Downtime is important to building a lifestyle of healthy habits.
For most of us, summer is now behind us and we are settling into a new routine. Last month’s calendar challenged you to establish healthy habits and routines. This month, that theme continues with challenges in the following areas:
Relax and Unwind
As important as it is to put in the hard work towards your goals, it’s equally important to make sure you give yourself a chance to rest and recover so that you can keep moving forward. These weekly challenges encourage you to take a step back and do just that.
Reflect on the Journey
The scale can be one indicator of progress, but far too often, women especially get too wrapped up in that number. These challenges will help you to look for other measures of progress including gym performance, building healthy habits, and pictures. Day to day, as you are consistently plugging along on your journey, it may seem like you are not making much progress, but as you take a look back, you will often find that quite a bit has changed. Occasional reflection on the journey will help you see how far you’ve come!
Move with Purpose
Staying active is a critical part of the EM2WL lifestyle. We encourage you to incorporate several strength training sessions each week to see best results. These challenges will give you ideas for how to vary your workouts and keep you moving so that you become a more awesome version of yourself.
Eat to Fuel
At EM2WL, we believe that food is fuel for your healthy lifestyle. These challenges will help you to pay attention to the type of fuel you are putting into your body, encourage you to make healthy substitutions, and try new variations of your family’s favorite foods. Eating for your goals should not be boring!
Eat to fuel and for enjoyment!
Plan Ahead
Planning ahead is an important way to make sure that you are staying on track with eating according to your goals. Having meals planned ahead and keeping a few staples on hand can make all the difference between sticking to your plan or ordering out for pizza. These challenges will help you to think ahead and ensure that you are prepared for success, even on the nights when things get hectic.
Indulge Mindfully
Allowing yourself to indulge in moderation can help you to remain consistent in eating according to your goals over the long-term. It is important to allow yourself to be slightly imperfect as you approach your eating plan. If you feel like you can never go out to eat or have some dessert, chances are that you will frequently struggle with consistency and falling on and off the wagon. A slightly imperfect but consistent approach to eating will yield more long-term success than a very strict plan that you struggle to adhere to. Learning to indulge intuitively and mindfully is an important part of any healthy lifestyle. These once-a-week challenges will encourage you to listen to your body as you enjoy some flexibility in your approach to eating.
Mix it Up
Healthy habits and routines are important parts of a healthy lifestyle journey, but to keep things from feeling too mundane, these weekly challenges encourage you to think about fitness outside of the box, try new experiences, and invite your friends and family to join you in becoming a more awesome version of yourself. Encourage others to join you on your fitness journey! Having those around you who are supportive of your goals helps you just as much as it helps them!
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Photo credit:imagerymajestic, Serge Bertasius Photography of freedigitalphotos.net
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.
Do you often feel like you’re totally on point with your exercise and eating, then step on the scale and lose all hope and encouragement? Yeah…I’m talking to you…you, who may have just thought — 5 minutes before weighing — “dang I look pretty darn good! Then a number on the scale rocked your world, ruined your day, and you suddenly noticed how “fat” you were. This is the difference in weight loss vs fat loss.
Human beings (especially us, ladies!) tend to seek perfection in imperfect objects, so it’s easy to form an unhealthy relationship with the scale. Whether we befriended our first scale as young girls or later in life, it’s no secret that it’s a love/hate relationship. We get so caught up in pursuing perfect, linear progress from the little digital god, that we lose sight of the big picture.
For many of us, our journey may even take a nosedive due to a number that we didn’t like popping up on the screen of a scale. (We see the number, decide it’s not worth it, because nothing will “ever” work, and we quit – mentally or physically.)
Well, it’s time to relinquish the power this piece of equipment has harnessed on the “dieting” community (women AND men) for far too long.
By weighing ourselves, we tend to think we can gauge the progress we have made – true, to an extent. Weight fluctuates on a very regular basis due to a variety of things: hormonal changes (menstrual cycles), a big meal, water retention, sodium intake, etc. Because of this, using a scale isn’t necessarily the truest way to define progress. So what are some ways you can be sure you are moving in the right direction despite what your scale says?
Clothes Test: Have a favorite pair of pants or a dress that you just love but have to squeeze into? Try it on once a month and notice the difference in the fit! (Caution here: if the jeans are low rise and seem to fit worse, take note of whether it’s just because your bootay simply needs a higher rise for a similar look — see below)
Inches, Not Pounds: If you’re a numbers person and must have a measurement of some sort to track, start measuring inches (waist, chest, etc.). Oftentimes we gain muscle and lose fat (aka inches) and as a result, the scale says “no” but the measuring tape says “yes!” Take that lower measure on the tape with as much/more certainty as you would it’s digital (evil) cousin.
Cheri knows that pics measure true progress. Check out her story!
Pictures: You should be taking pics every 4-6 weeks anyway, and here’s when it matters. If your fave pants suddenly seem harder to zip, or measurements seem askew, snap a few pics in your fitted yoga pants or workout capris. Using a collage app, compare side-by-side shots both showing the tighter-clothes-fitting area. If the most recent shot proves that things have shifted (in the awesome way that they tend to with weight lifting), then you’re doing great! Go out and celebrate by buying yourself an amazing new pair of mid-rise jeans in your usual size — don’t worry, they won’t be “mom jeans” because your higher butt will give them the same low-look. Or, grab a pair of the exact same jeans in a size up — again, no worries, you’ll still LOOK smaller (rather than like a stuffed sausage – which only makes you look BIGGER). Fit is everything!
