Losing Weight, Looking Fatter: Why each diet makes it worse

Losing Weight, Looking Fatter: Why each diet makes it worse

Between your skin and bones, there’s muscle and fat. If you’re over the age of 20 (yes…20!), and have been consistently inactive, your body will naturally gain fat and lose muscle when not on a lifting and/or healthy (higher protein) eating regimen. This happens as a result of being sedentary, and not engaging muscles. Many of us set the same goal year after year to lose weight.  But as the years go by, we’re noticing that every time weight loss occurs, the end result is a physique that looks different attempt to attempt. You may even think “I’m looking fatter than I did last time I was this weight.” But why?

(Watch the full replay for answers to this and other questions. Broadcast recap below video…) 

 

WEIGHT Loss Doesn’t Equal FAT Loss

It’s often assumed (*cough* ladies) that there’s no reason to have muscle — if we don’t want to be ripped, or look “manly.” (Really, ladies?…1990 called and wants it theories back).  We think that as long as we’re getting smaller, there’s no point in lifting (read: gaining or preserving muscle mass).  While we may have been able to fool ourselves into believing this at 22, eventually we’re faced with reality: muscle equals metabolism.  Having less of one, means lowering the other.  The more times we diet, the more muscle is lost, and fat is gained.  If the weight loss stints are really quick, we’ve just increased our odds.

The faster weight comes off, the more likely it is that we’re experiencing muscle loss and not just fat loss. The more yo-yoing our body does, the more weight we gain each time. This means we need to lose more weight each time, with more of the loss likely being from muscle mass. We start to notice that we look softer, and all that cardio we used to do, doesn’t “work” anymore.

Time to face the facts: Quick-fix diets will never “work.” The *temporary* WEIGHT LOSS primes you for FAT GAIN

Time to face the facts: Quick-fix diets will never “work.” The *temporary* WEIGHT LOSS primes you for FAT GAIN

Gaining fat isn’t a difficult job.  Our bodies are good at doing so without us even trying. (I doubt I just blew your mind, there, LOL.)  To gain muscle, however, we must put forth a conscious effort. While we may tend to think we have too much fat on our frames, the problem instead may be we just don’t have enough muscle.  Having too little muscle is like drilling for water in the desert, it’s gonna take a heck of a lot more effort – which much less rewarding payoff.  Without a sufficient amount of muscle, our “weight loss” goals will never be sustainable for long.  This means that many of us ladies have to get over the fear of weightlifting, and thoughts about how gaining muscle will make us look like a bodybuilder (myth).

Do It Right, or Do It Over

When it comes to fat loss, programs and approaches that may have worked for you in the beginning aren’t necessarily going to work for you in the long run. This is why it’s so important to remember to start small if you’re just getting into the swing of fat loss, healthy eating and resistance training.  There are many levels involved to getting to that peak level.  Trying to go straight to the highest level leaves you with little room for plateau adjustments (no trump card to pull!), and typically doesn’t provide enough time to develop habits that stick.  So take the time to do it right, instead of constantly doing it over.  Always have another trick up your sleeve.  Pick one thing and nail it before you move onto something else. For example: incorporate more protein (from 90 grams to 120 grams, then 120 grams to 150 grams, etc) in your diet until you master it.

*Side note: Metabolism resets are key if you’re a yo-yo dieter or have been on a low-calorie diet for an extended period of time. It’s easy to get caught up in the scale weight, but the key is to think about the long term. Too much cardio and too little food will absolutely lead to muscle loss. Real progress takes time and requires a realistic perspective. If you/your clients want to get results, they’ve got to start weight lifting. Being skinny doesn’t equal results. Being strong and healthy does.

Cross section of thigh muscle, notice what happens to muscle/fat ratio over the years? Plan of attack must change with age. Preserving/building muscle is essential.

Cross section of thigh muscle, notice what happens to muscle/fat ratio over the years? Plan of attack must change with age. Preserving/building muscle is essential.

