To my 'all of nothing' friends

Sorry this post has taken so long. I wrote it, realized it was too long, tried to edit, got overwhelmed and then deleted and started over again. Now I am a full week late. I read a book this week that I felt strongly about and I tried to write a post about my philosophies. Then I realized that this is not a blog about philosophies on health and fitness. It is a blog to document my own journey to my goal and to help others with this goal to reach theirs. That goal, if anyone has forgotten, is to lose body fat.

So what I found was that I was letting a bunch of philosophies on overall health overshadow the basic goal of this blog. Obviously I would like to live a long and healthy life. I would like that for all of you too. The last post that I kept deleting was all about the ideal lifestyle for a long, disease-free life. The problem, however, is that no one actually knows that formula. We have a basic idea: more fruits/ veggies, less 'junk food' (though the definition of what 'junk' is changes all the time), get to a healthy weight/ body fat percentage, and exercise more. We tend to argue, though, over the specifics: what is 'junk' (gluten, carbs, sugar, etc), ratios of macronutrients, ratios of food groups, etc. 

I ended up coming to the conclusion that it is kind of pointless for me to dwell on specific ideals for perfect health when I know I am so far from perfect it isn't even funny. I realized that, that kind of thinking has consistently contributed to my problem. I am an ALL OR NOTHING fat loser. I want to get to my goal and I am going to do it perfectly. When I don't, I tend to go off the wagon for the rest of the week until I can start again on Monday. I can't make this week perfect so I have to wait to start again on Monday so next week can be perfect. 

I shared my thoughts about this with my husband this past week. I told him that it was silly of me to try to be perfect when the smartest people in the industry, the people conducting thousands of really expensive studies have absolutely no idea and can't agree on what 'perfect' is. He quoted Voltaire by saying, "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good."

So the main point of what I am trying to say is: We don't know what perfect is. Focus on what you can do right now. For me it is simply staying at a calorie deficit every single day. Some days I hit my maintenance calories but I have not had a surplus in 36 days. Just focusing on calories (which is something that I can do REALLY well) I can get much closer to my goal much faster than trying to be perfect, failing, going off the handle, and then ending up with more ground to make up than I had in the first place.  Find something that will get you closer to your goal. Something that you can do really well right now. Make that your main focus and add to it little by little. 

You may have heard that, those who reach their goals more slowly tend to stay at their goals longer. Well that may be a little misleading. Many of us know of and have tried programs that promise to get us to our goals faster. The problem is that we end up getting close without actually finishing. So really, switching to a focus on little changes made over a longer period of time may, in reality be a faster course to a goal because the habits set during that course may actually get you to your goal. Period.

I know many of you are frustrated. I am too. But hang in there. The holidays are coming up and so many of us give up this time of year thinking that somehow the New Year will magically be easier. Focus on what you can do now. If it isn't a calorie deficit, maybe it is simply keeping a record of your calories. No matter what or how much you eat, log it all. That will make a huge difference in and of itself. Or find something else that works for you and that you can focus on. You know what you can do. My job is to believe you can do it!

My Progress: 

Weight: 169.1 lbs 

Successes: I went on my 2-year wedding anniversary trip this weekend and didn't overeat! I ate exactly what I wanted at the Old Spaghetti Factory with bread and spumoni. People, if you haven't figured it out yet, logging is a beautiful thing. It honestly and truthfully sets you free.

Confession: I may have been able to keep my deficit this week but I definitely did not do well this whole weekend with meal frequencies or overall health or macronutrient balance of the foods that I ate. I am excited to get back to a normal day tomorrow.

Month 2 Update

I just had my measurements this week and here are the results:

7/31- Start

Weight: 198 lbs
Body Fat %: 35.1
Lbs Body Fat: 69.5
Lbs Lean: 128.5


9/10- Last Measurements

Weight: 184.6 (-13.4)
Body Fat %: 33.5 (-1.6)
Lbs Body Fat: 61.8 (-7.7)
Lbs Lean: 122.8 (-5.7)

Total inches lost: 9.35

10/7- Current

Weight: 175.5 (-9.1 from last; -22.5 total)
Body Fat %: 32 (-1.5 from last; -3.1 total)
Lbs Body Fat: 56.16 (-5.7 from last; -13.4 total)
Lbs Lean: 119.34 (-3.5 from last; -9.2 total)

Here's where I started 

Last Month

Today

I didn't reach my goal of 31% this month. It seems that, along with my fat, I am also losing quite a bit of lean body mass. I'll be cracking down a little more on my nutrition and set a goal for five days in the weight room this month. 

