Macro Monday

     Welcome to Macro Monday! I have talked about my reverse diet and macronutrients (carbs/fat/protein) a little bit in the past. So I thought I would show you a full day of my meals and snacks. Each day is completely different, this is just one random day I choose to photograph.   

     Reverse dieting is a specific kind of IIFYM (if it fits your macros) diet. I have a certain number of grams of protein, fat and carbs I eat everyday, for me these number changes weekly. I can eat what ever foods I want as long as I hit my designated grams of fat, protein and carbs. Because this diet leaves lots of flexibility in choosing what you want to eat, it has been given the name "Flexible Dieting". 

My day started with a hard boiled egg topped with Pink Himalayan sea salt while I heated up my 'real' breakfast. 

'Real' Breakfast - Leftover shredded chicken with french cut green beans and BBQ chicken

Mid-morning Snack - Peanut Butter Cookie that my mom brought over the day before. 

It was delicious, Thanks Mom!

Lunch - Mesquite Smoked Turkey Breast on Honey Wheat Bread 

with White Cherry Gatorade (unpictured)

Afternoon Snack - Vanilla Greek Yogurt with vanilla soy protein powder mixed in (wouldn't do that again...) topped with warmed up fiber chocolate brownie and sprinkles.

Dinner - Shredded Buffalo Chicken with broccoli, carrots & cauliflower on the side  (not pictured)
It was good, but spicy.

Nighttime Snack/Dessert - A serving of Despicable Me Honey Maid Crackers (...cookies?) and part of a three musketeers bar.  Minions are too cute.

Also non pictured lots and lots of water. I was a little short on protein but I hit my other macros on the mark. With flexible dieting you don't have to eat the typical 'diet' foods. I ate what I wanted/was craving.

What kind of diet do you follow?

Reverse Dieting

      From now on I think Mondays on the blog are going to be all about diet, nutrition, and what I am eating. 
     
     Diets suck right? Not this one! I started reverse dieting about a month ago (mentioned here) and I absolutely love it. A reverse diet is where you keep increasing your calories (in the form of carbs and fats) each week while still maintaining about your same weight in order to repair your metabolism. It sounds too good to be true, right? 

    Well, I can say from personal experience it is not too good to be true! I have increased my carbs by about 20 gram and my fat by 5 grams in the last month  and my weight initially went down and has now stayed about the same. I weigh myself daily and my weight only ever fluctuates by 0.2-0.4 lbs. 

    The benefits to reverse dieting:

• Getting to eat more carbs (donuts, please) = having more energy   
• Your body is being well fueled every single day. When you workout your muscles need a lot of fuel to successfully complete their task and heal post-work out. 
• Maintaining a low calorie diet is not possible in the long haul. If you lose a bunch of weight on a low calorie diet you will have slowed down your metabolism in the process. When you try to start eating more food you will rebound and gain back weight. With reverse dieting there should not be much weight gain (depending on your body weight %).
• Increasing your metabolism makes future weight loss much easier - no more cutting down to a sluggish 900-1200 calories in order to lean out.

    I decided to reverse diet because I was fascinated by the idea of having the ability to heal and somewhat control my metabolism. It has been a fun and eye opening experience for me. I am seeing food in a whole new light. 

    I think I picked the perfect time to reverse diet with the holidays (aka carb season) coming up!!

Do you count macros (protein, carbs, fat)?

Have you ever reverse dieted?

   

Workout Wednesday - Reverse Dieting & Arm Workout

      Hello! I'm back for another Workout Wednesday. Workout Wednesday is all about health, fitness, and diet. This week I will be talking about my diet. I have decided to try Reverse Dieting. The point of reverse dieting is to repair and boost your metabolism. This allows me to eat more foods and better fuel my body without {much} weight gain. As well as make future cutting (aka weight loss) easier.
     There are many theories and ideas of how to properly reverse diet, but I will be loosely following the guidelines of KATIEFITSCRIPT & The Macro Experiment. Both of these ladies thoroughly explain what reverse dieting is, what the benefits are, and how to successfully reverse diet. I highly recommend you read their posts.
      I plan to increase my carbs by 5 grams a week & my fat by 1 gram a week. My protein will stay steady since it is based off my body weight which should not be fluctuating dramatically during this type of diet. Once I reach the max about of calories and macros I can eat while still maintaining my current weight, I will either 
a) maintain that calorie intake and be fueling my body well for workouts and muscle growth 
b) I will cut back on calories and be able to lean out easily thanks to my newly repaired metabolism {& show off my muscles & abs}. 

     Last week I shared a leg workout with you guys, so this week I thought I would share an arm workout! I really liked this arm workout; I felt the burn while doing the exercises but I didn't have that dead arm fatigue afterwards. Now don't get me wrong, sometimes I like that feeling - it's a reminder of how hard I just worked. However, lately I have been scaling back due to my illnesses and needing more rest. 

*All exercises were done with 5lb dumbbells, but do whatever will create a challenge for you. I have linked pictures of each exercise below. 

Bicep Curls
Butterfly Chest Squeezes
Tricep Dumbbell Kickbacks
Forward Front Dumbbell Raises


Have you ever tried Reverse Dieting? If so, share your experience!

* Linking up with Wild Workout Wednesday