+58)
7.23.14            110.5                    15.7                117                     131              28           1, 244 (+18)
7.16.14            109                        15.0               117                     131              26           1,226 (+58)
7.9.14              109                        14.9               117                     121              24           1,168 (+49)
7.2.14              110                        15.6               117                     111              23           1,119 (+49)
6.25.14            110.5                     15.4               117                     101              22           1,070 (+40)
6.18.14            110                        16.1               117                      91               22           1,030 (+43)
6.11.14            112.5                     16.8               117                      81               20           987 (+40)*
START                                                                   117                      77               19            947

- C
1 Comment

Week 16: Mini-Cut Begins and Reverse Diet News!

9/24/2014

2 Comments

 
Hey guys! In VLog2, I talked about the future of the macro experiment. In case you missed it, I have decided to throw in some mini-cuts into this reverse diet in order to maintain leanness while getting my ultimate calories higher. Since I have recently started to gain (3 lbs in 2 weeks) at 1,650 calories I will start a mini-cut today. I realize that I could continue to add in calories at a slower rate and still achieve higher calories, but I personally do not want to gain any more fat. As promised, I am posting every detail on this blog, including an explanation of why and how I am manipulating macros. Here are my mini-cut starting macros and I will continue to build on this new mini-cut chart:

STATS:


MINI-CUT 1:
Date                 Weight (lb)           BF%              Protein (g)          Carbs         Fat          Total Cal
9.24.14            115                       16.0               120                      140             29           1,300 (-350)

REVERSE DIET 1: 
Date                 Weight (lb)           BF%              Protein (g)          Carbs         Fat          Total Cal
9.17.14            113                       15.4                117                     201             42            1,650 (+0)
9.10.14            111.5                    16.2                117                     201             42            1,650 (+58)
9.3.14              111                        16.8               117                     191              40           1,592 (+58)
8.27.14            111.5                    16.4                117                     181              38           1,534 (+58)
8.20.14            111.5                    15.7                117                     171              36           1,476 (+58)**
8.13.14            110                        16.0               117                     161              34           1,418 (+58)
8.6.14              110                        15.7               117                     151              32           1,360 (+58) 
7.30.14            109.5                    15.5                117                     141              30           1,302 (+58)
7.23.14            110.5                    15.7                117                     131              28           1, 244 (+18)
7.16.14            109                        15.0               117                     131              26           1,226 (+58)
7.9.14              109                        14.9               117                     121              24           1,168 (+49)
7.2.14              110                        15.6               117                     111              23           1,119 (+49)
6.25.14            110.5                     15.4               117                     101              22           1,070 (+40)
6.18.14            110                        16.1               117                      91               22           1,030 (+43)
6.11.14            112.5                     16.8               117                      81               20           987 (+40)*
START                                                                   117                      77               19            947

As I have said many times before, I do not have all the answers. I am just a normal girl doing an experiment on my body and giving it 110%!

I do not intend to cut for long (I’m thinking about 4 weeks), just enough to lower my body fat by a few percentages and drop a few pounds before reversing again. I am aiming for a half pound to a pound a week so that I do not lose significant amounts of hard-earned muscle mass. One pound of body fat is 3500 calories, which equates to a daily deficit of 500 calories (3500 divided by 7). As this amount is about one third of my entire caloric intake, I am afraid it may be a little too drastic for me (whereas a dude maintaining at 3000 calories could do this with no problem). Therefore, I am going with 350 calories for now and will adjust as needed depending on how much I lose this week. I rounded up my protein a little, kept my fat at 20% of 1350, and allocated the rest of the calories to carbs. That is how I found my cutting macros. If you want more info on figuring out your own macros check out this section of the blog.

