Are Our Bodies Really Different From Each Other?
Hey you, are you following a cookie-cutter diet?
You know, that diet that tells you to eat x, y, and z, and nothing else? And it tells you exactly how much to eat and when to eat, without taking anything about you into consideration?
Well I have news for you!
Multiple studies have shown that even identical twins respond differently when eating the same foods or following the same diets. You know what that means? That cookie-cutter diet you’re on could be causing you to follow a diet that is the complete opposite of what you actually need.
Regardless of how “healthy” this diet has you eating, what’s “healthy” for one person, may not be “healthy” for another person.
Cookie-cutter diets fail to put you into consideration. They give the same advice, rules, and guidelines for every single person and claim everyone will see the same results (and they do a darn good job of making you believe it too!).
So let’s talk about why there is no one-size-fits-all diet out there and why we all need a customizable diet if we actually want to lose weight and build muscle.
1. Everyone’s activity level is different.
How active you are weekly plays a huge role in how much you should be eating.
And not everyone has the same activity level, which means not everyone should be eating the same amount of food.
If you’re active 15 hours a week, you shouldn’t be eating the same amount of calories daily as someone who is active only three hours a week. Someone less active will need less calories. If you have an extremely high activity level, and are eating the same amount of calories as they are, you’ll cause your body to go into starvation mode. When this happens, your body clings to fat for dear life instead of burning it. Even though you’re so active, you won’t see the results you want because you have caused your body to switch from fat-burning mode to fat-storing mode.
On the other hand, if you’re a person who is only active for three hours a week, you shouldn’t be eating as much food as the person who is active 15 hours a week. Your body won’t need as many calories to function properly. It won’t need as much protein to rebuild muscles and it won’t need as many carbs to keep you energized. If you regularly consume more food than your body is actually using, it will cause you to store excess fat. No, thank you!
If you’re extremely active, your body may need 1700 calories just for basic functioning and more on top of that to keep up with your activity level, while someone else may need 1700 calories total a day.
So rather than following a cookie-cutter diet, you need to determine how much food your body actually needs to thrive optimally.
And not everyone has the same activity level, which means not everyone should be eating the same amount of food. So rather than following a cookie-cutter diet, you need to determine how much food your body actually needs to thrive optimally.
2. Different workouts require different macros.
Not only do your activity levels come into play, but also what type of activities you’re doing.
If your workouts are focused on resistance training and you rarely add cardio into the mix, you’ll need more protein in your diet. Resistance training tears your muscle fibers and they need protein in order to repair and grow. Without consuming enough protein, you’ll fail to gain the toned muscles you’re striving for.
But if you focus mostly on high-intensity cardio workouts, your body is burning lots of carbs for fuel. This means you’ll need slightly more carbs to ensure you’re keeping up with what your body needs and what it’s burning. Following a low-carb diet will decrease the intensity of your workouts. Plus, when your body doesn’t have any more carbohydrate stores, it could possibly cause your body to breakdown down muscle for fuel instead (and you don’t want to lose that muscle!).
Everyone responds differently to different foods.
Everyone’s metabolism, digestion and gut health is different. And these three things play a huge role in how we respond to food.
That meal-prepped chicken, broccoli and rice sounds extremely healthy right? Or how about that handful of almonds for a snack? Or that bowl of oatmeal topped with bananas?
Regardless of how nutrient-dense these foods are, your body may not respond well to them.
Let me give you an example…
Foods like eggs, dairy, grains, nuts and seeds are perfectly healthy and can really help some people see results. But for others, these are inflammatory foods. If you’re one of those people, and still eat these foods every single day, you’ll become chronically inflamed. Why is inflammation bad? Not only is it the cause of so many diseases and increases signs of aging, but it’s the number one hidden cause of weight gain. So no matter how healthy these foods are, if they cause inflammation, they will prevent you from losing weight.
To add to the list, it’s also common for people to be sensitive to beans, cruciferous vegetables (vegetables like broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts) and even certain types of fruit. When they eat these foods, they become extremely bloated and again, inflamed. So diets that give them an inflexible meal plan filled with broccoli, apples, and almond butter will only make them feel worse, regardless of how “healthy” these foods are.
This is why these cookie-cutter diets don’t set everyone up for success. For example, going vegan requires you to eat a lot of beans. So for someone who doesn’t respond well to beans, they will really struggle to succeed. Another example would be someone going gluten-free who doesn’t actually have an intolerance to gluten. If they aren’t intolerant, they won’t see any changes in their body.
If you want to see the results you’re after , you need to pay attention to how certain foods make you feel and find a diet that allows you to eat the foods that make you feel your best (rather than following a diet that tells you what’s best without knowing anything about you).
Everyone’s metabolism, digestion and gut health is different. And these three things play a huge role in how your body responds to food.
3. Everyone responds differently to different macros.
Just as you respond differently to certain foods than other people will, you also respond differently to different macros.
Macros is short for macronutrients. There are three types of macronutrients in the foods you eat: protein, fat, and carbs.
Again, everyone has different metabolisms and digestive systems, which means how they metabolize and digest each macro will also be different. Some people are able to metabolize carbohydrates super fast, while others can’t. Some digest fat very easily, while others struggle.
