Let’s face it. You’re probably working out regularly (or at least plan to most of the time). Most of the fam have the workout game down. Whether you’re a yogi, runner, barre class fanatic, or fellow sister-in-iron — chances are you have a pretty set schedule of when you work out or hit the gym. You may be on a 3-4 day schedule — whatever works for you — and get to the gym “when you can” most days of the week. You’re probably already “eating protein at every meal” (or close enough), and for the most part stay “on track” while allowing only the occasional indulgence. Even if it occasionally throws your macros off. You even shout “trust the process!” from the rooftops, and truly believe it…most days. ;)
But have you ever wondered how different your results could be if you were more consistent with your workouts, eats, and mental commitment to staying on track? How often do you measure your definition of the words occasional, consistency, and trust?
The reason that consistency is so important — and subsequently gets regurgitated every other post — is that it matters the most, yet is relied upon the least!! If you feel like you’re getting nowhere on this journey, it’s time to check the Consistency Trifecta: food, workouts, mindset — to see what’s holding you back from taking your results to the next level.
“It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.”
-Anthony Robbins
Food: How are your eats? Are you getting in enough protein and fiber? Are you eating according to your goals? Or just eating what you think (aka hope) is “enough” to get the job done? Food matters in every way. Striving for fat loss, but eating whatever you want (and thinking that the macros don’t matter) is a recipe for no (or superrrrrr slow) progress. As is running your body into the ground without enough surplus calories to build muscle, yet hoping to look like someone who has.
We all want to do what WE want to get the results, rather than what it takes. Human nature, I guess. But when it comes to your eats, remember that this is where working your consistency muscle will count the most. This is what helps you to create habits that will carry you throughout your journey. Many ladies will complain that they aren’t seeing results, despite “doing” EM2WL for X amount of time. As I like to ask my clients, “Yes, but how consistent have you been during that time?”
I love my chocolate as much…ok MORE…than the next girl. But, I still place major focus on getting enough fiber from fruits and veggies ;)
Try this ~ Remind yourself that though the occasional (even daily!) indulgence can fit into your lifestyle, it’s up to you to make sure it FITS, and is not totally skewing your macros each time. Though, at first this may mean taking a hard look at the numbers, the goal is to wean yourself into a balanced lifestyle that ultimately can support both your needs and wants. This means that your eating decisions need to also be cognitive, intuitive, and purposeful. Learn to hear what your body is really saying and understand the difference between a binge and chosen indulgence. A binge is an indulgence that just transcends from one meal to the next with no rhyme or reason. A chosen indulgence is just that, a choice. You decide to eat something, and you move on. Learn to make one of two simple statements: “I’m going to have this” or “nah, not worth it today.” An indulgence eaten at every meal…is no longer an indulgence, but the norm.
Consistency always wins. Some days you’ll decide to indulge, other days you won’t. But the key is in deciding to do one or the other. And if deciding to have it, ENJOY it thoroughly. No guilt. No penalty exercising. Just moving on at the next meal, balancing the previous out as best you can.
But keep in mind that by rationalizing that you’re “close enough” every day can lead you further away from your goals. Being “consistent” only 3-4 days (aka half) the week actually doubles how long it will take you to see the results you crave. If your biggest issue with consistency is in not understanding what to eat, or not having enough time to plan for healthy meals, try investing in a nutrition coach to help you to understand how to eat in a way that works for your lifestyle and goals.
Workouts: While we may see temporary changes from doing something extreme for a short period of time, permanent results are a by-product of doing one thing over and over with commitment, and regularity. Period. It’s called the compound effect, and it applies to EVERY area of life.
Just as with your eats, if you are only putting a couple days of challenging workouts each week, it will take you nearly twice as long to reach your goals. If you have the time, and that’s all you can do…then you will have to accept that timeline. On the other hand, if you’re able to commit to 4-6 days a week, of course you’ll reach those goals much faster. Think about when you started school, or even a new job. If you only attended or trained a few days a week, chances are it would’ve taken you much longer to learn everything you needed to — and become familiar with the material — than it would if you attended/trained all five days of the week. The same principle applies to exercise habits and commitments. Your body responds better when continually being trained and conditioned.
Leisure riding w/my guys is my fave Sunday activity, but it doesn’t replace my priority — consistent time with the iron.
