FHP 611 – Overrated/Underrated: Fat Loss Edition

FHP 611 – Overrated/Underrated: Fat Loss Edition

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Cori – 00:00

Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Finis-Tax podcast. This is a show where I share all my free work on the nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is, if you’re enjoying the podcast, to leave a review or leave a five-star rating or, even better, share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know, so let’s jump right in. So we’re going to talk about underrated versus overrated for fat loss. Michelle and I have very similar perspectives, but I think the differences that we do have will be very interesting in eye-opening. So, michelle, I’m going to throw you under the bus and make you start with the first one Workouts for fat loss underrated or overrated.

Michelle – 00:50

So in my opinion, overrated and part of. There’s several factors to this. And obviously I’m not saying workouts are bad and there’s obviously lots of health benefits from them. But if you are solely focused on fat loss and you think that throwing in an extra workout is going to get you your results, you’re going to be disappointed. And this is often because a lot of people tend to work out and we tend to over consume after because we think we’ve earned it or we think we’re burning more calories than what we actually are. And sometimes working out in general can actually increase your appetite. So if you’re not adding your workouts with a macro approach, you probably are going to be hungrier and more susceptible to kind of falling, falling victim to those simple refined carbohydrate cravings.

Cori – 01:40

And I’m going to disagree with you and say underrated.
And while I think for weight loss all you need is diet you change your diet, you can create that calorie deficit, you can lose weight I think that we so often misuse our workouts now that we now say diet is 80% of the battle and workouts are only 20%, but when we’re really trying to achieve that fat loss and that body recomp, workouts are so much more important than we give them credit for, especially for a sustained lifestyle.

02:05

So I would argue, underrated because we treat our workouts like a chance to just burn more calories and create that deficit, which is misusing them and that can then make them overrated. But if you’re trying to build and retain the muscle, you’re going to help yourself keep your metabolic rate higher. You’re going to help yourself feel more like fit and fueled and want to do all the healthy habits you have to in terms of like the nutrition wise and outside of the gym. So I think it’s really the implementation of our workouts that can be so important and make them such a valuable tool. However, as you mentioned like we can’t just see them as a chance to burn more calories. We can’t just see them as a chance to try and create that deficit, because ultimately that does backfire and then make them overrated.

Michelle – 02:44

Yeah, and I do think that’s the biggest issue is when people view their workouts that kind of as a punishment, like, oh I ate this, I need to go burn it. Most likely you’re not going to oftentimes work out long enough to actually burn it off or you’re probably overdoing it in the gym and causing other potential injuries. Other issues, increased stress that can kind of backfire.

Cori – 03:06

And I think part of what has made workouts slightly be like not as valued for fat loss or not as valued in terms of the weight loss process, is the fact that we’ve turned to just seeing them as a chance to burn more calories and we’ve gotten very obsessed with the fitness trackers which is actually kind of funny because I have two on one I use the time rest, the other one I use more to track sleep.

But we see our workouts only as this chance to burn more calories, and this is what backfires, versus seeing it as a chance to building muscle, really creates that healthy metabolic rate, and even see it as a chance to get functionally fit. So I think it’s almost realizing that there is even nuance in the workouts. I would say cardio is overrated, making our workouts hard is overrated, but true strength, where building that lean muscle is so undervalued and underrated when we want to achieve that body recomp. And it’s even why we can think, hey, I can’t get as lean as I’d like or I don’t see the lasting results, or I lose weight but I only look skinnier and I can’t maintain those results right. So it’s the nuance in how we use those workouts to pair with our nutrition really.

Michelle – 04:08

Yeah, exactly, I think you kind of nailed it right. There is, I think the biggest issue I have when people are focused so much on their workouts is they think that they need to be sore every workout and they really need to hit it hard. When the research shows that doing kind of the strength training and more slow, steady, you know, cardio, like walking where you were not not even speed walking, just walking, is going to make the bigger difference overall.

Cori – 04:34

We cannot exercise or diet plain and simple, and so both have to work together. Now, moving on to the nutritional component food quality does it matter for fat loss? Why or why not?

