Getting Back on Track After a Hiatus

Getting Back on Track After a Hiatus

Team EM2WL would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest guest blogger, Jared Harris, a recent college graduate with a passion for writing and fitness! Today, Jared shares a series of tips on how to get motivated when winter is over!

We all know how important it is to exercise and eat right. We also all know how easy it is to slip into a winter season of laziness and comfort food-holiday weight gain and the convenience of a big black pea coat. But as summer makes its way ever so slowly to our hemisphere, we have to start facing the music. And it’s not easy. I know I am far more hesitant about throwing on a pair of running shorts and hitting the gym when I’m feeling those extra few pounds. I know after a long day at work, sometimes all I want to do is grab a bag of popcorn and sit in front of the television.

So, we additionally know what we’re up against and what we should do about it. Exercising and eating right are great, but it’s really in how we do those things Strength training - Get back on trackthat counts. Eating right does not by any means translate to skipping meals, starving yourself, or only eating foods that you don’t like. And exercising does not necessarily translate to running miles upon dull miles on the treadmill. It’s all about balance and achieving the right body composition for you. According to a study done by IDEA Health & Fitness Association, as reported by Examiner, “weight training is indeed fat burning exercise.”

Finding the time to exercise, as well as keeping up with nutrition is a lot. But for many people, negative body image and failure to accept themselves are really what’s keeping them from the healthy lifestyle they want and know they need. As one physician wrote on Sharecare, “The key to having a healthy lifestyle and sticking with it is you. If you are down on yourself, the less likely you are to succeed and the more likely you are to give up… Staying positive and focusing on all that you have accomplished will help you win the weight loss, exercise for life change game with joy.”

So here are some ways to integrate your workouts;  to make sure you are taking care of your BMI, your heart, your muscles and joints, your mind, your moods, and your self-esteem.

Consider Weight Lifting

It’s not just for men who want to bulk up. In fact, muscle strengthening workouts are crucial for healthy body composition and weight loss, which many people don’t realize. Experience Life featured an article about one woman’s quest to lose weight after having children; the key to her success turned out to be “shorter, more intense workouts with weights that were never the same from one day to the next,” rather than what she’d been trying before, which was essentially just running off the extra weight. Often, we can get bogged down in hours of aerobic exercise when really, the combination of strength training and aerobic exercise together is the key. Health magazine recommends doing “all-over strength workouts 2-3 times per week leaving at least a day’s rest in between.” If that is not working out your whole self, I don’t know what is.

Take Control of Your HealthSmartphone - Get back on track

With ever-improving technologies to help track health and fitness, it’s becoming easier to have one go-to gadget to consult with about what’s next on your exercise or diet plan. For example, Verizon Wireless writes that an upcoming phone, the Samsung Galaxy S5, will arrive with the S Health program to “track your steps, challenge friends, earn badges and get on–demand healthy eating advice.” Interesting, though even more so is the built–in heart monitor that’s apparently a first in the mobile phone world. In other words, it looks like an all-in-one way to keep track of your plan—and stick with it.

Feed Yourself

Many people think staying healthy is all about painful, joyless exercise and restriction in food intake. That’s all wrong. We stick with exercise plans when we enjoy them and we are our healthiest when we’re eating a variety of lots of different foods. Not getting enough calories limits nutrition and makes the body slow its metabolism. Instead, as Cameron Diaz points out in her new book, reviewed by the New York Daily News, there is a rationale behind embracing the “the instinct of hunger” by satisfying it “with whole, nutrient-dense foods.”

No matter what your goals are, health is always about a balance of mind and body. Be sure you keep your goals in mind (or in hand), take in enough nutritional foods to keep your immune system healthy and your metabolism going strong, and always accept and love yourself wherever you are each day.

Photo credits: Gualberto107stockimages

Matt Stone Interview – Diets and Your Metabolism

Matt Stone Interview – Diets and Your Metabolism

Tempted by the bombardment of “get thin quick” diets everywhere you turn?  Don’t fall for it!  Read on as Team EM2WL’s Becca interviews “Diet Recovery” Author,  Matt Stone, about dieting: the dangers, warning signs, and healing process for diet damaged metabolisms.  

Can you explain how you became interested in metabolic health?

matt stone
When I first started doing health research I just tried to get my hands on as much information as possible. I kept hearing the name Broda Barnes mentioned repeatedly. After seeing his name in three or four books I finally decided to look into his work more carefully. I read all of his books and became very interested in the metabolism idea, especially considering two very important  factors:

1) I was communicating with a lot of very health-conscious hardcore nutrition freaks that were suffering from symptoms of a low metabolic rate, and it seemed obvious that it had something to do with the health practices they were so obsessively engaged in.

2) I had gone through something in my own life that completely shut down my metabolic rate, so I immediately recognized the validity of the idea that metabolic rate plays a role in the proper functionality of virtually every system in our bodies.

That experience was one of semi-starvation, in part inspired by wanting to be “lean and healthy.”  Reading extensively about starvation, including picking my way carefully through Ancel Keys’s 1,300-page book *The Biology of Human Starvation*, provided even more confirmation.

I’ve heard you say, “The perfect diet is very unhealthy.” What do you mean by that? How would you define “healthy eating?”