Try this ~ Now, I’m not saying that you need to turn into an exercise-obsessed-gym-junkie in order to be consistent. If you choose 6 days a week to be active, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re at the gym going hard every single day. You can schedule active rest days (read: take a walk, go hiking, go bike riding) in between weight lifting sessions. Although you are not throwing weights around every single day, you’re doing more than just taking the day off to sit on the couch, eat nachos, and watch the game with your hubs (save that for after the bike ride :P).
If you truly only have a few days to dedicate to working out, then it is what it is. You may not be able to create more hours in your day, or more days in your week. But if you only have a few days, then you need to get serious about those days and develop some laser beam focus. It’s not always about increasing time or amount of workouts (although the time may come when you’re a vet), yet the intensity should be there. The leisure “feel good” workouts are nice for…feeling good, lol. But if you’re short on time, not new to working out, and want results, each workout should be intense and to the point for the goal that you’re shooting for. Increase weight, be diligent/precise with rest periods, make sure it’s always challenging. Save the leisure workouts for when you have leisure time. And even your leisure workouts should be prioritized (i.e. Pilates/yoga for more core/flexibility focus, over recreational jogging or whatever according to your goal)
Mentality: This really should’ve been mentioned first, because without thinking the right thoughts, consistently, the rest doesn’t stand a chance. If all we ever think about is how “nothing ever works,” and we only weigh, measure, or snap pics to prove our negative thoughts correct…then we can only expect to reap what we sow. This also gives us an excuse to veer into blame game territory (no-THING ever works, leaves no room for user error). We have to hold our own feet to the fire, and EXPECT results. IF they don’t happen, we can cross that bridge and troubleshoot when necessary. But if we allow ourselves to dwell on negativity, we will only reap negative results.
By nature we want everything to happen on a massive scale, or change overnight (even when we truly understand how impossible/temporary that concept is). But if we refuse to consider all progress to be progress, we’ll sabotage ourselves quicker than we can snap that myotape back in place. We scoff at any seemingly small progress — like only losing one inch in an entire month. Such an insignificant change for SO much work, we think. So we get discouraged, and then slack in one area or another (usually while researching or trying something new…again) because we “knew it wouldn’t work anyway.” This slippery slope type of mentality is what leads to the infamous wheel-spinning, half-week (or month), low/no consistency levels. I mean, why try so hard for something that doesn’t seem to be working?
It doesn’t happen overnight! Angela’s secret to her 1 1/2 year journey: “Don’t be discouraged (progress is progress, no matter how small)…” Check out her story!
This spawns even more negativity — “I just must not be one of the lucky ones…”, “seems like others can eat whatever they want…” “It shouldn’t be this hard” — we land at the place of “Ugh!! I’ve been on this journey for (fill-in-the-blank-amount-of-time) and its just NOT working.” But…if we keep our mentality in check, and take an honest look at our sporadic eating and exercising schedules, what journey have we really been on? One of consistency AND trust? Or one full of one too many “occasional”, “when I can”, and “almosts?”
Try this ~ Religiously set aside a certain day each week to acknowledge any NSVs from the previous week. Give this activity as much — preferably MORE — weight (excuse the pun) than your scale weigh-in, and take it just as seriously. Write it down, announce it to the fam on the Forums, MFP, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram — just as you would if you lost 5, 10, or 20 lbs — it’s that big of a deal, and keeps you mentally focused on all aspects of the journey.
Try to remove words like “only” (or phrases like “not really expecting any changes…”) 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 inches. There’s only ONE inch difference between most clothing sizes from 0-10, and around 2 inches difference between sizes 12-24. So only an inch this month, could become 3 sizes smaller if you kept at the exact same rate of progress, for only 8 more weeks. THAT’s the power of consistency in mind, food, and workout.
As in many areas of life, those who put in more work tend to have more success and better results. It’s really quite simple. Put the Consistency Trifecta to work for you. Dedicate yourself to the process, believe in it, stick to it, trust and you will reach goals you’d before never imagined possible.
Self-doubt happens to all of us at some point in our lives. On the journey to reaching a specific goal, negative thoughts make us question if we can achieve the very thing that we set out to accomplish. It’s these negative thoughts, when left untamed, which can affect our actions and lead to negative results.