Michelle – 04:48

So I do think food quality is underrated and I have to have a little bit of a caveat here because I think the biggest thing is if how fast you’re wanting fat loss to results to occur.

So while macros are always going to help you, having you know that calorie limit is going to help you towards your goal, If you’re really looking to try and have fast results, you need to take into consideration of your quality.

So oftentimes you know everyone has this idea that calorie is king and as long as you’re in that deficit you are going to achieve your goal. And while that’s kind of true, part of the issue is, if you are only focusing on calories and macros in general and not giving any attention to quality, you’re really missing out on a lot of those whole nutrient dense and diverse foods that are really going to help you stay more energized, be more active, be able to repair and rebuild, be able to have that muscle protein synthesis actually rolling, so you’re getting on more muscle and actually being able to burn your fat, versus burning your muscle mass when we are in a deficit.

Cori – 05:57

When I put this one on there to talk to you about, I debated myself underrated. Overrated, because the thermic effect of food and whole natural foods really does make the weight loss process easier. Getting those nutrient dense foods versus calorically dense food makes our body function better, which helps us see better results faster. It can help us feel fuller, which makes the calorie deficit easier. At the same time, when I was really thinking through all of this and I knew you were going to say underrated, I had to almost lean towards that overrated side of the continuum for under rated to overrated because, let’s face it, it’s not really either or there’s a continuum. I had to lean towards that overrated side. The reason I did, I think, is my own personal bias and experiences with the fat loss process, the body recount process. I think it’s very easy to start and I see it a lot online, which is probably why I’m saying this.

But the clean eating pressure, while whole natural foods are really key, we want to improve our health, we want to have our body function as optimally as possible. So often we do just demonize any foods that aren’t perfectly clean by someone else’s standards and we don’t see that lifestyle balance. So we ultimately sabotage our own consistency. So I would say, if you are just starting out, food quality is vastly overrated Start meeting yourself where you’re at.

If you’re eating out all the time, try and find slightly better variations to hit those macros, to hit those calories right. Include foods that make your lifestyle easy. If it is having a protein bar on the go, if it is having something that’s a little more processed on the go but will keep you consistent, so that you can see that long-term adherence, do it. You’re still going to see results. People see results eating McDonald’s, fast food diets and lose weight right, and the whole point is that we’ve got to meet ourselves where we’re at to make those changes. So I would say, if you’re just starting out and your food quality maybe isn’t what you think is ideal or clean, it’s going to be overrated to focus on that first over just trying to get those portions dialed in. Get the calories dialed in. Meet yourself where you’re at. But then, yes, if you want to reach that next level of leanness, food quality is vastly underrated and if you’re relying on protein shakes and some not quality foods, that’s probably going to make the process a lot harder on you.

Michelle – 07:55

Yeah and that’s something that I actually talked to a lot of clients about is when we are starting to see that caloric intake be filled with protein shakes and protein bars and lots of supplements and don’t get me wrong, I’m not against supplements, I think they have a place but if we’re starting to miss out on those micronutrients, that can be oftentimes where the plateaus happen, and that’s what I see with the quality, like he said, I think you’re starting out and things are rolling. Yeah, you’re doing well as long as you are focusing on the macros and the calories. But if you want to avoid those plateaus and see continual results happen, then that’s when we do want to make sure that we are having that quality.

Cori – 08:39

And going off of that too and I bring this up because I know you had this discussion with a client where she was increasing her fruit and vegetable intake but she wasn’t quite seeing the quick changes she wanted on the scale in terms of body recompense. She’s like what’s even the point? And you’re like, well, but you’re eating all these things that are good for your health, which, long term, will benefit you. It will also snowball in terms of the body recompense that you’re seeing. So I think it’s important that we don’t forget the importance that getting the proper fuel in will make the vehicle function better, which ultimately will create hormonal balance, better recovery, all the things that lead to the results, even if it doesn’t feel like it’s snowballing right away.

Michelle – 09:15

Yeah, and I know this isn’t on the list, but I am just going to add I think the biggest underrated thing is time and patience. So many of us want those fast results and, like you said, like I’m doing these things, why am I not seeing the results as fast as I want? It’s going to snowball. Your health is improving, Hormones are getting fixed and that takes time.

