Hello cupcakes!
*Avatar Nutrition just released their new & improved version, so make sure you check that out! Some of the features will include a new app to track food that links to the website*
I know I have posted a lot about Avatar Nutrition, so I wanted to write a blog post to explain everything to you. I started tracking my macros with Avatar Nutrition in March. Before I get ahead of myself, let me tell you about macros and the founders.
Macros are: protein, fat, and carbs (and alcohol). All three of these contribute to the total number of calories in food. Protein and carbohydrates (carbs) each have 4 calories per gram. Fat has 9 calories per gram. Lastly, alcohol has 7 calories per gram. Macro tracking is known in the fitness industry and is a great way to track food for different goals. For this reason, Avatar has different goal settings: Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, and Reverse Dieting. Each of these three settings has settings within them: conservative, moderate, or rapid. Therefore, there are a total of 9 settings to chose from. Each person is going to vary on their specific macros based on many things: age, gender, muscle mass, body fat, activity level, diet history, goal, etc.
I use myfitnesspal (an app) and a food scale to track my food according to the specific macros Avatar gives me.
Now a little bit about the founders:
Dr. Layne Norton (CSO)- Layne has his Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences, was the trail blazer of flexible dieting, and owns Carbon Supplements. There are many other things Layne is known for, but he is amazing and knows the science behind nutrition (**no longer with Avatar Nutrition).
Katie Coles (Editor in Chief and Quality Control)- Katie has her master's degree in Nutrition, a registered dietitian/ nutritionist, and a certified personal trainer.
Mark Springer (CEO)- the brains behind the operation. He knew from many years that the world needed a change, out of this Avatar Nutrition was born.
Now I want to talk about my journey...
Like I said, I started with Avatar in March. My goal was conservative fat loss. I wanted to cut before starting a reverse diet. I chose to use high and low carb days. My low carb days were around 100 grams of carbs and my high days were around 120 grams of carbs. I used this setting for six weeks. I dropped about 5 pounds. Below is a picture before my fat loss (right) and after my fat loss (left).
That's when I decided my calories were too low for myself and I switched to conservative reverse dieting. Avatar will adjust your weekly calories based on your goals and your weigh ins. This is why Avatar is so specific and individualized.
I have been on this setting since I ended my cut. I love the reverse diet setting. Many people have yo-yo dieted their whole life and their metabolisms are shot. Reverse dieting helps build your metabolism back up. Change takes time though, so a reverse diet needs to be more than a few months. My high carb days are up to over 150 grams of carbs and my low days are about 140 grams of carbs. I am currently lifting weights and I have completely cut cardio out of my workouts. I am at my lowest weight today of 129.6 lbs (which is less than I was during my cut). I am going to continue with this reverse diet setting until My calories reach over 2000, when food gets uncomfortable, or when my weight reaches above my starting weight of 135.
My plans post- reverse dieting is to keep my macros the same for 1-2 months. After that my plan is to do 6-8 weeks on the fat loss setting and then switch back to reverse dieting.
Now let me show you what Avatar looks like... below is the member profile:
Above shows your progress over time. I love visuals! It's also important to look at change over time rather than letting one higher weigh in bring you down. Below is a larger version of the body weigh graph. You can make each one bigger by clicking on it.
Another great thing about Avatar is the Member Resources. There are articles, videos, and lots of recipes. There is also a FAQ page.
Here is the closed group for Avatar Nutrition. One thing that makes this program successful is the community. Many people post questions, recipes, progress, etc. on this page. It is awesome to see everyone interact and come together. Avatar is $9.99 per month and is way cheaper than hiring a coach. I have looked at many different coaches, but I could never afford to pay for one. Avatar gives me the chance to have a coach and something to keep me accountable.
I could talk on and on about nutrition, macros, and Avatar, but I know everyone doesn't want to read it all. So, please comment below if you have specific questions for me.
*I pay for my own membership to Avatar Nutrition. I truly believe in this company and the founders. My body is changing every day and I LOVE IT!*
Later Taters
"It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away."
