Hitting Fat Loss Goals – Consistency in Exercise

Hitting Fat Loss Goals – Consistency in Exercise

Consistency in Exercise SM Graph (1)Exercise is a key component in hitting your fat loss goals. Body composition will not take place without it, no matter how badly we want to skip our gym time. But consistency in exercise has so many other great benefits to overall health that we don’t want to ignore things like:

  • Stress Relief
  • Pain Relief
  • Flexibility
  • Endorphin Release
  • Strength
  • Better Sleep

Don’t dread your workouts!!

Consistency in the gym is something that develops over time. It is impossible to expect perfection in exercise the minute you get off the couch and into a gym, so ease into it slowly. The key is to make movement a part of your normal everyday routine. When choosing your workout look for something that you like and will enjoy. This will help to keep you focused and allow you to look forward to your next gym session. Dread is something you never want to feel in your workouts, so if you can’t stick to anything consistently, then keep searching for that one thing you can commit and stick to and will enjoy.

Consistency in Exercise SM Graph (3)As progression takes place there will be exercises you don’t like doing or don’t want to do so having the enjoyment activities sprinkled in between can help keep your focus and keep you consistent in hitting your gym schedule. If you enjoy things like Zumba then make sure to incorporate them into your schedule so you don’t feel like you are missing out when working hard to achieve your goals. The more you have to look forward to in the gym, the more successful you will become in hitting your fat loss goals.

Keep in mind, consistency comes with practice. Set your schedule so that it is attainable for you at whatever your current level is. If you are coming from the couch, it would be impossible to expect to hit 6 days a week consistently. If you have been working out for a while, challenge yourself to add in one more day in the gym. The more consistent we are with our movement, the more likely it will become habit in our daily lives.

 

 

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!

Consistency in Eating: Hitting your Fat loss goals

Consistency in Eating: Hitting your Fat loss goals

Consistency in eating social mediaConsistency is critical when it comes to achieving your fat loss goals. There are four main places where people have the hardest time being consistent – Eating, Exercise, Planning and Patience. All of these relate easily to and work best in conjunction with each other for maximizing your fat loss efforts. Maybe you have no problems with tossing around some iron, and chanting “trust the process” as needed.  Perhaps you don’t even mind mapping out (or purchasing?) the “perfect” meal plan.  But when it comes down to actually following it…let’s just say it ain’t your strong suit.

It’s not just you.  When it boils down to eating, it can be very difficult for ANYone to be consistent, but it is critical to your success in your journey.

Key point: Consistency does not equal PERFECTION!

When it comes to eating, changing our mindset around food choices can be the hardest thing to do. Most diet plans out there force a dieter to limit or eliminate many food choices, restrict eating times, or just put unrealistic expectations on their success. The key is to find a way of eating that will allow you to be consistent at it. It doesn’t matter what kind of “plan” it is, if you cannot be consistent, it will NOT work for you.

The Imperfect Diet that you stick to beats the Perfect Diet you quit.

Here are some helpful tips to help you create your Consistent Imperfect Diet:

  • Don’t make it about “good” or “bad” foods.  All foods can be eaten, unless you have health/religious reasons for not eating something. Consistency in Eating Social Media
  • Don’t take someone elses diet plan as your motivation to eat the same way.
  • Eliminate the words “I can’t have…” from your eating vocabulary
  • Make the conscious decision to eat what YOU want.
  • Make it work for YOU!

Give yourself the grace of being human. We can’t possibly expect to be perfect when it comes to everything else in our life, so why should our eating be 100% perfect? It just can’t.

Allow yourself to let life happen.

We all get busy and we all grab the nearest take out places at times. Adapting to change and giving yourself the freedom to go with the changes will consistently bring you closer to your goals rather than falling completely off the wagon time and time again. “Start over” moments happen at every meal.  Just because you mess up one meal, does not mean it needs to snowball into the next and so on.

Being consistent is hard work. Give yourself the time and the patience to work on your consistency in your eating habits. Over time, that consistency will put you so much further ahead than jumping on the next latest and greatest “perfect” plan.

Be sure to join our Online Facebook Community!

 

New to EM2WL?
Grab our FREE quick start guide!

Are you curious about how the process works, or wondering what's in our Starter Kit E-Book? START HERE. We'll send you a free breakdown of the basics, exclusive videos explaining why everything that you've learned about diets have only led you astray, and an action plan to take your life back immediately.

No worries, we hate spam too!

