Adjusting Your Nutrition When Your Workouts Change

 

Have you been eating the same way for months… even though your workouts look completely different now? If you’ve added training days, increased intensity, switched from cardio to strength, or moved into a new phase, your nutrition needs to shift with it. In this episode, I walk you through why keeping the same macros year-round can keep you stuck and how to recognize when your body is asking for more fuel.

I break down the signs you might be under-fueling, what to adjust when your workouts increase, and how to approach different phases like building, maintenance, fat loss, and deload weeks. You’ll learn how to match your nutrition to your current training so your workouts and your food actually support each other instead of working against each other.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Why eating the same macros year-round can stall progress
• The signs your body needs more fuel beyond just hunger
• What to adjust when you add workout days or increase intensity
• How to fuel differently during building, maintenance, and fat loss phases
• Why under-eating during a strength phase limits your results
• How to approach deload weeks without drastically cutting calories

If you want clarity on how to calculate and adjust your macros as your workouts change, check out Macro Counting Made Simple at macrocountingmadesimple.com. 

And if you want your training structured in a way that naturally cycles through building, maintenance, and deload phases, head to movementwithjulie.com to get started inside the Movement With Julie app.

If this conversation helped you realize your nutrition might need to shift with your training, go listen to Why Adjusting Your Macros Matters When You Increase Your Exercise next. It will help you take what you learned here and apply it in a clear, practical way so you can fuel your workouts with confidence.

If you want more from me, be sure to check out… 

Website: www.juliealedbetter.com

Transcript

0:00) Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter, (0:05) a podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I give you a dose of real talk (0:11) and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your (0:17) authentic self.

Stay tuned if you're ready to Embrace Your Real. Let's get it. Let's go.

(0:28) Hello and welcome back to another episode on the Embrace Your Real podcast. My name is Julie (0:33) Ledbetter and I am so grateful that you are here with me today. I want to ask you something.

Have (0:37) you been eating the same way for months, like maybe even years, regardless of what your workouts (0:41) look like? Maybe you've been pushing yourself harder in your workouts now than you were six (0:45) months ago. Maybe you added an extra workout day. Maybe you just came off a rest week, (0:50) but your nutrition has stayed the exact same.

If that's you, I need you to hear this, that (0:55) our bodies are not static. They need change as your activity changes. And when your nutrition (1:01) doesn't shift with your workouts, you end up stuck wondering why you're not seeing the (1:05) results that you want.

And so today we're going to be talking about why your nutrition needs to (1:09) change when your workouts change and more importantly, what to actually do about it. (1:13) We're going to be covering how to recognize when your body needs more fuel, what to adjust, (1:18) when to increase, how often, how intensely you're working out, how to eat during different (1:24) phases, and why under eating while you're trying to build strength is one of the biggest (1:28) mistakes that you can make. But before we dive in, I want to share this review.

She gave a five (1:32) star review and said, I've used movement with Julie for a few years, but I've never been a (1:36) podcast girl until I recently started 75 hard. I loved listening to Embrace Your Rail during (1:42) my outdoor workouts. It's really spoken to me where I'm at in this place in my life with (1:46) my physical, mental and spiritual journey.

I absolutely love it. Thank you so much. I'm so (1:51) grateful that this podcast is helping you and way to go on doing 75 hard.

That is definitely (1:55) not an easy challenge, but being able to get outside and listen to something that is (2:00) hopefully either encouraging you, educating you, empowering you in some way, shape, or form, (2:05) that is always my goal. So thank you again for tuning into the podcast. All right, now let's (2:10) get into it.

Starting with why eating the same macros year round is going to keep you stuck. (2:15) And we're starting here because this is the foundation of everything else that we're going (2:18) to be talking about in today's episode. A lot of women find a macro split that works for them.

(2:23) Maybe they lose some weight, maybe they feel just pretty good and then they stay there like forever. (2:27) They eat the same macros, whether they're working out three days a week or five days a week, (2:31) whether they're in a building phase or recovering from an injury, whether they're pushing hard or (2:35) taking a deload week. And I get why this happens.

Like once you figure out your macros, (2:39) you kind of get into a rhythm. It feels easier to just stick with what you know (2:42) and change oftentimes feels complicated and overwhelming, but your body doesn't work that (2:47) way. I want you to think about it like this.