I think the mindset and mentality of perfection is unhealthy, especially as applied to personal health practices. Every other creature on earth relies completely on instinct to keepmatt stone itself healthy in terms of the amount of sleep, food, water, and exercise it takes in. Instinct is a far better regulator of internal processes than conscious intellect, which humans are now relying on really for the first time in the history of the world. Ignorance really can be bliss when it comes to nutrition, exercise, fluid consumption, and other health practices that people are willing themselves to do—often in complete opposition to instinctual desires. This is a lot more dangerous than people realize.

I can’t really define healthy eating. It is all relative to a person and his or her immediate hour-to-hour needs. Every person and every day requires different things to be considered “optimal.” I  couldn’t even tell a person how much water to drink without taking into considering the amount of exercise they have done that day, the air temperature, their metabolic rate, how much salt they ate in their last meal, the water content of their last meal, and more. And that’s just talking about water. Food is much more complex than that.

In your opinion, are there certain markers of metabolic health we should be looking for? How can we make sure we are keeping our metabolism healthy if our goal is weight loss?

Well first of all I don’t know if weight loss should consciously be a “goal.” A goal implies that are forcing your body to do something whether it wants to or not. In my experience, most who lose weight completely shut down their metabolic health in the process because they are too excited about the weight loss to take note of obvious signs of metabolic doom. The most common signs of metabolic rate falling too low, in my experience, are:

1) Reduced body temperature below 98.6 degrees F or about 37 degrees C.
2) Cold hands and feet.
3) Dry skin, especially around the hands and feet.
4) Drop in sex drive or sexual function.
5) Dry hair and maybe even some hair loss.
6) Constipation and other bowel problems related to a decrease in bowel transit speed such as reflux and bloating.
7) Changes in mood—either increased anxiety/aggression or depression or greater volatility between extreme mental states.
8) Insomnia, especially that ominous, consistent 2-4am wake-up and difficulty falling back to sleep. Those who can still sleep a lot don’t feel particularly rested no matter how much they sleep.
9) Frequent urination, or noticing that a small amount of fluid is enough to send you to the bathroom to pee every 15 minutes.
10) Intensified food cravings (although in some a reduced metabolic rate can shut down appetite, so this is not as consistent as some of the others).

If this sounds like you, don’t even think about trying to lose weight in your current state. If your attempts at losing weight have brought some or all of these things on, stop what you’re doing immediately.

What does low body temperature and being cold all the time have to do with metabolic health?

That’s just the body allocating less energy to staying warm. It’s one of the first things the body sacrifices when it is trying to conserve energy (many times because it perceives a food shortage or other stress).  A drop in body temperature of 1 degree is enough for the body to save hundreds of calories throughout a 24-hour period. I see temperatures in the low 90’s in some of the people I communicate with frequently. The animal with the lowest metabolic rate in all of the animal kingdom is the sloth, with a resting body temperature as low as 86 degrees F. Do a little research on
the characteristics that define sloth-like behavior and you’ll see some parallels to the changes humans experience when their metabolic rate falls and the body starts to conserve energy.

Could you explain how foods have heating or cooling properties, and what this means for our metabolism?

matt stoneCalories, carbohydrates, and salt have the most stimulating effect on the metabolic rate. But it’s all relative to the water content accompanying those calories, carbohydrates, and salt surprisingly. Someone with a low metabolic rate needs to eat calorie-dense foods with a low water content to raise metabolic rate. Someone with a high metabolic rate can do fine eating foods with a high water content, such as fruits, vegetables, juices, soups, salads, and other iconic health foods. Ironically, if your metabolism is low you will probably heal much faster eating “unhealthy” foods than you will eating “healthy” foods.

What is “radical refeeding?” Which individuals need to go through this phase? What role does weight gain have in recovery from dieting?

I’m not sure what “radical refeeding” is. It sounds like it probably involves a skateboard, a halfpipe, and a buffet, lol. I usually call it “rest and refeeding,” and it’s really not all that radical. You just want to achieve a consistent surplus of calories and sleep for several weeks to a few months to encourage the body’s cells to ramp up their energy production (i.e. increase metabolism). People who demonstrate a low body temperature and several signs of a reduced metabolic rate such as the ones discussed above usually get the most benefit from it.

It typically does involve some gain in body fat, followed by a gain in lean body mass, followed by complete weight stabilization eating as much as you want with or without exercise. The gain in body fat is the most important, as an increase in body fat increases the hormone leptin, and this sends a signal to the brain that triggers a big rise in metabolic rate and drop in appetite. The process works essentially the same whether a person is fat or thin. If your body temperature is low and you have some signs of a low metabolic rate, starving yourself and exercising more from that point is most likely to make matters worse and actually backfire long-term.

What role does stress play in our nutritional requirements and how do we adapt our dietary needs to stressful circumstances?

matt stoneStress is by far the greatest facilitator of degeneration and death. Stress is ultimately what ushers us towards the big red exit sign in the sky. But stress isn’t just “worry” but something much broader. Stressors come in dozens of forms and all uniformly cause a rise in stress hormones—the glucocorticoids. These hormones are not without benefit, but they put much of the wear and tear on our systems that ultimately break us down and cause illness. The body seems to instinctively know this and compels us to seek out calorie-dense, highly-palatable foods rich in sugar, starch, salt, and fat when we are exposed to high levels of glucocorticoids.

