macros – Beary Strong

How To Lose Weight

The no-fuss guide on how to shred fat.

Ahhh, weight loss … the fitness industry evergreen. I’ve written a lot on this topic over the last years as I feel there is still a lot of confusion about it. This article helps you cut through the non-sense frequently found in mainstream media and focus on what really works. The basics. Enjoy!

Nutrition For A Healthy Immune System

A science based guideline.

“Boost your immune system with this weird trick!” This and similar nonsense can be found everywhere. But is it even possible to boost your immune system? And if so, is it even desirable? What supplements do you need to take? Is there even any value in doing so? Does body composition alter immunity? A lot of questions and I tried my best to answer them all. Spoiler: working on diet quality is always king.

Intuitive Eating

What it is and who should or shouldn’t do it.

Intuitive eating is sometimes frowned upon in the fitness industry, with counting macros being the “superior” way to go. Most of the time intuitive eating is misunderstood though. It’s more to it than “just eat until you are full” and choosing foods based upon “what your body tells you”, because for most people this would mean bingeing on pizza and ice cream until they can’t walk anymore. Intuitive eating is a tool to develop a better feeling for hunger, satiety and health in general. How is it done? Read on!

On The Importance Of Diet Quality

Why eating like an adult pays off huge times.

Be prepared for some tough love, because I am tired of seeing adults eating like an unchaperoned child at a birthday buffet. We are putting so much effort in our training, we optimise sleep and lifestyle, yet we pay little attention of what we are actually putting into our bodies besides “hitting our macros”. It is nice to have a flexible diet, but that doesn’t mean you can squeeze as much junk in it as you can. It is time for a reality check!

Do You Have To Track Macros Forever?

Tracking macros is a great tool to achieve body composition goals, but it can be mentally very tasking. I can understand, that you have enough of tracking, weighing and measuring everything in your life and you are afraid of having to do this forever. Relax. No, you probably don’t have to track macros for the rest of your life, there are varying degrees of freedom regarding your nutrition. Intrigued? Read on!

How To Calculate Your Macros

Basic calculations for everybody.

Now that you know how to calculate your energy intake, the question is “How much of each macro should I eat?” Calculating your macros is rather easy and I think everybody should know how to do it by himself. Considering that there are services out there that “calculate your personalised macros”, I can help you save some money too. Read on and enjoy the Beary wisdom gains!

Pumpkin Pie Two Ways

I love pumpkin pie because my mum used to bake it in the early 90s for Halloween even if no one was celebrating it in Milan those times. It was an original American recipe which she brought back from Philadelphia where she lived in the 70s together with my dad and older brother. Of course she shared the recipe with me as I moved to Vienna but I had gut issues and was not tolerating grains, eggs and dairy products well. Therefore Stefan and I developed our own version: it is not cut-friendly if you are very low on calories (check the macros) but it is gluten-free and suitable for the vegan folk too. But if you would like to try the real stuff, I’ve included my mum’s recipe too.

Every Little Counts

The importance of being honest to yourself and your coach.

Tracking macros is a very powerful tool to change your eating habits and reach your body composition goals. However it has a big fault: the human nature. We’re no robots and life can hit us hard and disrupt even our best laid out plans. If it was that simple, dieting would be incredibly easy, you just fill out your macros every day and everything will be fine. But what happens when we slip?

Airplane Friendly Foods

Flying Fitfoodies Take Their Own Food On Board

Did you already read our blog post about how to nail your nutrition in vacation? One of my favourite tips is to bring your own food on the airplane because most of the time the food you get on board isn’t worth the calories. Sounds complicated but it’s much easier than you think. We compiled a small choice of groceries that are easy to handle and that you can carry unchilled for a while.

Fats: Because Nutbutter Is Happyness

Basic biochemistry and functions.

But wait, fat makes me fat, right?! Now you should already know the answer: it’s all about the calorie deficit at the end of the day and like carbs, fats are neither good nor bad. Nevertheless, fat is really energy dense: 10 gramms of fat (approx. a tea spoon) have huge 90 kcals. This means that, you should not indulge in those tasty “healthy” low-carb-paleo-keto-raw-gluten free-vegan nut bars if you are trying to lose body fat ;). So what’s the deal with fats, now? Let’s have a closer look through the biochemist’s goggles.