If you were training for a marathon, (2:50) you wouldn't eat the same way during your peak training weeks as you would during your taper, (2:55) right? Your body's energy demands are completely different. And the same is true for your strength (3:00) workouts. When you're pushing yourself harder, you're adding more to your workouts or you're (3:03) increasing how often you train, your body needs more fuel to support that work.

And when you're (3:09) in recovery phase or taking time off, your needs shift again. So eating the same macros year round (3:14) like honestly typically means that you're either under eating when your body needs more (3:19) or you're over eating when your body needs less. And both of those scenarios are going to keep you (3:23) from making progress.

So what is the fix? Well, you need to match your nutrition to what your (3:28) body's actually doing, not to what it was doing six months ago, not to what you think it should (3:32) be doing, what it's doing right now. And that means being willing to adjust, which I know can (3:37) feel scary, especially if you have been eating a certain way for a long time and you're worried (3:41) that changing is going to mess things up. But the truth is that strategic adjustments (3:45) don't mess up your progress.

They're only going to support it. Okay. So how do you actually know (3:51) when your body needs more, more food, food or fuel? The obvious answer is hunger.

And yes, (3:57) if you're genuinely hungry all the time, that's a pretty clear sign that you're under eating, (4:02) but hunger isn't the only signal. And honestly, a lot of women have been under eating for so long (4:07) that their hunger cues are all messed up. They don't feel hungry even when their body desperately (4:11) needs more fuel.

So let's kind of talk about other signs, the ones that might not be immediate, (4:16) but they really do connect to your nutrition. Sign number one is that your workouts feel (4:21) harder than they should. So if weights that used to feel manageable suddenly just feel (4:26) very heavy week after week, or you're struggling to even finish your workouts that used to be no (4:31) problem, that's worth paying attention to.

Sometimes workouts feel harder because of (4:35) hormonal shifts. And that's totally normal at certain points in your cycle. Again, (4:39) obviously that cycle is going to come every 30 days or every 28 days.

So that is going to be a (4:44) regular occurrence. But if every workout feels like a grind, regardless of where you're at (4:49) hormonally, that can be a point to a fueling issue. And when you're under fueling or you're (4:54) under eating, your body simply doesn't have the energy that it needs to perform well.

(4:59) Sign number two, your recovery is slow. So if you're sore for days after a workout, (5:04) you never feel like you're fully bouncing back before your next session. That can be (5:08) a red flag.

Recovery requires fuel. And if you're not eating enough, your body cannot repair and (5:14) rebuild the way that it needs to. Sign number three is that your sleep is off.

Under eating (5:18) can definitely mess up with your sleep quality. You might have trouble falling asleep, staying (5:23) asleep, or waking up feeling just unrested even after a full night's rest. Sign number four, (5:29) your mood is all over the place.

If you're feeling really irritable, anxious, just generally (5:33) off. Nutrition can definitely be playing a role when your body isn't getting enough fuel or the (5:38) proper amounts of fuel that it needs. It's going to go into a stress state, and that's going to (5:43) affect everything, including your mood.

And last but not least, number five, sign number five, (5:47) your cycle is irregular or just missing altogether. For women, this is huge. If your period becomes (5:53) irregular or stops altogether, this can be your body's way of saying that it doesn't have (6:04) multiple causes, and some of them can have nothing to do with nutrition.

(6:08) So if you're experiencing persistent changes to your cycle, please get it checked out by a doctor (6:12) to rule out any underlying health issues. But if everything else checks out medically, (6:17) and you just have been under eating, that's oftentimes the missing piece. And if you're (6:22) experiencing any combination of these signs, that's your body practically screaming at you (6:26) to eat more.

The bottom line is I don't want you to wait until you're so freaking hungry (6:31) to recognize that you need more fuel. I want you to pay attention to how your body feels (6:36) during your workouts, how you're recovering, how you're sleeping, and how you're showing up (6:40) emotionally. Those are all pieces of the puzzle.

All right, so now it's time to get practical. (6:46) So what should you actually adjust when your workouts change? Well, scenario number one, (6:50) let's say you're adding more workout days. So let's say you've been working out three (6:53) days a week, and now you're bumping it up to four or five.

As we head into the warmer (6:58) months, you just want to get active, you want to make sure that you're feeling your strongest. (7:02) Your body is expanding more energy, which means that it needs more fuel. And the easiest place (7:07) to start is to add carbohydrates.

So carbohydrates, those are your body's preferred source of energy. (7:13) If you're adding workout days, you do need more energy to support that. A good starting point (7:18) is really revisiting your total carb target.

