Long after the newbie gains had faded, Tracy realized that her low calorie, high cardio lifestyle would never give her the look she wanted. So she took action, moved on, and got the results she was after.
Your go-to “this always works” workout isn’t working anymore? uh-oh. Say goodbye to newbie gains…
Newbie gains are what I like to call the “Teenager Phase” of Fat Loss. This is a period of time, that you can pretty much “rebel” against the basic rules of fat loss, and quite possible still see results. Put simply, in the beginning of your journey, you can literally do ANYTHING (even if it’s the wrong thing) and still get “results.” Because of this brief period, we can often be led astray and down a longggg path of rebellion. We tend to shrug off recommendations of not making drastic changes that are unsustainable, or that certain styles of workouts are not the best choice for our goals. We think “Hey, I’m getting results…I don’t know what they’re talking about!”
I recount my own embarrassing rebellious phase here.
During the newbie phase, even the impossible…is possible. Muscles grow super fast, fat melts off, everyone notices all your hard work and praises you for it. You’re pretty much floating on cloud nine, feeling invincible, and telling everyone that you know that you’ve found “the secret” to weight loss (pretty much associating that secret to whatever the random thing is that you’re doing.)
Side note…Buyers Beware: I can’t even begin to tell you how many weight loss books would remain on the shelves if we removed all those that were written strictly on the basis of one person’s newbie gains results. It’s really not the author’s fault though…the results are so addicting that they truly believe they’ve found the cure.
Back to the newbie gains process. The first six months can be ridiculously blissful, the results are insane and you think that you will FINALLY have the body you’ve always wanted with just a bit more work. Right around the six month mark, muscle gains/fat loss progress begins to slow down (though most of us are in the early stages of denial, and push harder). By month 12, many find that they are actually regaining the fat that they lost in the first six months and any semblance of muscle begins to fade. What do you do when you realize that your “free pass” has expired? What are the next steps?
If you’ve been getting phenomenal results for months, then suddenly notice your go-to workout isn’t working like it used to…it may be time to follow the “rules” now.
Main points covered in today’s broadcast:
~Newbie Gains: The Teenager Phase of Fat Loss
~How to identify when your newbie gains phase is over
~What works now will not work forever. Accept this, don’t ignore it.
~Plateaus WILL come, don’t get too comfortable/cocky and think that because you’re seeing amazing results quickly, that the rules don’t apply to you.
~Have a plan (even if tentative/flexible) for what to do at each plateau (again…they WILL come).
~There is no perfect plan. Once newbie gains fade, your plan must include a variety of phases (discussed in the broadcast)
~True newbie gains may last 1-2 years for some, with the best progress happening after the first few months of acclimation/neural adaptation. When “results” seem to come for this long, many can become easily deceived/convinced that a certain style of working out is the only thing that “works” for them. Avoid this extreme thinking, and move on when the time calls for it.
BOTTOM LINE: Newbie gains will stop. Enjoy it while it lasts, but be prepared to execute plan B.
Hope you enjoy the replay, Fam!
~Kiki
PS. Got questions? I’m on Periscope and Facebook M-F, to answer your FAQs. So make sure you’re following @EM2WL and click “live subscribe” to get notifications the second I start the next broadcast!
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