It’s better to engage in anti-stress activities like warm baths, massages, and extra sleep than it is to try to avoid those types of food under stress. In fact, if you feel strong cravings for those foods, it is not without reason and you should obey them. If you feel that eating those foods is unhealthy or does harm to you, avoid the situations and circumstances that strongly compel you to eat them. Sometimes it’s as simple as eating a bigger breakfast or going to bed earlier. But you can tap on your forehead like a lunatic if you want to, haha.

You say, “You have to solve your weight problem to lose weight, not lose weight to solve your weight problem.”  Can you clarify what this means in real life?

Well I’ve already written a lot so I’ll give you the short answer to what otherwise could be a short novel. Intentional weight loss means to actively restrict your diet or burn calories through exercise to force a calorie deficit and lose weight. It has a very high failure rate, and many, such as obesity scholars like Paul Campos and Linda Bacon, believe that intentional weight loss can lead to an increased risk of health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and even the very obesity people are trying to avoid with this approach. I have always found this to be true personally. Any attempts at losing fat always resulted in increased fatness long-term, despite good results initially.

matt stoneIf you are always preoccupied with your weight, you will likely always be trying to intentionally intervene with some kind of diet or overzealous exercise program. If anything, these habits just strengthen the resolve of your body to hold onto fat and conserve energy via a reduction in metabolic rate. Constant dieting just sends a repeated famine signal to your physiology, and it intelligently responds.

The solution is to stop thinking about it so much and go for more of a spontaneous drop in body fat by improving your personal self-care practices. More nutritious food, better sleep, better relationships, more inspiring/fulfilling work and hobbies, and more time outdoors for starters.

Of course, there is a whole psychological component to it as well. Negative self-image is a powerful stressor, and stress prevents fat loss—even encourages fat gain. If you aren’t upset and ashamed of how you look, you’re much more likely to actually lose fat. Thus, it’s important to resolve body image issues BEFORE losing weight.

And trust me, a pound lost with hard work is likely to come back (because of the body’s reaction to that suffering). A pound lost effortlessly and spontaneously is likely to never return. Anything you do to lose weight should be as easy as it can possibly be and still deliver results.

Here, I’ll go ahead and put some quotes around that and my name so everybody reading this can paste that right onto Twitter and Facebook in early January when everyone else is doing their self-deprecating resolution thing…

“Anything you do to lose weight should be as easy as it can possibly be and still deliver results.” ~Matt Stone; www.180degreehealth.com

How can someone learn more about the resources you offer?

My information is very easy to obtain and is free. Go to my website and you can get my free 90-day eCourse on raising metabolic rate, which will tell you everything you need to know to raise your metabolic rate successfully and why it’s so important to do so) and get my books on the subject for free as well. And that’s www.180degreehealth.com.

 

 

Matt Stone“With a high metabolic rate, EVERYTHING works better.”

Matt Stone is an independent health researcher, #1 Amazon bestselling author of more than 15 books, and the founder of 180DegreeHealth, a controversial website that has challenged the status quo on health with a combination of cutting-edge science and radical common sense since 2006.

 

 

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Metabolism Reset Series: Take it slow

Metabolism Reset Series: Take it slow

beforeafterbeccaMany of our readers come to us seeking answers. They are beyond frustrated with dieting. They are have done everything “right” according to most of the information geared towards women. No one would ever question their determination.  They have cut out most of their favorite foods and are barely eating enough calories to keep a sedentary 8 year old alive. They are working out daily, often as much as two hours a day or more. They pass on cake at their children’s birthday party and eat chicken breast and salad at the family barbeque while everyone else feasts on hamburgers and chips.  They can’t remember the last time they enjoyed a nice restaurant meal and ordered what they actually wanted without guilt. They saw weight loss for awhile, but now everything seems to have stopped.  No matter how much more they workout, or how much less they eat, they can’t seem to get the scale to move.

Under these circumstances, a member of our team will often recommend a metabolism reset. If you’re curious as to just what this entails, check out this video where Kiki explains the basics.

The purpose of a metabolism reset is to give your body a break from the stress of dieting, to get used to eating an appropriate amount of food, and to provide some time to begin healing some disordered thoughts and attitudes about food that have likely surfaced as a result of restriction.

It isn’t hard to sell people on the reasons why they need to do a reset. But many of our readers want to know how long they should expect this process to last before they can get back to the whole fat loss party.

BodyMedia App ReadingUnder general circumstances, we will recommend a time frame of 8-12 weeks of consistently eating TDEE.  After this time, most people can return to eating a small deficit (TDEE-15%) and they will see slow and steady fat loss.

However, every person responds differently.  The length of time required for a successful reset will depend greatly on the severity of restrictive dieting and how long the individual dieted.  It is critical during this time that you trust the process and are willing to stick it out as long as it takes.  Do not approach a metabolism reset as just another diet to try because you’ve tried everything else.

To someone who has spent a long time restricting food, a metabolism reset can sound really appealing. Eat lots of food, and fix my metabolism? Score!!! If you are thinking about doing a metabolism reset, it’s important that you approach it with both eyes wide open. Most people will gain some weight during this time. Many people will feel stuffed as they adjust to an increased quantity of food. Your friends and family may wonder why on earth you would do this. The thought of eating more food while not increasing your exercise will probably make you feel uncomfortable. Even a little anxious. You may feel out of control as the feelings of hunger return which have likely been suppressed due to dieting.

