106. Energy Balance: A Healthy Way to View Macros and Movement

The entire point of unf*cking your fitness is to think about things differently, in a way that actually works, so you can stop the diet cycle you are stuck in.

Do you "burn off" calories you've eaten?
Do you do extra cardio so you can eat more? Earn your food?
Do you obsess over macros and calories?

I used to do those things too! The good news is you can redefine your relationship with fitness and food!

Imagine appreciating each calorie not as something to burn off on the treadmill but as the energy that takes you through life. This episode will help you understand how sustainable fitness is more than just workouts and food tracking; it's a way to build a healthy body you love.
 
The way you think impacts the way you act.  There are essential mindset shifts that will transform the way you view your health journey and therefore change the action you take. In this episode I explain my simple process and how I made this mindset switch so I am able to have a very healthy relationship with food, movement and my body. 

Let's make another mindset shift and make fitness an enjoyable and long lasting part of our lives. I hope you love this episode!



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MASTER YOUR MACROS COURSE is available now! Go at your own pace and learn how to make macros fit into your lifestyle.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome to the Un-Fuck-Your-Fitness Podcast. I am your host, christy Castillo, and I'm here to give you real talk and cut the BS so you can actually enjoy building a body you love. I'm a personal trainer obsessed with giving you simple action steps to take you from feeling stuck to feeling sexy. Let's go, hey guys, what's up?

Speaker 2: 0:34

Welcome to today's episode. I am going to talk to you today as my friends, as usual, but I don't have any notes to go off of and, quite honestly, a lot of times I don't have notes to go off of. I heard another podcast host say call that no notes. They're just like no notes today. And yeah, that's what we're doing. Usually.

Speaker 2: 0:57

I have maybe some bullet points or some thoughts that I've kind of brainstormed and I've, of course, thought about this topic in my head a few times over. I actually thought of it yesterday and I had another topic planned for this week and I was like I feel this one a little, a little deeper in my bones. So we're gonna go with it and it's something that I feel like it's a mindset shift and when I really think about what I want for this podcast and really what unfucking your fitness is all about, it's about going deeper than the macros and the walking and the workouts. Right, it's the mindset shifts. If you don't have the mindset shifts that go along with your health and fitness, you won't make this last long term. So unfucking your fitness is really about these mindsets that go along with certain things. You can't just wake up one day and say I'm going to change my whole life and just basically lay out all of these tactical steps to do that. I'm going to start walking so many steps, I'm going to start hitting these macros and I'm going to start lifting and going to the gym every day. And it's like you lay out all these things that you need to do. You won't start doing them without the why piece and that why piece is. I don't even like when people say that why piece or that why, because it's just it's different than that. It's not even like having a why. It's going even deeper than your why, like understanding the purpose of those tactical steps, understanding why those tactical steps work and then also understanding for you what that looks like. So there's different levels to this, but really what I want for this podcast if you don't already know is to unfuck it right, like we're going a little bit deeper. So we're gonna talk about things that are a little more complex, but not in a tricky or not in a super deep way where you can't understand it. It almost unfucks it and makes it more simple. It does actually unfuck it and make it more simple.

Speaker 2: 3:11

So what I want to talk about in this episode is something that in my head, I guess for myself, I think of it as an energy balance, and I'm referring to macros coming in, your calories coming in, your fuel coming in, right, you have a certain amount of fuel calories coming in and you have a certain amount of calories going out that you are then expending for fuel. So you're bringing the fuel into your body via calories. You're expending the fuel via living your life, movement workouts, via living your life, movement workouts functioning right. It's for, in my head, I had to do this shift of energy balance mentally to get away from the all or nothing and to get away from the earning my food or burning off my food mindset, because those are things that are going to keep you stuck.

Speaker 2: 4:07

If you are going to the gym and burning off the cookies that you had at work. If you are going to the gym and quote, unquote, burning off X, y, z, right and insert anything that you ate, that was super, quote, unquote, bad for you, right. That you ate, that was super quote, unquote, bad for you, right. That's not a great mentality to have. That you're that you are essentially burning off food that you ate, so you think that, okay, I can have this donut at work in the morning, but I have to go to the gym and burn off the calories later. That's not a healthy mindset for one. Two, that's not how it works. And three, I just don't. That's not sustainable. So that's not a good way to look at it. But I was doing that in the past. I've done that of you know. I will do an extra workout tomorrow because I ate too much today or whatever. On the flip side of that, you can also do that to earn your food, which I think is also bad. I've heard people say I'll do an extra workout at the gym today because there's a holiday tomorrow and I want to eat more, so I'm going to do more work today to eat more tomorrow. So basically, you're working harder now to earn your food. That is also, just like I mentioned, not sustainable, not healthy and quite literally not how it even works inside of your body.