I will also add 1x20 min HIIT session per week and may add another later as needed. I will incorporate one reefed day to restore depleted leptin levels and try to keep my metabolic rate as high as possible. When I go back into the reverse, I will not be starting at 1650 calories because I know that the cut will decrease my metabolic rate. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

Also, I feel inclined to tell you that my body has been physically and mentally stressed more than usual for the past week. I could spare you the details, but I’ll just go ahead and get personal for a sec so bear with me. This has been one of the most insane weeks of my life. Someone dear to my heart had to get major open heart surgery yesterday. It was very successful, thank God! On top of that, I’m finishing up my masters right now in Speech Pathology and just started my medical clinical placement at Vanderbilt hospital. Right after my crazy days filled with diagnosing and treating stroke/TBI/aphasic patients, I go straight to night class until 9 PM. So starting last week, my days have been nonstop 4AM-9PM. It’s freaking intense and I’m just trying my best to establish this “new normal”. Thankfully, the placement only lasts a few months. Getting in my time to lift has been so hard, but it’s a priority in my life so I’m going to make time for it no matter what. Unfortunately, I’m getting sick so I’ve been popping zicam and taking 2-3 rest days this week instead of just one. So if you think about it, please say a prayer for me. I really need it this week!

I’m not usually such a downer, I promise! Just gotta keep it real. So how about some GREAT news?! Sohee Lee and Layne Norton’s Reverse Dieting book is AVAILABLE! Click here to get it. If you are interested in reverse dieting at all, this will be the best resource available. As soon as I get a few hours, I will most definitely be reading it cover to cover. Also, check out the lastest episode of Physique Science Radio – all about reverse dieting. SO legit.

Alright guys. Signing off for the day to dive into the craziness! Wish me luck.

- C

PS - I just miiiight be posting a fun/cheesy IIFYM song next week. So stay tuned for the nerdiness :P

2 Comments

Week 15: VLog 2 - The Future of The Macro Experiment

9/17/2014

3 Comments

 
Sometime in the next few weeks, I will begin a mini-cut, as described in this VLog to get rid of a little fluffiness… then I'll go back into the reverse. Of course, I will baseline again before reversing because I know that a cut will decrease my metabolic rate somewhat. 

WE GETTING FANCY!! :P

STATS:


Date
                 Weight (lb)           BF%              Protein (g)          Carbs         Fat          Total Cal
9.17.14            113                       15.4                117                     201             42            1,650 (+0)
9.10.14            111.5                    16.2                117                     201             42            1,650 (+58)
9.3.14              111                        16.8               117                     191              40           1,592 (+58)
8.27.14            111.5                    16.4                117                     181              38           1,534 (+58)
8.20.14            111.5                    15.7                117                     171              36           1,476 (+58)**
8.13.14            110                        16.0               117                     161              34           1,418 (+58)
8.6.14              110                        15.7               117                     151              32           1,360 (+58) 
7.30.14            109.5                    15.5                117                     141              30           1,302 (+58)
7.23.14            110.5                    15.7                117                     131              28           1, 244 (+18)
7.16.14            109                        15.0               117                     131              26           1,226 (+58)
7.9.14              109                        14.9               117                     121              24           1,168 (+49)
7.2.14              110                        15.6               117                     111              23           1,119 (+49)
6.25.14            110.5                     15.4               117                     101              22           1,070 (+40)
6.18.14            110                        16.1               117                      91               22           1,030 (+43)
6.11.14            112.5                     16.8               117                      81               20           987 (+40)*
START                                                                   117                      77               19            947

As you can see, this week I gained 1.5 lbs, so I am going to keep my macros the same this week. Not sure what's up with the body fat percent decrease, but I'll take it!

If you follow my IG at all, you know I am on a random MUFFIN KICK right now! So I'll be posting a few of those recipes this week: 1)  pumpkin/marshmallow/white chocolate and 2) almond chocolate chip! So check back in a few days for those :)!

Much love,

- C
3 Comments
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    About Cait:
    I'm a singer/songwriter/fitness enthusiast and self-proclaimed nerd from Nashville, TN. Follow me along my journey to a healthy, balanced life! 


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