Happy Friday Friends!! Last night I taught my first class at a new kickboxing location! Definitely nerve wracking starting somewhere new, especially since it was my first time I ever taught kickboxing. Even with all of the anxiety of not messing up & hoping everyone would like the class, I got through it & gave it my best. There is always room for improvement & looking forward to challenging myself & the class each time. If I didn’t try it, I would have never known if I could do it or if I would be good at it. Have you challenged yourself lately? Stepping out of your comfort zone is something people don’t normally do since it could result in failure. Try it, the worst thing that could happen is that you fail but remember every failure comes with a lesson learned!
Anyway, someone asked me today how it’s possible to workout as hard as they do but not see results on the scale. Is the scale broken? First question I always ask when I am questioned about this is how well are you eating? I always get the same look…. the look of regret or “I was hoping you didn’t ask.” Junk food is the devil, as well as fried foods, any carbonated drinks (except seltzer water) & no, “low fat” or “sugar free” aren’t always the best options either. If you really sit down & calculate the amount of calories you intake a day, you would be amazed by the numbers. Many people have a misconception of how many calories are actually in the foods that they are eating. For example, four sodas a day is equivalent to 68 packets of sugar a day, umm that’s gross! 1 slice of pizza (& you know you don’t have just 1 slice) is 272 calories and that’s not including any toppings. 1 Hershey kiss equals 22 calories, who eats just one hershey kiss?
Today is a new day. Start out by thinking about what you are putting into your body. By starting a food journal, you will be able to see with your own eyes the reality of your diet & why or why not you are losing weight. Don’t cheat yourself by not writing the bad things down, it all counts either way.
As you look over your completed diary for the day or week, ask yourself these questions-
- Did you eat something today only because of habit?
- Did you skip any meals today?
- Did you go longer than four to five hours without eating?
- Did you eat too little or skip breakfast in the morning?
- Did you eat more at night than any other time?
- Did you eat because you were bored or in a bad/sad mood rather than because you were hungry ?
The answers to these questions will help give you some answers as to why the numbers on the scale are not lower than expected. Here are my five top tips to jump start your weight loss & get those numbers subtracting faster than you expect!
1- Don’t skip breakfast.
As crazy as your job may be, meetings back to back or too much work to do to think about food, there is no excuse to skip the most important meal in the day. Guaranteed if you skip, by 3pm you will either be half asleep at your desk or you will eat anything that comes within 5 feet of your mouth. Every Sunday you should think about the week ahead and what days you will be crunched for time. On those days, be sure to have something quick to eat (fruit & yogurt, protein bar, pre-made smoothie) if you know you will not have time to sit down & eat a meal. This leads me to my next tip…
2- Prepare most of your meals.
re you one of those people who never knows whats for lunch until you are sitting at the lunch table with your friends devouring tortilla chips with salsa and guacamole while deciding what salad to get? Sunday should be the day you PLAN ahead. Buy enough lettuce & toppings to bring to work with you each day. Buy 5 fruits & yogurts instead of one so you have them for the week. Protein shakes can be made in a matter of 7 seconds, quicker than the drive-thru at Dunkin Donuts. If you are prepared, you have less of a chance to grab a greasy chicken sandwich from the cafeteria that has more calories & germs than you could imagine.
3-Coffee is not a meal.
I am one to admit that coffee definitely curbs your appetite & could leave you going hours without a meal but this is not healthy or safe. Coffee may be low in calories but adding milk, creamer and/or sugar just adds pounds without even a thought. I do know many people who can not live without their coffees so I am not saying to ban them, just remember by adding whipped cream, caramel & chocolate syrup, you are only adding more minutes in the gym.
4- There have been some who say eating past 8pm is okay to do & some who say not to do it.
Personally, I do not recommend it. It doesn’t give your body enough time to digest what you are eating unless you are going to bed at 4am, which hopefully you are not. On the other hand, the worst feeling in the world is waking up at 3am with your stomach grumbling due to hunger. Try applying these simple changes to your eating & sleeping routine- eat something light before bed if you missed dinner-a small bowl of oatmeal, peanut butter on whole wheat toast, cereal with low fat milk, vegetable quiche (egg whites, very little salt & spices), yogurt… all low in calories & will not make you feel uncomfortable while laying down.
5- Eat after your workout, you earned it!
don’t mean having a chicken parm sandwich because you feel accomplished after that spin class; that will not help the numbers go down. Your post workout is key! This is the time you are replenishing the calories & nutrients after what your body just went through. If you do not have time or access to a full meal, a whey protein shake is great to have as soon as possible after your workout, preferably within 30 minutes. Be careful with the shakes sold at most fitness clubs, by adding milk, peanut butter, a banana or oatmeal, the calories add up & you wind up drinking the calories you just burned off. Either make your own or watch what they are adding. Chocolate or Vanilla whey with water & ice is the way to go. It will replenish the fluids lost during your workout (aka- sweat), they are quickly absorbed & will give you enough of the nutrients you need. If you can eat, you should be eating your post workout meal within an hour or so. This window of time is the most beneficial period for your body to receive post exercise nutrition. Try to include about 30 grams of protein (eggs, tuna, lean chicken) and 50 grams of carbohydrates (whole grains such as whole wheat bread, brown rice) in this meal. Drink lots of water & stay away from the soda.
EAT CLEAN, GET LEAN!
If you are interested in a copy of my own food diary print out, please email me & I would be happy to send you a copy.
Until next time