by EM2WL | Apr 29, 2014 | Self Acceptance
At EM2WL, we believe whatever your fitness goals, you should enjoy your journey and celebrate the moments along the way where you are achieving small victories.
Nothing can rob you of that joy more than comparing yourself to others.
Daily, we are blasted with messages from social media, blogs, and even friends and family regarding fitness. We are wise to be on top of our mental game by eliminating messages that will cause us to second-guess the journey we’re on. Surrounding yourself, as much as possible, with like-minded people is a great way to keep you moving forward and motivated.
However, its easy to look at those that motivate us and begin to wonder why we aren’t experiencing the success they are. We can move rather quickly from thoughts like “Wow, look at her, she’s doing great and I’m so happy for her!” to “I wish I had that kind of success, but I’m obviously doing something wrong.” We start to nit-pick the path we’re on, and pretty soon we’re convinced that if we did x, y, and z like so-and so, we would be able to manufacture their success.
Listen, everyone is different. Each of us has a different set of genetics, metabolic capacity, and body type. Beyond that, each one of us experiences different life circumstances. Stress can add in an additional variable to manage. Even if you were able to follow your best friend’s diet and exercise plan to the letter, you would get different results. Comparing yourself to others can only introduce an additional stressor that can do more to hinder than help your progress.
Understand that fitspo is not real
We’ve all seen them, the pictures of super-ripped (read: unrealistically lean) headless females with some saying that is meant to motivate the masses…
Strong is the new skinny
Eat clean, train dirty
When I lost all my excuses, I gained all my results
Try harder, you’re worth it
You get the idea. Gag me. Apparently a picture of a headless chick in a thong and heels doing deadlifts are apparently supposed to motivate us to swear off carbs for the rest of our lives, train so hard we feel one step away from death at the end of our workout, and finally lose all that weight so we can prance around night and day in a bikini. The fact is no one can look like the headless models in these pictures, day in and day out. Some serious photoshopping goes into most of these pictures. Even those models that really do look like those pictures only do so for a short time because it’s very unhealthy and unsustainable to carry such low levels of body fat. Getting a physique like the models in these pictures is generally the result of an extremely restrictive, short-term diet, not a healthy lifestyle. See them for what they are. Be your own fitspiration!
Put yourself on a media diet
It’s not just the fitspiration that’s the problem. Even if we are careful to surround ourselves with a “fit fam” who shares the same mentality and goals as we do, it can be easy to get sucked into the comparison game. Try to limit your time online. If you start to compare yourselves to your online inspirations and are struggling with feelings of inadequacy of failure, it might be time to take a step away. Make sure that your life is about more than your fitness goals! There is a considerable amount of time that goes into planning out meals, scheduling workouts, and training in the gym, but don’t let it become your sole priority in life. Make time for the things that truly matter-your friends and family, your significant other, your spiritual life, rest, relaxation, a personal hobby.
Make sure your goals are your own
Regardless of your goals, make sure that you are setting goals for you, not based on the goals you think you should have. Think about what achieving your goal will mean to you personally and what it will require for you to achieve that goal.
Be proud of mini-successes along the way
Remember that this isn’t a sprint, but a marathon. There are sure to be ups and downs along the way, so make sure to check in frequently with yourself. You may or may not have a goal weight or goal size, but try to set up mini-milestones along the way that are sustainable and achievable. Setting a few performance-based goals in the gym can be sanity saver and gives you many reasons to celebrate along the way. You never know, you may find that achieving that elusive goal weight was never the real goal anyway.
Becca is a busy wife and homeschooling mother to five children ages 5 to 13. About three years ago, she embarked on a journey to health and fitness that resulted in the loss of approximately 100 pounds. Today, she is a competitive powerlifter and strongwoman who loves ice cream and deadlifts. As an ISSA certified personal trainer, she is passionate about helping women to get started on a lifestyle of strength and fitness.
by Trish Adams | Apr 17, 2014 | Consistency, Nutrition
It’s no surprise that most folks go оn а diet tо lose weight. We watch what we eat, how much we eat and even throw in some exercise for good measure. We start off determined and typically commit tо eliminating foods that we think are the culprit to our current situation. However, more often than not, thе diet goes off course, аnd we return tо eating the alleged ‘bad’ foods we eliminated. Any weight that was lost usually doesn’t stay off for long and at some point we find ourselves back on a similar endeavor repeating the same cycle.