Arm Yourself for Sustainable Success

Ask somebody what their ideal end goal physique is and you’ll often hear “I just want to be skinny and not look like a bodybuilder.” By arming yourself with the proper information and knowledge, you can create a program that combines strength training and a proper diet (i.e. adequate protein intake).  Constantly working on those areas (knowledge, lifting, diet) will change your entire perspective on the body transformation process. Gathering information, like taking your own diet history into consideration, can be a very helpful in discovering if you are actually dealing with a muscle deficit. Using this information, you can learn how to train and eat for muscle. Eating around a maintenance level of calories (also known as TDEE) can often prove to be the best approach.

If weight loss were easy, everybody would be running around looking like fitness models. The reality of it is that there’s a science and method behind the madness. In order to create healthy, sustainable weight loss, you’ve got to target the fat mass and preserve/add to the muscle mass.

 

~Kiki

How Stress is Destroying Your Goals

How Stress is Destroying Your Goals

“Remove this.”  “Add that.”  “Do only this.”  “Never do that.”

In our constant pursuit of the perfect body, misplaced focus has become the name of the game.  The fitness

industry (that I both love and loathe) is infamous for placing more emphasis than needed on the things that matter the least, and not enough on those that matter most (more on this in my next post: Understanding Best Practices).  One area that stands out lately — when talking with trainers and clients — is brushing off the stress factor, and not truly realizing how big of a deal it is.

(This broadcast goes into more detail on this)

The cost of ignoring the stress factor.

We often hear (and say!) phrases like “I know that I’ve been a little stressed lately…but I should still be seeing some results…”

While nutrition and exercise both play a huge part in fat loss, we tend to overlook stress. The reality check is this: when it comes down to dealing with excess stress, you can’t out-eat or out-exercise it.  And those who attempt to, discover a rude awakening.  What begins as a small issue can quickly lead to a downward spiral. Seemingly insignificant stress can lead to water retention.  Concern over the temporary water retention (“weight gain”) often causes a panic of more restrictive dieting/intense exercise. Worry + diet + exercise = stress overkill.  This increase in stress leads to even greater sodium retention/cortisol release (more weight gain) – insert slippery slope here. It’s very easy to look up from what could have been a weekend relaxation-fix (temporary) and find yourself facing an additional 6-12 months on your fat loss journey (true fat gain).

IMG_3429Do we even recognize stress anymore? 

As we age — and have more on our plate; kids, aging parents, and work — we don’t realize how much stress has piled up.  As women, especially, we tend to feel like we can handle everything that’s thrown at us.  We even take a certain level of pride in it, bragging (aka complaining with no intention of changing/getting help) about how much we have to do every chance we get. One of the sneakiest things about stress is that while we can typically recognize the big stressful events (death, sickness, work projects), there are some stress factors in our life that we don’t even recognize or categorize as such. For example, working out creates stress on the body. While it may feel therapeutic, exercise can actually exacerbate stress levels.

Not being able to recognize stress in it’s various forms often leads to fighting fire with fire, and introduces a host of other issues.

Address the root, not the fruit.

Stress is a master of disguise, and the enemy of the modern woman’s health.  We first give it all the room it needs to work (take root) by disregarding it’s presence.  Once in, it can do all the damage it needs, by keeping us busy attacking “symptoms” (the fruit it bears).

Stress-related symptoms can translate to thyroid issues, weight gain, and overall fatigue. Additionally, your digestive system can react as well (think IBS, food allergies, etc.). Instead of directly addressing the stressors in life, people often try to eliminate foods to try to resolve digestive issues.  Same goes with exercise.  Intense, or long duration exercise puts the body under stress. This is the reason why we will typically lose weight/fat under proper circumstances (the body’s first, natural reaction to stress in a healthy body).  However, when panicked about weight loss (read: stressing over how long its taking), we tend to turn the very modes of exercise that causes the most stress.  If you’re exercising intensely on top of living a stressful life, your body is likely to go into shut-down mode (read: fat gain/retention).

If you’re experiencing any of the following, you may be exhibiting this severe-stress response:

Blood Sugar Swings

Hypothyroid Symptoms

Weight Gain (especially prominent in the belly)

Fatigue

Decreased Immunity

IBD

IBS

Food Allergies

9707590766_6db09ca5e5_zHow to eat/exercise/supplement/live when over-stressed

During very stressful times, sometimes the best thing to do is to change up the type of exercises you’re doing or to do your normal routine at a lesser frequency. There are types of exercise that will heal you/help you maintain, and those that will cause harm. Stress-friendly exercises include walks (not a power walk, run or jog), gentle yoga (not power yoga) or a leisure bike ride (key word: leisure). Endurance-style weight training and circuit training are not the types of weight lifting you should partake in while stressed. Instead, incorporate heavier-style lifting, which requires longer periods of rest in between (think 5/6-10 reps).