Our patience can be particularly tested when it comes to reaching physique, strength, fitness or health-related goals where results are slow, or we feel we have less control over the outcome. Learning to catch negative thoughts as they happen is key to avoiding the slippery slope of negativity and ensuring you stay on the path you have set out on with a grateful, and optimistic outlook.
Let’s use this scenario as an example. You head to the gym on a Monday and have an awesome lift. You’re feeling good about yourself because you added 10 pounds to your bench and 20 pounds to your deadlift. In short, you feel like a BEAST!!! You wake up the next day, rush to the mirror and promptly start looking for changes, expecting to be rewarded for all your hard work (or…at very least, another glance at those gorgeous muscles you saw poppin yesterday). Instead you feel fluffy — not at all what you expected — and you’re holding water (100% normal following an incredible lift session!). Suddenly your attitude towards the day goes from “I’m ready for you!” to “Why should I even stay on track or hit the gym today?” Negative thoughts start to creep in and you’re convinced you have failed.
Wait. Wait, wait!
This is when you have to practice stopping those negative thoughts in their tracks. Try using the following tactics to keep your mind focused on the positive and stay headed in the right direction.
Remember how far you’ve come– On days where you’re struggling with the person in the mirror, or worse, the number on the scale, remember all that you have accomplished. Are you a reformed VLCD eater who now nourishes their body with the nutrients it needs? Are you a recovering binge-eater who no longer feels out of control when eating trigger foods? Have you overcome any physical challenges like being able to play with your kids without getting winded or, heck, maybe you can push a car! These are all victories that don’t reflect back to us when we are looking in the mirror or standing on the scale. Each and every one, no matter how big or small, should be acknowledged (often), celebrated, and used as fuel to push on.
Try something new – If you do the same routines week in and week out, it might be time for a change. Scratch that, it most definitely is time for a change! Consider adding phases to your routine to be sure that you are getting the most out of your efforts. At a minimum, try a new exercise class, take your workout outside or invite a friend to the gym. Change it up. You will be amazed by your body’s ability to adapt to something new.
Be grateful for what you have –There are people who don’t have the health that allows them to get up every day and work out. Understand you are blessed to have this opportunity. View exercise as a way to thank your body for all it is capable of. Every day that you are able to push harder and get stronger is a gift.
Doubt can creep up at any time, not just during our weakest moments. Next time you feel a negative thought coming on, counter it with a positive one. Instead of thinking “my stomach looks puffy today,” try saying something like “I have strong, muscular legs.” Don’t let negative thoughts take you off the course you have set for yourself. Win these small battles one at a time. Your mind believes what you tell it, whether it is fact or fiction. Be sure you are feeding it positive thoughts.
If you’re newer to lifting, or perhaps just newer to lifting heavy – at some point you’ll wanna know just how long to see results from lifting.
Back in the day, it was easier to avoid the message that “lifting heavy changes your body, ” but lately it seems that most fit pros and enthusiasts have finally hopped on board. Whether you’ve decided to test the waters with Crossfit, finally hired a trainer, or simply do some workouts that you find on the internet: you’re lifting heavy, you’re loving it…and you’re not seeing these “miraculous” changes that everyone seems to be promoting. What.is.the.deal?
Here’s eight reasons why you may not be seeing results yet:
You still aren’t lifting heavy enough
I’m sure this is insulting to most people reading this. I mean, of course you’re lifting heavy enough. It’s a heavy weight, and you feel the burn when you lift it. Every body part requires a different weight. So if you’re using only one or two weight sizes, for your entire body – then it’s not possibly heavy enough for every area. A dumbbell of 10-12 pounds may be excruciatingly heavy for your smaller muscle groups like rear delts, but most ladies can lift much more than that for a back, chest, or leg movement. If you’re able to go beyond 12 reps on most exercises, it’s probably time to increase your weight.
Don’t think that you hard-core-iron-heads are exempt from this one. Sometimes, vets, we can be just as likely to get comfy with a certain weight. Are you’re cranking out 25lb dumbbell rows, just because it seems heavy enough for your 10-12 rep range? Or because it’s the highest weight available? Could you possibly go up to 30 or 35? Who cares if you can only make it to six to eight reps before you fail? Accept the challenge — if you can do it with good form — and work your way back up to 10 reps. If you can’t make such a huge jump, add some weighted gloves and increase by only two to four pounds at a time rather than the entire five. Either way, find your max for that number of reps, and then push past it. The only way to continue to see changes is to continually challenge yourself.