It’s not an overnight switch. It may not even be like a week or a month switch, but you are going to see those improvements and the best results I hear from is when people are talking to me about their labs. Like you know, I may not have seen it on the scale, but those non-scale victories of my blood pressure has improved, my cholesterol has improved, I you know, my knees, my joints are feeling better, I can actually bend without pain or move without pain. Those are things that are often getting the recognition that it deserves and it’s going to snowball and the scale sometimes may be the last place that you actually see that improvement. But the labs, the measurements, those are going to be the areas of that. You’re going to see the results first.

Cori – 10:18

And I mean that boom might drop. But like that hits on, even how you might value some of these things and decide they’re underrated or overrated. For you, specifically, is what helps you be able to stick with it for long enough. Be consistent with it for long enough, right, because you can’t out exercise out, work out, diet time and you have to be consistent with things. So, moving on to the next one, because I think this actually does really play into that fasting overrated or underrated for fat loss?

Michelle – 10:50

I’m going overrated with this one, mainly because I think it’s a tool that some people can respond well to and it can help lead to results.

But I also think it’s become this like, oh, to get results you should be fasting, when in reality oftentimes this fasting really is just helping you kind of limit your caloric intake.

But I often see the negatives of fasting with clients, and that is one if you are fasting and you are perimenopause or sorry, not perimenopause, but if you are premenopause and preperimenopause oftentimes fasting can actually interrupt or disrupt your hormone production.

So sometimes I’m seeing a lot of issues with women that are having that, where their hormones all of a sudden are kind of thrown off balance. But the other issue I see, particular with the clients, is that they have this smaller window and because of that they have a very difficult time getting their protein in that they need at the end of the day and that is important is like, even if you’re fasting, this doesn’t all of a sudden mean that, like, those calories and grams of protein that you need daily get subtracted from your day. No, it just means that you have a smaller window to get them in. And while for postmenopause women there can be more benefits because we’re not worried so much about hormone production and I have seen postmenopause women respond decently to a moderate you know, fasting period. It is really one of those that’s just kind of overrated for the general population. It’s something that you don’t have to do and as long as you are kind of focusing on those calories and those macros in general, the timing is a little bit less important, thank God.

Cori – 12:37

I 100% agree. I actually like intermittent fasting. I’ve done it on and off over the years. It helped me allow me to find my balance, really understand my hunger cues a little bit better, work with my schedule to not feel pressure or think that my muscles were just going to melt off. I didn’t eat at a specific time. But I will have to still 100% say that it is overrated for fat loss and often misuse.

I see clients a lot of times using it to try and create more severe restriction which ultimately backfires and makes them want to overeat.

They try and force it when it isn’t right for their scheduling right, where they can’t then break their fast after training.

Or they do these different things just to try and intermittent fast because they’ve heard it’s really good and ultimately they try and use it to excuse not hitting their macros or not hitting their calories, which, if you don’t hit those things, I don’t care what your meal timing is you’re not going to see as good a results right. You can’t just eat crap even though you might be in a deficit and see the body recomp you want. Yes, you might lose weight on the scale initially. I also see it as something they then rely on to end up under eating and therefore they’re not getting the fuel they need to build and retain that lean muscle mass to keep their metabolic rate healthier, which then sabotages future weight loss efforts, makes it harder and harder to maintain the results that they even worked hard for. So I, even as a person who still does it not as consistently but still does it believes that it can be a tool to fit your schedule, think it is vastly overrated for fat loss.

Michelle – 13:58
And I think too just to kind of add, because you know we talked about fitting your schedule it also needs to kind of fit your social schedule as well, because I think so often, like we, we try it, like you said, we try to force ourselves in this box. But if you are struggling and it’s causing more stress because you’re worried about not being able to enjoy social events, go out with family and friends because it doesn’t line up with your eating window, then that can also have negative effects on your overall goal. So it’s really just taking into account your lifestyle, your social calendar, all those things, to really finding if it’s right for you or not.