Speaker 2: 5:32

So what I like to think about in my head is more of an energy balance, and this isn't something that I've learned, that I learned from someone else. This is something that I just kind of naturally think, and yesterday I was thinking about it and I thought this is something I need to share. Why have I not shared this before? So I like to think of macros as, obviously, the fuel that my body needs, and so if I look at the food that I'm eating and the macros that I'm consuming, in order to maintain the body that I have right now, I need to expend an equal amount of calories. So whatever I'm bringing in means that I need to expend and use that same amount of calories. If I bring in a lot of calories and I don't use them, then they're just sitting in my body and it will turn to fat because my body doesn't need them because I'm not using them. My body doesn't need those calories because I'm not using those calories.

Speaker 2: 6:33

So if I want to and this is where I was thinking yesterday was today I'm going to start eating less. I'm not going to say I'm going into a cut, I'm going into a deficit. I'm not going to tell myself any serious like deadline, hard things like that. I'm just not going to right now. I'm simply going to eat less right now and cut out some snacks, cut out my mini eggs Damn it. Do more walking Like I'm going to.

Speaker 2: 7:01

My energy balance is going to change. I'm going to exert more energy and I'm going to bring in less energy. So I'm taking out more, I'm spending more and I'm bringing in less, which means I will essentially, yes, be in a deficit, which means I will, yes, cut some fat from my body. And that's what I was thinking. Yesterday was like okay, if I cut out snacks, I'm bringing in less energy. And then my head was like and I'm going to also expend more energy. That's just how it goes, and I had to kind of wrap my head around that. That's what I do when I'm thinking about okay, here's what we're going to look like going forward, and for me it's an energy balance and that's a very, very healthy way to look at it, and I want you to start thinking of that as well.

Speaker 2: 7:48

Now, the balance doesn't have to be equal. I guess, right, you want it to balance as far as your goals. So if my goal is to lose fat, I do need to be expending more energy than I am bringing in, period. So that's what that looks like for me, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. So when I say things like I'm putting myself into a deficit or I'm starting a deficit or I'm starting a cut, those are very hard facts and there's nothing wrong with that. That's the truth, that's the science behind it. But for me it comes across a little softer and I need that softness right now to just say okay, our energy balance is changing, we are now bringing in less and we are now spending more, so you will see the scale go down. You will see your body fat percentage go down when you get on the scale in the morning, christy, like this is the goal. So I have to walk myself through that, and doesn't that sound like more of a healthy way to approach it?

Speaker 2: 8:42

Which is exactly why I wanted to bring this up on the podcast in this episode for you, because this is the time of year when we're going to start being very hard on ourselves. The weather is freaking, hopefully here in Michigan going to start getting warmer and we're going to be starting to wear tank tops and we're going to be starting to wear shorts and we're going to be starting to expose more skin right, and we're going to be harder on ourselves. It is what it is Like, man. I wish I would have worked harder. I wish I would have lost more fat. I need more muscle.

Speaker 2: 9:12

All the negative talk comes in, which is a whole another topic in itself. That's a whole different arena. Right, I don't love that for us, but it is what it is. When we are exposing more skin, I'm sitting here right now in sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Okay, in two weeks I'm going to be sitting here in shorts and a tank top, hopefully, and I'm going to feel differently about the amount of skin that I'm showing because I'm not going to be quite ready, and that's fine. But it's very much more healthy for me personally to stand there and say OK, our energy balance has to change, we have to be doing something different, and this is what it's going to look like no-transcript. Been in a different mindset and now I have to shift that, and for me it's healthier to say energy balance.

Speaker 2: 10:31

So, when you are going about your day, when you are tracking your macros, when you are thinking about food that you're going to eat, when you are planning your meals, when you are planning your workouts and what that's going to look like, and going for a walk and your energy expenditure, right, instead of thinking I have to go to the gym because I ate X, y and Z, or instead of thinking I can't have X, y and Z because it's a bad food or I'm on a cut or whatever. Think about this in a way. That's energy, that's feeding your body. I'm tracking my macros, so I'm looking on my fitness pal or wherever. You're tracking your macros and you're actually seeing what is the fuel you're giving your body, how much fuel are you giving your body, and hopefully you have your macros set correctly so that you actually are bringing in the correct amount of macros, right? If not, this isn't gonna work exactly, and that's fine. It does take some trial and error, but instead of saying I can't have this or I can have more of this, think about it as like, what do I need to fuel my body today? And if I over-fueled my body yesterday, that's fine. Just maybe a little under-fuel your body today and that's going to average out.

