Hi all,
Misconceptions have seemingly amassed mystical powers through years of crazy media marketing. Statements such as, “Lose 10lbs in 1 week”…”Lose 40lbs in 1 month”… and, “This vibrating, ab-twisting machine will melt away your fat and worries in seconds,” seem to leave individuals in a state of unrest when they are not able to match these results.
You see, these fitness fatloss myths are so ingrained in our heads that it is hard to shake this disbelief that they are not true. Remember, it is in my best interest to get you real results and keep you on track, so you can achieve those results.
So without further adieu and many conversations here are my 5 fitness fatloss mistakes…
1. I want to lose weight – The most common goal proclaimed by women involved in a fitness program. If you are overweight this is a great goal, but many individuals who are close to their natural, healthy weight should focus on another thing, and that is losing bodyfat. P.S. You can lose 10lbs of bodyfat and still weigh the same, but your body will look much fitter and healthier!!!!
Most people involved in a fitness program like a bootcamp, that involves high intensity cardio and resistance training, increases muscle while decreasing body fat, which will lead to a tighter, toned body. So if your clothes are fitting looser and you’re losing inches, you are on the right track!
During this time, bodyweight could increase or decrease. So, now you see why this “scale craze” is unfounded. You can improve your appearance, fitness levels, and elimitate unwanted fat in those trouble areas while relatively maintaining your bodyweight, so use the mirror as a guide to your progress and leave the scale alone.
2. I gained weight in the first month– I repeat, the numbers on the scale are not important in the short run! I hear way too many women concerned with a bodyweight fluctuation of 2 or 3 pounds or even not losing enough weight in the first month. There are many factors that account for this minor gain and none of these have anything to do with getting fatter. Water weight for instance is a culprit of these differences and has nothing to do with a permanent weight gain. Remember, it is the long run changes that matter.
3. I’m doing the _____ diet – Way too many women get involved in diets. Let’s review what a diet implies…..deprivation aka starvation and an end-date. You know why there are so many diets? Because they don’t work! They are a short term answer to a long term problem, and involve giving up your favorite foods, enduring intense hunger and putting you in an unstable state of mind.
Adopt a healthy lifestyle and eat when you want and seriously cut the grapefruit, cabbage soup, atkins, southbeach, or whatever diet is the new trend. Those end dates of those diets are killing you as your 1 week of rewarding yourself after your diets with your favorite foods, turns into 1 month, which turns into 10. Small changes will equal the big change so avoid these crash diets, embrace portion control, and enjoy healthy foods.
P.s. These include diet pills – stay away – there is no magic bullet. You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind!
4. I’ll have the salad – Greens are a great source of healthy nutrients, and salads are an excellent option, as long as there are no bacon bits, croutons, or massive amounts of dressing – this meal is loaded in calories and won’t make you full!!! Salads can offer variety as long as you keep them clean and keep the bacon and fatty dressing away. Adding a chicken breast or piece of fish to this will make a complete and healthy meal.
5. I drink alcohol – When you consume alcohol, your body uses it for fuel first, and delays fat burning BIG TIME. Alcohol also contains almost twice as many calories as carbs and proteins. And what’s worse, these are “empty” calories, meaning that they provide no nutritional value.
When you down a few beers, your inhibitions are also squashed, making it more likely for you to cheat on your diet…Also, despite all those calories you are consuming, alcohol actually increases your appetite.
Every time you booze up, you also decrease your body’s total testosterone level. Testosterone is a powerful fat burner and muscle builder for men AND women. The less testosterone you have, the slower your muscles build while working out, and the slower your metabolism will be. And the slower your metabolism is, the harder it is to lose weight, no matter how disciplined you are in the gym.
Alcohol also wrecks havoc on your internal organs, including your stomach and liver, which are important to keep in good health if you want to see fat loss progress. If your stomach isn’t working at its peak, your foods will be digested less efficiently, which means more will be stored as fat. Your liver needs to be in prime condition because that’s the organ that turns fat into energy. If you must drink some brews with your friends, try to stick to light beer. The diet damaging effects of alcohol are still there, but it won’t be as bad because there are fewer calories.
Bottom line, if you DO drink, control the amounts and drink only on rare occasions. I’ve known so many women who workout almost everyday, watch what they eat, then go out drinking on the weekends and wonder where their bodyfat comes from….It’s the BOOZE!
So what should you do…
In order to lose fat at a fast rate, you need to create a large caloric deficit in a relatively short period of time. Recall, a pound of fat is 3,500 calories. Want to lose a pound of fat? Then you’ll need to be 3,500 calories in the hole. That’s not just burning 3,500 cals, that’s having a deficit after all your food intake! Want to lose Five pounds of fat? Make that 17,500 calories. There’s simply no getting around the physics of this matter. And unfortunately, drastic reductions in caloric intake will only cause your body to fight back against your dieting efforts, shutting down metabolism and holding on to body fat as a starvation protection response ,also known as the dreaded starvation mode.
Slow and steady = permanent fat loss…
Enter your predicament, you can’t lose fat fast enough without creating a massive caloric deficit, and you simply can’t create this deficit with a quick shift in your eating habits to starvation mode.
Sure, you may have known someone who has lost a lot of “weight” in a short amount of time or watched an episode of The Biggest Loser (see my next blog). But weight loss and fat loss are 2 critically different animals. Want to lose weight in a short period of time. You can, and here will be your results…
- A lot of water loss – that’s bad
- A lot of muscle loss – that’s bad
- A bit of fat loss – it’s not all bad
And of course, a metabolism so haggered that the moment you decide to get off your “diet” and return to your normal eating habits, all your “weight loss” and then some is gone and fat will be back at even faster rate.
So Stay strong, Stay hungry, Stay motivated…
Your Bootcamp Instructor,
Josh