You’re basing your “results” judgement on a scale number
We’ll often hear from ladies who are lifting and aiming for fat loss say things like “I must be doing something wrong…I should have lost ‘X’ pounds/dress sizes by now”
Ummm…Says who??? ;) How do we determine how many sizes we should be up or down within a year? I pray not by the same industry standards that tell us to “eat-less-than-you-need-to-support-your-body-in-a-comatose-state” for weight loss?
Sure…there will always be tweaks that you’ll want to make, but if your butt looks freakin amazing – take a moment to accept that, rather than be overly concerned about the number on the scale OR inside of your jeans.
Too many of us are still being held captive by our scale weight…or some other tracking method that doesn’t take into account the type of changes that are happening. Case in point: my pant size can vary from a size two to TEN in about 60 seconds (yet look just as lean in either size). How is this possible? My butt has seriously gotten so high that it ranges from one extreme to the other, based on the rise (and brand) of the jeans. If your body shape is changing, maybe it’s time to switch brand manufacturers. It sucks, but sometimes must be done. Trust me, you will see how great you look in clothes that fit. Every fashion book/expert on the market (that’s worth a darn) will tell you to stop giving two hoots about sizes. This is because no matter how small you are, sizes will vary — per person — in fit. FIT is everything.
Confession time: The other day, I went out in frustration over all my older, lower rise jeans that weren’t fitting. Taking my own redundant advice — I bit the bullet and bought the exact same jeans in LARGER sizes to make sure they fit over my butt. Listen…the size was WAY larger…would you know I had FIVE people tell me I need to STOP losing weight when I was wearing those jeans?! I have gained over 10 lbs (apparently all in the bootay)!! But wearing jeans that FIT ME (note…did not say jeans that “I fit” into to) FIT, baby. Get clothes that fit, forget the rest. By the time you can squeeze into jeans from over a year ago, they’re probably outdated anyway :P
You’re retaining water
Yeah, yeah…we’re all tired of this excuse. But let’s face it. If you’re lifting, you’re retaining water. Sometimes LOTS of water. The more you lift, the more water you’ll retain. If you’re doing tons of HIIT, then consider it the cherry on top of your water-retention-sundae. Until your body gets familiar with the workout, when you start retaining a bit less. But then you change it again. And retain more water. It’s an ugly cycle. But not really. It is what it is. Ladies, we really have to get over this whole “water weight” thing. The more muscle mass you build, the more water you’ll begin to retain at all times. This really isn’t such a bad thing, but rather a sign that things are going well…as you’ll see here. But this does mean that you’ll have to give those scale dreams a rest, and focus on all the goodness and shifting that’s happening with your body. When it comes to lifting, things will occasionally appear to get worse before they get better. I just consider it the “labor pains” of muscle delivery — a tad “painful” when it’s happening, but most of us wouldn’t trade that muscle baby for the world once it arrives. ;)
Side note: If you’re totally convinced/upset/depressed that your pants are getting tighter, perhaps you need to cut down on low rep squatting for a while? Work your lower rep squatting in in phases, so that you still get the muscle building benefits, but aren’t constantly retaining water. But, if you adore your 5×5 deadlifts or what have you, just accept that you may be retaining some serious water…and invest in jeggings.
You’re not doing compound movements
If you’re not seeing major body changes, it could be for lack of major body movements. If you’re hitting the gym and only concentrating on biceps, triceps, and abs, you’re putting a major ceiling on your results. Compound movements are the basis of most effective routines for a reason. They work in the actual way that your body works, strengthening your joints and tendons (in addition to your muscles), working multiple muscle groups at once, and burning more calories overall than an isolated move hitting the same muscle group would. Obviously, there’s a time and place for everything, including isolated moves, but generally the newer you are, the more compound moves should be in your routine for best results.
You’re not hitting the entire body enough times per week
As with compound moves, newbies should be doing more routines that involve the entire body, rather than just hitting one to two body-parts per week. The traditional splits that are seen in the bodybuilding community work extremely effectively…for veteran bodybuilders. If you are still in your first year or two of strength training, you would benefit from mainly full body splits. Not only do these types of workouts get the heart rate up higher, they also produce faster results. Generally speaking, the less amount of time you’ve been lifting, the more often you can work that body-part per week. A typical newbie routine could consist of up to 3 total body workouts per week, or 2 upper, 2 lower (alternating). The opposite often holds true for vet lifters who need more rest per part — hitting the body part hard, with higher volume, 1-2xs/week, max is optimal and prevent over-training.