Plateau Prevention- Let’s talk about EATS! – 3 Tips

Plateau Prevention- Let’s talk about EATS! – 3 Tips

Our last blog post touched on five workout tips to prevent (or breakthrough!) the inevitable plateau. Today let’s take a look at how our eating habits can also cause a plateau, and 3 ways to avoid derailing our progress.

3 things to focus on with your EATS

PP Eats SocialMedia (2)

Just as when mapping out how to workout for plateau-prevention, your food focus breaks down to three main areas of focus: Load, Frequency, and Type.  Here’s what to pay attention to for each area:

Load – This is how many calories you should eat. This varies person to person and no one should be in a blanket calorie range (uh hello 1200 calorie plans) By using our calculator, you can find out three different things, how many calories you need to maintain your weight (TDEE), how many calories for fat loss (Cut) and how many calories for muscle building (Bulk)

By knowing these numbers, you can cycle your intake around when you are on maintenance, when you are planning a cut and periods when you are building muscle.

Frequency – This is the amount of calories you eat, for whatever phase you are in, and when to change it up. Like our load, we need to change the amount of calories we eat at times to prevent a plateau from occuring. When in a fat loss phase, we should be taking a “diet break” (eating at TDEE) every 8-12 weeks for a period of 1-2 weeks. This will “remind” the body what maintenance is, so as we start to lose weight, our Cut amount doesn’t become our Maintenance amount.

Type – I’ll just say one word – Macros.

The type of food we eat does make a huge impact on our progress or our plateaus. Protein, Fat and Carbs are the most important ones to focus on to help make better quality food choices. If you are just starting out getting your macros into focus, plan on putting your protein goal front and center. Focus on one thing at a time and build up the habit, and this will set up your natural progression for better food quality.

By paying attention to these variables in our eating, we can stop a plateau from sending us down the rabbit hole and derailing any progress we might have had.

New to EM2WL?
Grab our FREE quick start guide!

Are you curious about how the process works, or wondering what's in our Starter Kit E-Book? START HERE. We'll send you a free breakdown of the basics, exclusive videos explaining why everything that you've learned about diets have only led you astray, and an action plan to take your life back immediately.

No worries, we hate spam too!

Let’s talk blind spots… What’s holding you back?

Let’s talk blind spots… What’s holding you back?

IMG_5755

Article by: Ichel, of Team EM2WL

Let’s face it. We all think we’re special snowflakes. That certain rules only apply to others. That particular thing doesn’t matter if I do it or not. Yes, it might be how others got results but I’m different because…

They are called blind spots because we can’t see them. It’s not arrogance or rebellion. It’s a case of cognitive dissonance. We have been conditioned to think a certain way for so long, that to challenge it is to challenge our core beliefs. It’s uncomfortable. It’s scary.

My blind spot was protein. I walked the EM2WL walk. Increased my calories. Strength trained with periodized workouts. Got my fibre in. Got my water in. Increased my protein. Yet the old cliche of spinning wheels was happening. I was confused, frustrated.

My trainer pointed out that my protein was averaging 17-20% Well, yeah! I’m a vegan! The 30% rule can’t apply to me! It’s impossible to get 30% from plant-based sources!

Then she pointed out that actually, as a vegan, I should shoot for 35% as plant-based sources are digested differently to animal proteins. Wait. Whaaaaat!! From then, every question I asked got the same response.

IMG_7314Where should my calorie level be at?

How’s your protein?

Should I add in walking?

How’s your protein?

Am I doing enough cardio?

How’s your protein?

I had to face it. Head on. Time to pull up my big girl plant-based pants and get it done! I started having protein shakes for breakfast. Found a pea protein sausage and high protein bread for lunch. Adapted the family evening meal to be high protein.

It wasn’t overnight, and there were some disasters (hemp protein powder, bleurgh!) but I now consistently hit 250g protein per day.

Within a couple of months, I started to see body recomposition. Muscles had more definition. Recovery after workouts improved.

My blind spot had been removed! We will all have a blind spot somewhere in life. It can be the one thing stopping us from reaching our goals. So if you hear someone telling you the same thing over and over, it might be worth asking yourself if they are revealing your blind spot to you.

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!

“It’s like I’m looking at someone else’s body” – Journey Update

“It’s like I’m looking at someone else’s body” – Journey Update

An update to My Journey (so far)

I ended last with finishing up the EM2WL Beginner Strength Training Manual for 12 weeks and prior to that, I did Cathe’s Muscle Max for 6 weeks.  I started (seriously) on 1/1/15.  At the end of both programs, I had lost 10 lbs and 10.5 inches total.