If you stick it out, you will be setting yourself up for a lifetime of future success. It is not easy! Our forums are filled with people who have walked this road ahead of you and are seeing fantastic results! Check out the many success stories those who have walked this road ahead of you and are reaping the rewards.

Consistency is the name of the game. Too often, we see people who approach a reset with excitement and determination. There is often a kind of “honeymoon period”- energy returns, new foods are being enjoyed, workouts are approached with a new-found intensity, sleep quality improves, and there is an overall feeling of wellness.

scale pic

However, there tends to be a pretty significant water weight gain for many people here. When they start to notice that their pants are fitting tighter, or they see a few pounds weight gain, they may feel discouraged enough to go back to a few days of low-calorie eating. It is very important not to flip-flop back and forth between these two extremes. You need to give your body time to adjust to the new calorie level. Remember that the body is very good at making adaptations! Just as it was quick to adapt to the low calories, it will be relatively quick to adapt to higher calories! Remaining consistent and fighting through the hard days is all part of this process.

So how do you know when your reset is complete? Generally, if you are in a rush to get it over with so you can go back to dieting, that is probably a good sign you’re not quite there yet.  Overcoming these mental challenges is such a key part of this.  Being able to enjoy “normal” food without guilt is a good sign that you’re getting there!

If you had any symptoms of metabolic damage (hair loss, low body temperature, loss of menstruation, dizziness and/or fatigue), you should begin to see a turnaround. These are all signs that something is wrong, and rushing back to trying to lose fat before your body is ready is only going to sabotage your long-term success.

In the meantime, trust the process and take advantage of this time to focus on some goals, prioritizing your fitness and strength goals over fat loss. You might be surprised with how much you enjoy this time!

myotape measure

The measuring tape is one of our favorite tools for measuring progress.

 

Even though we generally discourage focusing on the scale, it is good to check in every once in awhile if you don’t allow it to stress you out.  Seeing the weight gain level off and then stop completely is a good sign that the body has adjusted to a normal caloric intake.  Of course, please make sure you are taking progress pictures and measurements along the way as well! They tend to be a much more significant marker of progress. As muscle is gained, you may notice that you are shrinking even if the scale does not agree! This is a great way to track trends in weight that we often recommend if you choose to weigh daily.

The bottom line: set a general time table, but be prepared to be flexible and trust the process. Every one will respond to a metabolism reset a little differently. Sticking it out and taking it slow will help you to meet your future fat loss goals!

Disclaimer: If you are dealing with clinical symptoms of disordered eating, please do yourself a favor and talk to a doctor or mental health professional. We are not doctors and you should not understand this to be medical advice.

 

 

 

BeccaBecca 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.

Could this crazy woman be right? – A runner’s experience with bulking

Could this crazy woman be right? – A runner’s experience with bulking

bulkingHi, my name is Terri-Anne. 

I am a runner.  And I am a Lifter.  I am a mother of 5, forty, fit and finally starting to love this body that lugs me through my busy day. This has been a long journey about self-discovery.  Learning my limits, learning my goals, learning how to fall and get back up again.  Learning how to do it all wrong then finally working out how to do it right.  I’ve learnt the difference between dieting to lose weight and eating to lose fat.  I’ve learnt the difference between weighted cardio and lifting heavy.  I also learnt that cardio is good for you but if fit is the look you are after, you need to train smarter, heavier, not longer.  I have learnt so much on this journey and yet I am only just beginning.  Eating more, throwing out the scales and lifting to failure is working for me.

bulkingAfter having my fifth baby in October 2009 I gained weight.  I was busy with 5 children, working with my husband in our farming business and making excuses for not having time to exercise.  In February 2010 I was 74kg (163lb), my biggest weight ever.  (79kg or 174lb was my biggest full term pregnancy weight)  I decided there was no way I was going to buy the next size up in clothes, it was time to stop making excuses.  My goal was never to be skinny, all I wanted was to be fit and healthy.  I have never been one to obsess over scales, rather I used my favorite jeans to measure my weight.  I exercised a little and cut back on some treats, walked everywhere and after doing cardio only exercise for 4mths I was disappointed with my slow progress.  I was now 69kg and still feeling fat and ugly.

I joined the local gym and had a weights program written up by a trainer and got some great advice on interval training.  This is when the cardio bunny in me was born.  bulkingI loved tabata and was doing it every day along with weights – 15reps, 3 sets – 3 times a week.  I powered through my workouts, dripping with sweat thinking I was doing all the right things.  12mths after my journey started I was still only 67kg (147lb).  My fitness had improved but I was still not getting the results I wanted.  I still didn’t look fit and had little tone.  I started running.  Lost a bit more.  But I was still not seeing a fit healthy woman in the mirror.