So inside my Macra County Mead Simple Online Academy, (7:23) this is going to calculate your carbs based on your remaining calories after your protein (7:28) and fats are set. So your activity, as your activity increases, your overall calorie needs (7:33) to go up and your carbs should reflect that. You can spread those carbs throughout the day, (7:38) you can time them out around your workouts, whatever feels best to you.

(7:41) The number one thing that I just want to stress is that you have to do whatever is (7:46) going to allow you to stay consistent. So I don't want you to try to change and overhaul (7:50) every single thing overnight because that's going to be so overwhelming and you're likely (7:54) not going to be able to stay with that long-term. And so whatever it is that you are changing, (8:00) I just want to make sure that you can do that long-term scenario.

Number two (8:04) is that you're pushing yourself harder or you're adding more to your workout. So (8:08) maybe you're not adding more days in your week in terms of workouts, but your workouts (8:12) are getting more intense. You're using heavier weights, you're doing more sets, (8:15) you're really challenging yourself.

Again, carbs are going to be your friend here, (8:18) but you also want to make sure that your protein is on point. Protein supports muscle repair and (8:23) growth. So if you're asking more of your muscles, they're going to need more protein to recover.

(8:28) Most women I work with do really well around 0.7 to 1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. (8:35) I personally think that 0.9 grams is a great starting point. So if you weigh 150 pounds, (8:41) that's around 135 grams of protein per day.

That seems to be pretty manageable for most people, (8:46) especially if you are intentional about it, ensuring that you are getting at least (8:50) 70 to 80 of those grams, you know, around by 12, 1 p.m. So split between, you know, (8:58) one or two meals, a couple snacks, that's going to ensure that you are kind of on track and able (9:03) to hit around 135 grams per day. And again, this is just, you know, that was a hypothetical. (9:08) If you're weighing 150 pounds and you want 0.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight, (9:14) that's going to be about 135 grams of protein.

Scenario number three is that you're switching (9:18) from a cardio focus to a strength focus workout plan. So this is a big one. If you've been doing (9:23) a lot of cardio, but you're transitioning to more of a strength training program or strength work, (9:28) your nutritional needs shifting.

Cardio burns a lot of energy in the moment, but it doesn't (9:34) create the same demand for that recovery that strength does. And when you are starting to do (9:39) more strength focus workouts, you're not just burning energy during the workout, but you're (9:42) also creating a need for repair and rebuilding afterwards. And that requires more fuel overall, (9:48) especially protein and carbs.

So if you're making the switch, I want you to expect to need to eat (9:52) more than you were eating before, not less, but more. Okay, so how do you eat during these (9:57) different phases? Now, this is where cycling through phases really does become important. (10:02) And inside by macrokinemaid simple on an academy, we teach women to kind of cycle (10:06) through four different phases.

So we have a building phase, we have a maintenance phase, (10:10) we have a fat loss phase, and then we have a reverse dieting phase to really transition (10:14) between those phases. So each phase has a different goal and your nutrition needs to match that goal. (10:20) So let's go into the muscle building phase first.

So this is where you're focused on getting (10:24) stronger, you're building muscle, your workouts are challenging, you're progressively overloading, (10:28) your body needs maximum fuel to support that work. So during a building phase, (10:33) you're eating at a slight calorie surplus, meaning that you're eating slightly more than (10:38) your body burns day to day. And this is going to give your body the extra resources that it needs (10:42) to build that new tissue.

You're prioritizing protein, you're prioritizing carbs, because protein (10:48) is going to support that muscle growth. And then carbs are going to fuel your workouts and your (10:51) recovery. This is not the time to cut calories or try to lose weight.

If you're in a building (10:56) phase, and you're under eating, you're just wasting your workouts, you're putting all that (11:00) effort into your workouts at the gym or in wherever you're working out, but your body (11:04) doesn't have what it needs to actually adapt or get stronger. (11:08) Okay, now into the maintenance phase. So this is where you're going to be eating roughly around (11:13) the same amount of calories that your body is burning day to day.

You're not trying to gain, (11:18) you're not trying to lose, you're just maintaining. And maintenance phases are so underrated, (11:22) in my opinion, like they really do give your body a break from the stress of being a deficit (11:26) or surplus. They allow your metabolism to really stabilize and your hormones to regulate, (11:31) and they are essential for body composition and long term progress.