I started back doing Muscle Max, Slow & Heavy and walking our garden track.  I started STS on 1/24/16.  I’m not sure if y’all have ever done STS before but in Meso 1 that woman LOVES pushups!!!  Like, seriously…I can’t do pushups on my toes and I have to do them on my knees.  Well, I got “creative” and decided to put extra towels under my knees to have even more cushion.  BAD IDEA!!! I totally messed up my knee!  I haven’t been able to do lower body exercises AT ALL since!  I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with Patellafemoral Pain Syndrome as well as mild/moderate arthritis.  Thank goodness the week I injured my knee was the last week of Meso 1.  So I had an active rest week (which I couldn’t be active at all) then I started Meso 2.

The whole knee thing put me into a tailspin with regards to my diet/calories.  I was eating at 15% cut during Meso 1 which was 1890.  So during my rest week and when I started Meso 2, I checked my TDEE on Fitbit because I was just maintaining.  To my shock (which, in hindsight is shouldn’t have been a shock) my TDEE had dropped quite a bit because I wasn’t getting my steps in…DUH!!!  So, grudgingly I lowered my calories to 1676 (yes I’m totally spoiled with eating all the food on this diet).  But you know what, it wasn’t hard at all!!!

I have to admit, I was so down because the doctor restricted me to no lower body for 2 weeks (which was at the beginning of Meso 2) the “old me” tried to make a come-back and I was ready to just stop doing anything.  But Anitra suggested/told me to just do the upper body workouts, there was no reason to stop doing everything!!!  Thanks so much Anitra!!!  I just started walking again but I’m still restricted to just walking for the next 4 weeks…then I can slowly add lower body exercises using just my body weight…so I’m still in the healing process, but I’m getting there!

I lost 6 pounds and 7.5 inches just in my first month of STS!  There’s one thing that I’ve learned through all of this…the scale isn’t nearly as important as it used to be.  I’m more concerned with inches lost than pounds lost.

Since starting this new lifestyle a little over a year ago, I’ve lost 19.5 lbs and 25.5 inches!!!  I’ve gone down two sizes in jeans (16 to 12).  I’m so excited!! This journey so far is beyond rewarding.  It’s a slow and steady pace, but I’m eating food and I’m not starving!!!  More importantly, I’m starting to see the changes in my body/taking shape.  It’s almost like I’m looking at someone else’s body at times.  If that makes any sense… Like I look in the mirror at my side view and my butt is perking up and getting a nice roundness to it!  I can see it, not so much anyone else yet, but it’s there and it’s gonna “bust out” someday soon!!! LOL  My confidence is coming back…slowly, but it is.

IMG_1243

The top row was taken in April 2015 when I finished Beginning Strength (my last update), and the bottom was taken June 2016 one and a half months after finishing STS.

I just can’t express how much this lifestyle has changed my life and my outlook on food and fitness.  My only regret is that I waited so long to realize the smart way to do it!!!! But I don’t dwell/beat myself up to much about it… won’t do me any good.  I’m just spreading the word to anyone who asks and will listen.  As a result, I have introduced a dear friend to EM2WL who was on WW for years and totally frustrated and after a reset and now at cut, she’s lost 12 lbs in 9 weeks! And she has her boyfriend on it too and he’s knocking it out of the park too!!!

Currently, I have finished STS and have started Jillian Michaels Body Revolution.  I will not be taking measurements or weighing myself any time soon.  You see, down here in the South, the humidity is nasty and I have edema in my hands and legs/feet.  I’m finding that it could be hormonal/aging.  I’ve had to put the scales away because I’m weighing between 3-7 lbs heavier.  That is very difficult for me as I’m a scale addict.  But the reality is, I have to put it away in order to maintain my sanity.

The message I’m trying to get across to everyone is just hang in there, it will happen.  You may have setbacks that throw you off track, but do what you can and stay the course. That’s the beauty of this – if I can do it, you can too!!!

 

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!

Trust the Process (and other cliches)

Trust the Process (and other cliches)

ID-100138685A fat loss journey is simply that, a journey.  While we like to envision waking up one morning with that dream body we’ve been working for, the reality is that being fit and healthy is a long(gggggg) process.  It’s human nature to want things right away – especially in our microwave society where everything is fast and convenient – and get overwhelmed in frustration (or give up) when it doesn’t happen.  In order to have long-term success, you have to get your thoughts locked into a positive place, relax, and trust the process.

So what are some things that you can do to make sure you’ll stick to your new routine, create new habits, and not lose the optimism that you will achieve everything you set out to?