I decided at this point that my diet may not have been as good as I thought so I started counting calories and bought a set of scales.   I joined MyFitnessPal – an online diet and exercise diary – and set my calories at 1200 per day.  I am 173cm (5ft8) tall and at this time weighed 65kg (143lb).  The weight started dropping off.  I lost a lot and by the end of 2011 I was down to 59kg (130lb)!!  I was exhausted.  Tired.  Hungry.  Cranky.  I dragged myself through the day and armed with a HRM I dragged myself through workouts burning a minimum of 1000 cals 6 days a week.  I did not look fit.  I did not feel healthy.  What was I doing wrong???  Then I found out that MFP had a community and I ‘met’ Kiki.  I read her ramblings every day.  I researched her ramblings every day.  I read NROLFW.  I researched.  Could this crazy woman be right?  Could I look and feel better if I ate more???  I was lifting – 3 times a week!

bulkingWhat I was doing was not working so I decided to give this eating thing a go.  I decided to trust the process.  In January 2012 I purchased a periodized workout plan that Kiki recommended and had decided to increase my cals to 2000 a day.  My first ever bulk.   I had become dependent on the scales – weighing in on a weekly basis and was not ready to give that up.  As soon as I started the workouts I realized that I had not been lifting heavy.  In fact all I had been doing was weighted cardio.  I lasted 2 months and the ever rising scales did my head in (I had gained a whole kilo or 2lb).  All the food did my head in.  How could eating all this food help me look better?  Not enough running did my head in.  I needed to run to remain sane.   But I had also tasted heavy weights and I loved it.

So in May 2012 I started running again and dropped my cals back to 1200.  I immediately became lethargic. This lasted about 2 weeks before I put them up to 1500.  Still little energy.  I kept it up for another 2 weeks.  I went up to 1800 cals.  At this point I was able to think clearer.  I did more research, looked back through my diaries and realized this Kiki lady knew what she was on about!!  At that moment I did an overhaul of my diet.  I worked on my macros (who would have thought there was more to food then broccoli and chocolate), tweaking and adjusting, working out what made me feel good.  I no longer focused on calories but on the macronutrients in my food.  bulkingI made sure I got enough of what my body needed and let the calories fall into place – they usually hit around 1800-2000cals.   I cut the running back to 3 days a week and lifting days were for lifting only.  I trained less, ate more and finally little muscles started to poke through!!!  Finally I started to feel great.  Finally I started to see results!!  At this point I was 63kg. (138lb) and now only weighing monthly.

I needed a goal, something to keep me motivated.  I decided to do a triathlon – the grueling ’hell of the west’ – 2km swim in a murky river, 80km ride along the highway, and a hot dry 20km run in the Australian outback.  Two weeks into training the change in my physique was already showing.  I was literally watching the muscle melt away.  It was shear relief when my Dr. said he wanted to laser my varicose veins sooner rather than later.  I decided that the interruption to training was too long and I would only do the 20km run.  I also decided that the only way to maintain as much muscle as possible was to eat and lift to failure.  I did not want to go back to skinny.  December 2012 I started eating at around 3000 cals a day.  I also threw out the scales.  Best thing I ever did.  Come race day I was a little heavier than a lot of athletes, perhaps this made me a little slower but I was happy to be full of energy and felt and looked fit.  (my time was 1hr 40min)bulking

The very next day I went into cut mode.  I was cutting at what I had in the past thought was over eating!! I ate 1800cals a day, lifted heavy 3 days a week, did 2 interval cardio sessions and 1 weighted full body cross fit workout.   I don’t know if you can call what I do bulking and cutting as my workout schedules don’t really fit the typical bulk/cut model.  But it works for me.  I’m not trying to compete so my diet and exercise has to be tailored into my life.  I stopped cutting mid April when I decided to start training for a Tough Mudder – a 20km mud run.  I am now 1 week out from the race.  I’ve been eating around 3500cals a day and I feel great.  Eating gives me the energy to keep up with all the rigorous training and still live my life.  At the moment I do 2-3 cross fit style workouts a week.  I run 3-4 days a week and I lift 3 days.  I am bruised and battered, my body hurts most days but it’s a pain I love – the feeling you get when your body is repairing and growing.

bulking

Back Cut Results

I weighed myself before writing this and I have gained 7kg in the last 8mths.   I went into full meltdown mode when I saw that number.  I couldn’t believe how far I had let myself go.  At this point I took some pictures and compared the difference to last time I was the same weight.  Wow.  If that doesn’t convince you to throw out the scale I don’t know what will??!!  I know it’s not all muscle but again if I’m a little slower because I’m a little fluffier, it’s a price I’m willing to pay.

bulking

Same weight, same shirt!

I will start to cut again when this race is over and I’m excited to see what lies beneath!  I am lifting 3-4 times heavier then when I did the same reps in my first round of periodization.  I have learnt to listen to my body.  If I need a rest day, I take it.  If I need a refuel day, I eat.  I feel strong.  I feel healthy.  I am the same weight I was 2 years ago and look and feel completely different.   I will keep running as it keeps me sane.  I love to wake up and go for a run.  Or not.  Maybe sprint intervals.  Maybe I’ll try for a PB.  I love not planning my runs, I just put on my shoes and let my body do the thinking.  I will also keep on lifting.  I love the feeling of power.  I love seeing the weights go up.  I love the structure of a weighted workout.   I love the comments.    I know that running will make building muscle slower but I am finally at peace with that.  I no longer care how many calories I burn in a workout, I work out because I love it.  I no longer need the scales – numbers do not define me.  I eat to fuel my workout or my current goal.  I am not the fastest or the strongest but I am fit and I am healthy.