Increased Strength: Are you able to do sets of leg extensions at a weight you never touched before? How about a higher weight for dumbbell bicep curls? Pushups on your toes? Hello, this is great progress!!
There are obviously tons more NSVs (non-scale victories) that you could use to judge progress, and we highly recommend searching for and recognizing them as diligently as you do “weight” loss. It’s important to understand why the scale sometimes goes up when in fact we are becoming healthier and losing body fat (progressing!). Our bodies are composed of fat and muscle. Chances are you’ve heard the saying that muscle weighs more than fat. This is in fact not true. Five pounds of muscle weighs as much as five pounds of fat, but it just takes up less space! When you’re lifting weights and building muscle, you’ll notice your body becoming tight or “toned.” This is the result of increased muscle mass as part of your body composition.
The more muscle our bodies have, the more calories we burn at rest. The more muscle mass, the tighter the physique (think lean and toned!). Take it from this 5’2, 140 lb woman who once thought the world would crumble at any weight over 112lbs! A 140 lb strong, weightlifting woman looks much different than a 140 lb woman who doesn’t lift at all! If you were to look at both of these women, throw out scales, and guess their weights, you would have no clue they weighed the same. This is a prime example of why the scale isn’t a be-all and end-all for progress!
I thought I’d die last year when I gained 10lbs! Click the pic to read my journal woes.
If you’re gaining muscle, the scale may say you’re gaining “weight.” But appreciate that it’s good weight! By recognizing the way your body changes as you exercise, strength train, and eat healthily and mindfully, you’ll slowly be able to break the chains the scale once bound you by!
(SN: If you know that you can’t mentally take seeing the various fluctuations, go on a scale fast! Do what you need to do to save your sanity, and keep it moving)
How do you judge progress? What are some of the best NSVs you’ve experienced along this journey?
When embarking on a new fitness goal one of the most challenging components is knowing what to eat, how often and how much. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the many conflicting recommendations and determining where to begin. A great place to start is simply with understanding the building blocks of nutrition – macronutrients.
Each macronutrient – protein, carbohydrates, fat – is an energy source, however, each plays a different role in our body. Knowing how to balance the macros to better align with your fitness goals will help you make more informed choices when deciding what to eat. Regardless of your fitness goals, in order to keep your body functioning optimally, a balanced diet which includes each of the three macros is needed each day. Here’s a quick overview of each one and how your body uses it.
Protein
Protein is probably the most highly regarded macro of the fitness-minded for its ability to help rebuild muscle, however, protein provides many other functions within the body. Proteins provide structure to bones, teeth and skin, transports nutrients and other compounds throughout the body and helps maintain fluid and acid balance. Proteins are made up of molecular structures called amino acids. While our bodies can make some amino acids (non-essential), it cannot make other amino acids (essential) and must obtain them from food stuff.
Following an intense resistance training session, the rate at which protein is made and broken down is elevated for a 24-48 hour period. Eating sufficient protein will aid in the repair of muscle fibers damaged during exercise as well as promote adaptations (think GAINS!)
Protein can be found in many foods including lean meats and seafood such as poultry, beef and fish as well as many dairy products like cheese, yogurt and cottage cheese. For non-meat eaters consider foods such as tofu, hummus, legumes, seeds and nuts. When in a pinch, all types of eaters can benefit from keeping a decent protein powder or protein bar on hand for unexpected delays between meal times.
Carbohydrates
Surprisingly, many of the same fitness-minded folks who hold protein so high, don’t do the same for carbs. While carbs are often regarded as something that should be avoided, they are actually our body’s first choice for energy. Like protein, carbs play an important role in the everyday functioning of our bodies, including the brain and central nervous system.
Carbs are the preferred fuel source of the body and are also muscle sparing, meaning that when carbs are not restricted, the body is less likely to turn to other sources for energy. Different carbs are often labeled as good or bad, which can lead to unnecessary food restrictions and even outright fear of consumption. A better way to think of carbs is as simple or fast-digesting or slower-digesting, complex carbs. Neither is good or bad and both have a place in your diet. Slower digesting carbs like vegetables, beans and whole grains provide our bodies with fiber, satiety and help maintain blood sugar and energy levels. These carbs should be prioritized in your diet.
Faster digesting carbs like refined grains such as processed cereals, white pastas, white rice and foods with added sugars are best consumed around your training when your energy stores are low and you want to refuel.
Fats
Another macronutrient that has received a bad rap over the years are fats. Fats, like the other macronutrients, are essential to maintaining healthy body function. They provide energy, form cell membranes, aid in the transport of fat-soluble vitamins and help with the manufacture and balance of hormones. Our brains are comprised mostly of fat and as you might have guessed, fat also provides cushioning to our organs. Bottom line, they are needed so don’t avoid them!
There are several types of fat from saturated to unsaturated to trans. With the exception of trans fats, which should be avoided, eat a balance of the remaining fats. The easiest way to do that is to eat a variety of fats with an emphasis on omega-3 fats, which are usually in the low end unless you eat a lot of fish or take supplements. In your diet include olive oil, salmon, walnuts, and fish oil.
As you can see, each macronutrient has an important function to the body. Eliminating or severely restricting any can have a negative impact on bodily functions as well as your fitness goals.
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.
Weight Loss vs Fat Loss
By weighing ourselves, we tend to think we can gauge the progress we have made – true, to an extent. Weight fluctuates on a very regular basis due to a variety of things: hormonal changes (menstrual cycles), a big meal, water retention, sodium intake, etc. Because of this, using a scale isn’t necessarily the truest way to define progress. So what are some ways you can be sure you are moving in the right direction despite what your scale says?
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