Cori – 14:36

I totally agree. And on the flip side, you know if you are having a meal out where you don’t have as much control and you know you’re going to have more calories and you do fast, or you want to use it to really learn your hunger cues because you don’t want to be stuck to a meal timing, or you can’t eat at specific times, like all these things are really important, which kind of leads into the next topic, which is meal timing in general, not just fasting underrated or overrated because you hear it talked about a whole heck of a lot when it comes to achieving body recomp.

Michelle – 15:02

So I’m going to go overrated with this one, and mainly because I think so often we compare the you know the general population likes to compare it to like the athletes or what we’re hearing, so and so is doing, and the celebrities and what they’re doing, but so often we are over complicated, as it needs to be complicated. So when it comes to meal timing, you know I grew up and I was taught, you know, even going through my own schooling with nutrition that it really mattered to make sure that you had the proper nutrients post workout and that it really mattered to make sure that you were eating at X amount of times throughout the day. But the new research shows that it doesn’t really matter as long as at the end of the day, you are still hitting your overall caloric needs and your overall protein needs. So we get caught up in like well, when do I need to eat this pre workout and when do I need to eat this post workout?

If you’re not engaging in, like major endurance competitions where you know timing is going to actually matter a little bit more for you to be able to perform that activity, you don’t need to be stressed so much day to day. You can really just kind of have, kind of eat a fairly normal. You know, when you’re hungry you eat and make sure that you’re hitting your calories and macros without stressing about. Oh, it’s an hour before my workout, I need to get this in. Or, you know, 30 minutes after my workout there’s a magical window that I need to make sure I’m consuming X in. So that’s it, that’s not going to matter as much.

Cori- 16:34
I agree. I think meal timing is highly overrated and overstressed and over like focused on. I can tell you that in all the times I’ve ever tried to get as late as possible, I never want stress of specific meal timing, nor even kept a specific meal timing day to day. It’s fluctuated dramatically and I’ve just focused on hitting my macros and calories for the day and I’ve seen great results. That being said, I do think that, as much as it’s overrated in general for fat loss, some of these details can often be underrated when we’re trying to really meet ourselves where we’re at. So I do want to put the slight emphasis on if you are getting older, you’re struggling to get in your protein, you’re struggling to see the muscle gains you want. So again, this is would be if, even with fat loss, you’re trying to gain a little bit more muscle, you might then consider the timing of your protein to make sure that you are getting it right around your workouts, because that will help you with that muscle protein synthesis to see better results as you get older. So, understanding that, while it’s overrated, and if you haven’t gotten those other big fundamentals down and first, you’re focusing on the wrong things by focusing on meal timing. If you are really struggling to see the results you want when you have dialed in your overall macros, you have dialed in your overall calories, this can be something that you can play with to then help make sure that you’re getting the feel you need when you’re you need it.

If you’re training for something specifically, or if you have hit that next level of leanness and you’re really struggling to get those last few percent off, this is where those details can become highly underrated. But it’s very specific circumstances. So if you’re just starting out, if you want generally really fabulous results, stress the fundamentals first, focus on those overall macros, calories for the day. Then you can get into some of these details just to make things work better for you specifically. So, jumping off of that, because I think this is one of the biggest things that we need to focus on, and I’m going to say a spoiler here we’re both saying this is underrated protein. Why is protein so important and will we die on the hill of it’s underrated, no matter what?

Michelle – 18:30
So there’s lots of reasons, but one you know protein has a higher thermic effective food. You do get a slight metabolic boost and a little bit improved calorie burn when you are consuming higher amounts of protein. A big thing for me is whenever you are specifically focusing on fat loss and this is where, in this case, it’s a huge portion is when you are trying to lose fat. You are most likely going to be in a deficit. When your body is in that deficit, it’s going to turn to whatever it can for energy, especially at that, those beginning stages. So what happens is your body will actually turn to that muscle and obviously we want to keep that muscle. We want to lose that fat. So protein is going to help protect that muscle mass from being used up as energy when you’re in a fat loss phase. And then, of course, protein is important for repairing and rebuilding muscle. We want you to put on more muscle. We want to decrease that fat. We want to improve muscle. It is going to have an increased or it’s going to help you feel fuller when you’re consuming meals. So if you are looking at staying within a deficit, we want to To be focusing on foods that are going to keep you full so you’re not just feeling hungry all the time.