Rather than labeling foods as good or bad and then eliminating them, losing weight while eating many of the foods you enjoy is possible. Sure, you may not eat them with the same frequency or quantity, but you should enjoy food without being consumed bу guilt afterward.
Healthy Foods v Unhealthy Foods
With so much debate surrounding healthy and unhealthy foods, it is near impossible to feel confident about the foods we choose to eat, how muсh wе should eat, or even when wе should eat. When setting a goal to improve our health oftentimes we think that means our diets should consist of only healthy foods. Images of bland chicken and plain broccoli or limitless plates of salad might spring to mind.
Because many of our favorite foods have been labeled as bad, we either attempt to eliminate them completely, or throw our hands up and gorge оn them. Of course neither approach is ideal or will lead to the healthier diet balance we’re looking for. Enjoying what wе eat, guilt-free, meeting our daily energy needs while striving for a healthier body composition, іѕ a step in the right direction towards developing а healthier relationship with the foods wе eat.
Getting started
Start bу changing how you think about food. Many perceive food аѕ the enemy when nothing could be further from the truth. How is it that the very thing you need for survival is the enemy? As human beings wе need food for life. But we have also come to rely on food іn times оf emotional stress, which often leads to over consumption. Thеѕе simple tips wіll help уоu enjoy what уоu eat, without feeling guilty during the process.
Learn More About What You Eat
Pay more attention to the nutritional content of food you eat, such as the macronutrients (i.e. protein, carbohydrates and fat) as well as fiber. Check out what constitutes a serving size of your food. Too many times I have eaten food only later to find out what I thought was a serving size turned out to really be 2 or 3. Knowing both the content and serving size wіll help уоu decide how muсh аnd whаt to eat.
Moderation for the win
Indulging in a food item you perceive to be unhealthy, from time to time, will not do you any harm and may actually do you some good. So, make а conscious effort tо eat a particular food уоu have bееn avoiding. That’s right, eat the cake, cookie or pasta! Savor еvеrу bite. Not only might you satisfy a craving, but you will also eliminate any feelings of being deprived. Even consider fitting a small treat in your daily diet.
Unplug During Mealtimes
When sitting down for a meal, eliminate distractions by leaving cellphones and tablets in a different room and keeping the TV off. Eat slowly during the meal and pay attention to fullness cues, stopping short of complete fullness. It can take as much as 20 minutes for fullness signals to reach the brain. Eating until you are full can actually result in being overfull.
Variety is the Spice of Your Diet
When it comes to your diet, attempting a complete overhaul rarely works and usually will leave you feeling deprived and frustrated. Instead, start with substituting a few of your regular meals with healthier foods or recipes each week. Try a new vegetable with a meal that you make regularly. Be adventurous and don’t be afraid to try new things.
Get Help
When trying to improve your diet, consider having a friend join you. Having a partner can help with accountability and with getting back on track if you get too far off track. A nutritionist or nutrition coach can also help with figuring out how much you should eat, macronutrient recommendations as well as help you develop better dietary habits over time.
Remain Positive
As with any lifestyle change you attempt, having a positive attitude goes a long way. Things will not always go as planned and that is perfectly normal, especially nowadays where it seems that disruptions are more the norm than the exception.
Food is not your enemy. Turn thoughts like “I ѕhоuld nоt or can not have thіѕ food” into “I rеаllу like this food, so I’ll eat it today” and move on. If you are having this conversation several times throughout the day, every day, well, then yes you’ll need to have some restraint. Otherwise, eat what уоu most enjoy, in moderation, but let go of any guilt over it.
Aѕ уоu саn see, іt іѕ nоt hard tо start developing and eventually maintaining healthy food habits. Begin with changing your attitude towards food, eating іn moderation, and building upon a few healthy diet changes. Combine this with an effective exercise regimen that includes strength training and, with a little time аnd patience, you are on your way.
by | Apr 15, 2014 | Building Muscle, Cardio, Consistency, Fat Loss / Cutting, Transformations
If someone would have told me 20 years ago that I needed to increase my caloric intake by 30% to lose body fat, I would have laughed while continuing to lace up my Mizuno running shoes preparing for my hour long run. Now 5 kids later, a little older and a little wiser, with decades of trial and error underneath my belt, eating more to weigh less has been a key factor in my fitness journey.