Even simple, everyday things that we don’t think twice about increase our stress levels. For example, if you watch an action-packed movie and are already stressed, your stress levels will actually increase! In place of an action movie, watch something more light-hearted, such as a comedy, or take a bubble bath.  Additionally, make sure to supplement with omegas, magnesium, Vitamin A & D and probiotics.  Make an effort to sleep more (training less if that’s what it takes to find that extra hour!) to best respond to stress.

As mentioned above, intense exercise/dieting during stressful times will actually lead to increased stress, which leads to more weight gain. Don’t compound the problem.  If you’re experiencing weight gain, don’t try to diet. Cut back on steady state cardio, and do more leisure/slower-paced types of cardio (walking, yoga).  An occasional HIIT session or two can sub for your cardio until you are in a less stressful state. (One exception to this is if you are facing extreme adrenal fatigue symptoms, in this case, even HIIT may be too much in the early healing stage).

20140121-191544.jpg

Try to simply savor the moment from time to time. Don’t wait for the weekend. Have a midday ritual: sneak a nap. Or…take a tea, coffee (or breathing!) break – no screens allowed!

Now keep in mind, not exercising at all isn’t what we’re recommending here.  The point is to train yourself throughout the day to have downtime (nap, walk, daydream, meditate, no-screen-time, etc.) so that your workouts are helping you rather than hurting you.  Regular exercise has been proven to help with stress management. In a healthy body, exercise is intended to be “good stressor.”  The key is understanding what helps and what harms in an overly-stressed, or metabolically damaged scenario.

Weight fluctuations during stressful times are bound to happen, but the key is not letting these fluctuations create more stress. If you’re someone who likes to weigh, you can continue to do so, but take the number on the scale with a grain of salt.  The key to mastering life, and fitness, is balance. If you can find a way to manage stress levels, and balance your responsibilities with staying active, you’ll have a much better chance of keeping your weight under control and your happiness high.

On that note, I need to take a break from this screen, and go spend some quiet time with my foam roller.

 

Have a great week, Fam!

~Kiki :)

 

PS. Got questions? I’m on Periscope M-F, to answer your FAQs. So make sure you’re following @EM2WL to get notifications the second I start the next broadcast!

 

 

Photo cred: Flickr

Falling off the wagon? Why you can’t stick to ANY diet.

Falling off the wagon? Why you can’t stick to ANY diet.

We know by now that the style of eating that we can stick to for the long haul, is the one that we can count on for results.  But what happens when you just can’t stick to ANY diet or style of eating long enough for those results to show?

The thing about habits

The reason progress seems to elude most of us is because we won’t create the habits needed to sustain them. If habits don’t change, neither will your results (in the long term).  Habits are the key to lasting change. Just think about it, why is it so hard to stick to a New Year resolution, organizing system, diet/exercise plan, or even weekly date nights? Even the very things that we know would bring more joy and peace to our lives are just plain hard to stick to.

Why?

Well as you well know, when the little gem called “life” kicks in, everything goes out of the window.  And what do you fall back on when life happens? Your old habits. The only way to cancel out the old habits that aren’t getting you anywhere is to create new ones that crowd/balance them out.  Though most of us know and agree with this deep down, we still spend a heck of a lot of time trying to find the diet or exercise plan that will solve all of our problems.  But diving into a full blown “plan” with 105 different rules to remember is going to be impossible to keep up long term, because you’re changing too many things at once.  The minute you’re not following the plan perfectly, you fall off, lose hope, and feel like you have start all over again.

The thing about complication

Sometimes having lots of rules make us feel safe.  We feel like the more complicated the plan, the more real and official it is. Simplicity scares us.  We think “that’s all? must be more to it than that?!”

Against popular demand, EM2WL prefers a real-world, no-nonsense approach to fat loss.  We have no desire to get you all hung up on the little tweaks that are unnecessary for most, and not required until the vanity pounds stage (read: four pack, yet desiring six) for others.  We make it a point to only emphasize to you the aspects of the journey that are most important for lifelong success.  Take those basics, put your own spin on it, and proceed to enjoying your life without complication.