Successes: I have been logging everything everyday despite an entire week of being sick and unable to work out. 

I set a goal not to have any 'cheat days' for 90-days (except Halloween and Thanksgiving). A cheat day means that I eat a surplus of calories. I used to allow myself at least one a week but I want a ceiling fan in my bedroom and this seemed like a fun way to earn it. It has now been three full weeks and I have either been at a calorie deficit or at maintenance. 

When I wasn't sick, I did walk to the gym four times a week and I did do my weights. I set my new steps goal to 10,000/ day.  

Confessions: Though I have been doing a decent job logging my food and staying at a deficit I have not been doing a great job focusing on my macronutrients (proteins, cards, and fats). 

My goal for October is to reach 30% or less. My prize is a carpet for my entryway. Wish me luck!

Week 9 - The body is a construction site

Sorry for the late post this week! I got a sinus infection and have been trying to catch up since.

I wanted to talk about the body today in the context of a construction site to dispel a few myths about nutrition, strength training and weight loss.

Myth #1: I should focus more on cardio when losing weight because it burns more calories.

- Cardio may burn more calories in an hour but only for that hour. You will be burning fat that you have already stored from food you have already eaten.

Now to the construction site analogy: I want you to think of your body as a Wreck It Ralph game. You build and repair tissues and cells constantly (and the materials used in your repairs comes from your nutrition). When you take in more nutrition than is needed for repairs, it is stored as body fat. When you lift weights properly, you unleash Wreck It Ralph on your muscles. He breaks them down and they need to be repaired by Fix If Felix. Felix gets his hammer and some proteins, carbs, and fats and goes to work over the next few days to make those muscles, not only withstand the weights you just put them through but also makes a few improvements so Ralph has to work harder next time to break them down (you get stronger).

When you lift weights and break down muscle, you send a work order for nutrients to go to repairing that tissue. You can't store something that is being used. Then, with denser (not necessarily bigger) muscles on your bones, your basal metabolic rate increases so you burn more calories simply by existing than you did before. In the long run, you will stay at your goal longer with a focus on strength training rather than cardio (but still do cardio! I am definitely NOT against cardio!).

Myth #2: Weight lifting will make me bigger.

- I have tried to explain this one until I have become blue in the face and I feel that the construction site analogy is most helpful in trying to dispel this silly myth.

If you try to build a 20 story building and you only provide 15 stories-worth of materials, how much of a building can you construct? This is not a trick question. The answer is only 15 stories. What if you pay your workers more (by lifting weights)? It doesn't matter. YOU CAN'T MAKE SOMETHING BIGGER WITHOUT GIVING IT MATERIAL TO GROW! So, ladies, if you are eating at a calorie deficit (you eat less than you burn), you CANNOT get bigger. (It also takes AT LEAST six weeks for any MEASURABLE muscle gain. Most strength gains in your first six weeks are neurological, not structural. Your body gets better at lifting, not bigger.)

If you have experienced a slight increase in circumference after lifting weights it is probably just water. Weight lifters often refer to that phenomenon as 'getting swole', referring to getting swollen. If you have caused tiny tears in your muscle you have essentially injured it. Any time you injure a body part, fluid rushes to the site to bring nutrients to repair the tissue. The bloating will subside in a day or so and will not happen every time you lift weights because your body will adapt.

Myth #3: It doesn't matter what I eat as long as I eat less of it

- Calories are key in losing fat. However, you probably want to keep the fat off long term which means that you probably want to keep as much muscle as possible. When you eat a low carb, high junk food, or any type of diet that is deficient in one or more of the macronutrients or too high in others, you will lose weight but it might not all be from the right source.

Last building analogy: You want to build a 20 story building. You have enough of all the materials except nails. You only have enough nails for 15 stories. How much of that building can you complete? You've got it! Only 15. What if you give your workers more wood? Still doesn't fix the problem. So your workers will do what they can and they will build you your 15 story building and put the rest of the materials into storage. Where is that on your body? Fat. So Wreck It Ralph will continue to beat your building down and you will continue to build up as much as you can (though Ralph will probably break it faster than your limited materials can repair it) and you keep storing the excess. You lose more pounds of muscle than of fat.

See how that is working against yourself? I would rather lose weight more slowly if it means that I am keeping the lean body mass if the weight that I am losing is coming straight from body fat. Last time I worked on this goal, I did it right. I focused on getting the right macronutrient balance and lifted weights. When I lost my first six pounds it looked like I had lost 15. That's because I was losing cleanly.

