363: You Can’t Outrun A Bad Diet with Heidi Gardner [“I Did It” Series]

Introduction 

You're listening to Biceps After Babies Radio Episode 363.

Hello and welcome to Biceps After Babies Radio. A podcast for ladies who know that fitness is about so much more than pounds lost or PR's. It's about feeling confident in your skin and empowered in your life. I'm your host Amber Brueseke, a registered nurse, personal trainer, wife and mom of four. Each week my guests and I will excite and motivate you to take action in your own personal fitness as we talk about nutrition, exercise, mindset, personal development and executing life with conscious intention. If your goal is to look, feel and be strong and experience transformation from the inside out, you my friend are in the right place. Thank you for tuning in. Now, let's jump into today's episode.

Hey, hey, hey, welcome back to another episode of Biceps After Babies Radio. I'm your host Amber Brueseke and today I'm thrilled to bring you a incredible conversation with one of my clients, Heidi Gardner. She's a MACROS 101 client and she really opens up and shares a little bit about her journey in this episode. And just as a little background, she is an ultra marathon runner, which side note, I learned so much that I did not know about ultra marathon running in this episode. That was very fascinating to me, but she's an ultra marathon runner. And she really is the epitome of you can't outrun a bad diet. So if you've struggled or felt frustrated in the past because you feel like you're doing a lot of cardio or you're working out a ton and yet the scale is going in the opposite direction of what you want, that was Heidi. She talks about gaining 20 pounds despite running hundreds of miles and just having this idea that like, I'm doing so much cardio, I'm working out a ton. Why can't I just eat whatever it is that I want? And then she was able to finally find sustainable habits and sustainable weight loss through macro counting. 

So what I love so much about the “I Did It” Series where we interview our clients is that they're so relatable. So Heidi's story is not about being perfect. It is about learning and growing and figuring out what works for her. And one of the topics that we hit on during this episode is the idea of layering of how do we layer habits? How do we not go balls to the walls from the get go and instead how do we do things one at a time? The other thing that we talk about in this episode that I think is really important to bring up is that everybody has different struggles. And so I think it's really easy to look at someone who maybe you would say their body is my goals. And if I could just get to their body, it's my goals. And to hear them say, well, I have different goals. I, I want to be leaner than this can be kind of triggering to somebody who is really struggling to even lose, you know, the first 20 pounds, not even to mention the last 20 pounds. And I just think it's so important to stay in this space of being able to have the both end of being able to say, yeah, it's really hard for me. And I'm really struggling with losing the first 20 of the hundred pounds that I have to lose. And that's really hard for me. And that doesn't invalidate somebody else's experience that's different than mine. And I think it's important to bring women on the podcast of all different ilks and all different struggles because this episode is going to relate to some people and another episode is going to relate to some other people. So it's one reason I'm sharing this conversation because I think hearing somebody's struggles and their breakthroughs can be the exact thing that helps you to break through in your own journey. So if you've ever thought, why is it what I'm doing working anymore? Or I'm doing so much cardio. Why, why am I gaining weight? Then this episode is for you. So let's dive in.  

Amber B 03:37 

I am so excited to welcome to the podcast, Heidi Gardner. Heidi, thanks for joining me today.  

Heidi Gardner 03:43 

Thanks. You're welcome. I guess. I don’t do these often. 

Amber B 03:45 

I'm very excited to, you don't do these often? 

Heidi Gardner 03:48 

Yeah. Nobody does. Right, like. 

Amber B 03:51 

Most of the people who we have on from MACROS 101 are not seasoned podcasters, but that's actually what like what I think is your superpower that you have to share because it's just going to be like real and honest and you're just going to share your story and people are going to relate to it. So, okay. I want you to start out just setting the scene a little bit for us. Before you joined MACROS 101, tell me a little bit about what you were struggling with, where you felt like your roadblocks were, and then, you know, what caused you to pull that trigger to come in and start the process?  