You’re comparing your results to someone else’s
Try not to compare yourself to anyone else. If you feel the need to look around for an ideal body goal to shoot for, make sure that it aligns with YOUR genetics, time, interest, and drive. Most importantly, note their starting point. There’s no point in shooting to look like a pro figure competitor, when you don’t have the inclination or desire to put in the time that they do. There’s also no use comparing yourself to someone who has taken over a decade to attain their body, and bashing yourself for not accomplishing similar results in your first year of lifting. Hint: most women you see in fitness magazines, Instagram, or the internet — with any amount of muscle “tone” — have put in years of serious training and eating (and/or have been photoshopped…but I digress). Keep it real, and be the best that you can be. If you have a hard time discerning your best one year progress from someone else’sfive year progress – then you may need to get up close and personal with your “unfollow” or “unsubscribe” button. Don’t keep images, magazines, or Facebook “friends” around that make you feel that you’re accomplishing nothing. Surround yourself with pictures of yourself, and compare new pictures of yourself to the ones from the beginning of this journey. (But please don’t compare pics of your 40 year old self to pics of your 15 year old self…that’s just plain freaky)
You’re not being consistent
Love it or hate it, without consistency, none of this will ever come together. If someone lifts, gets frustrated because the results aren’t coming fast enough, and then goes back to cardio madness, they will be convinced that nothing is working. Repeatedly lowering cals in a muscle building phase, or under-cutting rest periods in a strength phase, or only sticking to a workout for a couple of weeks before switching “back” is a recipe for disaster. Trust the process. As mentioned previously, most lifters with ultra defined musculature took years, upon years, upon Y.E.A.R.S. to develop. Getting frustrated because you don’t look like a person on a magazine/DVD cover, your personal trainer, or (fill-in-the-blank) WFBB Pro, after completing a 4-12 week program will not make the process go any faster. In fact, it makes take wayyyy longer. Think of your journey as a college degree, every time you “change your major” you tack on time to your journey. If you plan on seeing some impressive results, you’ve gotta buckle down, make the decision, and stick.with.it. Constantly doubting, and thinking that things aren’t working — creates the exact environment you’re expecting.
You’re not being realistic or patient…enough
It’s really hard to put your lifting progress on a timetable. Especially in the first year or so of lifting when you’re getting the most coveted results of any lifter: newbie gains. losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time. It will never again happen in your lifetime of lifting, but it can’t be measured by typical dieting methods of measurement. You may sit still with your weight or go through “clothes getting tighter” phases for the entire first year, but let me tell you…the progress that is happening is UNreal, and will blow.your.mind. It’s just sad that so many of us come from a dieting standpoint and expect things to be so perfectly linear, that we never see results of all the hard work we put in come to fruition. We get scared, run back to “old” methods, and then when those methods “appear” to be working – we assume that it’s because we went back to the old stuff (cardio/circuits/super restrictive eating/starving), not actually understanding that it’s results of lifting that were there all along. So then we keep doing the old stuff, thinking that it will only get better, only eventually undo the results, and put ourselves back at square one.
Vets: how long did/has it taken you to see results? Any tips for a newbie or frustrated lifter that’s just not seeing the results they want?
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?
Planning ahead can be a critical piece of the puzzle in seeing the results you desire and progressing towards your fitness goals. In the beginning stages, it can feel pretty overwhelming and stressful to get all the pieces in the right place. Don’t let it overwhelm you! “Winging it” is usually a recipe for inconsistency. When life gets busy, it’s second nature to resort back to whatever habits come naturally. The key is to “trick” yourself into building new healthy habits. Coming up with a system that works is going to be a very individualized process, but once you discover what works for you, its easy to include some basic routines that help you remain consistent and on-plan.