A common misconception among those that want to lose weight is that you need to drastically cut calories and increase cardio workouts. This problematic approach has resulted in many trying to lose weight to only damage their metabolism. I speak on this issue not only from reading other stories, but I have personally experienced this metabolic damage which resulted in a serious health issue called Adrenal Fatigue. After everything I have learned, when I log onto My Fitness Pal and I see I see others eating 1200 calories with high calorie burns, my instincts are to immediately say, “Stop! Don’t do what I did.” As a longtime “My fitness pal” member, I recall an honest pal, Becca, specifically sharing this very concern with me that I was exercising too much, and not eating enough calories. Initially, for many weeks, I held onto the fallacy that I would attain my dream body while continuing on this path of destruction.
It was not until “my plan” to reach my “goal weight” by my 38th birthday came to a halt when my body reached homeostasis. I had reached a plateau in my weight loss journey and I was no longer losing fat, or gaining muscle. I was starving, exhausted and my body was at a complete standstill. Exasperated and feeling defeated, I went back to the drawing board to research fat loss remembering all the while Becca’s encouragement to eat more. Becca introduced me to a website for calculating calories. After spending some time on this website, I was shocked at the advice given. Based on my height, weight and activity level, I needed to be consuming 30% more calories. This line of thinking was so shocking and it went against every principle “I thought” I knew about losing weight.
I even approached my husband with my concerns asking his advice. With the research I had been doing, along with the advice given by Becca and Kiki, it was evident a metabolic reset was necessary. In terror, just 3 weeks away from attempting to reach my birthday goal, I began reverse dieting adding 50-100 calories weekly to reach my Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). At this time I also implemented a plan to strategically count my macros. I pay close attention to the number of grams of proteins, carbs and fats I intake daily. From my research, the keys to cutting body fat are increasing calories while counting macros, reducing cardio, and increasing my weight lifting.
Well, my 38th birthday came and went. The scale never reached the number in my head, but my goal had changed during this time. I was determined to be fit and healthy versus being skinny. I continued on the metabolism reset with correct macros and increased calories while simultaneously reducing my cardio, and lifting heavy weights.
The number on the scale temporarily went up, but then my weight leveled out. One of the first physical changes I observed was my lack of hunger, increased energy level as well as the change in my body composition. My cellulite and fat began to diminish and I could see I was building muscle to form shape to my body. These major changes finally allowed me to feel more comfortable with my body.
Although, I agree with counting your macros daily food intake, I am not a fan of “If It Fits Your Macros” simply because many will eat pop tarts, snickers bars, and a bag of chips, if it fits their macros. Although, I do have a weekly cheat, I attempt to eat real whole foods. Food is fuel. As a general rule, I stay away from processed foods, which means making time for prepping meals. With a large family to take care of and working 30+ hours weekly planning meal prep time is just as important as planning my workouts.
I am a homeschooling mother of 5, and I hold a 30+ hour job outside of the home. I make time for heavy lifting 5 days a week along with meal planning. This is not a New Year’s Resolution. This is mine and my husband’s lifestyle. My continued love for fitness has propelled my desire to become a certified personal trainer to continue to learn about fitness while helping others achieve their fitness goals.
Don’t give up on your fitness goals. I believe that anyone who truly wants to be fit and healthy will make the time. There is no secret pill or supplement. Hard work and dedication will help you get to your desired level of fitness. I know the proposition of adding calories for weight loss seems improbable, but I am living proof that it works.
If you are inspired by Tracy’s amazing story, make sure to follow her on Instagram!
Becca is a busy wife and homeschooling mother to five children ages 5 to 13. About three years ago, she embarked on a journey to health and fitness that resulted in the loss of approximately 100 pounds. Today, she is a competitive powerlifter and strongwoman who loves ice cream and deadlifts. As an ISSA certified personal trainer, she is passionate about helping women to get started on a lifestyle of strength and fitness.
by EM2WL | Apr 11, 2014 | Intuitive Eating
Q: I’ve been tracking my food and counting my macros for about a year now. I’m loving the results I’m seeing, but weighing and measuring everything, counting calories and reading labels sometimes makes me feel a bit obsessive, even though I know I’m eating plenty. Do I have to track my food indefinitely?
