One of our FAVORITE things to do here at Stay Fit Mom is to EDUCATE women. The world of nutrition and exercise can be an incredibly confusing and disorienting place with so-called “experts” who proclaim OPPOSITE things: Don’t eat carbs! Don’t eat fat! Do 90 minutes of cardio a day! Don’t do a minute of cardio, only lift weights! Only eat in a six hour window to lose weight! You have to eat MORE to lose weight! SO CONFUSING right???
We believe her at SFM that understanding drives compliance. The more you know and “get it”, the more likely you are to DO IT. Well, what is IT??! The truth is, although black and white and dogmatic sells, the real answers are MUCH MORE NUANCED. Usually, there is no either or, it’s right in the middle. But the BIGGEST secret is that one size does not fit all. For most things, the answers are going to vary from person to person.
And one of the biggest things that is going to determine the answers for YOU, is going to be based on your GOALS. In order to see the results you want, your ACTIONS have to line up with your GOALS. And make no mistake, if you do not have a plan and actionable steps, you will not reach your goals. SO MANY WOMEN are working HARD, on steps that are NOT bringing them anywhere closer to their goals.
Pilates is not going to build any sort of noticeable muscle on your frame. Riding your peloton will not get you running a marathon. Eating in a constant caloric deficit will not make you toned. Reverse dieting for a year and being inconsistent will not lead to weight loss.
If your goal is to build muscle, you have to LIFT HEAVY WEIGHTS. You have to reach failure, or a few reps close to it, within 12-15 reps or less. You have to eat enough PROTEIN, and calories overall. You have to do this multiple times a week, week in and week out for months and years on end. You will not get bulky. You will not look like a man. Women train for YEARS to look muscular and it is HIGHLY offensive to them for you to think that you are going to step into a gym and look bulky in a few sessions. Running endless miles, yoga and pilates, bootcamps and spin classes are AWESOME forms of exercise, but they are not going to build muscle. Being sore does NOT equate to building muscle. You HAVE to lift weights repeatedly. And not 10 pound dumbbells. HEAVY WEIGHTS.
If your goal is fat loss, you have to be in a calorie deficit. Period. No fancy buzzwords overcome science. MANY women come to us and say they want to lose weight but they don’t exercise and don’t plan to. And that’s FINE. Not everyone is going to run or CrossFit or spend so much money on a peloton. But just as the old saying “you can’t out train a bad diet” is GOSPEL TRUTH, so is the fact that it is INCREDIBLY hard to under-eat being sedentary. If you are trying to lose weight, moving your body is the biggest tool in your toolbox outside of your diet. Walk, walk, and then walk some more. Ride a stationary bike. Find some zumba classes and stand in the back. GO FOR A WALK. If you’re trying to shed fat and your steps are averaging less than 7-12k a day, you are pushing a boulder uphill when you could have chosen a small rock. You HAVE to move more. Even if you weight train or do some other intense form of exercise, if you are in a fat loss phase, daily walks and steady-state cardio (like zone 2 training) should be a frequent part of your routine.
If you want to train for an endurance event- half or full marathon, triathlon etc, you have to eat enough to support those goals. It will be more than you think it is if you are a chronic dieter. The first step you should take is to shift your reason why from being thinner, to accomplishing an incredible physical task. If the only reason we are doing these things is to be a smaller version of ourselves we are missing the vast majority of the incredible mental, physical and emotional gains and growth these events bring out of us. Once we’re doing them to become a BETTER version of ourselves, not a skinnier one, we can focus on fueling well. They are still HARD, but the process becomes so much more enjoyable when we’re eating enough to support these goals.
There are SO MANY MORE GOALS we have as women. The first step is to clearly define for yourself what your goal IS. And we here at SFM want to help you develop a list of ACTIONABLE STEPS to get you there. Some of them will absolutely require you to get out of your comfort zone, make changes and do something or some things differently. You may have to join a gym. Or buy a walking pad. Or venture to a new scary part of a gym. But you won’t be doing it alone! Our community is here for you. And we can help you make a plan. Based on what is REAL and FACTUAL, not what the newest fad is. That’s what coaching is. Real women helping you get results.
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