How Many Extra Carbs to Eat on Long Hiking or Biking Days

Nikkiey: What's up, WarriorBabes? Hey, everybody. Hello and welcome to our WarriorBabe Wednesday live Q&A time together. I am super stoked to be here with you all and spend probably the next half hour, 45 minutes answering any questions that you have. So while you're joining in, I just want to make sure that this is all working. Yes, it is. What's up, Ashley? Hey, babe.

As you're joining in, comment and say, hey, what's up. What's up, Emily? The more that you comment, the more it pushes our video to the top of the Facebook community, and then everybody is able to chime in. If they're new and don't know how to join in, they can just click on it when they see it at the top of the community.

So comment, let me know you're here. What's up, Marissa? Hey, babe. If you're tuning in at a later date or time, please give me the hashtag replay and then leave any questions that pertain to this Q&A underneath in the comment thread. That way Kate can come back in after this live is done and respond to any questions that were left. What's up, Keela? What's up, Lara? Hi, babes. I'm so excited to hang out with you for a little bit.

We'll get started in just a few seconds. If you have any questions that pertain to this Q&A, you can start commenting them below this video. But before we do, oh my God, our community is growing and it's growing so fast. It's so amazing, and I'm so stoked. I am so excited for all the new babes who joined us this week. Welcome to all the new WarriorBabes. You are literally a part of a community of thousands of women who are getting toned and becoming stronger, more confident versions of themselves.

We're even getting everybody else excited around here. Dogs are barking. But I'm so stoked that you're here and a part of our community. The thread with Michelle's pictures and videos, you guys are amazing. And welcome back, Michelle. I'm so stoked that you are back in the community and sharing your pictures and your videos, because you would do that almost every day, show the babes some moves and get everybody so inspired.

And when you posted your pictures back in here, I was overwhelmed by so much excitement, seeing how our community is. It's really cool. That had over 200 likes and over 120 comments. So amazing. So anybody who is new, you are entering such a supportive, inspirational, motivating community here.

We're all on this journey together. That's what's really cool. We're all working together, we're all striving together. There are babes that wake up every day and know that there's another WarriorBabe doing this workout today, and that makes you want to go crush it some more. So welcome. If you're new this week and this is your first Q&A, give me the little wave emoji so I can see all the new babes joining us. What's up, Gina? Hi, Maurice. Hi, Beau. Hi, Alyssa. What's up, babes?

If you have any questions you want answers to, start leaving them below in the comment thread, and we'll kick off this Q&A in just a few seconds. But before we do, I want to remind anybody who is new to our community that you're getting the 14-day blast-off email sequence every single day for the first 14 days that you're in this program. I really want you to take that seriously, because in those first 14 days, the videos I'm giving you are helping you transition into this program and this lifestyle.

I have the comments loading here. Hold on a second. I need to get used to this Zoom thing because I can't see everybody's comments. Maybe if I click to expand. Yes, that's how I did it the first time. Okay, great. Francine, you're new. Awesome, babe. Debbie's new as well. Cool. That's great.

Okay, babes, sorry. I needed to come outside today because today has been a busy day, so I needed some fresh air. I decided to do this Q&A with you outside, so bear with me. If you're new, again, comment with a little hand emoji. I want to see who's new.

Keela says, "This is my second week and I'm loving this community and the workouts. I'm just not sure about macros yet. I've listened to all the videos on the app. They're so great." Good, babe. Yeah, it's a learning process. Macros are a skill that will serve you for the rest of your life. It's definitely something new at first, but the more effort you put into it, the easier it's going to get, just like any skill you've ever learned in your life. You just have to put consistent effort into it on a daily basis. Follow the videos, and reach out to the community if you need any help.

Shannon is new too. What's up, babe? And Keela says, "I love the emails that you sent." Yeah. So really quick, touching back on the emails before we dive into this Q&A. If you have any questions, now's the time to leave them in the chat box so we can fire through a Q&A together.