This technique is known in the industry as “best practices” – and it’s the backbone of any successful endeavor.  Attempting to take what someone else does, and imitating it exactly is a setup for failure because it misses a crucial element: you.

The thing about perfection

IMG_2047A perfect plan that you can’t keep up long term, will never trump the slightly flawed one that allows you to be consistent.  Any style of eating that allows you to remain consistent in the basics, without feeling like a failure for “cheating” is essential to long term progress.  This means that it will take a little bit of work on your end to make sure that the way you choose to eat/workout for fat loss has YOU written all over it. One of the first questions I ask ANY new client is:

“What aspects of your current lifestyle MUST be included in your journey to make it realistic and sustainable for YOU? (food/type of exercise/habits, etc)”

I encourage you to ask yourself this very question as you scour the net for the be-all-end-all of diet plans. (Hint: there isn’t one…until you create it). No matter how promising something seems to be — or how many people are raving about it — if you can’t see elements of you in it, some tweaking may be required.  If it requires a perfect adherence to the rules, with zero leeway for the things you love, don’t be tempted to try to force it to work for you.

 

Have a great week, Fam!

~Kiki

 

PS. If you’re needing help establishing essential habits, and conquering the basics on YOUR terms, try our 7-day protein challenge.

The hierarchy of fat loss – How much cardio do I need?

The hierarchy of fat loss – How much cardio do I need?

IMG_7937Most of us are blown away when we learn the shocking truth that cardio is not the be-all-end-all of fat loss.  It can take some time to fully wrap our heads around the concept (especially if you’re the type who actually ENJOYS it and can’t imagine life without it).   Not surprisingly, one of the questions we receive most often in the early stages of discovering EM2WL is: “OK. So, where exactly does cardio fit? How much cardio can/should I do?

“The hierarchy of fat loss.”

The Hierarchy of Fat Loss (a concept coined by Alwyn Cosgrove several years ago) is simple way to self-regulate and decide for  yourself if/when its time to add cardio into your fat loss protocol. It will also help those that can’t imagine a cardio-less existence to work in their love of endurance in a way that does not contradict their physique goals.

The hierarchy outlines the top five factors you must nail down in order to achieve fat loss. The five levels are listed in order of importance, as is the nature of any hierarchy.  This means that if you’re looking to do/add/focus on items that are NOT listed here, they are being given far too much importance in your journey.  Let’s take a look at each of the five and why they’re so important in the fat loss equation.

IMG_8755

The perfect lifting and cardio routine mean nothing without proper eats. So check them TWICE before assuming any workout “is not working” for you. ;)

Level 1- Nutrition: Here’s the reality. No matter how hard you work out, run or lift, you can’t out work a bad diet. Period. If your nutrition is not on point, yet everything else is, you will not optimally achieve results or reach your fat loss goals. Main changes to make in your diet are to eat more protein, more fiber, and more food. Oftentimes, people aren’t eating enough food for fat loss- less isn’t always better. If you’ve spend periods of time eating low calorie diets (1200-1500 calories), then you may want to consider a metabolism reset. Before you can expect to lose weight, you must fix your metabolism so it is in proper working order.

Level 2- Nutrition: Nope, that’s not a typo. Level 2 is the same as level 1- nutrition! Why? It’s that important! If you have time for one thing and one thing only with regard to fat loss, nail your nutrition. Make sure you’re hitting your fiber, protein and calorie goals, and that you’re eating enough to sustain the type of workouts you’ll be doing.

Level 3- Activities that Burn Calories, Promote/Maintain Muscle Mass and Elevate Metabolism: This means lift! Lifting promotes muscle mass growth. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you’ll burn at rest due to an increased metabolic rate. Not only is muscle good for boosting your metabolism, but it has great cosmetic benefits as well- it looks good! If you’re not comfortable with lifting on your own, consider seeking out guidance from a personal trainer.

IMG_3925

A snippet from Martha Stewart’s book on “Living the Good Long Life” – at 74 years young, she KNOWS that lifting is the key!! What are YOU waiting for?