Speaker 2: 11:42

So the energy balance kind of mindset I keep saying the word to kind of drill it in, because during the day it can really help you think about your movement and your food, your fuel, a little healthier, honestly. Because for me I will say, let's say, on Easter, right, I ate a little more food, whatever that looks like. I knew that in the morning I needed to get a walk-in on my walking pad. I needed to get a workout in because I'm going to be consuming more energy, more calories, later in the day. So I moved and spent more calories early in the day, not to be obsessive and not to earn my food, but because my body needs a certain amount of food. If I give it too much and I don't move enough, it's gonna store that as fat. If that's not what I want, then I have to think about this energy balance situation.

Speaker 2: 12:36

As I'm moving into wanting to lose some fat from my body. Doing that in more of a healthy way makes it be more sustainable than looking at the scale and always saying to myself oh my gosh, you're not making any progress, you suck at this. We need to do a cut, we need to cut calories. You're not having any foods and coming from this really, really restrictive place, I know that's our first intention, but when it really comes down to like, what am I actually doing? Because whatever I'm consuming and whatever energy I'm expending, that's what got me to where I'm at. So what can I do in a healthy way and how can I think about this in just this literal energy balance way, instead of being so restrictive with your mindset? Because whatever you're thinking and telling yourself trickles down into your actions.

Speaker 2: 13:25

And so, if you can look at this and unfuck this right in more of a healthy way, especially this time of year when we're going into spring and unfuck this right in more of a healthy way, especially this time of year when we're going into spring and we're going into summer, I just started a summer sculpt program inside of my Fit Club. You can join Fit Club anytime, it's $35 a month and you can cancel it anytime. But we just started a summer sculpt program inside of Fit Club, so it's a three-month program and that's what's really getting me kind of thinking about. This is how are my ladies and how are my clients right? How am I going to feel starting a Summer Sculpt program where you're starting something new and the goal and it has summer in the name? So we're thinking about summer, even if you're not doing that program. You're thinking about summer, and so am I. So, as I'm moving along my own steps and my own mindset in this, I'm going to be sharing these things with you.

Speaker 2: 14:20

As far as what I'm thinking and how to make this long-term, I've talked in past episodes about this process that I take myself through of building and being in a surplus through, you know, through the fall and winter, and then cutting and being at maintenance or in a deficit at different times through the summer or the spring and the summer, and then kind of building gradually back up. So I go through these this cycle. It's like a year long cycle for me and I'm transitioning into this cut season, this kind of eating less, you know, eating better fuel, eating a little bit less fuel, better quality, but less calories, and then expending more. So my movement is changing. My energy income, my calories are changing, and that's what that relates to in my head is just a shift of energy balance. And so don't think of it as I really need to up my steps and I really need to, you know, grind and spend more calories, and don't think of it in such a harsh way. Just think of it as like, okay, we are shifting the energy balance and I'm going to start eating a little bit less and I'm going to start moving a little bit more. And that's what it's all about, because I have to shift my income, calories, otherwise I'm not going to be making any changes inside of my body.

Speaker 2: 15:38

And if your goal is to make changes inside your body and with your body, then you do have to change your energy balance as far as what you're bringing in and what you're expending. But this is just a better way mentally to be doing that, because otherwise it becomes such a harsh reality and this is what didn't work for me for a very long time and that's why I kind of made this shift into something a little gentler and I don't mean that to be like a sissy or anything, I just mean it's a little bit gentler in the terms of this is how I want to spend my year is building some muscle and building a little bit of fat right Along with that. In the terms of this is how I want to spend my year is building some muscle and building a little bit of fat right along with that in the fall and the winter. And then I want to shed that. I want to shred down some fat. I want to sculpt my body differently for the summer and in order to do that I can't come from a place of negativity all of the time and like grind and grind and grind and eat and lift and all in and heavy in the winter and then cut and restrict and move more and, you know, be obsessive about it in the summer, I can't. I couldn't always be on and obsessive and all in, honestly, and that's where I had to make a shift of like okay, how can I speak to myself a little bit differently about this to make my results actually last? And so I'm, you know, we'll take this. I'll take a full week, honestly and just kind of I'll track all my food, of course.