A: Absolutely not! In fact, one of our goals for you is to learn to eat intuitively!
EM2WL doesn’t recommend calorie counting as merely a way of restricting food, but rather as a means to determine if you are eating ENOUGH! Using a calorie counter like My Fitness Pal can be a great tool for educating yourself about the calorie and macronutrient breakdown of different foods. It doesn’t take long to familiarize yourself with proper portion sizes and an understanding of setting up meals that will help you reach your macro goals by the end of the day. Many of our clients that begin tracking their food are surprised to learn they are eating far too little.
Photo credit: Stuart Miles
The ultimate goal of tracking food, however, is to trust yourself enough to eat intuitively, even without the security of tracking every macronutrient. Keeping a food log provides an opportunity to educate yourself about how to adequately fuel your body. After a short time period, you are likely to find the best way to set up your meals to reach your daily macronutrient goals. You will probably find what foods make you feel your best, and which foods you’d be better off avoiding or eating less frequently. You will probably find that for the most part, the staples of your eating plan are fairly similar from day to day.
If you’re used to keeping pretty accurate food logs, it can feel pretty overwhelming to make the journey to intuitive eating, but it’s well worth it in the long-term. Instead of an all-or-nothing approach, think about implementing small baby steps with the long-term goal being eating intuitively.
1. Keep a food journal, but don’t count calories
If you’re afraid that a break from logging will turn into an all-holds-barred eating fest, keep yourself accountable by keeping a food journal while you make the transition. Don’t worry about writing down amounts, but do jot down times and foods consumed, along with a few notes about how different meals make you feel. Are you satisfied after each meal? Struggling with emotional eating? Notice you don’t feel so hot after a particular meal? Struggling to get through workouts? All these observations can help you to make informed decisions about making a few simple tweaks to your eating plan.
2. Listen to your hunger and fullness cues
In addition to paying attention to how different meals make you feel, make sure that eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are satisfied, but not overstuffed. This may seem too obvious and simple to even mention, but for those who have spent a long time dieting, counting calories, and/or eating at specified times, it can be difficult to discern when you are hungry and full.
3. Log late in the day
Photo credit: Praisaeng
Another approach that can be helpful is to eat intuitively throughout the day and then check how you’ve done once you’re done eating for the day. You may choose to continue to weigh and measure foods during this transition, but remember the ultimate goal is to rely less on weighing and measuring foods and learn how to trust yourself to make decisions about food choices and portion sizes. It may be helpful to continue to weigh and measure “big ticket” items like fats and starchy carbs during this time, and eyeball things like lean meats, fruits, and vegetables since they have less potential to be overeaten.
The following rule of thumb might be helpful to remember:
1/2 cup rice or grains=1/2 baseball
1 1/2 ounces cheese=4 game dice
2 tablespoons nut butter=1 ping pong ball
3 ounces lean meat=deck of cards
1/4 cup dried fruit or nuts=1 large egg
1 tablespoon butter=1 game dice
1 cup cereal=1 fist
Bodybuilding.com also has a pretty awesome visual guide for eyeballing your macros.
4. Check your “eyeballing” occasionally
Occasionally, after you’ve already portioned your food, check in with your digital food scale to make sure you’re still on track. Hopefully, you will be pleasantly surprised that your portion sizes are pretty spot-on! If not, a few days of getting back to weighing and measuring should get you back on the right track.
5. Take a short break from logging
If a break from logging food makes you extremely uncomfortable, consider taking just one or two meals per week off. Over time, you might be able to extend this time into a full day, and over time you are sure to find that you are trusting yourself more and more comfortable with eating intuitively.
Photo credit: lamnee
6. Don’t give up!
Be patient with yourself and forgive yourself if you run into some bumps along the road. Those things that are truly worth it in the end rarely come without a few obstacles. Ultimately, you are sure to enjoy the freedom you find from being able to eat intuitively. If you seem to be struggling to stay on track, you can always go back to logging for a few days. Remember there’s no time limit here and this is your journey! You can take as much time as you need to accomplish your goal. We look forward to hearing your success stories!
