what to do next?

We have three weeks left in this challenge!

So many have seen such great results and I am a firm believer that you get out what you put in. Those who put in the most have seen the greatest results! Those who are putting in a portion of effort are only seeing small portions of results, if not even a bit of yo-yo-ing! If your effort yo-yo's, so will your results. If you are off track and on track, off and on, do not expect your results to be anything different. I can't do the work for you, I can't eat and exercise and shop for you, YOU have to put in the work. I hope to see 100% effort these last few weeks, remember why you began this!

My next challenge will begin September 1st, labor day weekend, and it's going to be a scale-LESS challenge! We will weigh in AND take photos ONCE at the very start, weigh in once at the half way point (week 5) and then at the very end weigh in and take the last set of photos! Over the summer I took a big break from weighing in and it was so freeing! I could not tell you my exact weight right now, but I can tell you that if you continue to stay on plan and workout- you WILL have results. There is no reason to be obsessed with the scale, to get upset over ounces and let it consume you. However, weighing IS a great measure of progress and that is why we are not completely giving it up. The goal is to stay on track with our eating and exercise, and to discover that weight loss is possible without weekly weigh ins and that changes in your body CAN and DO happen without loss on the scale. I cannot wait!

A friend recently told me that she was taking a break from dieting (healthy! healthy!) but that after one week she needed to go back on it because she cannot handle NOT being on a diet. Ladies, that is super unhealthy. It is NOT normal and not ok to always be on a diet and to always be dieting. This is the exact mindset that I am passionate about breaking. It's healthy and ok and good to lose weight, but we have to be careful about how we are doing this and to what extent we are letting it consume us!

As always, spots are open FIRST to current ladies in this group! Then as we approach labor day I will open it to everyone! If you are thinking of joining another round, be ready to GIVE IT YOUR ALL!

Details:

Group Dates: September 1st to November 3rd
Rate: $75
-3 weigh ins
-4 challenges with prizes
-weekly 1:1 personal evaluation
+ everything that is normally in the challenge groups: your plan, exercise, motivation, group support, MFP log checking, weekly discussion topics and workout challenges.
Open to 8 ladies!

Leave a Comment counting calories, diet break, FAQ, weight loss

why do i need to eat all of my calories?

There can be such confusing information about "under eating" or, not eating all of your calories. Some say it's good- the less you eat the more weight you will lose. They are right, to an extent.  But not eating enough also leads to other success dampers.  The main one being binging.

This is one of my biggest reasons for telling my clients to please, eat all the calories you are given in a day! If you can eat 1500 calories, eat them! They are set to 1500 for a reason. Eventually, you are going to get hungry. Your body needs those 1500 calories- that is already a deficit for you and your body is in stress eating just that 1500- it's using every single calorie! So when you are eating even less than you are told, you are putting more stress on your body. You will eventually get hungry and it will lead to you binging one day and completely ruining your entire week in ONE day! OR you may not do it all in one day, you may be a snacker and ruin your deficit over days by going over a little each day to create one big deficit by the end of the week. Even when I don't "feel" hungry I always try to make sure I get at least 50 calories within my goal because I know that if I let myself get to the point of feeling that hunger- I am putting myself at major risk of over eating and making poor food choices.

There is also an issue with under eating when it comes to plateaus.

If I tell you to eat at 1500 calories, when you hit a wall, and you will, I need to lower your numbers. So the next level down let's just say would be 1400. But wait, you've already been eating at 1400 because you haven't been following your numbers. So 1400 wont get you moving again, I have to put you even lower than that. And it's a cycle- you end up eating LESS and LOSING LESS. You quickly go from losing at 1500 calories to not being able to lose at 1250.

Trust your coach. Eat what you are told! That's why you hired someone, to tell you what you need to do to be successful, so listen! If you are not losing weight and following your plan 100%, there are SO MANY reasons and factors for this! Your coach would be the best person to evaluate and help you figure out the WHY and get you back on something  that will work. Sometimes, you have to go UP in calories to get your body moving again.

Happy Monday, ladies!

Leave a Comment calories, counting calories, diet break, healthy eating, macros, plateau, snacking, weight loss

Starvation Mode & Dieting

I am sure we've all heard the theory of starvation mode, no? If not, basically it is when people think/assume that if they don't eat enough their body will go into "starvation mode" and you won't lose weight because your body thinks it's starving and needs to hold on to everything.

What does this actually even mean? Is it real?

Yes and No. It is named wrong, because what happens during "starvation" mode is not your body starving. If you truly do not eat enough your body will lose and you will starve to death, so that portion is incorrect.

What actually happens is that while dieting (eating in a significant caloric deficit) everything slows down, including your NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis: the amount of energy you use living and doing your day to day routine). Your body slows everything down in order to maintain homeostasis.  Typically, the stress of dieting and hunger will increase the cortisol levels in your body which will cause muscle loss and water retention...which will mask fat loss.

Sometimes there are people who are not losing weight despite their strict food intake on very low calories and exercise.  The reason for this is that the very low calorie intake is actually their current maintenance level (the amount you need to eat to maintain your weight) because of the decrease of their NEAT and the INCREASE of their cortisol levels. When you increase your calories you are less stressed (eating in a caloric deficit is a stressor on your body) and you have more energy. You will be able to do more and have more energy which will raise your NEAT and restore some of your cortisol levels and you will lose again. This is why some people can lose weight "eating more" than they previously were.

