Are you trying to lose weight but your family and friends resist your weight loss efforts? You’re not alone. In this video, I’ll share three surprising reasons why they may be doing this – and what you can do about it.
3 Surprising Reasons Family And Friends May Resist Your Weight Loss Efforts
The #1 reason that people don’t support you is they don’t believe you. I’ve done a series on our Youtube Channel before where I kind of pinned down my husband and asked him why husbands tend to sabotage their wives. And as I’ve talked to different people in families, especially within the Eat More 2 Weigh Less community, a huge reason why people don’t support you is that you don’t believe them.
Maybe you are that girl that cries wolf, or you’ve experienced that person constantly changing things up. This is their seventy-eighth fad diet, their twelfth time quitting smoking, or they’re starting a new MLM or whatever it is. There’s always this person constantly starting something but never finishing it. And perhaps, that’s been you in the past.
Typically the people closest to you remember all those things. So whenever you start trying to change something, especially if you’re that person, that girl who’s always just been kind of radical and taking everything to the extreme. If that is you, then you can’t really expect people to just jump on board. Even I tend to hold people to that standard. If I know somebody who is always saying that they’re gonna do something, I just wait it out to see if this is really something that’s gonna stick or not. And that could be what somebody’s doing for you. So whether you’re that person that doesn’t believe people or you’re someone that nobody believes, just make sure that you’re committed first before you try to get other people to jump on board.
Watch the video above for more reasons why family and friends may resist your weight loss efforts
It’s entirely possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. In fact, you may even find that your body composition changes quite a bit in the first few weeks of starting a new workout routine. But is it healthy? And more importantly, is it sustainable? Watch the video below to learn about Body Recomposition and if it’s the right path for you.
Body Recomposition: Can You Lose Fat and Gain Muscle at the Same Time?
Body recomposition is losing fat and gaining muscle. These two things are the epitome of what you typically try to do when you want to lose weight.
This is not to be confused with Body COMPosition. With Body Composition, if you hire a personal trainer, they take your weight, picture, measurements and have you do something like a DEXA scan, which helps you understand what your body fat and muscle mass are. However, when doing a Body Recomp, you will usually find that the fat percentage went down and the lean body mass percentage went up. What this does is instead of just focusing on weight loss, like stepping on a scale, you are making sure that the weight that you look at changes.
Watch the training above for a more in-depth look into Body Recomposition…
Increasing calories is an important aspect of building muscle. As we discussed in a previous blog post, you cannot build muscle and lose fat at the same time. So there should be a point in your year where the focus is on building muscle, and winter is usually a great time to do just that.
Increasing Calories in the Winter
There are two major reasons for increasing calories in the winter – maintenance eating and building muscle. For most people, there is a natural tendency to “fall off” dieting in the Fall and Winter. Because the urge to increasing calories is normal during these colder months, it makes sense to utilize this for muscle building. By doing so, this sets the stage for success in the Spring/Summer when fat loss is desired. In addition to heeding natural tendencies, taking an extended diet break during this period gives your metabolism a chance to heal/re-boot from cut phases.
(Remember: Over time your metabolism adjusts to whatever calorie level you’re eating consistently. So if you are in a cut for too long, that caloric level becomes your new maintenance.)
A winter reset (eating at maintenance) actually helps your metabolism to heal, giving your body a good amount of time to “remember” where TDEE is before another cut is attempted. During this time, many in the fam will choose to eat in surplus of their TDEE (Bulk). Bulking gives your body extra calories, which helps to build more muscle. Whether you eat at maintenance or bulk during the winter, either will help achieve greater fat loss in the spring. Too many dieters think that restricting calories for many many months will help get to goal faster. The truth is, without taking those breaks – you often feel as if you look worse because of the muscle loss from non-stop dieting. Just remember, you can’t show off muscle in the summer, if you haven’t built the muscle under the fat in the winter (or at some point throughout the year!).
It’s no secret that muscle building phases can cause some gains on the scale and “puffiness” on the body (as muscle builds underneath the fat layers, pushing it outward). In many parts of the world, winter tends to be the time where layers of clothing are worn. Those heavier sweaters, hoodies, sweatpants, blanket scarves, etc provide the perfect opportunity to stylishly “hide” areas you’d rather not flaunt, while you get down to business (building muscle). By fully embracing this as a time of year for muscle building, you can fully enjoy your fat loss phase in the spring and summer (with the benefit of increased metabolism!).
Be sure to take advantage of the colder months to rest, recharge and take a break from a reduction in calories. But do so with purpose (not simply “I’ll start over in Spring!”). Tracking calories and paying attention to your macros are still very important during this time. Be sure to enjoy yourself, but remember that maintaining now allows for a successful cut later.
This question we get asked the most by fam in our Online Community – “When can I switch phases?” It’s a question most members don’t want to hear the actual answer to. So before we dive into this post, consider what phase you are currently in, and whether you think you should be moving on to the next phase. This is especially important if you just recently switched into your current phase or think you can springboard from one phase to the next.
When you think it’s time – it’s not
In any given phase, the need to move on to the next one as fast as possible is reminiscent of our diet mentality ways. Jumping full speed ahead without any consideration of whether the steps needed right now are even mastered is usually the downfall for many. If you are constantly saying “I’m ready, what’s next?” it’s guaranteed you have not mastered your current phase. If you are content in your phase, happy to not move on and just stay where you are, then generally it’s time to move on.