And then a big thing that I feel like a lot of people don’t recognize or give it credit for is protein does not come in just a little package where it’s just delivered just as pure protein. It’s going to have those micronutrients as well, so protein really is going to be full of, like B vitamins, which B vitamins are known as the energy vitamin. So oftentimes you can kind of get a boost in energy if you are increasing your protein and if you have that extra boost, you’re more likely to engage in behavior that’s going to have you burning more calories throughout the day. We tend to fidget more, we tend to be more excited about things, and that’s going to actually contribute to your overall calorie burn just, and that’s outside, of course, of feeling good enough to actually hit your workout. And then, of course, it also is going to have other vitamins and minerals, but things like zinc and iron are also going to help you fill, alert and feel more energetic as well, it is truly filled with micronutrients and even informed, so we can’t get in other foods.

Cori – 20:47
But on top of that and I agree with everything you said, surprise, surprise, you know again, I think it’s vastly underrated and I think we’re usually under eating it, which is part of why we don’t see the body recomp we want. Right. We’re not just looking for weight loss on the scale, we are looking to truly see that definition look leaner, right. Build and retain that lean muscle mass. Well, in the deficit, set ourselves up for long term success.

But eating more protein when you’re trying to lose fat is simply safer. And what I mean by this is if your calories go a little bit higher, if you do include that cheat day on a weekend, if you do have variations, by consuming more protein you’re going to make the other energy that you need. You’re going to be able to produce all the different things that you need because you’re getting protein. Also because of the thermic effect. If you overeat calories one day, you’re not going to see unwanted fat be gained as easily as if you had carbs or fat and didn’t utilize that energy source and you are protecting that lean muscle mass to keep the metabolic rate higher, not to mention when we do deviate okay, and most of us will have that cheat day. Most of us will have that day where our macros are off because we ate out.

If we’re airing on the side of going higher protein on all those other days, when we do have that one day where carbs and fat rule because that’s generally what happens when we don’t eat according to our macros to try and lose fat, we’re still maintaining like a higher level of protein overall and so everything balances out.

So I do like to air on the side of using higher protein ratios with clients whenever I can, knowing that when there are those deviations, those times out, they’re probably still hitting the minimum, even if they can’t fully track. So it oddly provides a safety net when we’re trying to lose fat, on top of all the other benefits from the thermic effect, protecting our lean muscle while we’re in that deficit, getting us the micronutrients that we need and all that jazz. Off of that, let’s talk about something that’s not nutrition-based and our final underrated, overrated for today sleep, Because workouts we think of as very important often for our fat loss results are nutrition we think of as very important, but those two things aren’t the only things involved in really seeing the results we want. Michelle, is sleep overrated or underrated for fat loss?

Michelle – 22:47
So I am going to say sleep is very underrated. Often times I feel like we tend to push through things when we have a lack of sleep. But one of the biggest things is, when you are not sleeping adequately, you are going to have a change in your neurotransmitters. So actually I’m a very I’m blanking for the word, but on a very like extreme level you are going to have see the effects actually harm you, and one of the things that’s going to happen is you are going to actually have an increase in ghrelin, which is the hunger promoting hormone, and a decrease in leptin, which is the satiating hormone. So you are automatically going to be craving more. You’re going to be kind of having to fight yourself against this kind of pushing your body a little bit further to kind of stay on track.

But oftentimes when we are having lack of sleep, it’s not just that we have an increased appetite, but what we’re actually craving is you’re not craving more protein, you’re craving that simple refined carps sources because you’re looking for quick energy, you’re trying to stay awake and then on top of that, we tend to over correct. So all of a sudden we feel like we need that extra caffeine and we start hitting that caffeine later in the day. Caffeine stays in your system whether you are filling, the jitteriness or the alertness of it or not. It is going to stay in your system for about 10 hours after your last consumption of it. So if you’re taking that later in the day to get through the slump because you’re tired so three o’clock, four o’clock, whatever it is you’re probably going to actually be heralded by the time you’re getting there. So it’s really trying to make sure that we are getting off of this roller coaster and being able to get that adequate sleep.