Heidi Gardner 04:19 

Okay. So I never really struggled with my weight. I'm a small person. I run a lot. I was doing a lot of road marathons. I had four kids. I would, I was, I was pretty disciplined. I would eat really well after my babies and lose the weight. So I would, I would bounce back, not without work, but I had developed some really good habits and I had gotten really, really lean, really fast. And in 2015 I ran the Boston marathon. I was at my lowest body fat.  

Amber B 04:50 

That’s so cool. 

Heidi Gardner 04:51 

So that was really exciting. And I got super burnt out with road running and I decided to switch to ultra marathons. So I switched to ultra marathon running. I've done, I've signed up for 300 milers. I've gotten, I finished one. I got 93 miles on one and I did one. I shouldn't have even started anyways. So I kept running. I ran more and more than I'd ever ran. And I gained 20 pounds and not muscle. It was 20 pounds of fat because I had developed some really bad eating habit.  

Amber B 05:21 

Okay. I'm super curious about this because this like, doesn't make sense in my brain. You said you were burned out from running. So you decided to do ultras like explain that to me.  

Heidi Gardner 05:31 

I was burned out from running on the road. 

Amber B 05:33 

Oh, got it. 

Heidi Gardner 05:34 

I didn't want to stop running. Um, and so I switched to trial running, which is a whole different animal. Like our friend wanted us to run 20 miles for him to train for the, CIM coming up. And I was like, no, I don't run 20 miles straight. Like I walked the hill, like snacks. Like, I don't know if I can run, run 20 miles. I can, I can go a hundred miles, but don't make me run on concrete that much.  

Amber B 06:01 

This is so insightful for me as someone who is like very obviously not in the running world to even, I didn't even, I guess I didn't understand that like trail running was more of a, like you're going a lot longer, but maybe it's not consistent running is what it sounds like.  

Heidi Gardner 06:15 

Yeah. We'll hike the Hills. We'll take a nap. Um, we'll eat a bowl of spaghetti. 

Amber B 06:22 

That sounds lovely. You make a hundred mile or sound lovely.  

Heidi Gardner 06:24 

It's the most relaxing thing I do. 

Amber B 06:26 

That's so amazing. Okay. So you, you, this is your, your words. You kind of said I'm the poster child for you can't unwrap outrun a bad diet. So tell me a little bit more about that. And what that experience was like for you, you know, the gaining the 20 pounds. 

Heidi Gardner 06:42 

Okay. I think people have this mentality and people say it to me. And as I put on weight, it almost got offensive. You can eat whatever you want because you run so much. And also like that I'm a naturally skinny person, which, which isn't true. Like it's not in my genetics, my, you know, I'm not a fit. I didn't come from a family of waifs, but, um, but it just became apparent as I was packing on weight. Now I was like super lean when I, when I ran Boston, um, it was great. Um, I'm okay. If I don't get that lean again, but I was like, okay, five pounds, that's fine. Eventually I was, I was actually over 20 pounds higher than that race that I wait, um, that I, that I raced at. Um, and I look back at it. I wasn't, you don't need to count calories all the time, but I completely stop. I was eating big bowls of popcorn when I'd come home from work at 11, like I'd make kettle corn. So it was like sugar in it and just eat it in bed. I would get bowls of sugar cereal and just munch on him, but Hey, I'm gonna, I'm gonna burn it off. And slowly it just kept prepping up, creeping up, creeping up, creeping up. And I couldn't, I couldn't outrun it. I couldn't run more. I couldn't do speed work and make it come off. It just stayed. And I kept running.  

Amber B 08:00 

So was there kind of this, I mean, were you, were you in that mentality of like, I can eat kind of whatever I want because I'm doing so much cardio, I'm doing so much running. It'll just burn off. 

Heidi Gardner 08:10 

Yeah. And I knew it wasn't true, but I was like, I won't put on 20 pounds like that. I don't know. No, I'm a distance run. I'm not going to gain 20 pounds. And then it happened.  