When you decide to sit in a certain phase, you need to give 100% to the processes in that phase. That means if you are in a Reset phase, you are consistent. Calories are always being hit, macros are spot on, workouts are consistent and challenging. If you want to move to a Cut, but haven’t mastered these, then Cut will not go the way you want it to. Then this adds more time to your journey by trying a Reset again. This applies to all phases – even a Chill!
By asking “what else?” during your phase, you aren’t truly understanding and taking into consideration what change is needed. Think of each phase as a chapter in a math text; if you can’t understand the principles in chapter 1, you are certainly going to fail by chapter 10. Spend the time and truly dig deep and understand what each phase requires of you and master each and every step needed.
When it comes to changing your dieting mindset and embracing the EM2WL lifestyle, the first step is recognizing that there are several different phases to this journey – just as there are phases in other areas of your life. Each phase has it’s specific purpose and unique benefits, but your success for each one depends solely on your ability to own that phase and fully embrace living it.
Because EM2WL is a lifestyle, you’ll likely find that certain times of your year will lend itself more readily to specific phases over the others. Jumping from phase to phase as suits your life is normal, and even encouraged, however you can only truly be in one phase at a time. The compounding of the phases is where the magic happens, so your success in one phase is actually dependent on the attention given to previous phases. Trying to be in multiple phases at one time will only make progress take longer, so resist the urge to attempt multitasking your phases.
When mapped out for your specific goals, the phases will bring clarity to your end result. And because each person is unique, your plan will be remarkably different than someone else. Find out which phase you belong in currently.
The 5 Phases of EM2WL
Reset
This phase is for healing your metabolism and is generally the starting point for most dieters. Here you will learn what your TDEE is, and you will work your caloric intake up to that number. Reset is all about relearning how to eat and how to love yourself. You will increase your calories up slowly and listen to your body. Focus on hunger cues, feelings and what changes your body makes with proper nutrition. Consistency with your intake and your macros will become your focus once you have reached TDEE. Because this is a healing and rebuilding phase, there should be no focus on fat loss, and ditching the scale is highly recommended.
Maintenance
“Chill Phase” – Sample from the EM2WL Phases Lesson inside of the CTDM Workshop
Maintenance is about learning to maintain your current progress. This means eating at your TDEE level to keep the metabolism burning and still consistently hitting your macros. Usually this phase takes place between cut phases (diet break) or when your season of life needs a break. Things like holidays and vacations are a perfect time to be in a maintenance phase. Time spent in this phase can be as little as 1 week, or as long as you like! There should be no expectations of physical changes happening during this phase.
Cut
A Cut phase is when a reduction in calories occur and a focus on fat loss takes place. This does not mean instant changes will happen!A lot of what happens in this phase depend solely on what your previous phase was and how successful you were in it. This means that success in a cut may not show until your third or fourth cut down the line. Macros need to be consistently hit and a deficit of no more than 15% from TDEE will enable this phase to have a greater success. A cut phase should not be any longer than 6-8 weeks, and should always be followed up by at least a 1-2 week maintenance phase.
Chill
Chill means “CHILL”. This phase is for when life throws lemons at you and you need to make lemonade. A chill phase is beneficial for when life has gotten too hectic. Maybe you need to scale back on tracking, or you just want to practice eating intuitively and mindfully. If you are under major stress in other aspects of your life, then a chill phase allows you to focus your energy where it needs to be. This also gives you an opportunity to live your life without tracking and just “live.” This phase can be as long or as short as you like, and you can jump to any other phase once completed. Do not mistake this phase for a “free for all” eating phase, but there should be zero guilt for what you CHOOSE to eat during this time.
Bulk
This phase is purposefully eating above your TDEE level so that muscles can grow and build. This phase is specifically to add more muscle massand should be done with a controlled increase in calories. A huge benefit to this phase is the increase in your strength and the focus should be on the barbell, not the tape measure! Bulking is typically encouraged in the colder months, where you can hide under bulkier clothing, and prepare for a cut phase in the spring.
Work with the Phases, not against them
Regardless of when you start living your EM2WL life, you will learn to appreciate the phases as you encounter them. Each one has specific food related, mind related, and body related goals with them. But the only way the phases work with you is if you work with the phases. Commit yourself wholeheartedly to the phase you are in and master the skills needed for it. Be willing to learn and challenge yourself in each one and know that over time, you will find yourself craving to be in a certain phase at certain points in your life. In time, your journey successes will compound in so many ways it will be impossible not to miss them.
Lean in to the process by starting right now. What phase are you in?
(Excerpt from 1 of 11 lessons on the EM2WL Phases inside CTDM Workshop)
Increasing calories is an important aspect of building muscle. As we discussed in a previous 
A winter reset (eating at maintenance) actually helps your metabolism to heal, giving your body a good amount of time to “remember” where TDEE is before another cut is attempted. During this time, many in the fam will choose to eat in surplus of their TDEE (Bulk). 
When it comes to changing your dieting mindset and embracing the EM2WL lifestyle, the first step is recognizing that there are several different phases to this journey – just as there are phases in other areas of your life. Each phase has it’s specific purpose and unique benefits, but your success for each one depends solely on your ability to own that phase and fully embrace living it.
Bulk
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