From Teen Competitor to Seasoned Pro: When Macro Tracking is All You’ve Ever Known

Hannah Black first started tracking her macros when she was fifteen years old when she started competing in weightlifting.

It was important for her as she needed to make weight for competitions and it helped her develop a good understanding of portion sizes.

“I could probably look at a piece of chicken and tell you how much it weighs within 0.02 of an ounce…a weird skill to have,” she said, laughing. “I developed a really good understanding of what’s on my plate.”

In her twenties, Black continued to count her macros and worked with a few different nutrition coaches along the way who promoted it.

So in the summer of 2023, when she was introduced to Justin Romaire, she learned that the CBG approach didn’t involve tracking macro. At first, she was hesitant as the 28-year-old had been tracking her macros for more than a decade.

Black didn’t hesitate, however, she asked the questions she needed to ask of Romaire before making the decision to try a different way.

“Look dude, I have worked with other nutritionists before who have given me exact numbers to hit. How in the world are you going to get the level of specificity I was getting before without tracking?” she remembers inquiring.

Romaire then explained the CBG Blueprint approach to Black, and how it is meant to “work into everyday life” so that it doesn’t “become this whole big thing” of always having to take a scale out and weigh your food,” Black explained.

Further, Romaire explained to Black that the level of specificity she was getting wasn’t necessary, and that it’s more important to be consistent over a long time.

After that conversation, Black decided to give it a try and was teamed up with CBG Coach Amanda Jeffrey.

Where She is Today

Black is coming off her best season, one where she narrowly missed qualifying to the Games through the Fittest Experience In-Person Qualifying-Event.

She was also 10th at the Dubai Fitness Championships in December and her team

finished seventh at TYR Wodapalooza in January.

Black credits Coach Jeffrey both with helping fuel her appropriately for competitions. Coach Jeffrey also supports her day-to-day life, making it so easy on her, and reducing the stress.

“She just makes everything so easy for me and she also just really understands,” Black said. Black adds that Coach Jeffrey does additional research when she needs to in order to accommodate Black’s individual needs.

Recently, for example, because it’s so hot in Texas, Black no longer wanted to eat warm food for lunch.

“Even thinking about it makes my stomach feel weird,” Black said.

Coach Jeffrey didn’t hesitate to accommodate Black’s aversion to hot food for lunch and immediately looked for solutions.

“Nothing seemed appetizing to me, so she worked really hard to find things, and she gave me so many different ideas and options that would still get me the protein and carbs that I need,” Black said.

Ultimately, Black settled on oatmeal and a high-protein smoothie, which has been working well as it’s “light on the stomach,” she said.

Further, Black, who used to eat a bagel every morning, all of a sudden started getting stomach aches after breakfast.

Coach Jeffrey helped Black find a gluten free bagel, which she eats with her sweet potatoes, chicken sausages, vegetables and eggs, and it “is making a difference,” Black explained.

Ultimately, Black is eating way more than she was before working with CBG, especially when it comes to carbohydrates, and her performance has continued to improve considerably.

“I feel way better, and stronger and healthier,” Black said.

Why Black Recommends CBG

For Black, it’s simple: Coach Jeffrey provides her with individualized nutrition coaching that takes the stress away and that feels sustainable for the long term.

“They cater to whoever the client is. They meet you where you are and they make it so dialed to your lifestyle that it makes it easy to follow,” Black said about the CBG Blueprint method.

She added: “If it’s too hard to follow, you’re not going to stay on it for long and you’re not going to make progress.”

And even for someone like Black, who had a good understanding of nutrition and what her body needs, working with Coach Jeffrey has taught her so much.

“They educate you and they make it so incredibly easy. I think people go from zero to 100 so quickly. But you don’t have to have a huge level of specificity to see huge change. So I think it’s just a really easy, digestible way to change your life.”