For the first 14 days after you join this program, you're getting an email every single day with just one task to complete. These are the blast-off emails. You're going to deep dive into what goal you want to focus on inside of WarriorBabe and why you want to focus on it, getting deep within yourself so you can create a goal that's going to motivate you on a daily basis. Then once those first 14 days are done, you're grounded.

You're grounded in yourself, in this community and in this program, so you're really motivated to keep going. That's why the 14 days are so important. Don't ignore them. Follow them and do everything I'm telling you to do inside the videos. What's up, Nicole? Hey, girl. "It's been crazy." Oh, babe. Good to see you on here. Sean, hi. What's up, guys?

Debbie, "My third day." Nice. Let's go. Emily, hey, girl. Ashley says, "P.S., I really miss the blast-off emails. They just ended. I want more." That's awesome. I love reading that. Go back through them.

I see some questions coming through. Really quick before we dive in, I want to remind my new WarriorBabes that the way to get your questions answered super fast is to first go through the content inside the application. There are so many golden nuggets, so many ways to set yourself up for success in just those videos, knowing your macros and that kind of stuff.

If your question can't be answered inside the application, click on the home screen and click need support or need help. That brings you to our frequently asked questions resource page. My team is actually working right now to revamp that entire area to make it a lot easier for you to find exactly the question you're looking for.

We have everything like fitness and nutrition, but we're going to break it down into programs, so it's going to be way more clear for you to flow through and see the questions you need answered. If your answers can't be found there or inside the app, then come into the Facebook group, come into the community and ask your question there. But I do recommend you search through the app first. Get used to the platforms. Then if you can't find your answer, come into the community or attend these Q&As.

These Q&As are so valuable to your journey as a WarriorBabe. We do them every single Wednesday, 6 p.m. sharp Eastern Standard Time. Show up here. It's a way to get yourself immersed even more inside of WarriorBabe, so why wouldn't you? It's valuable because you're able to see me and I'm able to help you get any clarification you need, instead of you just assuming what you should be doing. You can say, "I'm going to pop on the Q&A and ask Nikkiey."

Now, one thing I do need to say: if you're in my Revolution program, keep everything Revolution-based. If you're inside my Blueprint program, the Blueprint Q&As are two hours long, so make sure you go inside the Blueprint community for anything about that program. And VIP is its own thing as well.

All right, let's kick off this Q&A. Ashley says, "I'm pretty good at hitting my macros, but recently I've been so hungry at night. I work out at 1 p.m. and eat afterwards and then eat dinner around 5 p.m. By 7 or 8 p.m., I'm starving. What's the best thing to eat after I hit all my macros?"

I would probably load up on some vegetables, because vegetables make you feel fuller for a longer period of time. If you don't already have vegetables in your day, that's what I would personally do. Now, I'm not a vegetable eater, but I know it's helped me before when I was eating veggies. I do my Opti-Greens and stuff in the morning. But veggies help you feel fuller longer, so if you don't have veggies in your day, I would recommend putting them in place, because that will help you.

Or at that point, drink a lot of water. Make sure you're staying on point with your water, because the same thing that triggers your hunger also triggers your thirst. Maybe you just need to be drinking a lot more water, or maybe you need more food. Make sure you're incorporating your cheat meals. If you do need more food, I would try going the avenue of fats and carbs first before you play around with your protein. If you want to deep dive into knowing how to adjust your macros, that would be the Blueprint side of things for you. But those are a couple of things I would recommend.

Debbie asks, "Should we drink the protein mix every day, as a drink only?" Debbie, you want to have your protein shake post-workout. So every single day that you work out, you would drink a post-workout shake, and that will have protein and/or the carb supplement that I recommend, which is Super Carb by NutraBio. Something in place of that would be a banana or an apple or some type of fruit, or rice cakes, something fast-acting for right after your workout.