Share your success, no matter how large or small.  You never know who you may inspire to hang on just a bit longer.  We love featuring results and journey stories in REAL time, not just before/afters.  If you have a victory (scale or not) let us know and allow us to share with the fam, by submitting to success@EM2WL.com

Q & A – Zig Zagging Calories

Q & A – Zig Zagging Calories

Q:  I’m confused.  Some people who are EM2WL say they zig zag their cals, but yet they tell newbies to eat the same thing everyday.  I think one of your videos even says not to zig zag cals.  Which one is it? Is zig zagging calories bad somehow?

 

zig zagging calories

Is it high carb day yet???

A:  You’re right, we have published a few articles and vids that caution people to hold off on zig zagging calories straight out of the gate (first few weeks).  EM2WL gets a lot of newbies who are recovering from an Eating Disorder (ED) or ED-like mentality, as well those who are not fully convinced of the process.  So we will often recommend to those who are new and coming from extreme deficits that zig zagging calories can send their body mixed messages. (Much of EM2WL research is rooted in ED recovery — including severe caloric restriction — as well as metabolic damage).

This isn’t so much that the zig zagging itself is an issue (zig zagging that centers around TDEE is a good thing).  The issue is that when people who have not fully grasped the EM2WL philosophy decide to “zig zag,” they tend to do so drastically (i.e. 3000 one day, 1100 the next, unlike your more sensible zig zagging). Because of this, their body will view it as binges, and then holds on to the extra from the high days.  Many will use the “zig zag” concept as an excuse to be only “half-in” — they will eat more a few days per week, randomly, but still net below BMR on other days.  Then they bloat, retain water, feel sick, or gain weight, and blame EM2WL.  Their body never fully grasps/trusts that they are going to feed it properly (or regularly) and reacts accordingly.

Because of this, they don’t trust that eating more will “work” for them, and they run back to low cals.

Eating as close as possible to their new calorie goal (with enough carbs, and far enough above BMR), for the first few months, will help many people to avoid this scenario.  Choosing to stay consistent in the beginning helps:

  • newbies accept the mindset of eating more
  • ultra restrictive dieters to get used to netting above BMR
  • those who need more time, room to slowly get cals/carbs up to a reasonable level (rather than jumping 1000 cals up, bloating like crazy, getting scared and quitting)
  • under-nourished bodies to adapt and accept that their caregiver will eat enough,and be willing to let go of the extra that it’s been hoarding due to fear of starvation.

When a person incorporates zig zagging calories or other methods later in the journey, they will likely still eat enough overall cals, and their body will have no prob with the higher/lower cal days, because they are still within reasonable range.

zig zagging calories

What?!  You’ve never had an “eat-all-the-food” day?

Make sense?  I know that zig zagging is a big key for many veterans in the EM2WL fam, so we don’t want to minimize, shun, or call it “bad.”  However, when we are dealing with such a wide variety of people, we try to suggest the safest method possible for everyone.   The lack of consistency in eating the right amount (and types) of cals is what actually hurts many in the beginning if they aren’t smart about it.  But, once most people get used to eating enough, vets find that they naturally zig zag anyway:

  • they have  have learned to listen to their body – and understand that some days will simply be “eat-all-the-food*” days – so they just take a TDEE day (highly recommended)
  • many find that they are hungrier on workout days (especially lifting!) & they eat back exercise cals or increase carbs to re/pre-fuel
  • many don’t log their workouts, so depending on the burn, their net cals are different each day, and they purposely eat according to the level of activity that day
  • many move toward a lifestyle of no longer logging their food (which is the ultimate goal), and follow their innate hunger cues (once they can be trusted again)
  • they feel NO guilt for doing so, because they understand that eating for fuel must coincide with life, and that restriction when ravaged with hunger only leads to a binge later

Basically to keep the process as simple as possible, we just say eat the same thing every day until you and your body have adapted to the fact that you will be eating more from now on.  Once firmly rooted, adjust to your lifestyle.  When coaching so many people, keeping it basic/simple helps a TON, because everyone’s lifestyle is so different.  Some prefer zig zag, but others despise it because eating exactly the same works best for their schedule.

It’s all about making it work for you.

*”Eat-all-the-food” days are exactly as they sound: days where you feel like you could eat the house.  It’s best not to fight your body on these days and force a cut.  Restriction typically begets  binges.  Give yourself a full TDEE day, and allow yourself to eat up to, and even over TDEE.  You will likely find that you not only prevent yourself from a major binge later, but that by simply giving yourself permission to eat,  you may not be as hungry as you thought.  And hey, if you truly are that hungry, at least your body knows that it can trust you to listen.

Giving up is not an option (a story of increasing calories)

A true athlete, MrsBigMack discovered during her weight loss journey that she needed to properly fuel in order to reach her goals.  If you know her from MFP or her blog “im.seeking.balance” then you know that her decision is paying in full.  Yay for us, she’s agreed to an interview to share her well-fueled experience with the EM2WL family.

increasing calories

Before” pic ~218 lbs

How long have you been on this journey?

I started putting on weight in my childhood but really began packing on significant weight in my teens and my early 20’s. In 2000 I began taking kickboxing classes and trained 4-5 hours a week but just had no idea what a healthy diet looked like. In 2001 I topped out at 218 lbs at 5’7″… I was 26 years old.