My next nutrition post will be on macronutrients but I encourage anyone who wants to start treating their bodies like the construction site to ask a knowledgeable trainer (or email me for help with this) to start seeing where they can improve.

My Progress: 

Weight: 175 lbs (There was a typo last week. I was actually 180.2 lbs. I am down this week, not up). I have measurements tomorrow afternoon so we will get an official verdict on how my last month has gone. 

Successes: I logged everything and stayed under my calorie burn all week despite my sinus infection and lack of workouts. I had family dinners, a trip to Burgerville, and a coupon for an unexpected free dinner for two at Chipotle (including chips and guacamole) and I STILL managed to stay at a deficit. To anyone who does not yet believe in food logging I must testify, LOGGING MAKES YOU FREE! You can enjoy so much more food if you know what you are eating and simply plan for it. 

Confession: I got a GREAT leg day in on Monday... and that was it. 

Week 8 - That moment when...

So this weekend I went on a date with my husband and I wore an outfit that I had worn hundreds of times. It was a pre-pregnancy outfit.

Let's preface a little: I had my baby three months ago and have lost about 20 lbs so far. I have felt really good about the last few weeks with people commenting on my progress. So when I put on this outfit and looked in the mirror I felt completely deflated when I realized just how far from my goal I still am. I also realized that I was not going to reach my goal by January even if I had mostly perfect days until then (thanks to that break I took in week 3-4). I am still at least 35 lbs from where I want to be.

My feelings right now

It is always kind of depressing to realize that you have climbed so far to not even be half way to your destination. I have seen it with a lot of clients and in past attempts to get to a cosmetic goal. In this instance I may not have liked what I saw but I am actually kind of glad that I had the experience. 

I was getting to a point of complacence. I have seen many clients stop their programs right around this point in their progress because they think, "I've go this." But the reality is that, when you feel complacent, you are in the most danger of starting on the slippery slope back down the mountain. You may dismiss your support group (weight loss consultant, trainer, or other group - why pay the money if you have already gotten into a good routine?), you become okay with missing a few days of food logging or working out and slowly but surely your initial fire starts to die. You have a special occasion which causes a larger-than-usual splurge and then a bad weekend of eating out turns into; "I'll just get back on it when the holidays are over." 

So if you have lost some weight or body fat but are not quite to your goal yet, here are some reasons to stick it out with your method of accountability even if it costs money:

• The tools you have learned so far may not be enough to take you to your goal. Your body is a master of acclamation. Your metabolism will change as will your muscles with an eating and exercise program. You need to know how to follow the principal of overload to avoid plateaus. You will have to shake things up and a trainer or another form of accountability can help avoid the rut. 
• You may eventually get bored. Who hasn't eventually quit a workout program because it was boring or stopped an eating plan because you couldn't eat the same prepackaged meals one more day or you might smash your microwave? Your support system may help you to find fresh ways to stay interested in your program or simply help you suck it up and stick with it. 
• You may need to find more reasons to get to your goal. You were initially encouraged to start a program for a particular reason. Something sparked a flame of motivation. You found a program and the flame ignited. Within a few weeks, that flame might lose fuel and you may need to light another and someone else could give ideas of what and how to keep the fire alive.   

I'm going to have to thank my workout buddy right now for being at the gym EVERY time to support me because if she weren't there to keep me accountable, I would not have gotten my workouts in. I'll also have to thank you readers for giving me a reason to write every week. Thanks!

My Progress: 

Weight: 170.2 lbs 

Successes: I had a full week of calorie deficits! Not a single splurge! I also hit my steps taken (10,000 steps) goal tree times this week. 

Confession: My Basis armband's strap broke so I have three days without an accurate reading of calories burned. That may not be my fault but it is a setback (By the way, I contacted customer service and was blown away by how great they were. Fantastic product!). 

Week 7 - Food Part 1

Now for the moment you've all been waiting for... Let's talk food!

One of the most common questions I get when I tell people that I am a personal trainer is: what should I eat in order to lose weight? My most common response is: what do you want to eat? Apparently this frustrates a lot of people. They are looking for something a little bit more revolutionary. The reality is that the words 'revolutionary', 'new' and even 'scientific' and 'proven' are the biggest giveaways of a fad/ scam. The hard truth is that; if you eat less than you burn then you will lose weight. Period. End of story.

Yes, there are healthier foods than others. Yes, the macronutrients (proteins, carbs and fats) are important to body composition. Yes, you can lose weight by following some of those new trends that you see in this weeks issue of Self Magazine. But you just asked how to lose weight. To do that, you just need to know: A) How many calories does your body burn in a day  B) How many calories do you need to eat to create an appropriate deficit to get you to your goal by the time you would like to reach it and C) is that deficit realistic?