Becca is a busy mother five children ages 9 to 17. About seven years ago, she embarked on a journey to health and fitness that resulted in the loss of approximately 100 pounds. Today, she is a competitive powerlifter and strongwoman who loves ice cream and deadlifts. As an ISSA certified personal trainer, she is passionate about helping women to get started on a lifestyle of strength and fitness.
All photos credit of www.freedigitalphotos.net
by Trish Adams | Apr 9, 2014 | Main Dish, Nutrition, Recipes
Kellie from The Suburban Soapbox is back to share another yummy recipe! This one is a little bit spicy, a little bit sweet and totally delicious!
I’m happy to be back again for another guest post at EM2WL! It’s been a busy couple of weeks and I think we finally saw our last snow flake. I think. I hope. I can see my grill so it’s an exciting time of year. I love to grill because it’s the easiest way to impart flavor and crusty goodness without adding any fat! AND bonus points because you have less dishes to clean.
We went to Mexico for Thanksgiving. I don’t travel during the holidays because I’m a creature of habit…or tradition. I like spending my holidays in familiar surroundings with familiar family and, even more, familiar food. Have you ever seen a turkey in Mexico? I’m sure they exist but I’m equally sure the hotel had a contract with Butterball. So, on Thanksgiving day…I had a shrimp tostada for lunch. And an enchilada for dinner. The Pilgrims would be so jealous.
USUALLY, I’m knee-deep in sausage stuffing and mashed potatoes with, constantly full, glass of wine in my left hand. This past year, I was knee-deep in the Caribbean. It was weird and surreal. I missed my familiar. I know, I sound like a brat.
Back to the tostada…my shrimp tostadas in Mexico were tiny…and they were a little on the “could use more zest” side. So, as I was stuffing my face on the beach…in Mexico…on Thanksgiving day…not with turkey and gravy…I vowed to make my own version at home. I wanted more heat, more kick, more avocado. And I wanted a fresh, fruity salsa.
The last bit of snow we had a week ago made me miss my Mexico trip a little bit…so, I whipped up a fresh, fruity salsa with an amazingly ripe and juicy mango. (So rare in these parts this time of year!) And I spiced up some shrimp and tossed them into a grill pan. (I couldn’t get to my grill…it was still under several inches of snow.) AND I whipped up a creamy, fiery chipotle sauce tamed just a little bit with some honey. Perfect. Combination.
For more delicious recipes, visit me at TheSuburbanSoapbox.com.
Grilled Shrimp and Avocado Tostadas with Mango Salsa and Chipotle Cream
Ingredients
- 6 6-inch corn tortillas
- 1lb medium shrimp (peeled and deveined)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1/2 cup low-fat plain greek yogurt (I use Chobani 2% Plain greek yogurt)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 can chipotle chile (in adobo sauce)
- 1/2 teaspoon adobo sauce (from the canned chipotle chile)
- 1 mango (peeled and diced)
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (chopped)
- 1/3 cup red onion (diced)
- juice and zest of one lime
- 2 avocados (sliced)
Directions
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| In a small frying pan coated with cooking spray, add the tortilla and cook over med-low heat until lightly toasted and crispy. Repeat with remaining tortillas and set aside. |
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| In a small bowl, combine the shrimp, salt, garlic powder, chili powder and pepper. Toss to combine. |
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| Heat a grill pan over med-high heat, add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes or until bright pink. Turn the shrimp over and continue to cook until no longer translucent. Transfer to a plate and keep warm until all the shrimp are cooked. |
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| In the bowl of a small food processor or blender, blend the yogurt, honey, chipotle chili and adobo until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. |
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| In a medium bowl, combine the mango, bell pepper, parsley, red onion, lime zest and juice. Set aside. |
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| Top each tostada with equal amounts of avocado and then top the avocado with equal amounts of shrimp. Spoon the mango salsa on top of each tostada and drizzle the chipotle cream over the salsa. Serve immediately. |
Note
You can make the chipotle cream and salsa up to two days in advance. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
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