The only thing I knew about weight loss was Weight Watchers. My dad had been a Lifetime Member; my parents had first signed me up for it when I was 12. In 2002 I walked through the doors again; I lost exactly 52 pounds in 52 weeks to reach my goal weight of 158 lbs. I, too, am now a Lifetime Member.I maintained that loss until summer of 2005 when I got pregnant for the first time. During that pregnancy I had Gestational Diabetes that wasn’t caught until week 28; when all was said and done I’d put on 70 lbs. The extra 35 or so stayed with me until I decided to get serious again.

I knew I was ready to get rid of the weight for good in January 2012. My life had calmed down some after a crazy couple of years that included the birth of my 2nd son, the death of my husband, quitting my job of 12 years, remarrying and moving to a new town with my boys. So starting in January 2012 I lost 36 of those leftover pregnancy pounds. I was back to 158 lbs by maybe August some time. I actually don’t remember.

 

When did you first learn that you needed to eat more to reach your goals? What was your original response?

When I was on Weight Watchers in 2002/03, the program was called Winning Points and they gave you a 5 point range for each day and you could also earn extra points from exercise. Well at that point I was training in kickboxing, doing bikram yoga and starting to run regularly and I was hungry. I mean REALLY hungry.

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Progress in 2012

I ate every point they allowed me. I learned to eat the low fat high fiber foods to get more for my points. I ate every activity point I could add. And then sometimes I felt so deprived that I went out and essentially binged or just quit tracking and ate a big cheat meal and felt mentally defeated. I noticed, however, that those times I ate more I’d have a better loss on the scale.

I trained for and ran my first half marathon in 2003 as I was approaching my goal weight. I remember the weekly losses being painfully slow… it was like -.2, -.4, 0, +.2, -.6, -.2, +.2… it went on for months. As my running mileage picked up, the losses were harder to come by. Eventually, I was about 4 lbs above my goal weight and super frustrated. My leader suggested I take a break and eat at “maintenance”, which meant adding 4 points per day (that was maybe 2-300 calories). Well lo and behold I did that and had two 3lb losses in a row, taking me to below my goal weight. Something clicked for me right then and there. Too bad it was after all the hardest of the work was done, but a valuable learning experience nonetheless.

When I decided to begin anew in 2012, I just knew from the start that I needed to eat enough to run well. A friend had challenged me to another half marathon and I figured it was a great time to really make the effort and take these pounds off once and for all. I started with Weight Watchers online, but by April of 2012 I switched to calorie counting on My Fitness Pal; I was still starving on Weight Watchers and hated that I felt like a failure every time I went over my points even though I knew I needed more food.
How did/do others around you act about your decision to discard the usual low cal methods for weight loss?

Nobody really knew what I was doing except for my husband. When I switched from Weight Watchers to My Fitness Pal I went for a DEXA scan to figure out where my goal weight should be – if 158 lbs was still reasonable for me. I originally chose it because, at 5’7″, it’s the highest weight I can have and still be in the healthy BMI category, not that I really put much stock in the BMI as an indicator of health.The guy who did my DEXA in Vancouver suggested a caloric intake level for me based on my lean body mass and activity level. At that point he suggested increasing calories to around 1800-2000 calories and 120g protein daily. He also told me I should absolutely not have a daily deficit of more than 400 calories. Honestly, having someone give me some solid information that would make me stronger and leaner and not just lighter was absolutely invaluable.

 

How did your body react initially to increasing calories?

increasing calories

Tough Mudder

I wasn’t losing particularly quickly on Weight Watchers: I lost 14 lbs from January to March. When I first started My Fitness Pal I set my lifestyle factor to “sedentary” and my weight loss target to lose 1/2 a pound weekly. That gave me a net target of 1660 calories. As I had always done with Weight Watchers, I ate back my exercise calories – since the program added them it just seemed like that’s how it was supposed to work.I dropped 8.5 lbs in the first 5 weeks. That’s when I first figured out that I was obviously burning more than at the sedentary level; turns out that as a stay-at-home-mom I’m actually burning at My Fitness Pal’s “Very Active” level before I even get in my workout… higher in fact.

 

Has proper fuel affected you in ways other than weight loss? (Good or bad)

Well I just don’t think I would have kept going with the level of restriction I’d been trying to meet.

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Spartan Sprint

I first noticed it in June 2012. I was preparing to run a 10 mile race from the beach to the top of a mountain, 4300′ up. I figured that would be a decent test of my endurance in advance of the half marathon I was scheduled to run that August. I decided I would eat at my full maintenance calories for two weeks before the event. I had already lost 20 lbs and figured a two week hiatus from dieting couldn’t hurt. I wanted to see how well I could perform if I gave my body all the fuel it was trying to burn.

Well after about 4 or 5 days of eating 2500 calories daily I went for a 10 mile (16km) run and it was like magic. With the increased energy I just knew I could actually run the half marathon in 2 hours. I ran the first 10km of that training run at my half marathon race pace and the next 6km at my 10k race pace. It was amazing.From then on I decided I’d eat at maintenance for at least a full week before every race. It would be a waste of a race effort if I didn’t. I guess I started feeling like a real athlete instead of someone just exercising to lose weight… an amazing turning point in my motivation; now I eat to fuel my machine.