Amber B 08:22 

Yeah. I'm curious how that experience was because you know, when we're talking about running, especially when you're trying to run fast, something like a Boston or, you know, you're trying to PR like there is this balance between trying to be as light as possible because it helps you to be easier to run. Right. So it makes sense to me that you were super lean when you're running Austin because it just makes it easier. Um, I'm curious your experience running and how that felt different on your body, like running something like Boston at a super low body fat percentage versus when you gain the 20 pounds was, did you feel it in your running?  

Heidi Gardner 08:53 

I could feel it. I remember having runs where I just felt like so stealth. Um, and you know, part of it is moving to ultra running. Like you will, some of us tend to be a little bit heavier. Some of it's muscle. A lot of it is, there's, there's beer at these races. Like, I mean, there's beer tends at the end of, of, um, of marathons and stuff, but like there's alcohol in the middle of the race, you know, and I, I don't drink, but it just makes me laugh. Like, and, and, and, and granted we're not going, I mean, the normal person isn't going very fast. I, I progressively came slower, which was, which is fine for me. I think part of it had to do with my weight, but somebody said, imagine running with like a five pound dumbbell. Well, add that to 20 and I'm carrying this and I felt very sluggish and I just knew, even though being super fast, isn't my goal anymore. I just knew it wasn't serving me right. And, and chub rub.  

Amber B 09:43 

Yeah. Yeah. Um, I want to dive a little bit into the experience that you had because I want to honor it as an experience. And I know it can be hard because different people have different experiences, but I want to validate the like experience that you had of like people telling you it's so easy for you and how hard that was for you. Um, you know, what, what was that experience when someone would say, Oh, it's so easy for you. You come from your, you have a thin frame, you run a ton. Like it's just easy for you. But you said that that was really hard for you to hear. What was that experience like?  

Heidi Gardner 10:29 

Um, I, I don't know. I think it like it devalued my work now. And I mentioned, I mentioned to you like a few things like I even putting on 20 pounds, like I was still within my healthy range. 

Amber B 10:42 

Sure. Yeah. 

Heidi Gardner 10:43 

And my highest might be somebody's goal. But for me, my lowest was also a healthy range and I just felt more, more comfortable, not just as myself, but for my lifestyle. And so, and so I would get comments like, like, well, you're genetically tiny. Yeah. I'm a small person, but if you look at my family, like, um, my mom has my mom and sisters have thyroid disease. They always, they, you know, I'm, I'm tired all the time, but apparently I don't have thyroid disease. And so they, they struggled with weight. My dad had put on some weight. He always ran, but he was heavier. He's, he's lost a bunch in the last few years and kept it off. Um, and then, and so I'm just like, no, I'm not just naturally skinny. Um, and then I, okay. What's easy for me is cardio. I love it. Like that. That's the only thing that's easier for me. And, and it's just because it's a hobby. Um, that being said, and I've learned about this in MACROS when we talked about like efficient workout, and then I'm going to do the, um, Build Your Workout, which I haven't had a chance to look at, but I've bought, um, long, still running is probably the least efficient way to burn fat. 

Amber B 11:55 

Yeah.  

Heidi Gardner 11:56 

But it's my hobby. And you mentioned like same with, with CrossFit, like you could get leaner faster, but we enjoy it. Right. And so, and so cardio is easier for me because I like it, but that's the only thing like I, I, I schedule it, I make it a priority. And then if I want to be really lean, like I have to put in the work, just like everybody else, I can't eat a whole pie. And so I think it just like devalued the work that I put in. Like the only thing that's easy is I have a hobby to run.  

Amber B 12:27 

Sure. Yeah. Well, what I, what I love about this is like we can honor everybody's heart. I think, I think it's like, we don't have to judge other people's hearts. It's like, we all have the things that are hard for us and we all have the things that are easier for us. And what is easier for you is doing a hundred milers. And that is awful for me, so like that. 

Heidi Gardner 12:46 

They're actually not, they're actually not my favorite distance because I like sleeping as well. And I'm really,  

Amber B 12:51 

Oh, I like sleeping as well. 

