What I Learned From Tracking Macros for Almost 15 Years (and How I Do It Differently Now)

 

Today’s episode is one I’ve been so excited to record because this is a story that’s been such a big part of my own journey — and one that I know so many of you will relate to.

 

We’re talking all about what tracking macros has actually taught me.

 

I’m going to share what tracking gave me, what I wish I had known sooner, and then walk you through the six phases I went through — from tracking every single thing to where I am now, which is living in a place of peace, trust, and balance.

 

By the end, you’ll know how to stay consistent without obsession, how to use tracking as a tool instead of a rule, and how to build the kind of food freedom that lasts.

 

What I Discuss:

  • The real lessons I learned from tracking macros for nearly 15 years — beyond food, into mindset, discipline, and self-trust.

  • Why tracking isn’t meant to control you, and how I use it now as a tool for freedom, not restriction.

  • The six phases I went through on my journey, from tracking every bite to living in full peace and balance with food.

  • How under-eating doesn’t make you disciplined…it makes you depleted.

  • How fueling your body actually builds confidence.

  • The key shift that helped me move from obsession to awareness — and why real food freedom comes from knowing, not guessing.

 

And if you loved this one, you will also love Episode 546: How to Count Macros Without Obsessing Over Numbers

 

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

Website: www.juliealedbetter.com

Transcript

00:00

Hey there, beautiful human, you're listening to Embrace your Real with me, julie Ledbetter, a podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I dish you a dose of real talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned. If you're ready to embrace your real, let's get in, let's go you, let's get it, let's go. Hello, and welcome back to another episode on the Embrace.

00:31

Your Podcast Today is one that I've been so excited to record because this has been a story that has been such a big part of my own fitness journey and one that I know that many of you guys are going to relate to. We're going to be talking all about what tracking macros has actually taught me Now, not just what I have learned about food, but also the discipline, the intuition, the mindset, the balance between structure and freedom. I'm going to be sharing what tracking gave me and what I wish I would have known sooner, and then kind of walk you through the six phases that I went through, from tracking every single thing to where I am now, which is living in a place of peace, trust and balance. So if you've ever wondered like what healthy tracking looks like or maybe you're scared that tracking will make you obsessive. I want you to hear this that tracking macros did not trap me. It actually helped to set me free, because when you understand how to properly fuel your body, everything else I'm talking your strength, your body, everything else I'm talking your strength, your confidence, your energy that is all going to start to click into place, and by the end of this episode, you'll know how to stay consistent without obsession, how to use tracking as a tool instead of a rule, and how to build the kind of food freedom that lasts.

01:39

Before we dive in, though, I wanted to share this review. It comes from Vixter in 1972. She gave a five-star review and said totally relate, julie talks to you like a real friend. Her episodes are short and to the point. Luckily, I have a lot of episodes to catch up on. I love this so much. Thank you guys so much for taking your time out of your day to send in these reviews. They really do mean the world to me and our team Just kind of know how maybe the podcast in general is helping you, or maybe a specific episode. We'd love to hear it.

02:04

All right, let's get right into it, but first, I kind of want to talk about what tracking macros has taught me. Before I first started tracking, I thought I was doing everything right. I literally ate what I thought was healthy smoothies, salads, grilled chicken. I worked out regularly and I thought I understood nutrition. But when I started tracking my food, it was a complete wake-up call and, honestly, I learned so much from that experience. So I wanna walk you through exactly what it taught me.

02:31

Once I started tracking, it was like putting a mirror up to my habits, like suddenly I could see what was happening, not just feel it. I realized that I wasn't weak and my body wasn't the problem, my approach was, and that's when really everything changed for me. For the first time I had data, I had actual feedback to work with and I could see that when I hit my protein goal, my energy stayed steady, my recovery improved and those sugar cravings that used to feel uncontrollable practically disappeared. I learned that fueling my workouts properly made me stronger, not bigger, and that food was a tool for progress, not punishment. Before macros, though, I was constantly second guessing myself Like am I eating too much? Am I eating too little? Should I skip carbs today because I had carbs yesterday? It was exhausting, but tracking really did give me the clarity, and that clarity built confidence. I could finally see what my body needed, how it responded and how to adjust without guilt or fear. And that confidence really did spill into every other part of my life, not just how I trained or ate, but also how I showed up in my day-to-day life. And here's what surprised me most is that tracking actually brought me peace. I know that might sound strange if you've ever seen tracking used in an obsessive way, but for me it was actually freeing because for the first time I wasn't guessing, I wasn't trying to eat as little as possible or avoid every bad food. I had structure, and that structure actually made me feel safe.

