Secrets to losing weight and not gaining it back

The number one reason clients tell me they want to hire me is  because they want to lose weight.
A couple of things come to mind when I hear clients say this.
Chances are this person has had a history of yo-yo dieting and they don’t want to start over again and again. Also, typically, these people are slaves to the scale. It’s sad that so many people use the scale to judge their self-image. Weight loss= good day. Being up a pound or two could mean a bad day.

It really that cut and dried? Nope.. not at all.  Our weight can fluctuate several times a day depending on water/food intake, depletion, hormones, or illness. This is no way to live. When the scale goes up or down, it’s a mental roller coaster that crushes self-esteem and sets the pace for a never-ending fight.

Did you know that 6 ounces of water can show a pound on the scale?  Have you ever seen a boxer trying to make weight?  If they are over their weight class, they will wrap themselves in plastic and sweat in a hot room to get that number down on the scale. That sounds super healthy, right?  But  hey.. they got the scale to say the right thing.  😦

I dislike the scale and ask my clients stay off of it.  It doesn’t matter. Let me repeat.. it doesn’t matter.
I ask them, ‘do your clothes fit better?’. ‘ Do you like the way you look?’   The best judge of your loss is.. how you look.
Remember when I told you in a previous post that I was only about 8 pounds heavier at my mushiest than I was the day I did my show? I had soooo much more muscle the day of my show.  I was two sizes smaller.

Muscle is tighter, cuter, sexier than body fat.

Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat.
A pound is a pound is a pound and the truth of the matter is  muscle is dense and much more efficient than body fat. The more muscle tissue you have the more calories you burn just going about your daily routine. SCIENCE!
Also, lean muscle tissue takes up less space and makes you look sexy and tight. Building lean muscle is critical to the overall goal of being lean and staying lean.
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Hey.. that body fat looks like SpongeBob!  Look how much smaller 5 pounds of muscle is!

How we get it wrong

   Too much cardio will cause you to lose muscle.
Cardio done in duration makes you lose muscle.  All the cardio bunnies who come to me, tell me they love running but they can’t get rid of the jiggle.  Picture this: You start with 30 minutes on the elliptical and you get some nice results.  Soon, you have to amp your cardio time up to get more results.  Pretty soon, your body has adapted to the longer duration and now you have to get up an hour earlier to get your cardio in.  All the while, you are chasing the dream of losing weight while burning off the muscle that will keep your metabolism revved up!  That’s messed up!

Diet with no exercise
Dieting alone without strength training, can cause you to lose muscle. The yo-yo dieter is someone who restricts their calories to lose weight.

“Oh girl, I totally lost weight and I didn’t even have to workout on that Dr. Oz diet!”

But it’s a sad fact that when you diet without strength training to build muscle, you lose valuable muscle tissue. Remember, muscle tissue burns more calories than body fat.  The yo-yo dieter has now lost muscle and when she over eats, her metabolism is slower.  She’s likely to regain her weight plus some!  That’s NOT GOOD.

Solutions:

Strength Training : Lift!!!  You will not bulk up. You will not look like a man. You will be lean, sexy and your clothes will slip on like you’ve been dipped in butter.  Your shape will be gorgeous and your friends will be jealous.

High intensity Interval Training: HIIT is bursts of high intensity movement with short periods of active recovery.  Our clients do 20 minutes of HIIT to help peel away body fat. Your body doesn’t get ‘used to HIIT’ and it will respond favorably.  Word of caution.  More is not better.  55 minutes of HIIT. Nope.  Hours of HIIT every day.. skip that too.  You don’t need it.  Start with a commitment to lifting 4 times a week and 2 HIIT workouts of 15 minutes each.  Leave the overkill mentality behind!!

Get on a meal plan.  Hot bodies are made in the kitchen.  You can’t eat crap and get bikini ready.

If you don’t know how to start, or need help with your workouts or meal plans, please let me help you!
You can totally do this!!