I personally love the protein shake and Super Carb, because it's two powders that you can mix into one and just drink down when you're done with your workout. It's super easy to put together. You don't have to carry food in your gym bag. You can carry the shake, and it's as simple as that. But you always want to have a post-workout shake.

Debbie, I would recommend walking through the videos inside the application, in the Transform section and the WarriorBabe Basics, because that will help you understand complex versus simple carbs and give you a breakdown of really good carbohydrates you could have around your workouts. There's also a video on there about pre- and post-workout meals and what I personally recommend, so I would recommend you watch that.

Kelly says, "You're such an inspiration." You're awesome. Oh my God, I love you. Thank you, I appreciate you. That means so much. You guys are my inspiration and my motivation. We're really working to make WarriorBabe one of the top brands in the fitness industry, because it gives you so much truth, and you guys are my motivation to keep going every single day. So thank you.

Alyssa says, "Thank you for the amazing rally call. HIIT versus LISS was a game changer in my brain." Yes. I am so happy to hear that. I'm so glad it brought you value. If you haven't listened to that rally call, go inside the application, click on Transform, click on Rally Calls. I think it was two or three weekends ago, so look through the last four rally calls and you'll find the topic HIIT versus LISS. Game changer. I hope I broke so many belief systems with that rally call. I hope it just blew cardio out of the water.

Colleen says, "I love the Revolution and Blueprint." Yes, I love reading that. The Blueprint is becoming hands down one of my favorite programs. But everything here is a great program, and I'm not being biased. I'm really excited about everything, and it's really cool to see the impact it's creating in your lives.

Beau says, "I listened to your rally call on HIIT versus LISS, and I apologize, I'm still a bit confused. I have been following the WarriorBabe Burn at-home schedule exactly as it states, because I never saw anything saying to do anything differently. I'm thinking I missed something. I am five foot four and down to 111 now. Should I be doing just some HIIT, or not HIIT and just LISS? Also, I plan to move to Build soon. Should I adjust my cardio again when I make the move?"

I'm a little confused by that comment, but WarriorBabe Burn is different from HIIT and LISS. Burn is the actual strength training portion of this program. You're lifting weights. HIIT versus LISS is completely different. That's the cardio portion. HIIT and LISS are cardio. Burn and Build are the strength training side of things.

So you may not have been doing the wrong thing. It sounds like you've been doing the right thing. But for HIIT, it depends on your body type. Ectomorphs and mesomorphs can get away with doing more. I would recommend more steady state over HIIT, but you can do two to three days of steady state and then one or two days of HIIT. You can mix and play with that and find what works best for your body type. And like I said in the rally call, you can find what works best for your lifestyle.

I just don't recommend doing HIIT so much, because it causes so much stress on your body. And you're using carbohydrates as the fuel source for those HIIT sessions when you're also using carbohydrates to do your lifting sessions. You're using carbohydrates as your fuel source for your lifting, which is going to build muscle and get you toned. But then you want to switch gears and have your body focus on burning fat when you're doing your cardio. Those are the two ideal situations.

Hopefully that makes it a little bit more clear. If not, I would recommend going back and listening to that rally call again, because it's always better listening twice. Maybe you missed something the first time, or you got caught up in one thing I was saying and missed the next couple of things. So go back and listen to it again.

And yes, when you move into Build, you're adjusting your cardio again. You will lower your cardio and focus on eating more food, because that's essentially what's going to build more muscle.

Again, the Revolution is awesome. You have updated workout programs and updated meal plans on a weekly basis. But the Blueprint is where you're going to deep dive into learning how to adjust your macros through the different phases. Say you want to continue in a cut: how do you decrease your macros to make sure you're still seeing progress on a weekly basis? Or you're ready to give up the cut and get your macros up to maintenance, or up to the build phase where you're eating in a surplus and really focusing on putting on lean muscle tissue. You're going to know exactly how to do that inside the Blueprint program.