Level 4- Activities that Burn Calories and Elevate Metabolism with EPOC (after burn effect): If you find yourself having an extra day to workout or time leftover at the end of your lift, add in HIIT/Tabata/Interval/Metabolic Resistance style training. If you are short on time but still wanting to burn fat, these types of workouts are crucial for you. While this type of exercise may not promote muscle mass growth, it certainly can help maintain the muscle mass you already have.

Level 5- Activities that Burn Calories but Don’t Necessarily Maintain Muscle or Elevate Metabolism: Cardio is considered the icing on the cake, and in the puzzle of fat loss, is considered the least effective. This lines up with what we here at EM2WL always preach- cardio for fun, weight to transform.” Cardio works best when it’s not done frequently, because it shocks the body. If you do cardio all the time, your body adapts. If you continue to do the same amount of cardio and burn less calories, or don’t see an elevation in heart rate, that may be a good sign you’re doing too much, too often.

Putting it all together:  What the hierarchy means to you

If you’re short on time (let’s face it, who isn’t!?) and can’t get to the gym, focus on your nutrition. When you do find yourself having some time, get a lift in. If you can commit to 1-2 days of exercise a week, lift weights those days. If you have 3-4 days, lift and do some HIIT (Level 4) training. If you have more than 4 days a week, then have the icing on the cake and do some cardio and fun aerobic activities you enjoy- Zumba, Body Pump, etc.

IMG_5627

Remembering the motto “cardio for fun, weights to transform” will help you to fit in the activities you LOVE without having to use them as punishment.

For my cardio loving followers reading this, don’t freak out. Oftentimes people connect a regular cardio routine to results. If you go from doing nothing to doing just cardio, of course you’re going to see results. But once those results stop, the enjoyment of your workout(s) may stop also. When your cardio workout comes to an end, so does the calorie burn. On the other hand, with lifting, you may not burn as many calories initially during your workout but you’ll continue to burn calories up to 36 hours after your workout is over (called the after burn/EPOC). This is more beneficial for you compared to just burning calories while you’re on a piece of cardio equipment and not a minute more thereafter. If you’re looking to elevate your metabolism, then going for that after burn is what you want and need.

Especially if you’re a newbie to the world of proper nutrition, it’s important to take baby steps into your new healthy eating journey.  Adequate consumption of protein, fiber and water are key. Focus on adding in or improving upon each (of the three listed above) into your daily intake until you nail it. For example, if you’re currently not drinking enough water, make it a goal to drink at least a gallon a day. Once you can consistently do so for several weeks/at least a month, next tackle eating more protein. Continue this process until you’ve aced all facets of a proper nutrition plan. In order to ensure adherence, eat the types of foods you enjoy while hitting your macronutrient totals. Keep in mind that the foods you consume have to work for your lifestyle and fit your taste preferences in order to be most successful and stay on track.

Not sure where to start? The Beginner Strength Training Manual answers all your lifting Q&A and comes with a full 12-week periodized workout plan with video demonstrations.

If you don’t have much time to lift, that’s okay. Do more compound movements and work multiple muscle groups (not isolated movements like bicep curls). Make sure you’re regularly alternating rest periods, sets, and rep ranges. This is important because if you don’t change these variables, your body will adapt and not respond as desired. Rest periods are especially important because they are needed in order for the body replenish its energy stores. Over a period of time, rotate through the following rep/set/rest schemes (also known as periodization). A sample 12-week rotation could be:

4 weeks: 30 seconds rest, higher reps (12+), lower weight

4 weeks: 45-60 seconds rest, lower reps (8-12), higher weight

4 weeks: 60+ seconds rest, low (5-8) reps, heavy weight

The problem with fat loss is most people approach the process in the opposite order, doing cardio first, then HIIT, then deciding to lift, and then tackling nutrition – no wonder the process can be so frustrating.  When you turn the hierarchy on its head, you’re not going to see the results that you want. If you follow the fat loss hierarchy in order, you’ll see better and faster results. Work smart, not hard, and you’ll be more than impressed with the results awaiting you.

Go kill it this week, Fam!

 

~Kiki :)

 

Opt In Image
Get in-depth info on Strength Training
Exclusive vids, tips, and free workouts

Should you just do cardio to lose weight? How heavy is heavy lifting? Do "strength" DVDs count? What if you don't want to lift? Sign up now for in-depth info on strength training and fat loss.  You'll also receive special vids and free workout plans to help you get the most from your time in the gym.