View it as a way of life

You know those people who always say “I can’t, I’m on a diet.”  Don’t be one of them.  As the annoying, and overused cliche reminds us: this isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle.  Many diets and restrictive plans attempt to hide behind the “lifestyle” persona – so  allow me to add that if you can’t do it for life, then it’s not a lifestyle.  Learn to tell the difference between diets pretending to be something that they’re not, and small changes that slowly add up to a changed life.

Diets subtract, lifestyles add. Diets remove things from your life (often the things that you love the most), leaving you feeling deprived and hopeless.  Lifestyles constantly introduce new options – giving you renewed hope that your goals are not only obtainable, but maintainable. You can (and should) allow yourself most things, in moderation, at appropriate times.  Diets end, lifestyles do not.  Making better food choices is something that will make you look and feel better for years to come.  Find a way of eating that allows you to enjoy this process, while not feeling completely foreign to you.

Celebrate small changes

1Don’t downplay, or overlook allllllllll the little changes that will ultimately compound into the change that you’re looking for.  Are you able to lift heavier than this time last month? Hit your macros for three weeks straight? Feeling more energy than you have in years? Hair/nails growing back? More…regular than you’ve ever been? Look at every scale and NON scale victory as a sign that you are headed in the right direction.  Success in your journey is the accumulation of EVERYTHING that happens along the way, so don’t get sidetracked when it seems like “nothing” is happening.

Have 50 pounds to lose? Celebrate small milestones, even if it’s only losing a half pound/inch.

And while we’re at it…

Try to remove words like “only” (or phrases like “I’m not really expecting any changes…” grrrr) from your journey vocab, especially when used in the negative.  If you lose “only” an inch one month, keep a progress-minded mentality and remind yourself that clothing sizes are based on those same inches (or cm, etc).  In the US: There’s typically only a ONE inch difference between most clothing sizes from 0-10, and around two inches difference between sizes 12-24.  So “only” an inch this month, could become THREE sizes smaller if you kept at the exact same rate of progress, for only eight more weeks.  THAT’s the power of consistency in mind, food, and workout.  Ditch the scale mentality, and celebrate your inches! 

The journey to losing 100 pounds starts with a single pound, and finally being able to fit into your smaller size jeans again begins with the first .25 inch.   If you only focus on the big picture, you are likely to get discouraged and lose sight of what’s actually happening.

Realize you are human

Mistakes will happen.  Even the top fitness experts and pros in the world slip up sometimes (yes! even your fave fitspos who claim they don’t… “cheat“), because they are human too! Falling off track with a meal or skipping a workout or two doesn’t mean that you’re a failure.  It is simply inevitable.  Life happens, willpower runs out.  For everyone. Period.

IMG_8895If you allow yourself to stay stuck in a black or white world, where each day falls only under “perfect” or “oh well…ruined” – you’re not going to get very far.  Paying close enough attention will reveal a wonderful gray area, otherwise known as “80% of your life.” Don’t be afraid to accept and choose to purposely live in the gray.  It can be scary in the beginning – but the sooner that you accept where you really live, the sooner you can truly make your house a home.

Don’t waste an entire week, chasing ONE perfect day.  Don’t allow ONE imperfect meal, to ruin what could otherwise consistent day/week/month/year.  Learn from it and move on. Don’t dwell on the past.

I repeat:  Get back on track (at the very next opportunity!) and. move. on.

Reframe the bigger picture

While most people exercise with a physique or weight-related goal in mind, there is much more to being healthy than meets the eye.  Consider reframing the way that you’re looking at your journey, and focus on behavior, or fitness-based goals, rather than simply “waiting to look better.”  The time is going to pass anyway, so why not look deeper into the actual behavior and fitness based habits that WILL get you to where you want to be.  Focusing on those goals can be much more time bound, predictable, and  practical than daily scale woes, constant body shaming, and putting a deadline on physique progress (which is none of the above).

Think of all the good nutrients you give your body when eating healthy. Dwell on the lifelong benefit to your muscles, joints and metabolism when you lift.  Looking great is just a bonus when you think about all the ways you’re improving your actual quality of life.

If you were driving a car and a tire went flat, what would you do? Most people would fix or change the tire, not slash the other three.  Just because a part of your journey seems questionable (plateaus, slip ups, etc.) doesn’t mean you throw in the towel. Persistence pays off! Believe in what you’re doing and repeatedly remind yourself why you set off on your journey in the first place.

Set the GPS.  Expect the occasional wrong turn, pit stop, traffic jam, and re-routing. But allow yourself to relax into the journey, as much as possible, knowing that you WILL ultimately get to your destination (or at least in the vicinity if your GPS is old school! LOL).

Trust the process, 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!

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!