It's hard for me to sit here and say, "Hey, Beau, you should adjust your macros to this," because I don't know the full story. I don't know how long you've been in it or how long you've been hitting your macros. But in the Blueprint, you'll know exactly the transition you need to take, step by step, by plugging in your macro calculations for where you are now. Say you want to go up into Build and start reversing: you put in your macros, and the calculator spits out what your new macros need to be in order to start working your way up to the build phase.

Emily says, "Also, I'm glad you didn't blow away in that crazy storm." I know. I was literally in the river, because it was a river. Everything I showed you in my Instagram story yesterday is usually grass, and it was a raging river. I thought it was fun to walk through it, and I walked through it and thought, oh my God, this current is pretty strong. If I get picked up, I get picked up and I'm going whitewater rafting. But it was so much fun.

Laura says, "Hey, Nikkiey, it looks beautiful behind you." Thank you. Yes, it is beautiful out here. Beth, hey babe. "Nikkiey, you're yelling at me." Literally, Beth, yes. I do have to say you were in my brain when I was sharing about endurance athletes doing tons of cardio, like six to seven days a week.

Like I say in my course content inside the Blueprint program, that's your lifestyle. Have fun. Be a marathon runner. My mom is a marathon runner, and actually Beth is one of her marathon running partners. If you want to do that, go have at it. But you need to understand that you are putting out so much energy, and food is energy.

You're putting out so much energy doing that type of activity that you need to back it up with fuel. You need to back it up with food to give your body back that energy. And you need to make sure you're eating enough, because if you're not, you're not going to get the results you want. More than that, you're going to be driving your body into the ground. You're going to start having thyroid problems. You're going to start having high cortisol levels. You're going to start having hormonal imbalances, because you're doing so much activity and you're not giving your body back the fuel it needs to replenish what you're doing. Make sense?

Good. Hopefully I broke that belief system around cardio.

Beau says, "Yes, sorry, I was confusing. I meant that in the schedule, the only cardio options I saw written in the plan were HIIT-related ones, including the cardio burn that is intervals. I just meant I didn't see anywhere written to do LISS in the plan and the app." Ah. In the cardio burn section, there's some steady-state cardio mixed in there as well. "I understand everything that you're saying. Thank you so much." You're welcome, babe.

Any more questions, guys? Gina says, "Oh my goodness, this is what's happening to me." Good. Again, if you need to re-listen to that rally call, go and re-listen to it.

It will blow your mind. Not only that, it will break your belief system around cardio and help you understand how important food is. There are so many women doing cardio six to seven days a week. And like I said, if it's your lifestyle, it's your lifestyle. You can be a marathon runner. You can be a cyclist. You can enjoy the social outings outside. But if you want to build muscle, get toned and decrease body fat, then you have to be fueling your body with enough food.

If you're doing marathons and cycling and these activities outside, you can actually eat way more. The problem is that women don't eat enough while they're doing these kinds of activities, and that's why you're drilling your body into the ground. You're literally beating it up by not giving it enough. So go listen to it again, everybody. Listen to it once, twice, three times, 50 times, a hundred times, until it's drilled into you.

Yes, Nicole, food is fuel. Say it louder.

Debbie asks, "Can we always add more exercise, like bike riding and swimming, to what we have in your program?" Absolutely. But listen, go watch the video inside the Transform section about endurance athletes. It helps you understand that for every 50 minutes or so that you're outside doing this activity, you need to refuel your body with about 25 grams of carbohydrates for every hour that you're out there doing it. If you're doing these kinds of activities outside, you need to be eating more.

Yana asks, "Question on your lunge with the kickback: I'm feeling it in my quads. Is that right?" Yep. You'll feel it in your quads and you'll feel it in your glutes as well.