Now, on top of this, another hormone that’s going to actually increase with lack of sleep is the lack of sleep. You know there’s a lack of sleep, so you’re probably going to be able to go out and get your sleep, really trying to make sure that we are getting off of this roller coaster and being able to get that adequate sleep. Now, on top of this, another hormone that’s going to actually increase with lack of sleep is cortisol. So you are actually going to increase your overall stress and cortisol is kind of the fat storing hormone. So, specifically for fat loss, you’re not doing yourself any favors if you’re not hitting your sleep and this doesn’t need to cause like tons of extra stress, but there are things that you can do to kind of make sure that you are having good sleep habits and even consuming foods that are going to actually help you get to sleep and get a full night’s rest so that you’re able to get into that deep REM, so you are waking up well rested and actually having lower cortisol levels.

Cori – 25:15

I love that you mentioned the cycle that we get caught in and also the quality of sleep. I would agree that sleep is really underrated and I think it’s because we often feel like we don’t have as much control over it. And it’s not just the quantity, because sometimes we can’t sleep more, but it is trying to do everything we can to improve the quality, and that does relate back to our diet. I also think that sleep and the things we see with our sleep patterns really indicate other imbalances or things being off, whether it’s over training, and that disrupts our sleep, or even, you know, under eating, so that disrupts our sleep as well. Right, so we can see different symptoms of things being off in our workouts or diet and how our sleep is being impacted. But we can also adjust those things to then improve the quality of our sleep. But if we’re not getting, you know, the proper amount of sleep, we’re not going to see results happen as fast as possible, and that might be the missing link. And I know it’s really hard to say well, I can’t go to bed earlier, right, but what can you do to try and improve the quality of your sleep, from the way you’re dialing in your macros, to how you’re training, to the caffeine you include all those different things, because the quality of our sleep does impact then how we can train.

If you’re not recovering and rebuilding, you’re going to see diminishing returns from your workouts. You’re not going to be able to push us hard. So even though it feels like you’re true 100% intensity, it’s just not going to be. And then you’re not going to see the strength gains, you’re not going to see the muscle gains, you’re not going to see all the benefits from those training sessions, despite working really hard, and you’re going to feel more and more beat down.

If you’re not sleeping correctly, you’re not going to be able to fuel in the way that you need. You’re going to find that those cravings really increase and then it’s going to feel like this constant battle where you run out of willpower. So we’ve got to pay a lot more attention to our sleep as both a symptom of something being off but also the impact it’s then having on these other systems were able to implement. Everything really is connected and off of this I have to ask, and I have to throw this one your way, which you didn’t know was coming your way. So forgive me maybe, but caffeine overrated or underrated for fall-offs.

Michelle – 27:08

Oh, that’s a good one. I’m going to say overrated, because the biggest problem with caffeine is caffeine does help, by all means. There’s lots of research that shows caffeine is going to help actually increase your metabolism a little bit. But the problem is is the research is showing that it helps at 400 milligrams? Now, how many people are actually only drinking 400 milligrams? Not very many. Most of us are hitting, you know, getting more and more in throughout the day.

And my biggest issue with caffeine is especially when people are starting to have the weight loss journey is they tend to focus on like pre-workouts that are going to have massive amounts of caffeine in it and caffeine. In my opinion, this is a very biased opinion. Caffeine, caffeinated pre-workout, is a crutch because the benefit of it is is you are able to push yourself harder because you’re not going to fill the effects and fill fatigue as as you normally would, and that’s really appealing to people. But in my opinion, oftentimes if you’re relying on caffeine, it’s because there’s probably an imbalance in your nutrient intake. You may not just be consuming enough food and so you’re relying on caffeine. You may be pushing yourself in those workouts past the point that you should and causing more damage because you aren’t filling that fatigue effect but your body signals you and you want to kind of stay and have that mind-body connection when you are working out.