1. Be specific about your fitness goals.
Know what you want and what you are expecting out of a lifestyle change. Simply saying that you want to “get in shape,” “be fit,” “look better,” or “feel better” is not enough! Is your main fitness goal to get stronger, improve athletic performance, lose fat, or gain muscle? Start there, but take it a step further by narrowing those goals down a bit more. Maybe you want to run your first 5k, add 20 pounds to your squat, lose 5% body fat, or gain 5 pounds of muscle. Narrowing down those goals will help you determine what type of nutrition and training program you need to stick to. Understand that some goals might be hard to attain at the same time, and usually one goal will need to take priority over another. For example, it can be very difficult to gain strength while losing fat. Decide which goals are your first priority and plan accordingly.
Disclaimer: For the first year or two, pretty much anything you do will get you results, so keep it simple and enjoy those newbie gains while they last.
2. Tackle your nutrition head-on
It’s been said that success boils down to 80% nutrition, and 20% training. Other people will tell you that you “can’t out-train a bad diet.” It could be argued also that you can’t out-diet bad training, but you get the idea. Nutrition is a critical component, if not THE critical component in seeing the results that you want. If your nutrition is not on point, it is pretty much useless to add in supplements, metabolic conditioning, finishers, or the latest strength training plan that you found on the internet. Contrary to what you may have heard, eating less and moving more is not always the answer. Undereating can cause more harm than good long-term, resulting in metabolic problems that make it more difficult to lose weight. Eating enough of the right nutrients is a big piece of the puzzle. Balancing a sound nutrition plan with heavy resistance training is a surefire way to look and feel your best for years to come!
3. Stay one step ahead with meal planning
Given that nutrition is such a key part of the puzzle, it is wise to plan ahead to succeed. Generally “winging it” in the nutrition department leads to inconsistency and frustration. In the beginning stages, it can feel downright stressful to think about eating “all that food”. Don’t get overwhelmed! A little organization and forethought goes a long way in this department.
Coming up with a few meal templates in your food diary can be incredibly helpful. Choose at least 3 go-to breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks and store them in your nutrition tracker of choice (We’re fond of My Fitness Pal!). Keep it simple, and make sure that you have staples for these meals on hand most of the time. This puts you at a huge advantage when you just can’t imagine adding one more thing to your plate.
Try to limit your trips to the grocery store to once a week, with maybe a larger trip to a warehouse store (like Costco or Sam’s club). The night before you do your grocery shopping, take inventory of your fridge and cupboards and come up with a loose structure for weekly meals. I like to come up with six meals to serve my family, assuming that one night a week we will either do leftovers, order pizza, or go out to eat. I post these meals on a dry-erase board on the refrigerator and when asking, “What should I make for dinner?,” the choices are pretty simple. After coming up with my list of meals, I make sure I either have the ingredients already or add them to my grocery list.
Devote one day to food prep. This doesn’t mean you need to spend all day in the kitchen, but do make up some lean protein sources and store them in a way that is convenient for you. Make up some rice, quinoa, or potatoes and chop your veggies and fruits for the week. This will seriously cut down on the amount of time you spend in the kitchen and if you work outside the home can be a huge time-saver when it comes time to pack your lunch. Think about using the grill for preparing your protein sources. You can generally get away with cooking up a lot of meat in a very short amount of time, with minimal clean up. Investing in a rice cooker or a good slow cooker might make these ideas easier as well! I prefer to do my food prep days on the days I do grocery shopping because it seems to make sense for me. I’m usually able to get quite a bit done in only an hour or two, and this saves me a ton of time in the kitchen throughout the week!
4. Make a date with yourself
Once you have your nutrition in place, commit to making time to exercise. This does not mean that you need to spend hours in the gym! 30-60 minutes per day of an efficient workout can be very effective. If you have trouble getting to the gym, think about investing the help of a friend or workout partner who can keep you accountable. You’re unlikely to skip the gym if you know that you have someone depending on you! Write down your workout times in your calendar, or set up alerts on your smart phone to remind yourself to get moving. For best results, strength train 2-4 days per week and add on some cardio if you like it and it complements your fitness goals.
5. Set up your own support network
Having people in your life who are willing to support your goals can make a huge difference! Enlisting the support of your spouse or significant other is often very beneficial. Even if they don’t have the same set of goals as you do, share what you are trying to accomplish and a brief description of your plan moving forward. Be clear about ways they can support you and examples of things that may be a hindrance to your fitness journey. They are likely to be your biggest cheerleader and encourager! Who knows, they may even decide it wouldn’t hurt them to make a few changes in their own life! Apart from your spouse, you may find there are others in your life that want to join with you on your fitness journey. Maybe there is someone at your workplace who could use a little encouragement and accountability as well. Take your headphones out occasionally while you are at the gym and get to know those who work out at the same time you do. Meet a friend for a weekly HIIT date in the park. Having a training partner to bounce ideas off of can be an invaluable resource, but isn’t always practical.