Fact: There are 3500 calories in one pound of body fat. Therefore, if you would like to lose 1 lb of body fat in a week, you would need have a 500 calorie deficit every day. For example, I burn about 2500 calories a day. I should eat 2000 calories a day if I would like to lose 1 lb a week. If I would like to lose 2 lbs a week, I would have to double my deficit meaning I would only eat 1500 calories a day.

Warning: There are some who may think that if a small deficit is good, then a large deficit must be better. Think again. Your body will learn to adjust its burn very quickly. You will begin to burn more muscle than fat.

So how do you know how many calories you should eat? Go back and read my post called 'Know your Burn' to find out how much you burn in a day and then decide on a deficit (please keep it less than 1000 calories/ day). Then follow one of these suggestions to make sure you stay within your range:

A) Log it 

Either find a website or app that allows you to log your food or write it in a food journal. Benefits include being able to plan your entire day with the flexibility of adding foods that you like. You can also be spontaneous and go out to eat. The downside is that it takes time and forethought. Apps with barcode scanners and a variety of restaurants make it easier. I highly recommend logging. I have had many clients reach there goal by changing virtually nothing else.

B) List it

Some of my clients have said to me, "I WILL not log! You can't make me!" Well, you are right. I can't make you. But we have to do SOMETHING. So we sit down for a few sessions and we go through the foods that they like and that they will eat and we make a list of at least five Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners and snacks that add up to their daily caloric goal. Every meal is about the same size so all they have to do is pick one of each from the list. The upside to this is that the choice is taken out. Many people join diet programs where a list is given to them. The downside is that it is difficult to plan unforeseen obstacles. It also gets REALLY boring to eat the same thing day after day so I recommend adding to the lists often.

I highly believe that the plan you follow to reach your goal should reflect as closely as possible to the plan you expect to follow to keep your goal (most of us forget to think about the maintenance phase). When deciding whether to list or to log, ask yourself, "In the future, will I likely eat the same foods every day and just need to know how much? or will I eat a variety and simply need to be aware of what I am eating?" If the answer is the former, list it. If it is the latter, log it. Whichever method you choose make sure you MEASURE your food. I cannot stress enough how important that is. You may think you know how big a cup is but you could be off by as much as 30% (I have had clients who were off by a LOT more). I'm not saying that you have to measure forever but I would definitely recommend it at least at first. I will be completely honest with all of you: I measure my food EVERY DAY that I log it.

Now this is where a lot of you are yelling at your computer, "Kerri, you are almost done with this post and you haven't said anything about WHAT I should eat!" Hold on. We'll talk about it later. I'll make some suggestions but please keep one thing in mind-

Many of us have gotten to where we are weight-wise because of stress. Drastically changing your diet is a major lifestyle change and is therefore a stresser whether you wish to admit it or not. If stress is what makes you turn to food, I would like to ask you one question: How on earth do you expect your trigger to be your cure? I know you want to be an overall healthy person. So would I. But when you stress yourself out by making a huge lifestyle change, you run the risk of sabotaging yourself before you even get started. Just eating less of the foods you eat now will be stressful enough. Give yourself time. Then, when you have developed the habit of eating less, add in one or two healthy eating habits at a time. But tune in next time when we talk about macronutrients.

My Progress: 

Weight: 181.6 lbs My deficit was 3641 calories based on my readings from my metabolic armband and my food log so I actually estimated about 1 lb fat loss (though the reading may be off due to breastfeeding).

Successes: I had a great week overall with logging food. YAY!

Confession: I set a goal to hit 500 calorie deficit every day (except my anniversary and Thanksgiving) for 90 days. If I can do that, I will be much more likely to reach my goal by New Years. Unfortunately I had that silly 'Eat, Drink and be Merry for Tomorrow we Diet!' Mentality and went a little crazy today. I will have to work extra hard this week to make up for it and may end up with another half pound loss for the week. 

Update

Alright everyone,

I just had my measurements this week and here are the results:

7/31-

Weight: 198 lbs
Body Fat %: 35.1
Lbs Body Fat: 69.5
Lbs Lean: 128.5


9/10-

Weight: 184.6 (-13.4)
Body Fat %: 33.5 (-1.6)
Lbs Body Fat: 61.8 (-7.7)
Lbs Lean: 122.8 (-5.7)

Total inches lost: 9.35

Here's where I started...

