Strode Station,
Hey! I’m Ashley. I’m kinda wild about Strode Station, but I have to be a fan from afar. I’m from Huntington, WV where all your awesome gym owners came from. I’ve known Candice for what feels like forever. We lived together in college and she later introduced me to Crossfit. We’ve been great friends for a long, long time and I was so excited when she, Josh, Corey, and Emma had the opportunity to come and work with you all in KY. I was at your first open house and my four-year-old daughter has declared that Strode Station is “her” gym. Mommy just has another one close by that she has to visit sometimes. 😉 So, anyways, I’m a big fan of the success you all are having and the great people you have leading you. They are a few of my very favorites.
Josh asked me to tell you a little bit about the nutrition project I’m involved in as a possible next step after the Whole30 challenge you all just completed. I admire your dedication over the last month. That is TOUGH stuff! Whole30 is a great way to learn about food tolerances (and unfortunately sometimes intolerances) and see how good your body can feel when you feed it well. One inherent challenge, however, is that it’s designed for a short period of time. There are very few people out there rocking Whole30 cycles for years on end and that’s where I think I may be able to help. I work with Registered Dietitian Jeremy Mullins on a nutrition education project called MacroEd. Over the last year, we’ve taught over six thousand people about the macronutrient make-up up their foods, the reactions caused by those macros, and how to tweak them to best serve each person’s nutritional goals. My hope is that we can take the good things you’ve learned and help you find a happy balance that fits for your lifestyle outside the Whole30 window. Compared to many of the members we work with, you all are a walk in the park because you’re already active and aware of the importance of good food choices. So it’s my hope that Jeremy and I can help you all capture the good momentum you have and really dial in your nutrition based on your specific needs in a way that’s sustainable for longer term.
So, what do we do? We start with making sure everyone is on the same page with a solid understanding of what macronutrients (macros) are. We do this by enrolling our friends in a free 7-day Intro to Macros eCourse. You’ll get a daily email lesson every day for a week. By the end, you should have a pretty strong grasp on what macros are and why they matter.
Our program itself is an 8-week cycle where you’ll test your body at different carb and fat loads and see how it reacts. There are lots of macro calculators available and Instagram coaches who will run your numbers for you, but those are all just educated guesses. We ask you all to try different macro ratios so your body can tell you where you should be. By the end of the 8 weeks, you’ll know how you feel and how your body responds and can make your own determination of what’s the right fit for you long term. Our RD Jeremy can help you decipher your results as well if the answer isn’t clear cut.
As for how the 8 week plan is executed, you have a couple of options: if you’re feeling super-confident and ready to tackle macros on your own, we plug you into our FB community, give you an 8-week cycle of macro goals, and let you kick tail as you work through the 8 week cycle. We have an amazing community that will be quick to answer questions and offer encouragement. If you’d like more help, we have a beginner ecourse much like the Intro to Macros course. You’ll receive weekly email lessons and explanations of everything, meal plans/shopping lists so you don’t have to plan your food (you can just put that part on autopilot and let us take care of it), accountability journals, etc. We’ve had literally thousands of people now go through both approaches and be successful. The beginner course was written for those who were overwhelmed with the macro process and just needed a kick start. We also have 1-on-1 coaches if you want someone checking on you and guiding you through the process more than the ecourse can. So, whatever help you need, we’ve got you covered.
One of the coolest things about our approach is that we have a real food lean. Many macro-counters just tell you to eat what fits in your macro goals for the day. It ends up being sugar-free this, low fat something else, and a bunch of frankenfoods that are more trouble than they’re worth. We encourage you to eat real, whole foods as much as possible. We aren’t nearly as strict as Whole30, but we also don’t want you binging on sugar free pudding and diet soda all day every day. We have TONS of macro-friendly recipes available too. There are a team of us who take recipes we love and flip them to make them healthier and more macro-friendly. We have everything from soups to fancy coffees to chocolate covered fudge. J You can get a glimpse here: getmacroed.com/food
In addition to offering recipes to help you meet your macro goals, we also try to add tools to your nutritional arsenal. After the first week, our program incorporates a refeed day, so you’ll have an opportunity to indulge in your favorites without wrecking your progress (as a matter of fact, it helps you make BETTER progress). Beginning in the third week, we also introduce intermittent fasting. Our goal is to educate ourselves out of a job. We want to teach you everything you’ll need to be successful on your own.
We recently asked a few members how they would describe the MacroEd program to others, and here’s what they had to say:
Its an amazing program that prepares your body to thrive on what it needs; to be healthy without having to have a diet mindset. Your body will respond to this program if you follow it and you will have a ton of support along the way!
It is NOT a diet. NOT a fad. NOT a quick fix solution. It IS a lifestyle. IS an energy booster. IS a means to optimal health without the deprivation of traditional diets. IS a total change of relationship with food. IS quite literally a life saver.
It’s completely changed my life, and the way I think about food. It’s so supportive, and encouraging, and educational. You feel empowered knowing YOU CAN DO THIS.. and it’s so freeing to be released from that trap that not being able to lose weight puts you in! It’s a very organized program, that doesn’t leave you feeling in the dark about anything.
We just finished up our own 8-week challenge and are crazy-proud of how well our members did. Their goals were all over the map. We literally ran the gamut from someone who wanted to look better in a bikini to someone who wanted to lose enough weight to maintain his/her mobility to avoid having to use a motorized wheelchair. And we were able to help both of them (and lots of people in between) reach their goals. We’ve had lots of members lose weight. Some use our program to add muscle. Everyone seems to be improving their body composition. Here are some member results of the last 8-week cycle:
I lost inches all over and a little bit of weight too! I am able to fit in clothes that were too tight months ago and I now have knowledge and experience to continue to pick the right foods and loose even more! I also have more respect for the foods I eat and how my body reacts to those foods as a result of this challenge. I am able to make smarter food choices for me and my family!
I started this program with a group of girls I work with simply to improve my energy level, but I ended up losing 12 lbs and 10 inches. My energy level is definitely better. I also have noticed improvements in my skin as well.
Confidence first and foremost. I feel like I can tackle the rest of my weight with a support system. I have clothes that I haven’t fit in nine years that I’m wearing. My regular pants hang off of me and I feel so much better about myself.
And if you’re worried about losing strength as you lose weight:
I dropped 2 pants sizes, was able deadlift more than I ever have.
So, if you’d like to learn more, the 7-day Intro to Macros course is where you’ll start. Sign yourself up here:
If questions come up during the week (and I expect that they will), shoot me an email at hello at getmacroed dot com and I’ll be glad to help you.
Once you’ve finished the ecourse, come and hang with our crew at facebook.com/groups/macroed. You can check out our IG to see what we’re eating, what kind of adventures our members are into, and progress pictures as well: Instagram.com/getmacroed
So excited to be formally introduced to you all. Congrats on a great Whole30 challenge. I look forward to working with you on your next nutritional adventure.
All the best,
Ashley
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