Karen asks, "How would you increase grip strength?" That's a good question. To this day, five years after I started lifting, my grip sucks. Especially now that I spent three or four months lifting 10- and 15-pound dumbbells at home, going back into the gym my grip is slipping like no other. My calluses are gone. Basically, I have to rebuild that back up. What I think really helps is Versa Gripps. I highly recommend those. They are amazing for being able to lift and not have to worry about your grip. You can get them on Amazon.

Kara says, "I'm very new to counting macros. I am a few grams short in some areas and over in others. What's a good sweet spot to aim for?" Plus or minus five in every single category. You can be plus or minus five in carbs, plus or minus five in fats and plus or minus five in protein. That's your wiggle room. Not plus six, not negative seven, not negative eight. Plus or minus five is enough wiggle room.

And if you're new, babe, understand that this is a skill you're working your way into. It'll take time, but as you do it every single day, you'll gradually get faster and better at it.

Allison says, "I use Dymatize ISO100 post-workout, which has some BCAAs. Is that enough, or do I need an additional BCAA?" Nope, that's enough. But there's no harm in more. You can't overdose on BCAAs. If you're not a water drinker and you need to make yourself one, there's no harm in adding more BCAAs throughout your day.

Yana asks, "Any bonus workout this week?" No, this week has just been crazy. We're kind of losing our bonus workouts, and I apologize, but we'll try to get them back up and running. I don't want to make any promises, because lately it's been super busy, but I will chat with Madeline again to see if we can work something out.

Tanya, what's up, babe? Keela says, "I use Cobra grips." Yeah, exactly. Any type of grip, wrist wrap or anything like that can be an absolute game changer and really help.

Maurice says, "I loved the rally call on HIIT versus LISS. That call transformed me into doing my cardio after my weight session instead of before. I love that you always explain the reasons in plain English that we can all understand. Your reasons have helped me fine-tune my fitness journey." Yay. Awesome. That sun is hot. I am so happy to hear that, Maurice. Thank you for sharing, because that means I'm doing my job right.

Guys, again, go back and listen to it again, please. I just need to embed that into your brains. I barely do any cardio now. I'm down to about 20 minutes three times a week, and then one day I'm doing a six-minute sprint. You don't need cardio. I need to embed that in your brain.

You always joke, "I hear Nikkiey say this." Well, let this one drill into your brain: cardio is a tool used to aid in your fat loss. It is not a necessity. Doing more cardio does not mean you're going to keep losing and losing.

I mean, yes, you will lose weight, but you're going to become a skinnier, fat version of yourself. You're going to tap into that muscle, and it's basically counterproductive to the results you're seeking with WarriorBabe. The work you're putting into your weightlifting sessions, you're destroying by doing too much cardio. So if you are a cardioholic, a cardio bunny, and you're listening to me right now, you can literally say to yourself, "I am wasting an hour of my lift session." You are wasting an hour of your lift session if you're doing way too much cardio. True story.

Yana says, "So far the workouts this month are kicking my butt." Yes. You can all thank Kate for that one. She is brutally murdering you. She has now earned the devil emoji face in the community. She is kicking your butts, and I love seeing the comments inside the community.

Kimberly asks, "Hi, Nikkiey. What do you recommend for recovery? I do Epsom salt baths, foam rolling and some muscle rub. Are there any supplements you recommend that I should take to help with that?" Yes. On top of what you already do, which is awesome, Kimberly, you also want to incorporate glutamine. I think I talk about it inside the supplement module, and I'm going to be updating that module for you because we have a new code. It's WARRIORBABE. AF free ship still works, but AF was my old company, Alpha Female, and we just need to kiss that goodbye. So the new code is WARRIORBABE if you buy from Coalition Nutrition. Glutamine is a really good recovery source, so that's what I would recommend. Just put a scoop of it into your post-workout shake.