Here is an example of this situation I found from a nutrition coach group I am in:


Molly is eating 1400 cals a day. She is tired and not as active, her NEAT is decreased which means her total daily energy expenditure is low. She is no longer losing weight at this. 

Her coach bumped her up to eating 1800 cals a day. She has more energy and is less stressed and is moving more during the day. Her NEAT and TDEE has risen and she is losing again. 

I hope this helps not only explain "starving" (if you don't enough you will starve to death, period) and what happens when you diet and stall in general. I really love reading new information like this!

Leave a Comment diet break, eating, FAQ, fluctuation, macros, plateau, weight loss

YOU MUST BE GAINING MUSCLE

Mostly likely, no, you are not gaining muscle. If you have been eating in a deficit and are not losing, it is not muscle to blame, it's water OR you are eating too much.

Can you be toning up? Yes! That is not muscle growth, though. You can be getting stronger! But not adding any muscle.

Did you know it's actually fairly difficult to ADD muscle to your body? For woman, we can only add one pound a month of pure muscle- MAX, and what it takes to add just that pound is a lot of dedication, a LOT of lifting and a LOT of food.

Also known as "massing". When you are eating above maintenance (ie- GAINING weight) and doing heavy lifting hours a week and specifically trying to grow muscle. Its work. a 1500 calorie diet is NOT going to add any muscle to your body.

As a matter of fact if you are dieting (eating in a caloric deficit) and losing fat, you are going to lose some muscle with that fat. It's unavoidable to cut and not lose some muscle- but there are ways you can do it with losing as little muscle as possible. Vise versa, if you are massing and gaining muscle, you are going to gain a little fat with that as well. Which is why this is done in cycles, cutting and massing, cutting and massing.

Now there is a short period of time when you first begin to lift that you can add muscle while in a deficit, they are called "newbie gains" because you only get them as a new lifter and the window of time you have to take advantage of these new muscles is very short, about 12 weeks max.

But why do I see more muscle on me?
Because you are losing fat, which is revealing the muscle that was underneath that fat all along :-)

But why am I not losing while eating in a deficit?
There is no one right answer to this. If you have a coach, they will be able to evaluate your diet and workout routine and YOU more closely to figure out what is going on. Most commonly it is water weight fluctuation or increased cortisol from stress.

But I'm not stressed?
If you are dieting at all, even just cutting 100 calories, you are putting your body into stress. If you are training- you are putting stress on your body. If you are doing both- your body is stressed. Which can increase your cortisol levels and prevent that scale from moving for a little bit. This is another reason why it is important to DIET BREAK after a cut. Your body needs a break from all of the stress it underwent during your dieting period and allows it to restore all of your hormone and fluid levels back to your norm.

To sum it up, you will know if you are gaining muscle because you will be trying very hard and specifically training for that. The common idea thrown around that you are gaining muscle because you aren't seeing a scale loss is a myth if you are dieting!

Leave a Comment diet break, macros, muscle, training

DIET BREAKS

My challenge group is starting their 5th week on plan this week, and they have really been killing it! Some ladies have lost up to 13lbs these first few weeks, and everyone has at least lost a pound a week! Keep in mind that some ladies are not giving their plan 100% and openly admit to that.

So a few have asked me what they should do AFTER the 12 weeks is over, what then? My answer? Take a diet break for a week or two before starting the next phase of your cut. Diet break? What is that? I don't have time for a break! So, I thought I would share about exactly what a diet break is and why it is important!

A diet break is, in short, a period of time (7-14 days) when explicit dieting is stopped. Your daily calorie intake will be raised to about 10% under your maintenance numbers to account for any metabolic slow down that may have occurred over your cutting period. So you eat all the food within your much higher numbers and enjoy it!


WHY?

There are many benefits to diet breaking. When you diet/lose weight/fat your body kicks your metabolic rate down, meaning, your metabolism adapts and slows down. A lot of it is due to simply the fact that you now weigh less. Smaller bodies burn less. But there are also things like leptin, insulin, thyroid, and hormones that all play a role in this slow down.

BUT: when you diet break you are giving your body a chance to recover. Your hormones, leptin, insulin etc all have time to raise back up and starting working and moving at a faster, normal pace for you.

Let's also talk about those who have a lot of weight to lose. Let's say you have 50 pounds to lose (or more), and you are losing at a good 1.5 pounds a week. That is still 33 weeks of dieting.

1. You will not be able to lose 1.5 pounds a week for a year without metabolic damage. Breaks will be very important.

2. Think about what dieting for that long does to you mentally. The mental stress of knowing that you are going to be eating like this for a year or more? It feels defeating. It feel impossible. And who would want to do that, anyway? Now, if you break it down and add some diet breaks in there, it is much more appealing and do-able for the long haul. 12 weeks on, 2-4 weeks off. 12 weeks on, 2-4 weeks off. Knowing that you have cycles to complete. Knowing that after this short 12 week cycle you can take a break and eat a little more for a while is refreshing and motivating.


I know that most people want to LOSE WEIGHT NOW! And most people want QUICK and FAST results. Keep in mind that "most people" and over 90% of dieters who get those fast and instant results GAIN IT BACK. If you are not a body builder or training for a competition, what is the hurry?

Leave a Comment diet break, eating, FAQ, food, healthy eating, macros, plateau, weight loss