03:52

When you understand how food works in your body, you actually stop labeling it as good or bad, you start seeing patterns instead of problems and you stop saying I ruined it, because you realize that one meal one day or one weekend is not going to undo your progress. You also stop starting over every Monday and you start learning how to keep going, even when life isn't perfect. And that's the moment where real food freedom begins. In my opinion, it's not about never tracking again or throwing structure out the window. It's about knowing that you can eat a burger with your family, have dessert on vacation, enjoy date night without guilt, because you understand how it all fits into the bigger picture. And that's what macro tracking really gave me. It gave me awareness, confidence, it gave me peace, it helped me to stop fighting my body and really start fueling it, and it taught me that food isn't something to fear. It's something that supports every single thing that you want to do in your life, whether that's lifting heavier, chasing your kids, simply feeling good in your skin. It all starts with understanding what your specific body needs. But, reflecting on all of this, here are the key six things that I have learned along the way. Lesson number one is awareness really does change everything.

04:59

When I started logging my meals, I realized I was eating far less than my body actually needed, especially when it came to protein. My meals looked healthy, but they were not balanced. Maybe I'd have a smoothie and if it was lucky, I had 15 grams of protein. I would have a salad for lunch, and then I'd be starving. By evening I'd find myself snacking nonstop, feeling completely out of control and then blaming my willpower. But tracking really showed me the truth, I wasn't failing. I was under fueling. My body wasn't fighting me, it was really trying to protect me.

05:32

Lesson number two is that under eating doesn't make you disciplined, it makes you depleted. Before tracking, I really thought that eating less was the key to success, but what I learned is that when you are chronically under eating, your body is going to push back Hunger, hormones like ghrelin is going to spike and your leptin drops, and that's when your cravings intensify. No amount of discipline can outsmart biology, and once I started eating enough, those nighttime binges stopped. My body finally started to feel safe again. Lesson number three is that protein is the foundation of everything. Hitting my protein goal literally changed everything. You guys, my energy, my recovery, my body composition. Protein is going to keep your blood sugar stable. It's going to support your hormones. It's going to help you feel satisfied after your meals, and once I started prioritizing it, my energy leveled out and my workouts finally started to pay off.

06:27

Lesson number four is that data really does bring peace, not pressure. At least for me it did. I used to think that tracking would make me obsessive, but the opposite happened. When I started to see the data, it actually calmed me. I stopped guessing. I stopped labeling food as good or bad and, for the first time, I felt in control, not because I was restricting, but because I was simply informed about what my body needed, where I was at and where I was going.

06:52

Lesson number five is food is not punishment, it's actually partnership. When I started fueling properly, I realized that food was helping me do everything that I wanted it to Lift heavier, think clearly, sleep better, recover faster. It wasn't the enemy, it was actually the support system that I had been missing all along. And last but not least, lesson number six is that awareness really does build confidence. Before macros, I constantly was second guessing myself Like am I eating too much? Am I eating too little? Am I eating too little? Should I skip carbs today? Should I skip fats today? Like it was this constant guessing game in my mind. But tracking gave me clarity, and that clarity gave me confidence, and once I understood what my body needed, I could finally make the choices without that fear or guilt. And that's the kind of clarity that I truly want every woman to experience, because it completely has changed my life. Like I will tell you, I am a different person than I was 10 years ago, which is exactly why I created my macro accounting main symbol online academy.

07:59

So, inside the MCMS, I break down how to calculate your macros, how to adjust them based on your goals and, most importantly, how to make the process sustainable, because tracking should absolutely empower you, not overwhelm you. Now I want to kind of shift gears and talk about what I wish I would have known sooner, because, looking back, there are so many things that would have saved me time, stress and guilt along the way. The first thing that I wish I would have known is that tracking should not be an obsession. It should be used as a tool. So when I first started tracking, I thought that I had to track everything perfect, every single day where I was failing. But tracking is not meant to control you. It is meant to teach you. It's actually there to give you awareness, not anxiety. When you treat tracking as a learning tool instead of a test that you're trying to pass, everything feels lighter, you stop overanalyzing and you start using it for what it was meant to always be, which is feedback.