Speaker 2: 17:05

And then I love let me just say this, I love my Oura Ring, for seeing this has really helped me understand my energy balance honestly. And no, I'm not sponsored, I'm just I love my Oura Ring. I bought it myself, in case we're all wondering, I don't know like all of the details about it. I honestly bought the cheapest one because I wasn't sure if I would like it. I heard that their customer service is terrible before I purchased, because I was asking a lot of people with the Oura Ring if they liked it. But I haven't had to deal with that yet, so I can't speak for that.

Speaker 2: 17:39

Otherwise, I love my Oura Ring because on the dashboard, so it tracks. I'm not even gonna get into the details because I'm gonna mess it up, but it tracks everything. I wear it on my index finger on my right hand and it tracks everything. But when I open the app on my phone, I can see the steps that I've taken, my heart rate, my calories burned, and that's what I was going to say is I can see my calories burn, and it's pretty damn accurate, I would say. I can see my calories burned, used, I guess the energy that I've used right for the day, right there on my phone it's freaking black and white, and then I can go over to my fitness pal and see the energy that I have consumed and so if I'm eating more than I'm spending, and it's literally right there in black and white, both numbers. So it's really easy for me to say, instead of guessing, like before, I didn't have any kind of a fitness tracker. I have used an Apple Watch in the past and didn't love it. I've never had a Fitbit, so I literally I hate the word literally I have literally, though, have not ever really used a fitness tracker.

Speaker 2: 18:48

So this Oura Ring tracks so many different things for me that I love, along with my heart rate, along with my body temperature, along with my cycle, like so many things. I could go on and on, but when it pertains to this, it's very simple to see that I have tracked my food and what I have brought in for energy calories and then it's also very simple to open my Oura Ring app and see what I have spent for energy. And then if I'm like, okay, I need to go for a walk, I need to expend more energy, then I go do that. Like it makes it really really simple and it's not from a place of, oh my God, I ate so much, I suck at this, I have to go for a walk. It's like no, this is what I brought in for energy, it's too much, I need to go for a walk and spend some of the energy, right? So that's all it looks like and it's so much more graceful, it's so much more positive, it's so much more healthy and it makes it doable long-term. And once I get used to okay, this, these are the foods that really look like that energy that I need and this is the amount of movement that looks like the energy I need.

Speaker 2: 19:46

I'll start shedding fat, like everything will kind of be working and my body will get used to it and I'll be like, okay, this is it. I'm coasting, I'm in maintenance now, so that is exactly what I will do, to be honest, and this Oura Ring is going to make it a lot simpler, honestly, than it has been in the past, because I've had to do that just kind of like I never I do weigh myself, but I don't really judge myself harshly on that. I'm more of a do my jeans fit? When I pull out my shorts for the summer, I'm like do these freaking fit? And if they do, I'm like, cool, I'm good. If not, then we've got a little work to do. So that's kind of how I judge myself based on. I don't want to go shopping for new clothes, so so I need to fit into these. So I hope that that is really, really helpful.

Speaker 2: 20:28

I again no notes on this. These are just my raw thoughts and this is what I'm going to be talking to my one on one clients about in these next few weeks. Things like this, things about balancing their energy and what they really want this to look like. A lot of my clients will be going into a cut soon, and so we are going to have to shift their mindset and shift their energy balance, and it is what it is, and this is how we're going to go about it and we're going to give grace and we're going to do it a little simply and we're going to realize that this is our life and if we're not exactly where we want to be, we will change it. And you know, kind of I will help them navigate through cutting or getting into maintenance, or if we're just beginning and someone's just beginning their journey right now we'll navigate through that as well and kind of start this cycle that I like to call it that they can take themselves on throughout the year, and we'll start that together.

Speaker 2: 21:21

So I just hope that this episode was so helpful. Again, I was thinking about this yesterday and thought this is something that I think has really helped me and changed the game as far as my mindset, making this long lasting and making this way more healthy than it was in the past. So I hope that you enjoyed this episode. If you would please, as usual, share it with a friend, share it on your Instagram stories and tag me. I will talk to you next week.

Speaker 1: 21:53

Thanks for listening to today's show. Go ahead and leave a rating and a review and, of course, follow the podcast so you don't miss out on any future episodes. And I would love it so much if you came to connect with me over on Instagram at Christy Castillo Fit. I will see you next time. Bye.