Heidi Gardner 12:53 

It takes me like close to 30 hours. I like a 100K that's a nice.  

Amber B 12:57 

Wow. So, but I, but I think it's, it's like, I think the problem comes when we judge other people's experience or when we put labels on other people's experience, instead of just rather being like, huh, this is easy for me. This is hard for me. There's things that are easy for you. There are things that are hard for you. And they're both valid. They're both valid experiences. And we don't have to like minimize other people's what's hard for them or what's easy for them. I think sometimes we do that as this like comparison that's not really healthy or helpful.  

Heidi Gardner 13:24 

And I, and I think that it's, it's, it shares a false message too, because I've heard, I've heard people say, I'm just going to do the workout and I plan to lose weight. And I'm like, yeah. 

 

Amber B 13:35 

Yeah. Yeah. It’s not the workouts. 

Heidi Gardner 13:36 

Yeah. And, and I've known that I've known that, but I, I mean, it's easier said than done, but like it, it also like, it just spread the false narrative that working out is going to give you the physique you want. 

Amber B 13:50 

Is the solution. Yeah, for sure. So what was the turning point that made you start like counting macros or like, how were you introduced to macro tracking and why did you want MACROS101, talk to me a little bit about that experience?  

Heidi Gardner 14:02 

Well, I, I had put on a sweat and I was like, what was I doing before? What I was doing before is I had a lot of spare time. My kids were little and I volunteered a ton, but I stayed home a lot. And still I started working. I got really busy. And I was like, I don't have time to like workout. I'd love it. Workout hours on end. Counting calories was really frustrating for me. And I would, I would jump on the wagon to like count calories again. I had done beach body workouts and stuff and, and those were fun, but it just wasn't in my, it just wasn't working for me anymore. And I, and I couldn't stick to it. I would plug in the formula into MyFitnessPal, which I had used forever. And I just could not stick to those calories. And I learned why later in MACROS 101. And so Rachel, your sister, she's a friend of mine and she had posted a Count Your Macros.  

Amber B 14:58 

The tracking challenge? 

Heidi Gardner 14:59  

The tracking challenge, that was a week. And, um, and I was like, you know, I'm going to try it because I'd heard that like macros is the way. And, and I understood exactly what it was. It was kind of fun because it wasn't like, don't change the way you're eating. Just, just track it. And, um, and I did it. And then like there was the, the pitch for MACROS 101 and I am, the most brutal person. And so when I saw the price tag, I was like, I hate tracking. Like why am I considering this? And I talked to my husband and he was like, if you think that you'll stick to it, go ahead and do it. The stuff that I learned in those first few weeks is worth every penny, like absolutely no regret, like at all. Like, like we've switched to me being like, like, I'm so frustrated to like, look at me, look at these, you know, like look at my shorts, my favorite shorts are fitting again. Like, I don't know if he's like, just as annoyed, but it, I mean, the things that I learned in just, just like a few weeks and I'm excited, we can do things in layers and I'll get to the rest of it too. I love, I love those layers. I love them. There was just so much to it. That was just like sustainable and aha. So anyways, I took a leap of faith that I wanted to try something new. The way it was presented was not gimmicky. It was everything I wanted. It was sustainable, healthy habits. Like that would not just, it wasn't just losing fat. It was your whole body, you know, like the perimenopause podcast was like a big aha moment for me. And I know a lot of stuff and I learned much more already. Like I thought I knew a lot.  

Amber B 16:50 

Can you, can you share, or is there one that you remember that was like you listened to it and it was like a big aha for you or it was a big realization or something that you didn't know that you didn't know?  

