If you want a free weight loss program that actually works, read this.

Listen, I get it. The fitness industry has left us all feeling lost, scared, and confused around food ESPECIALLY if weight loss is one of your goals. Macros? Sounds obsessive. Meal plan? Sounds restrictive. There’s really no winning here. So, might as well do nothing. 

WRONG. Listen, if you want to wake up in the morning (or afternoon if you’re a night shift nurse like me) feeling refreshed and energized, get into a consistent workout routine you love, and look into the mirror feeling like Kim K (I’m not kidding, one of my clients actually sent this to me lmao)… the time is now. No more pushing it off. 

But I know better than anyone, without a clear direction as to where to go and what to do, you won’t go anywhere.

That’s why I’m going to map out your completely free online weight loss program in this article. I’ve never given this much valuable information out for free, so you’re going to want to pay attention. 

Let’s start with nutrition.

If you’ve never tracked macros before, skip to the part of this article that says *Week 1*!

If you’ve been around the block with macros, start here:

Listen bitch, I HEAR YOU when you say that macros suck. Who wants to slave over a food scale their entire fucking life? Literally nobody. 

When I competed, I literally brought a food scale with me to Chipotle, asked for every single item in a separate container, and measured it all out into my tupperware in the middle of the restaurant. I was down BAD for the food scale. Not only was that period of my life the MOST embarrassing, I have personally experienced the strain obsessive macro tracking can have on your personal relationships, energy levels, and sanity. I wouldn’t wish that life on my worst enemy. 

I want nothing more than for you to be free from macro tracking and a food scale. 

But, hear me out. If you want a fat booty and a snatched waist, it’s CRITICAL that we become conscious of our food intake. 

Think of your body like a bank account (you can thank Ramit Sethi for this amazing analogy that he described in his book I Will Teach You To Be Rich. Highly highly recommend). 

Stepping on the scale is the equivalent of checking your bank account. When you check your bank account balance once a month without doing anything to care for it, you’re probably going to look at your bank account and be like where the FUCK did all my money go? And then cry about it and continue to repeat the cycle.

So, we need to put some type of plan in place so that you don’t open up your “bank account” for weeks on end, being terribly upset with what you see. 

Here are some comments I hear around macro tracking and what I have to say about it:

Them: “I can’t track anymore because I became too obsessed.”

My response: Sure, that makes sense. But it’s almost like saying “I can’t buy brownies. I’ll eat them all.” The issue isn’t the brownies. The issue is the way you think about brownies. If you could track macros WITHOUT being obsessed with them, would you? (The answer is obviously yes).

Them: “I don’t have time to track.”

My response: Sure you do. The reality is, tracking isn’t a priority in your life right now. Sometimes the reason it isn’t a priority is valid, sometimes it’s not. That’s for you to decide. But, one thing I can promise you is that tracking becomes less time consuming overtime. And the more you tell yourself you don’t have the time, the longer it will take for you to get yo shit right.

Also, if you follow the instructions I give you in this article, tracking shouldn’t take you more than 20 minutes every day. 

Them: “Tracking is so much work.”

My response: Eh, it can be. But, it doesn’t have to be. If you want the benefits of macro tracking WITHOUT putting in too much effort, all you need to do is keep your meals consistent. AKA, find some meals you love and eat them every single day. That way, all you have to do is copy and paste the meals from the day before. You can plan out your meals for the entire week in like… less than 2 minutes. 

**Pro tip while planning out your meals: If you want to track with less effort, don’t track out meals that are super complicated, have a million ingredients and take forever to make. Yogurt bowls, burrito bowls, protein oatmeal, and protein smoothies are some of my favorite quick and healthy meals to plan out when I am tracking.

Them: “Macro tracking is unhealthy.”

My response: What is unhealthy about educating yourself on what you’re putting in your body? If you ask me, mindless eating coupled with regret and guilt is a lot more “unhealthy” than tracking macros. Macro tracking becomes unhealthy when it becomes your Holy Mecca and you’re sitting in the middle of a Chipotle weighing your food out. If you follow the instructions I give you in this article, you should be one step ahead of where I was starting out.

The reality is, most people who want to lose weight and/or live healthier lifestyles need to pay closer attention to their food intake. 

I have designed this plan so that you can get the best of both worlds. You will get the benefit of watching your food intake so that you can wake up in the morning feeling like a lil princess, without becoming overly obsessed or dependent on a stupid food scale. 

Not only that, but I’m going to teach you EVERYTHING you need to know, so that you can stop spending hundreds of dollars on coaches and programs. By the end of this article, you will feel empowered to do it all on your own. 

*Week 1* 

(Macro counting for dummies)

Step 1: 

Calculate how much protein you need to be eating/day. This is annoyingly a controversial topic, but here’s what you really need to know: Most studies show that a protein intake between 0.7-1.2g/lb of body weight is optimal. For the sake of simplicity, shoot for 1g of protein per lb of body weight. 

The more physically active you are, the higher your protein intake will need to be. So if you’re in the gym getting your work out in 6 days/wk, shoot for closer to 1.2g of protein/lb of body weight. 

If you are considered overweight or obese, you’ll want to eat 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass. Calculate your lean body mass here.

Step 2: 

Decide what it is you want. Are you tryna get abs? Trying to build a booty? Or are you just trying to stay afloat and maybe put your iced coffee down and eat breakfast once in a while?

Whatever it is, you’ll need to know before completing this step.