Nicole says, "I will listen to it over and over again." Yes. Nicole also says, "I go hiking a lot with my kids. I am not a cardio gal. I hate it. What would you say in regards to me not losing any muscle?" The rule of thumb is, if you're spending three-plus hours outside hiking, biking or whatever outdoor activity you're doing, you want to use that day as your cheat meal or refeed day. Now, let's say you don't have a cheat meal or refeed day, which you should all have. Or let's say you're spending 50-plus minutes out there. If you're not out there for three hours but you're out there for more than an hour, for every hour you want to give yourself 25 more grams of carbohydrates on that day.

Any more questions for me? I love hanging out with you guys. It's been an awesome Q&A so far. You're asking great questions, and I love being able to reiterate the cardio thing from the rally call. I'm glad that really hit home for a lot of you. And Beth, I'm really glad I was able to use you as an example. I hope my tough love was okay. I know it was really harsh at the beginning of that call.

But that's sometimes how I make my point, because I know I'm right, and I want you to have the results you are seeking. If you're going against what I'm saying, you're not going to get the results you want, because you have every tool and every resource here that you need to achieve your goals. Doing more than that is going against what I say you should do, and it's hurting your results.

Kimberly, you're welcome. Nicole says, "Got it, thank you. Looks like I need to up my carbs." Yes.

Beth asks, "Do we add the extra 25 grams in MyFitnessPal, or is it considered part of the cheat meal?" If you're doing your activity on a day and it's more than three hours, you would use your cheat meal. But let's say two days later you go out and do that same kind of activity. You still want to increase your carbohydrates, even though you had a cheat meal earlier. I think I know what you're asking, though. If you're doing a cheat meal, you wouldn't add an additional 25 grams of carbs. That would just be your cheat meal day if you're doing three-plus hours outside. But on another day, say you're not doing three hours but you're spending an hour or two outside, it would be 25 grams of carbs additional for that. Does that make sense? I hope that makes sense. But also, Beth, you're in the VIP, so don't go against anything our coaches are programming for you.

Yana asks, "Do you do these same workouts?" Absolutely. Right now I'm in the build, so I'm doing a lot more straight sets, but I still do a lot of supersets because I just love the superset feeling. All right, any more questions, babes?

Awesome. I'm going to start winding down our Q&A here.

Yana says supersets are bomb.com. Kayla, thank you so much. You're welcome, babe. You're welcome, everybody. I love hanging out with you during this time. Debbie says, "Thank you, this program is awesome." Nicole says, "Love this program, I'm strong now. And thank you again so very much." I love it, Nicole. That's awesome, babe. Yana says, "Haven't gotten sick of this yet. Great program." I love you guys. I love you all. You are absolutely amazing. Keep putting in the work. You have every tool, every resource.

You have me weekly on these Q&As to hang out with. And just know that we're always making WarriorBabe better for you. We're focusing on the Blueprint right now, and I guarantee we'll ramp back into the Revolution and figure out how to make that better. I'm always trying to make it better. Nicole, you've been in it for two years, right? How much has WarriorBabe changed in two years? You might have even been in it when it was Alpha Female. Anyway, I appreciate you. You are absolutely amazing.

Keep up the great work, because that's what it comes down to. You have the tools and the resources here. It's a 50-50 effort. I'm giving you the tools and the resources. Now it's your job to put in the work that is in alignment with your goals. And on these Q&As, it's my job to help you, and if you're not doing the work, to call you out with that tough love so it gets you right back on track. So many people, when they're trying a program, go, "Oh, new shiny object, another program. Oh, my friend's doing this."

No, guys. If you could see your goal right in front of you, WarriorBabe is taking you there. You just have to trust the process. Believe me now, trust me later, and put in the work.

Laura says nobody has asked about the swag. I'll keep you posted. It's coming. You know I say this, but it's coming, and let me tell you, it's going to be epic when it drops.

Nicole says, "Yes, I was in it when it was Alpha Female. I can't wait for the Revolution where we're going to get some more." Awesome. Okay, I'm going to chime out here, but I appreciate you so much. Keep up the great work, and I'll talk to you on our rally call on Sunday. Bye, everyone.