During your maintenance, (11:36) your workouts might feel really strong because you're fueling adequately without the added (11:40) stress of trying to change your body composition. This is also a great phase to be doing if (11:45) you're in a busy or stressful season of life. You're not adding extra pressure, you're just (11:50) showing up and maintaining what you've built.

I tell people a lot, if they are in a fat loss (11:55) phase, like leading up to summer, summertime is going to oftentimes throw off a lot of (12:00) routine. So you're traveling, the kids are out of school, whatever. I encourage people (12:05) if they have just recently been in a fat loss phase to really stay at that maintenance phase.

(12:09) And that can be really helpful, especially during those busy seasons, stressful seasons (12:14) of life, just so that you don't have that added extra stress of trying to hit more (12:19) food if you're in a building phase or trying to eat less and you're constantly eating less, (12:24) but you're around birthday parties, you're around 4th of July celebrations, all the (12:28) things. So maintenance phase is a really good time for summer. And then I also recommend it (12:33) for like holiday seasons as well.

The fat loss phase. So this is where you're eating in a (12:37) calorie deficit, meaning that you're eating less than your body burns in order to lose (12:41) body fat. So during a fat loss phase, your energy levels might be a little bit lower, (12:46) your recovery feels a little bit slower and that's normal.

You're asking your body to do (12:50) more with less. And this is where workout intensity might need to come down slightly. (12:55) You're not trying to hit those personal records in every single workout.

When you're in a deficit, (12:59) you're maintaining straight strength as best as you can while allowing your body to tap into fat (13:05) stores for energy. And this phase shouldn't go on forever. Most women do, you know, (13:09) eight to 12 weeks in a deficit, followed by a period of maintenance or even reverse dieting.

(13:15) D-load weeks versus push weeks. Okay. So let's talk about D-load weeks in, (13:19) in particular.

So a D-load week is when you intentionally reduce the intensity or volume (13:25) of your workouts to give your body a chance to recover. So do you need to eat less during (13:30) a D-load week? Not necessarily. Your body is still recovering.

It's still repairing tissue. (13:36) It's still adapting to the work that you've been doing. And all that does require energy.

(13:40) So what I recommend is keeping your protein high, maybe pulling back slightly on your carbs (13:45) if you want, but don't drastically cut your calories. A lot of women make the mistake of like, (13:49) okay, I'm not working out hard this week, so I should be eating way less. But that mindset (13:54) really misses the point because D-load weeks are part of your progress.

They're not a break from (13:58) it. And in contrast, during like a push week, when you're really leaning into intensity, (14:03) you might actually need to eat a little bit more to support that work. So the key is really (14:08) matching your nutrition to what phase you're in, not just eating the same thing every single (14:13) week, regardless of what your body is doing.

So why does under eating during a building phase (14:18) waste your workout? So I touched on this earlier, but I really want to drive this point home because (14:23) I do think that it's really important. But if you're in a building phase, meaning that you're (14:27) trying to get stronger and you're really trying to build muscle and you're under eating, you are (14:31) just wasting time in your workouts. And I know that sounds really harsh, but it's true because (14:35) building muscle requires a calorie surplus.

Your body needs extra energy beyond what it burns (14:41) just to maintain itself. So without that surplus, your body doesn't have the resources to build new (14:47) tissue. You might see some strength gains from, you know, neural adaptations, like your nervous (14:52) system getting more efficient, but you're not going to be building the muscle that you want.

(14:56) And beyond that, under eating while working out intensely is just exhausting. You're going to (15:01) feel drained, your recovery is going to suffer, your mood is going to tank, and eventually (15:05) you're just going to burn out. So if you're in a building phase, please, please, please eat (15:09) enough.

Prioritize your protein. Don't be afraid of carbs. Give your body what it needs to actually (15:14) do the work that you're asking it to do.

Building muscle doesn't mean eating recklessly or going (15:21) overboard. It just means eating enough. And for a lot of women, that's more than they think.

(15:26) All right. I kind of want to recap and kind of tie everything together, put a little bow on it (15:30) so that you can walk out of here feeling like you are able to really digest what we talked (15:35) about. So why eating the same macros year round keeps you stuck? Well, it's your body needs change (15:41) as your activity changes, and you have to match your nutrition to what your body's actually doing (15:46) right now.