No worries, we hate spam too!

Overcoming the Diet Struggle – Interview with Bernai Holman

Overcoming the Diet Struggle – Interview with Bernai Holman

IMG_7691Thanks so much for agreeing to this!  I saw that you just finished a powerlifting competition, can you tell us how you did?

I did my first WNPF (World Natural Powerlifting Federal) national meet on Sunday, September 6th.  After four weeks of training specifically for this event, I ended up coming in first in my weight class and was awarded Best Lifter Award for my recognizable 350 pound deadlift.  My total at the end of the meet was 710 pounds which qualified me for the World Meet which is scheduled for October 24th.  I am currently the WNPF’s NJ record holder in my weight class for the bench, deadlift and total weight!  I was extremely excited to see my hard work pay off.  

You also compete in figure, right? How long have you been competing now? What inspired you to start?

About four years ago, my husband brought home a magazine with Alicia Harris (Ross) gracing the cover.  Her chiseled body made my jaw drop and my heart yearned to take my fitness to the next level.  At the time, I was working out but I guess you can say it wasn’t working! I just knew that my body and I were capable of so much more.  I had to see how far I could possibly push myself and competing seemed like the perfect opportunity.  I met a trainer, committed to a show, trained my butt off, committed wholeheartedly to eat extremely clean and competed.  My first season ended with me finishing 2nd in my first show and 1st and overall in my second show. The next two seasons also added nice trophies to my shelf.  I love the sport of bodybuilding and am looking forward to helping others prepare to grace the stage but I decided to switch to powerlifting and crossfit for the future.    

On IG a few months ago, you described an epiphany that you had over becoming a more flexible dieter, vs a super-strict “clean eater/binger.” Can you tell us a little about your diet struggle, and how that change has affected you mentally, physically?

Eating clean is a good thing when balanced with nourishing fruits, vegetables and a treat here and there.  Eating 100% clean, 100% of the time is not such a good thing.  At least, for me, it wasn’t.  When I competed, I was required to eliminate most of my favorite foods including, breads, pasta, chocolate chip cookies, fro yo, cheese…I could go on and on.  I was limited to about 10 food options for weeks at a time and no I am not exaggerating!  This was not bad coaching or anything like that.  It was just a method used to get to my goals of competing in figure competitions.  It actually worked and I ended up doing really well in my competitions, however what was being displayed on the outside was not depicting my true emotional, physical or mental health at the time.  I was STRUGGLING!  Anxiety was taking root and honestly, overtaking my life.  The phases of low/no carb days would make my blood sugar so insanely low that I experienced fainting spells, foggy brain and even depression.

IMG_7694When I was finally able to eat, I ate EVERYTHING that I possibly could.  This had negative effects on my already sensitive stomach and proved a hard habit to break once I entered my off-season.  Last season, I did a lot of research on meal plans, metabolic rates and carb intake.  I decided to follow a more flexible plan while still keeping track of macros.  This helped me stay on track with my goals but still have energy to carry out daily activities.  My focus really shifted to becoming healthier, developing sustained fitness, and getting stronger as these were the things I was encouraging my clients to do.  Flexible dieting changed my life!  I’ve learned that you need food to reach your goals and balance is key.  In order to get stronger, you have to eat more.  I don’t count marcos anymore because the many months of counting every single marco has made it easy to guesstimate how much I’m intaking.  I do ensure to eat my carbs mostly in the morning, before and after my workouts as this is the time where my body can use them the most.  

Did you gain weight when you increased your carb intake?

When I changed to a flexible diet, I did it very slowly after my last cutting season.  I used a method called reverse dieting. This simply means that you take your current macros and add on to them over the course of a few weeks until your weight begins to change.  By doing this for about  a month or so, it allowed me to increase my carb intake to almost triple the amount that I was accustomed to during prep season without gaining more than a few pounds.  My body did change slightly but that was a welcomed change.

Many women spend the better part of their lives dieting to achieve the fit, lean, muscular look that we see on fitness models and competitors like you. Can you explain to us the methods that you used to achieve your level of muscularity for the stage? Have you ever done specific “muscle-building/bulk” cycles, or were you always lean/muscular?