08:54

The second thing that I wish I would have known is that Missing a day of tracking does not derail your progress. There were times where I would forget to log lunch or skip an entire day and immediately think, well, I ruined it. But the truth is that one untracked meal one day, or even one weekend, is not going to erase your consistency. What matters most is the average of your habits over time. Let me say that again what matters most is the average of your habits over time. That's why I always say that the what matters most is the average of your habits over time. That's why I always say that the goal is not perfection, it is 100% consistency, because imperfect action done consistently will always beat perfect action done inconsistently. Let me say that again Imperfect action done consistently will always beat perfect action done inconsistently.

09:43

The third thing that I wish I would have known is that you don't have to track everything to make progress. Just tracking protein alone can take you so far. Most of the women that I coach inside my Macro Academy and Simple Online Academy are shocked to realize how much that single shift actually changes their energy, their hunger and their body composition. If you're not ready to track everything, start small. Track breakfast track lunch, track protein. Those two simple habits can literally change everything, and when I focused on those, I saw more progress with less stress, because it was actually sustainable. The fourth thing that I wish I would have known is that you don't need to hit your macros perfectly to see results. I literally used to panic if I went over five grams on carbs or I was under by three grams on fat, like I had completely failed the day. But progress isn't built on exact numbers. It's built on patterns, on awareness and on consistent effort. Your body doesn't know the difference between 135 grams of protein and 140, but it definitely knows the difference between under eating and fueling properly.

10:48

The fifth thing that I wish I would have known is that discipline does not mean rigidity, right? So for so long I confused discipline with control. I thought that if I didn't measure perfectly, I was not trying hard enough. But discipline isn't about never missing a day. It's about showing up with intention, even when it's not perfect. And that's when I learned what real consistency looks like. It's not flawless, it's just faithful.

11:15

And the sixth thing I wish I knew sooner is that tracking isn't forever, it's for awareness. So you track to learn, you track to understand, and once you've built that awareness, you can live it out intuitively. That's the goal not to track for life, but to gain the confidence to trust yourself without it. And finally, I wish I would have known that being obsessive doesn't make you successful. Being smart does so. The smartest thing that you can do is create a system that fits your real life. When you track in a way that's simple and flexible and realistic, you won't burn out. You actually build habits. That, last and again, that's exactly what I help women do inside my macrocognitive, simple online academy, because sustainable success isn't about doing it all. It's about doing what matters consistently. So if you're in a place where tracking just feels heavy, I want you to take a deep breath. You're not doing it wrong. You're simply learning, and learning, even imperfectly, is what moves you forward.

12:10

Looking back on everything that tracking has taught me and everything that I wish I would have known sooner, I realized something really powerful. I didn't just learn how to track macros. I actually went through phases of transformation, and each one shaped the next. Tracking kept morphing right alongside me as I evolved. At first it was purely about awareness, then it became a rhythm, a lifestyle, a mindset, and now it's simply part of how I live Flexible, confident and in alignment with what my body needs. So let me kind of walk you through the six phases that I went through in my macro tracking journey.

12:45

So phase one was tracking everything. This was my foundation phase, the one that changed everything. Literally, in this phase, I logged everything, every bite, every sip, every little condiment. It was very tedious at times, but it was also the most eye-opening experience of my life. For the first time, I could see the truth of what I was eating. Even though I was eating what looked like clean, healthy meals, I wasn't eating enough to support my training or my hormones. Once I saw the numbers, though, everything clicked my fatigue made sense, my cravings made sense, my plateaus made sense. This phase really did teach me awareness, and awareness is power, because you can't change what you don't understand. It's work, yes, but it's foundational work, the kind that gives you clarity, not control, and that clarity became the stepping stone for everything that came next, which is phase two of making it a lifestyle.

13:45

So after a few months of tracking everything, something shifted. Tracking no longer felt like work, it just became a part of my rhythm. I logged my meals, naturally, throughout the day, but I didn't obsess over it. It wasn't rigid, it was grounding. The structure didn't trap me, it actually freed me. This phase taught me that discipline doesn't have to feel restrictive. Discipline can actually feel peaceful when you know your why. I stopped guessing, I stopped second guessing and I really started trusting. Tracking became a daily act of self-respect. I wasn't punishing myself anymore, I was supporting myself and, honestly, this is where most women inside my MCMS land. After just a few weeks, once you understand the numbers and you start to see results, it does become effortless because it finally makes sense, it clicks.