Heidi Gardner 17:00 

I, okay. So just setting up our macros was huge because, and you just, I loved how you're like, don't do the formula that they say, like these free apps or whatever have formulas. And this is where a coach was so vital. So when we tracked our macros during those, that first week for the challenge, I had no idea what your goals should be for any of these. Like I'd read a little bit. I was super scared to limit my fat and carbs because those are delicious. So I was like, I was super nervous about that, but I didn't really understand how much protein I should have. I was, I'm pretty sure I need to be when, what we calculated was like at least one, 113 grams. Like just, just for my, my cut, I was doing a cut. I fell into that, that category just fine. Um, but, um, I was eating 65 grams of protein and yeah. And, and I'm not a big meat eater or whatever. I knew I should be doing more. And my, and I forget everybody's names. Like, I'm just like trying to make it through again. And I said, this is my busy time of year, um, for, for work. But, um, my coach said, you are not jumping to over a hundred grams of protein. You're going to do 85. And I think if I had jumped to a hundred grams, like I would have failed. And so I love that coaching aspect. She's like, you hit that for a week and then we'll go up 10 grams. And so I like slowly layers. I love that gone up to that. Um, learning where to find fiber was big, knowing that I never actually needs to limit my carbs. And I think that for, for my goals was pivotal, um, for me, because I couldn't handle that. Like I, that's, that wasn't necessary. And I learned for, for my lifestyle, that wasn't something I needed. My calories were too low. Um, the ones that we figured out with the formula you gave were higher than I'd ever gotten been given on MyFitnessPal. And I would put very reasonable goals in MyFitnessPal. Like I wasn't trying to lose five pounds in a week. I was like half a pound a week and it would set me so low. If I didn't have a coach, even the ones we set up based on what we thought was my lifestyle were too low because I was going over, but still losing. And it's what just made it so doable. Like I wasn't feeling deprived. Um, I was, I just, I learned so much. So those were, I mean, that was my, like my biggest aha, like learning about nutrition. I still have layers to build on and I'm the no judgment is huge. Like I don't feel like a failure because I haven't met some certain goals. Um, and then the other one that I was really excited for was the one about menopause. Cause I blamed some of this on hormones. I don't anymore. Like I'm, I'm afraid, like I'm like something else, something might happen, but I feel like this is manageable. I can manage my weight going through this, like hormonal change.  

Amber B 20:11 

It's huge. Um, you've used, you've used the word layers a couple of times, which I like to love that. Um, so sometimes it's hard to enroll people in the idea of like layering habits because our brains tend to just want it all now. Like, I just want like, like you, where you're like, I want to jump from 40 grams of protein, 60 grams of protein up to a hundred grams of protein. And the coach was like, let's stair step at a little bit. But sometimes that's a hard sell for people cause they just want to do it all. So for somebody like, how did you buy into this idea that like a layered approach is actually the best approach to take?  

Heidi Gardner 20:51 

I think just from the past, like, I mean, there's, there's lots of facets to it. I have, I have, um, my husband's family is very diet culture. Like he, they have a term, the cabbage poop diet, like these, these diets like eat like a bear. And I'm like, you're not a bear. Or I don't know, like maybe like 15, 15 years ago, there was the, um, you inject yourself with a pregnancy hormone and then. 

Amber B 21:16 

Oh, the HTG.  

Heidi Gardner 21:17 

Yeah, the HTG. This is what I'm surrounded with. And, and it was like these get, lose it fast, get a jumpstart and then you'll feel better and then you can maintain. And I would constantly see failure. Um, granted people might not look at me and be like, you don't count cause you've never struggled. You've never been able to lose 50 or a hundred or whatever. But I was like, I know already that to maintain something, you have to have something that you can sustain forever. Am I willing to eat 800 calories and inject myself with pregnancy hormones? Am I willing to eat one meal a day only for the rest of my life or, or never have sugar again. I knew I couldn't. So I knew that like baby steps was the way like, and I feel grateful that I didn't, that wasn't a struggle for me that I knew that a slow process was the best process. Um, and, and I think that that was really key. I think it's hard for people to grasp because they do want to click fix. And you say that in your, when you were presenting this, like if you want to lose weight fast, like go find somebody else. Like I'm going to make, I'm going to help you learn to lose weight and maintain. And, and so that, that was exactly what I was looking for.  