Our EM2WL forums are a great source of support and friendship as well.
Photo credit by Stuart Miles, LeeGillion, Ambro 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.
Let’s face it. You’re probably working out regularly (or at least plan to most of the time). Most of the fam have the workout game down. Whether you’re a yogi, runner, barre class fanatic, or fellow sister-in-iron — chances are you have a pretty set schedule of when you work out or hit the gym. You may be on a 3-4 day schedule — whatever works for you — and get to the gym “when you can” most days of the week. You’re probably already “eating protein at every meal” (or close enough), and for the most part stay “on track” while allowing only the occasional indulgence. Even if it occasionally throws your macros off. You even shout “trust the process!” from the rooftops, and truly believe it…most days. ;)
Ummm…Says who??? ;) How do we determine how many sizes we should be up or down within a year? I pray not by the same industry standards that tell us to “eat-less-than-you-need-to-support-your-body-in-a-comatose-state” for weight loss?
Confession time: The other day, I went out in frustration over all my older, lower rise jeans that weren’t fitting. Taking my own redundant advice — I bit the bullet and bought the exact same jeans in LARGER sizes to make sure they fit over my butt. Listen…the size was WAY larger…would you know I had FIVE people tell me I need to STOP losing weight when I was wearing those jeans?! I have gained over 10 lbs (apparently all in the bootay)!! But wearing jeans that FIT ME (note…did not say jeans that “I fit” into to) FIT, baby. Get clothes that fit, forget the rest. By the time you can squeeze into jeans from over a year ago, they’re probably outdated anyway :P
You’re not doing compound movements
You’re comparing your results to someone else’s
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?
It’s been said that success boils down to 80% nutrition, and 20% training. Other people will tell you that you “can’t out-train a bad diet.” It could be argued also that you can’t out-diet bad training, but you get the idea. Nutrition is a critical component, if not THE critical component in seeing the results that you want. If your nutrition is not on point, it is pretty much useless to add in supplements, metabolic conditioning, finishers, or the latest strength training plan that you found on the internet. Contrary to what you may have heard, eating less and moving more is not always the answer. Undereating can cause more harm than good long-term, resulting in metabolic problems that make it more difficult to lose weight. Eating enough of the right nutrients is a big piece of the puzzle. Balancing a sound nutrition plan with heavy resistance training is a surefire way to look and feel your best for years to come!
Devote one day to food prep. This doesn’t mean you need to spend all day in the kitchen, but do make up some lean protein sources and store them in a way that is convenient for you. Make up some rice, quinoa, or potatoes and chop your veggies and fruits for the week. This will seriously cut down on the amount of time you spend in the kitchen and if you work outside the home can be a huge time-saver when it comes time to pack your lunch. Think about using the grill for preparing your protein sources. You can generally get away with cooking up a lot of meat in a very short amount of time, with minimal clean up. Investing in a rice cooker or a good slow cooker might make these ideas easier as well! I prefer to do my food prep days on the days I do grocery shopping because it seems to make sense for me. I’m usually able to get quite a bit done in only an hour or two, and this saves me a ton of time in the kitchen throughout the week!
Having people in your life who are willing to support your goals can make a huge difference! Enlisting the support of your spouse or significant other is often very beneficial. Even if they don’t have the same set of goals as you do, share what you are trying to accomplish and a brief description of your plan moving forward. Be clear about ways they can support you and examples of things that may be a hindrance to your fitness journey. They are likely to be your biggest cheerleader and encourager! Who knows, they may even decide it wouldn’t hurt them to make a few changes in their own life! Apart from your spouse, you may find there are others in your life that want to join with you on your fitness journey. Maybe there is someone at your workplace who could use a little encouragement and accountability as well. Take your headphones out occasionally while you are at the gym and get to know those who work out at the same time you do. Meet a friend for a weekly HIIT date in the park. Having a training partner to bounce ideas off of can be an invaluable resource, but isn’t always practical.
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