14:33

Part three was learning to estimate. So once I had the awareness and the structure, I wanted to test what I learned. I'd look at my plate, I'd guess the portions and then I'd log to see how close I was. At first I was way off, I'm gonna be honest. Like I thought a tablespoon of peanut butter. I'm like, oh, this is a tablespoon of peanut butter. I would track it and it was two and a half tablespoons of peanut butter. But over time I really did start nailing it. I learned what 30 grams of protein actually looked like, how much rice equals around 50 grams of carbs and what balanced meals felt like in my body.

15:06

This phase really did teach me trust trust in my ability to eyeball food, to listen to my hunger cues and to stay aware, without being tied to an app or a food scale. I realized I didn't need the food scale or the tracker to tell me that I was doing a good job. I had trained my eyes, I had trained my mind and I trained my intuition. And that's when I knew that tracking had done its job. It had taught me how to see food clearly, which then led me to phase four, which is building that rhythm. So, once I trusted myself, I started to build a rhythm. I created these go-to meals that I loved breakfasts, lunches, snacks all balanced, simple and satisfying. If I ate my regulars, I knew I was hitting my macros without even thinking about it. Most days, the only meal I would log is dinner, because that's the one thing that changed most for me. This phase taught me that simplicity is powerful.

15:57

Consistency doesn't come from constant tracking. It comes from building a lifestyle that supports you automatically. When your meals and your habits flow with your life instead of fighting against it, you don't burn out, you actually thrive. And that's the point where nutrition stopped feeling like tracking and started feeling like living. Then we hit phase five okay, letting go which is pregnancy. All right, then came pregnancy for me, which was 2024. All right. Then came pregnancy for me, which was 2024, and with it a completely new chapter.

16:32

For the first time in years, I had completely stopped tracking altogether for multiple months at a time. Before I would track my protein and then I would go a couple months and I would just be intuitive and then I would check in with my protein. All of that All right. At first it was super uncomfortable. Tracking had really always given me a sense of control, but letting go taught me something deeper Surrender. Pregnancy showed me that there is a time for structure and a time for softness. Some days I needed extra fuel. Other days I could not even think about a piece of meat or anything related to protein. Like it made me want to vomit, especially trimester one. Okay. Other days I needed rest and every day I needed to honor my body instead of trying to manage it. And that season really did remind me that health isn't about perfection. It's about partnership with your body, and sometimes the best progress comes from releasing control times. The best progress comes from releasing control.

17:23

All right, phase six finding balance. Now I'm really living in the middle, in a phase that I like to call intuitive consistency. Some seasons I track for a few weeks to recalibrate, maybe after a vacation or when I'm building muscle. Other seasons I don't track at all because, after years of learning, I know what balance feels like. I know when I need more fuel and when I'm under eating and when I'm right where my body needs to be.

17:46

And this phase is freedom, not because I stopped tracking, but because I understand that my body was so. I understand my body so well that I can track or not track and still feel in control. It's the balance between awareness and trust. It's the realization that you don't need to micromanage your body when you've already mastered communication with it. Does that make sense? And this is exactly what I do when I help the women inside my macro academy and Simple Online Academy, because real freedom doesn't come from avoiding structure. It comes from creating a foundation strong enough that you don't have to cling to it anymore.

18:19

Tracking macros taught me awareness. Untracking taught me trust, and the combination of those two things, awareness plus trust is what creates that lasting peace with food, in my opinion. So if you are in a season of tracking right now, let it teach you, pay attention, learn the data. If you are in a season of letting go. Give yourself grace. You've already built a foundation. Now it's time to use it. Here's what I want you to remember that tracking taught me to fuel my body instead of fighting it. It taught me that discipline doesn't mean deprivation. It taught me that progress comes from consistency, not perfection. And, last but not least, it taught me that real freedom is built on awareness, not avoidance.

18:56

So if this episode resonated with you, I would love for you to take a few seconds, go follow, embrace your Real on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a quick review so that more women can find this show, and if you're ready to build that same foundation of awareness and freedom, I would love for you to join me inside my macro academy and simple online academy. You're going to learn how to track macros without obsession, how to adjust them as your body and goals evolve, and how to create a confident, sustainable relationship with food that truly does last. You've got this and I'll talk to you in the next one also. If you love this episode, I know you'll also love episode 546, how to count macros without obsessing over numbers. I will go ahead and link that in the show notes below.

19:39

That's all that I got for today's episode. I love you so dang much. I mean it, and I'll talk to you in the next one. All right, sister, that's all I got for you today, but I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so. Julie A Ledbetter yes, it's with an A in the middle For that daily post-workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world, and I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real, because you're worth it.

 
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