 

Can you describe your typical workout schedule?

increasing calories

Oct.  ’12 – Before I started lifting

Yeah. Well, until October 2012 I just ran and did Insanity videos and a local boot camp class for cross training when I could squeeze it in. I run because I love it, though… not what I’d call a cardio junkie, but I didn’t really feel the need to lift any weights. I was already pretty big with about 120 lbs of lean body mass at 5’7″. I would run 3-4 days a week and cross-train 2 days a week and take 1 rest day. I was burning an average of about 3500 calories weekly according to my Garmin.

After my 2012 race season ended at the end of September I decided to start lifting weights. The heavy lifters in the My Fitness Pal community got to me and I figured I’d give it a shot. It was tricky though… I didn’t want to give up running and the endurance I’d built up, but I knew that endurance running was almost completely contrary to the purpose of lifting.After a little shopping around for a program I decided to do Stronglifts 5×5 and set my schedule, roughly, to RUN, LIFT, REST, RUN, LIFT, REST… so I was lifting less often than the Stronglifts program recommends (every other day) but was able to get that rest in after lifting. At this point all my runs were under an hour… most of them the 3-5 mile (5-8km) range. I also changed my calorie calculation method at this point from My Fitness Pal’s NET method to something more like the TDEE method – just the same number of calories each day. At this point I figured my TDEE was somewhere around 2500 calories so after some fiddling for a few weeks with 2000, 2100, 2200, 2300 I finally settled on 2300 daily and remained pretty consistent with that through March of this year.

I got really frustrated in the spring when I really saw no change in my weight or even my measurements really.

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Lifting Comparison

Then I finally decided to take a photo in roughly the same pose and with the same shirt as the photo above. What I found was there were changes taking place that I couldn’t see.

My training schedule right now includes about 6 hours of combined cardio and strength training over 5 days of the week. I don’t believe in spending hours in the gym each day. In the words of Sweet Brown: “Ain’t nobody got time fo’ dat!”It looks something like this: Lifting 3 times a week (Stronglifts 5×5), running 3 times a week (long run, tempo run, interval/hill run), and 1-2 cross training sessions of maybe 30 minutes. I usually take a rest day every 4-5 days. The truth is, though, my schedule is all over the board. My husband works shift work and we have 5 kids between us, so I just get my workouts in when I can and I have to stay flexible. I work out in my home gym… and on the road and trails.

 

You run AND lift, have you found that this requires you to eat more/less of calories in general, or specific nutrients/macros?

I’ve never made a big deal about macros. I do have a protein target since that seemed to be the magic piece of the puzzle for me. I eat between 120 and 160g of protein daily since I weigh just under 160 lbs with about 120 lbs of lean mass; that’s where those numbers come from. Once I’ve hit that protein target in a day, I’m not too picky about where the rest of the calories come from. I let my appetite and my body dictate. The truth is that my dietary needs on a day I run 14 miles is completely different than on a day I do a 30 minute strength training session and I think I just naturally eat accordingly at this point.As long as I hit my protein target and my calorie goal I’m golden.

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Ugly Lifting Face

Did finding your sweet spot take a bit more finagling than you originally thought or was it spot on from your first calculated estimate? If it took longer, was it worth it?

Well I guess that depends on whether or not I’m happy with my results.  I didn’t really struggle to find that place where I could lose the fat to begin with… well, most of it.  I’m still not super lean though.  I figure my body fat % to be around 23% now… not bad for a woman pushing 40 I guess, but I still have a little pet dream to get under 20% and I’m finding it increasingly difficult. It’s like the leaner you get, the more you train, the smaller the window… the smaller the sweet spot. I think I may have found it now, though.  I had intuitively figured my TDEE to be about 2500 calories daily; it was pretty consistent with the calculators out there even though it was hard to classify my workout schedule. But recently I did an experiment with a Body Media Fit (Link) and after 3 weeks it pegged my average TDEE at about 2850 calories daily so I had definitely underestimated it.

I didn’t actually believe it at first so I did an experiment for 3 weeks and ate pretty much all those calories – increasing calories to an average of 2650 daily for 3 full weeks and didn’t gain an ounce. I was shocked. It was a huge relief to know I could actually eat more food than I even really wanted to and not gain.
Because of that experiment, my new target is 2100 calories PLUS all my exercise calories; that should leave me with about a 200 calorie daily deficit. I’m hoping this will put me right in the sweet spot.

I’ll let you know how it goes. Seems like a lot, right?

 

Any parting words of encouragement to those who are new to eating more, struggling with the decision of whether or not to fuel properly, or ready to give up?

increasing calories

Current

There is so much misinformation out there. There are so many people trying to sell you something and keep you down so you’ll keep buying what they’re selling. Trust the science. Trust your body. Think long-term.Your body is amazing. Feed it. Treat it like a machine… it is the most intricate machine on the planet. Find your inner athlete.

This isn’t about weight loss; your weight doesn’t explain what’s going on inside. Your scale doesn’t know if you’re hydrated or dehydrated, carb-loaded or glycogen-depleted, pumped from a good strength workout or sick from a week-long stomach flu. The weight on the scale is no indicator of health and it doesn’t define you.

Keep pressing on. Giving up is not an option.

 

A few resources I’d like to share:
My MFP Profile: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/mrsbigmack
My Blog: http://imseekingbalance.com
My Instagram: http://instagram.com/mrsbigmack

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