Here's where I am today

I would normally hope for 6-12% body fat drop by now but remember that two week hiatus I took? Regardless, 1.6% makes a difference! 

Successes: I decided that I needed a workout buddy and found someone WONDERFUL! She and I have only met three times so far but I think we are going to work really well together! If you are starting weight training for the first time, I workout buddy is REALLY helpful for keeping you motivated not to slack off. Speaking of weight training, I have two weeks of 4x/ week! 

I also had my best logging week so far this week. Working out sometimes does wonders for nutrition simply because you don't want to waist all your hard work by eating a bunch of garbage. Just like unhealthy behaviors are a vicious cycle (eating poorly leads to inactivity, which leads to more poor eating choices, etc.) healthy living can also be a cycle (though if you stop the ball rolling it is much easier to go backward).

Confessions: If I needed to confess anything it would be that I have been having a hard time waking up early enough in the mornings to get myself and the baby out of the house in a timely manner. I had set a goal to walk to the gym which is less than a mile from my home to get some added cardio. One of my obstacles is that Lizzie never learned to latch when feeding so I have been exclusively pumping. It is working very well and I am happy to be able to burn an extra few hundred calories a day but it does mean an extra 1/2 hour in the morning that I could be sleeping. Even though I know it is coming, it still seems to be a surprise every morning when I have to get up. Weird how that happens. 

Thanks for the support! This month's goal is to be under 31% by Oct. 9th. If I can do that, I get to buy a rug for my entryway... and I get to make my family's secret recipe cookies. 

Week 5 - Know your burn

So far I have mainly talked about how to think about weight loss. I haven't yet touched on how to actually get started. So today I would like to talk about the first step in actually getting to your goal. 

Most of the time when I hear people talking about a weight loss goal they first talk about how much they think they should eat. While that is very important, they forget to mention what comes first: knowing how much their body burns. Why do we care? Remember that your goal is not actually WEIGHT loss it's FAT loss. If you put yourself at too high of a calorie deficit or force your body into ketosis (like in low-carb diets) you will likely lose a higher percentage of lean body mass. That's the good stuff like muscle that burns calories just by existing. If you really want to maximize your FAT loss, knowing what your body burns in a given day is vital to knowing how many calories you should actually eat in a day.

It is also important to know when it changes. As you lose fat, your body will likely (though not always) need less calories to maintain it's mass than before. In some cases (like in the case of some individuals who increase their metabolism by significant daily physical activity), they may need more to maintain a proper deficit. 

So how can you tell what your body burns?:

Guess:

• Most weight loss programs out there take a few indicators (BMI, age and gender) and assign people to 1200, 1500 or 1800 calories a day. Though most people will lose weight at these levels, it is a cookie cutter approach that is meant for everyone to lose weight. Since it is also based on BMI, it does not take lean body mass into consideration. The upsides, however, are that it is easy and you will likely lose weight. The downsides are that you don't know whether it is fat or muscle that you are losing. 

Estimate:

• The difference between guessing and estimating is all a matter of information. You can use nutritionist certified software, a nutritionist, or a series of complicated formulas to more accurately  estimate your basal metabolic rate. Usually you will have to include body fat percentage, overall health, and lifestyle. The upsides are that you will have a more individualized program and likely be able to eat more than if you had a generic guess. You can also update your estimation based on lifestyle changes to make sure you are anticipating changes to your metabolism. The downside is that it is more work and may or may not cost money.

Measure:

• There are many devices out there on the market to measure your caloric expenditure. They range from the very basic pedometer which simply measures steps taken to very accurate metabolic armbands which include sleep monitors, heart rate, sweat output, body temperature, and acceleration. The upside is that they can be very accurate and give you data from day to day. No one burns the same amount of calories every day and therefore needs exactly the same amount every day. The downside is that, in order to get the data it needs to be worn. The best data comes if you wear it as close to 24hrs as you can. They can also get pretty expensive if you go for a more accurate model (I personally think it is a great investment and use a metabolic armband every day). 

Whichever method you choose, set a goal calorie intake based on your daily output. I'll be writing about that next week. 

My Progress: 

Weight: 185.1. I will be asking my trainer to give me measurements this week so we will see how much of that is actually fat. Wish me luck!

Successes: I FINALLY got to the weight room this week! I ended up doing four days in a row which was awesome! I am extremely sore and will probably give myself more breaks between sessions in the future but I really wanted to hit my goal of four times a week. 

Confession: I had two days of no deficit with the holiday on Monday and had a hard time reaching my 500 calorie deficit goal the rest of the week but it was still overall a week of progress.