I have worked extremely hard to achieve the strength that I currently have.  As a bonus, my body is shaped the way that I desire it to be.  I was always very active with track, dance and outdoor activities so being overweight has never been a real struggle for me.  However, through my experience of competing- I completely understand the struggle of dieting and having weight/image goals. Prepping for a competition usually takes about 16 weeks of working out about 3 hours, 6 days a week and eating 6 clean meals each day.  When I competed, I did have bulking and shredding seasons.  

Bulking is to gain size and muscle maturity to your physique.   Although, it is considered to be a bulking season, in the beginning, I really struggled to build mass because one- it was SO hard and two- I was not comfortable looking too “fluffy” or far off from competition lean.  After learning more about my body, I gained a better understand of the necessity of a bulking season and learned to enjoy it rather than to despise it.  During my “bulking season” my carbs significantly increased, cardio was minimal and workouts include lower reps at higher weight.  Once the prep season started my carb intake would change and I would try my best to maintain the strength that I gained during my “bulking phase”  This was extremely hard with the lack of carbs and added cardio but with a committed spirit- I got it done!  So can anyone else.  It wasn’t easy but well worth it.

Can you describe the difference in your scale weight between off season and competition day? What about changes to your diet/workouts?

Competition day, I usually weigh about 115 pounds!  Off season, I am most comfortable around 135 pounds.  This fluctuates with what my goal at the time of my training.  For my powerlifting meets, I am in the 132 pound weight class and general weigh in a few pounds lighter for security!

Remember, competition size is maintainable only for a short amount of time!

Do you think that it’s realistic for women to strive for a competition/fitness model look all year long?

NO! Take a breath of relief!  You are probably closer to looking like a competitor in their off-season than you realize.

Most competitors and fitness models look stage ready between a short window of needing to be on stage or in front of a camera.  Between the water manipulation (dehydration) and carb cycling (sometimes close to zero a few days before), it is impossible to maintain the amount of leanness that you see on magazine covers.  Besides, for a female, being under about 12% body fat is UNHEALTHY.  When you drop your body fat that low, your body is unable to properly produce hormones which can lead to all types of problems including insane cravings, poor eating habits, mood swings, depression, menstrual complications and so much more.  Our bodies have a little extra fluff because we need it.  A good body fat percentage is about 18-25% for healthy females.  

IMG_7695What would you say to the many women who want to look like a fitness cover model, and are eating 1200 cals, little to no carbs, and doing 2 hours of cardio/day to achieve it?

Friend, let go and love yourself! I had to learn how to do this again once my competitions were over.  It is very easy to chase after the 6 pack while neglecting the needs of your body.  Our body can live off of low calories but not live well. At 1200 calories you are most likely lacking a lot of nutrients that your body needs, eating away at your muscles and causing issues with your body’s natural functions. Consult with a professional to see what your daily caloric consumption should be.

Any parting words of advice or encouragement (to ladies who are struggling with the idea of fueling to lose, or waiting for the “perfect body” before enjoying life)?

A perfect body is one that healthy and appreciated.  It is great to have physical goals but the first two should be – to love your body and to take care of it!  You only get one body so I charge you to love it, cherish it, take care of it and appreciate it.  When you look in the mirror, do not- for any reason- say anything negative about yourself.  Rather, take the time to adore yourself, even your flaws!  If you don’t love your body-it will be challenging for others to do love it.  Change starts in the mind.  If you love what you already have, it will make it easier to make changes in small steps.  Change does not happen overnight, so in the meantime, enjoy the journey and celebrate the small successes.  

How can our readers see more from/follow you? 

FB: FigureofFaith or Business Page: Go Strong Fitness

IG: @figureoffaith or Business Page: @GoStrongFitness

Website: www.gostrongfitness.com (coming soon)

Plugin by Social Author Bio

STOP Spinning your wheels and Get OFF the Rollercoaster!

 

 

Download the FREE EM2WL Quick Start Guide and get...



> An overview of the Eat More 2 Weigh Less basics

 

> Access to our Crushing the Diet Mentality Facebook Community

 

> BONUS!! FREE fat loss/muscle gain workout plan.

 

You have Successfully Subscribed!