Once you know, use this link to calculate your macros. Make sure to adjust the settings so that it’s set for your personal goal. Do NOT, I repeat… DO NOT select extreme weight loss even if you really really want to lose weight as quickly as possible. I promise you, the quickest way to lose weight will be gradually. This may seem counterintuitive, but the chances of you regaining the weight as quickly as you’ve lost it is significantly high. Slow and steady wins the race here baby.

Once you click calculate, I would suggest using the tab that says “create your own” and sliding the protein intake up to what we’ve decided it should be (basically whatever your current body weight is), and then making a note of the carbs, fats, and calories for your specific goals. 

Step 3: 

Download MyFitnessPal (do not pay for premium, it’s completely unnecessary). 

We’re going to track macros, but before you’re like “Wahhh! I don’t wanna!”Allow me to remind you that this part of the process has a definite end date. I won’t leave you out here tracking macros forever. 

We are going to use macros the way they are supposed to be used, as a tool to guide you along on your health journey. We’re doing this so that we can finally put an end to stepping on the scale and freaking out about what you see. We’re doing this so you can eventually enjoy parties, dinners, and nights out WITHOUT feeling guilty afterwards. I mean, what kind of life is that? If you’re regretting every cookie and pizza slice that goes into your mouth…that’s so lame. Let’s put an end to the drama, together. 

Once you track macros for a few weeks, you can’t unknow that information. Eventually, you’ll be able to look at a plate of food and know how many calories it is, without weighing it out on the scale. Eventually, you’ll be able to eat food without wondering if it’s going to send the scale into overdrive the next morning. 

If you need to brush up on your macro tracking skillllz or you’re brand new and don’t even know what this is, I am gifting you my free MyFitnessPal and Tracking Guide here (this is worth $1,000 and I’m giving it to you for FREEEE. So, if you decide to read through it all and do nothing I will literally come haunt you in your sleep, k? K).

Step 4: 

BEFORE YOU GO TO BED TONIGHT, plan out everything you’re going to eat tomorrow. Make sure the calories, protein, carbs and fat goals match what was suggested on this website.

We’re going to make tracking out the next day’s meal before bed a habit. If you like checking things off, you can go to your app store and type in “habit tracker”. The first app that pops up is called “Daily Planner.” Download it. On this app, you can create a custom habit called “Tracking out my meals for tomorrow. Go me.” 

Once you’ve got that set up, listen to me. DO NOT GO TO SLEEP WITHOUT TRACKING YOUR MEALS FOR THE NEXT DAY. This is especially important within the first few weeks because as of now, you are the brittle little saltines they keep in the patient kitchens. Things can easily crumble, if you don’t do exactly as I say. 

As you are planning out your meals, must I remind you to consume mostly whole foods? I don’t need to remind you of this, you know that. I know you know that. But to give you some guidance around meal planning, I will share what I eat most days.

I usually consume 3-4 meals per day. Every single meal I consume 9/10 times is filled with whole foods and has protein in it. Some of my staples are protein smoothies, eggs and avocado toast, tacos, and Sweetgreen (if you’ve never heard of this, it’s a salad joint you must try!!) You can also find a list of whole foods in each macronutrient category in this guide here. With that, I’m also a slut for diet coke and dark chocolate, so I usually slither these two things in a few times a week. 

Without getting into the whole “is diet coke bad for you?” debate too much, I will just quickly state that I fall into the category of people who don’t believe there’s enough evidence to support it’s bad for you (unless you’re drinking like 10 a day). What I do find problematic about diet cokes though, is its subtle caffeine content. If you’re consuming one at dinner (like I regularly have in the past), it’s likely it’ll fuck up your sleep. And your sleep is the foundation to your health and weight loss journey. Fucked up sleep means more hunger, more cravings, shittier work out sessions, and less happiness. I’m not even being dramatic. So, a good alternative is these cute little ICE drinks you can find at most grocery stores. 

Another thing, let’s recognize you’re a human being. You’re going to want to do things like go out to dinner, get drinks with your friends, and put a little caramel pump in your coffee once in a while. I love that for you. I want that for you. And the freedom to do this will come! I promise. However, because you’re a little saltine right now, let’s try to stick to this plan as much as possible this first week. If you want to go out to dinner, do your best to make the meal fit into your macros. 

Once you’ve built some confidence and proven to yourself that you can do this (and you will), then we can add in some more meals out. For now, let’s keep our eyes on the prize. 

Step 5:

Take a gander at your new training block. I know you don’t have a ton of time, so the workouts are designed to be done quickly, and target all of the necessary areas in order to cinch the waist and build an ass.

If you want you can do them at home, but we all know it’s hard to feel motivated during home workouts. 

I recommend getting your booty in the gym and absorbing the energy of everybody else putting in the work on a Tuesday afternoon. 

It’s a three day training block, so you don’t HAVE to do them on the days you work. But, you certainly can if you so please. 

Okay, I know this was a lot of information. If you have ANY questions at all, shoot me an email at theascendteam0@gmail.com and I will help you out. 

If you’re reading through this article and you’re like “wow, thanks for the email but I want something more hands on, schedule a call with me here and we can find out if 1) the vibes are on and 2) If I can actually help you. 

Next week I’ll be posting week 2 of your anti-diet plan for weight loss, so we can get rid of this dieting problem for good, and you’ll know exactly what you need to do to experience life-long health and food freedom. 

Love yewwwwww. XO,

Shy