Amber B 22:38 

That's awesome. Uh, what advice would you give to other runners or other athletes who maybe are struggling with, you know, similar challenges around weight and nutrition and activity and running and things like that?  

Heidi Gardner 22:51 

Well, I think, I think that we do, and this is what I'm going to add in. We're getting older and it's harder to lose. Yeah. Our metabolism is faster when we're younger and maybe we really could eat whatever we want. And I, and men, like I had a man last week or two weeks ago when I was running and he's like, I run so I can eat whatever I want. And I, and I every time I'll chime in and I'll be like, where are these 20 pounds come from then? That didn't work for me. I think that like, don't get complacent. I mean, it's, it's a lie. Like we can't, you can't outrun a bad diet. Like that is the biggest, the biggest takeaway. I think on, on top of that though, is that food is fuel. And so you do need to realize like, like you need to eat healthy. You need to eat protein. Like if you want to take care of this engine, like you can't just put calories in it. You need to put like things that are going to build it and make it strong. But if you do fall into that hole, if you put on 20, 30 pounds or whatever, no judgment, like you can, you can make that change and you can, you know, bounce back and, and, and just, I don't know, like start over and just, you know, like you're not lost. Like you can't, you don't have to give up. Like there is a way to get back on track and attract that you can stay on. 

Amber B 24:16 

Yeah. I love it. And I think coming in with that mindset of like, this isn't going to be a quick fix allows you to kind of take a deep breath and calm yourself down and realize that you don't have to do it all at once. Right. Even just realizing that like, Hey, I can go through a couple of these modules. I can get so much value and start to implement them now. And the other modules we've there when I am ready for it, it doesn't have to be all or nothing.  

Heidi Gardner 24:38 

Yeah. And we just, we just ended and I like, it was risky business like doing this right now, but I wanted to do it. And you threw it in like right before the holidays. Like, I mean, I mean, 

Amber B 24:51 

Who does that? 

Heidi Gardner 24:52 

I think some people, but let me tell you, Amber on Halloween, I ate one Reese's cup. Like when we were handing out candy and it's because I didn't restrict myself before that. And I wasn't like, I'm saving up. Like, like these are some habits that I developed. And so I think like doing this before the holidays, there was a question on Facebook about how am I going to manage the holidays? And I was like, it's not a six week party. You might have four or five, like do really well. And then make your decision before you go. Like, are you going to just eat without tracking? Fine. Go ahead and do that. It's not going to break the bank. Like just bounce back the next day. Or are you going to, you know, like my husband and I learned, like when we go out to, and I think I might be getting off track. I forget what the question was, but when we go out to a Mexican restaurant, if we decide not to eat four baskets of chips before our food comes, we're not depriving ourselves. We're making it. So we enjoy the rest of our meal. Right? Like, like these are none of this was, was deprivation. Okay. Remind me to my question that I was trying to answer.  

Amber B 25:57 

I mean, this is wonderful. I was just asking about advice for athletes or other runners who are similar to you. 

Heidi Gardner 26:04 

Yeah. So I guess, I guess just don't, I mean, don't give up. Like they don't get complacent, but when you fall off the wagon, like just jump back in, like find something sustainable.  

Amber B 26:17 

That's so good. I love it. That's fantastic. It's awesome to hear your story, Heidi. And I know that there are going to be women who relate because again, everybody has different things that are hard and different things that are easy. And so I think it's important to kind of speak to all of those different experiences because we all do have different experiences. So thank you for coming on and sharing your story.  

Heidi Gardner 26:36 

You're welcome.  

Amber B 26:37 

I hope that was an insightful episode for you. If you're wanting to come and join us inside of MACROS 101, I highly recommend getting on the interest list. You can go to bicepsafterbabies.com/waitlist, and you too can come and join us inside the program. There's so much transformation waiting for you as we work together. So I'd love to have you inside bicepsafterbabies.com/waitlist. That wraps up this episode of Biceps After Babies Radio. I'm Amber. Now go out and be strong because remember my friend, you can do anything.   

Outro

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