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You are here: Home / Archives for Regaining Focus

Regaining Focus

Eat So You Hit Your Macros

March 3, 2015 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT Leave a Comment

eat-to-hit-macros

Macros are extremely important in attempting to hit your fat loss goals. Macros are an often overlooked aspect. Your macros enable your diet to be healthy and nutritious. They insure that you are not leaning too heavily on one particular type of food.

I often laugh because of the debate about “clean eating” vs. “If It Fits Your Macros” style eating (see Saturday Sharing: My Thoughts on the IIFYM Debate and Expose Podcast #1: Let's Talk IIFYM on this topic). My good friend and mentor, Chris Albert, had this to say on Facebook about the topic:

Chris Albert IIFYM comments
Click to see a larger image

Chris is 100% correct. While the “clean eating” group would frown on eating a pop tart, the IIFYM people are not wrong when they say it is OK as long as you hit your macros. The most successful ebook about fat loss, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto, teaches us to use macros to hit our fat loss goals. This is not a new concept by any means. So how do you do it?

For me it is about planning ahead. When I first started closely tracking my macros I planned every single meal ahead of time. I observed what combinations of foods brought what macro ratios. I then learned how to build a good menu without the need for massive advanced planning. However, it all started with planning.

I use the MyMacros app on my iPhone. I would sit down and plan what I wanted to eat. I would enter it into MyMacros as I was planning. I would then see what the macro ratios were and adjust them accordingly. I did this for weeks. It was at that point that I could just do it instinctively. Yes, there are still times when I am low on a particular macro as I near the end of the day or I am short on calories, but I simply grab a food choice and eat to bring the numbers in line for the day.

Please note that I do not obsess about the macros, but I do try to get them as close as I possibly can. I focus more on getting in the calories I am supposed to be eating.

Give this a try. I do not think you will be disappointed. It is an awesome system for keeping things in line. You will feel better in the long run.

Related Posts:

  • Expose Podcast Episode #1: Let's Talk About IIFYM
  • Monday Madness: HIIT From Hell
  • How Vegetables and Bodybuilding Go Together
  • Monday Madness: Crazy Outdoor Cardio Spots
  • My Focus Journal Entry #8

Filed Under: Diet & Fat Loss, Featured, Regaining Focus

My Focus Journal Entry #10

March 1, 2015 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT Leave a Comment

focus-journal

This week we changed up a couple of variables–longer and more frequent cardio sessions along with a new approach to weight training. The changes produced some very positive results.

Body weight: 256.8 (up 3.4 lbs)
Body Fat %: 18.7% (down 1.3%)
Reduced my chest by 0.5 inches
Reduced my abdominal area by 0.25 inches

I feel good and strong, but I am very sure I am holding water. That's the only way to explain the massive increase in scale weight while seeing a reduction in fat percentage.

I continue to be focused on my eating and getting my training in. The cardio is especially important to get done.

No pictures this week. I will begin posting them every other week (a decision I made because results don't come as fast as one would think).

Related Posts:

  • Y3T Principles Reviewed
  • Y3T Review Revisited
  • My Focus Journal Entry #8
  • Monday Madness: Get Your Calves to Grow
  • Hamstring Curls for Stronger Legs

Filed Under: Experiment of One, Featured, Regaining Focus

My Focus Journal Entry #9

February 22, 2015 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT Leave a Comment

focus-journal

This week has been another amazing week of training. I have worked this week on pushing harder on the cardio. I have worked to make cardio harder so that I am burning more calories and fat.

Training was great. Coach changed things up a little and it felt great. The weights were heavy just the way I like them. I also worked on shortening the rest period without sacrificing the strength and intra-workout recovery time.

My numbers are improving:

Weight: 253.3

Body fat %: 15.5%

 

Related Posts:

  • No Related Posts

Filed Under: Experiment of One, Featured, Regaining Focus

Saturday Sharing: My Thoughts on the Bodybuilding Lifestyle

February 21, 2015 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT Leave a Comment

The bodybuilding lifestyle is not understood by most people who are not directly involved.

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  • No Related Posts

Filed Under: Experiment of One, Featured, Regaining Focus

My Focus Journal Entry #8

February 15, 2015 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT Leave a Comment

focus-journal

Training this week was phenomenal! I focused on getting a good pump by squeezing hard on every repetition. This caused me to miss some of my prescribed numbers, but I saw an increase in DOMs so I feel like maybe this was needed. Honestly, I didn't feel much like training this week and when that happens I get back into it by experiencing every single repetition. I do this through the extreme squeeze technique that I've described in a previous article.

My nutrition was good, but I feel it could have been better and that's going to be a focus for the new week coming up. I am collecting healthy recipes into my Evernote right now. I plan to use those to help me hit my macro goals each week. This is always going to be a work in progress. I know this and I am not going to beat myself up.

Starting this week I have pictures to go along with my journal. Have a look at them below.

20141219 thru 20150215

You can see some slight differences. This is for the first 8 weeks. I guess I had farther to go than I thought, but at least I am heading in the right direction.

My stats are looking good as well:

Weight: 252.8 lbs.

Body Fat %: 20.1%

I will continue to focus on the workouts and getting my cardio done. I am enjoying working with my coach, Ryan Miller. He is very supportive and always there for me when I need him. If you are looking for a coach I highly recommend getting in touch with him. FYI, I get nothing for referring you except the satisfaction of helping you work with an amazing coach.

Coaching Banner

Related Posts:

  • Eat So You Hit Your Macros
  • My Focus Journal Entry #10
  • My Focus Journal Entry #6
  • My Focus Journal Entry #5
  • My Focus Journal Entry #4

Filed Under: Experiment of One, Featured, Regaining Focus

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