Some signs that your body needs more fuel beyond hunger, that's workouts that are (15:51) feeling harder than they should, recovery that's slowing way down, sleep that's off mood swings (15:56) and cycle irregularities, and kind of what to adjust when you change your workout. So if you're (16:02) adding workout days, I want you to revisit your total carb target. As your activity level increases, (16:07) your overall calorie needs to go up and your carbs should reflect that.

And this is assuming (16:12) that you've already are very intentional with your protein goal and you're hitting that (16:16) because that is important as well. If you're pushing yourself harder in your workouts, (16:20) you especially need to look at that protein. You need to make sure that your protein is on (16:24) point 0.7 to 1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight.

A great starting point is 0.9 (16:30) grams. And if you're switching from cardio workouts to more strength-focused workouts, (16:36) I need you to expect to need more overall fuel throughout your day. Here's kind of how to eat (16:42) during different phases.

So in your building phase, you need to have that slight surplus, (16:47) prioritize your protein, prioritize your carbs. In your maintenance, you're just going to eat (16:51) at maintenance. You need to let your body stabilize.

In your fat loss phase, you need (16:55) a moderate deficit. Maintain strength and really try to limit that eight to 12 weeks. (17:00) Don't try to go into 14, 20, 24, or even year round.

That's just not maintainable or sustainable (17:07) for your body. And it's also not good for your hormones, not good for your mental health. (17:11) So really try to limit those fat loss phases to eight to 12 weeks.

(17:15) De-load weeks. You're going to want to keep that protein high. Don't drastically cut your (17:19) calories.

Remember that your muscles are still repairing. Those tissues are still working. (17:24) But here's why under eating during a building phase is going to waste your workouts.

You're (17:28) building muscle and that requires a surplus. And without enough food or fuel, your body (17:34) cannot build new tissue. And when you feel exhausted, you will eventually burn out.

And (17:39) then all of that work for what, right? You're not going to have anything to show for it. (17:43) So the bottom line is your nutrition and your workouts really do need to work together. (17:46) They're not separate pieces.

They are partners in helping you build the body that you want. (17:51) And if you're thinking, okay, all of this makes sense, but I don't know how to actually figure (17:55) out my macros for each phase. This is exactly what we teach inside our Macro Academy at Simple (18:00) Online Academy.

This program is going to walk you through how to calculate your macros based on (18:04) your goals, how to adjust your workouts as they change, how to adjust as your workouts change, (18:10) how to cycle through the different phases so that you're always really supporting your body (18:15) instead of fighting against it. And you're going to learn how to fuel for building, (18:19) how to navigate a fat loss phase without tanking your metabolism and how to use the (18:24) maintenance strategically to support that long-term progress. If you want that kind of clarity and (18:29) structure around your nutrition, you can head to macrocannymaidsimple.com. Again, (18:33) that's macrocannymaidsimple.com. And I will link that in the show notes as well.

(18:37) And on the workout side, if you are looking for some dumbbell-only workouts that you can do, (18:42) all you need is a few pair of dumbbells and a small space. I have my movement with (18:46) Julie community. Every single workout has a 30-minute option or a 60-minute option, (18:50) so depending on your time constraints.

And we have five brand new workouts that release (18:55) every single Saturday. We have a lower body, an upper body, cardio and core, shoulders and glutes, (19:00) and full body. So you can head to SAIL, that's S-A-L-E dot movement with julie.com to learn more.

(19:06) I will also link that in the show notes. All right, one last thing before you go. If (19:10) something in this episode really clicked for you, I'd be so grateful if you'd follow the show (19:15) on whatever platform you're listening and leave a quick review.

Every review genuinely helps the (19:19) podcast reaches more women who are searching for exactly kind of this support that we offer (19:25) in this show. And if you want to keep learning, you can also check out why adjusting your macros (19:31) matters when you increase your exercise. You can also find that link in the show notes as well.

(19:37) That is all that I have for today's episode. Thank you so much for tuning in. (19:40) I love you so much.

I mean it. And I'll talk to you in the next one. (19:48) All right, sister, that's all I got for you today.

But I have two things that I need you to do. (19:55) First thing, if you're not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so. Julie A. (19:59) Ledbetter.

Yes, it's with an A in the middle for that daily post-workout real talk, healthy tips (20:04) and tricks, and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing, (20:10) be sure to subscribe to Apple podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining (20:16) me.

It means the absolute world. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most (20:20) beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure (20:26) in being authentically themselves.

Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. (20:32) So go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it.

 
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