So for someone who metabolisms carbs really well, they will see better success by eating more carbs. If they go on a low-carb diet, their body will react negatively. For someone that doesn’t digest fat as efficiently, they would want to consume less fat. And if they go on a keto diet, their body wouldn’t be able to handle the high amounts of fat they’re required to eat, so again, their body would respond negatively.
If your body doesn’t metabolize or digest a certain macro as well as another, it isn’t a sign to eliminate that macro altogether. It’s a sign that you need to play around and find your sweet spot. Cookie-cutter diets don’t allow you this leniency.
One person may need more or less of a certain macro depending on how their body responds to it.
4. Even meal timing is different for everyone.
There are many diets and health experts advocating that meal timing is everything. But again, the reality is that everyone is different.
Just because one person sees amazing results from closing the kitchen at 6 pm, doesn’t mean it’s right for you. Maybe you’re someone who can never fit a workout in before 8 pm. You’re going to need a little fuel before hitting the gym and you’ll definitely need to refuel after you work out. If you close the kitchen at 6 pm, you won’t have the energy you need for an effective workout and also won’t be giving your body what it needs afterwards to rebuild and transform.
It’s also common for you to hear that you need to skip breakfast or eat a light dinner. I know I’m someone that needs a good breakfast to feel energized for my day and maybe you do too! Or maybe you feel most energized when you eat lighter throughout the day and eat a larger dinner.
You need to figure out what’s best for you and your body. At the end of the day, it’s not when you’re eating and how much you’re eating at a certain meal, it’s how much you’re eating within a 24-hour period.
One-size-fits-all diet? I don’t think so!
I know you’re wondering, “If I want to lose weight and all those cookie-cutter diets claiming to help me lose it aren’t going to work, what do I do?”
That’s a great question, and I’m here to make it simple!
At the end of the day, it’s not when you’re eating and how much you’re eating at a certain meal, it’s how much you’re eating within a 24-hour period.
How do you customize your diet?
You need to find a “diet” that is customized to you, and gives you the leniency to make adjustments according to what you need.
Follow this three-step process and you’ll be on your way to finding exactly what works for YOU:
1. Calculate your macros
The first step is to figure out how many macros your body needs.
Again, macros are protein, fat, and carbs.
Calculating your macros helps you determine how many grams of each one your body needs a day to see the results you want. This will be different for each person, as your weight, activity level, and preferences are taken into consideration when during calculation.
For each macro there are ranges you can choose from. For example, you can choose the higher end for protein if you lift a lot of heavy weights or choose the higher end of carbs if you do more cardio. Or you can chose the lower end for fat if your body doesn’t respond well to a high-fat diet diet and vice versa.
Once you have your macros calculated, you’ll then count how many of each macro you eat each day to make sure you hit your daily goals.
These are the only guidelines you have to follow, and nothing else. No rules around foods you can and cannot eat. No restrictions around meal timing. I love it!
You can easily calculate your macros by downloading my FREE e-book, Macro Counting for the Everyday Woman.
2. Listen to your body
Since macro counting has no guidelines to follow, except for hitting your daily macro goals, you have the freedom to listen to your body and give it what it needs.
You’re not following someone else’s list of foods to eat that are best for their body.
For example, if you are on a keto or paleo diet, oatmeal for breakfast is off limits. But I can tell you I feel so awesome when I eat oatmeal for breakfast and I’m sure as heck going to continue eating it. Why cut it out when I know it helps me thrive?
The key here is to actually listen to your body. You’ll never figure out what foods are best for you if you don’t pay attention to what your body is telling you.
After you eat something, how do you feel a few hours later? Do you feel hungry? Satiated? Energized? Tired? Bloated?
From there you can create your own “guidelines” of foods you know you should and shouldn’t be eating, based on how you know they make you feel.
3. Trial and error
Cookie-cutter diets don’t have room for trial and error. They’re extremely black and white. If the diet isn’t working, there’s no way to make adjustments.
If the diet isn’t working for you, your only option is to quit. Basically, you either follow the diet or you don’t.
But without trial and error, you’ll never figure out what works best for you. Macro counting gives you the liberty to make adjustments as needed to completely customize it to you and your needs.
So the last step is to test it out and make adjustments when needed!
When I first started counting my macros, it took me a few rounds to figure out the exact macro breakdown that brought me the best results. I would set my macro goals and re-evaluate where I was every few weeks.
I would evaluate by asking myself questions like did I lose weight or gain muscle? Was I closer to my fitness goals or further away? Did I feel energized or was I constantly hungry?
Depending on my answers, I would make small tweaks and changes. For example, I would raise my protein intake and lower my carbs, or I might realize I was more active than I thought and needed more calories.
This is where having a coach is extremely helpful! A coach can help you figure out what adjustments you should make and help you fine-tune your macros until you find your sweet spot. And if you reach a plateau, they can help you make the tweaks you need to get past it and continue to see results.
I created my Macro Counting Made Simple Online Academy to help coach you to build the body you want! I’ll be there with you every step of the way to ensure your “diet” is perfectly customized to you and you’re on the path to success!
Ready to join the academy and finally see the results you’ve been dreaming of? You can learn more about what my online academy has to offer here.
I’m so excited for you to quit the cookie-cutter diets and finally have a nutrition plan that is tailored to you and your goals! Macro counting was the best thing I could have ever done for myself and I know you’ll feel the same!
Have questions about macro counting? Let me know in the comments below!