So I think caffeine can sometimes mask this. And another thing that’s kind of important that I see, especially with menopausal women, is caffeine is an appetite suppressant and that’s real. Again, it’s something that’s really appealing to people that are trying to lose fat. But oftentimes I see women who and men who are actually under eating. So if they’re already under eating and not providing their body with enough fuels so that they’re even allowed to push themselves harder and see the results that they want, that caffeine isn’t actually helping them. It can actually be hindering them because their appetite’s thrown off, they’re not filling their natural hunger cues. So in my opinion, caffeine is very overrated.

Cori – 29:29

I would agree. I think it’s too often relied upon. And what we don’t realize too is that your body adapts, so that caffeine, that one caffeinated drink that you’re having, great if it’s prior routine. I like having mine as a pre-workout shake. Sometimes, if you’re relying on that. A, you have something else. Often you can’t just keep relying on it. B, at some point your body’s going to adjust. So unless you take in more and more, it’s really not doing anything extra except potentially disrupting your sleep.

If you are trying to increase it, however, I will say it’s underrated if you use it strategically because, as you mentioned, it does help boost that metabolic rate. It can be an appetite suppressant. So I might implement it strategically, saying, hey, I’m not going to use caffeine at most times, but I’m going to do this mini-cut and to see extra benefits from this mini-cut, I’m going to add in caffeine, as that boosts my workout so I don’t fatigue knowing that I’m in a stricter deficit. I have a more extreme macro breakdown. So I think it’s one of these elements we can utilize strategically, but too often we just throw it in there, say, oh, this is a detail. When we don’t have our macros dialed in, we don’t have our sleep dialed in. We don’t have all these big fundamental dialed in and we think it’s going to fix everything, and it’s not. And on top of that it’s going to reach a point of diminishing returns, where then we can’t use it strategically when it could actually benefit us. So overrated for fat loss, underrated when utilized strategically, with a mini-cut potentially.

Michelle – 30:51

Yeah and I’m just going to throw this out there because I feel like not enough people know this but if you are looking for caffeine or you are using caffeine for the benefits of getting through your workout, beetroot and like beets in general are going to have a very similar effect to caffeine without having some of those negatives. So it’s going to cause the blood vessels to increase so you’re able to get more blood flow and more oxygen to your muscles for those workouts specifically. So there are I guess I’m saying this just in the point like there are other options too. If you are someone that’s like, oh, I really do feel like I need something through my workouts, this is just another way to kind of go about it.

Cori – 31:32

And I’m also going to tangent off of that and say when I’m talking about caffeine, I’m talking about natural sources too, to be used during the mini-cut. I think those pre-workouts are really overrated and very dangerous because they’re not regulated and a lot of the things that mimic the caffeine or the other stimulants aren’t well tested. So be very, very careful and conscious of those things. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve known that have taken one of those things and had a very bad experience with them. So be very careful about the types of caffeine you do choose to include. Off of all this, michelle, any closing thoughts in terms of overrated, underrated on any of these different topics we’ve covered, or just any closing tips for really achieving amazing fat loss and not getting distracted by details that don’t matter.

Michelle – 32:16

Well, you mentioned it earlier. But I think the biggest thing is is you do have to consider where you’re at and kind of where you’re going to go, because a lot of these things. Are any of these bad? No, absolutely not. Can you employ all of these to kind of help your journey? Absolutely.

The problem I see is a lot of people get caught up in the weeds and they start putting too much pressure on meal timing or, like you know, we had varying responses to workouts or they try to do too long of workouts or try to really just overdo it, especially from where you’re at. If you’re trying to get too much caught, or if you’re trying to get caught too much in the details of things, you’re going to miss some of the bigger picture items. So it really is about assessing where you’re at and where you’re wanting to go. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed, like just when we were going through over these things, and you’re like, oh, I didn’t even think about that, is that something that I should start focusing on. It really is going to depend on you.

We’re just slightly working towards that 1% improvement at all times. So if you’re at the very beginning of your journey, don’t be worried about meal timing. Don’t be too stressed about whether you should implement fasting or not, or even you know you’re caffeine intake at this time. Right now, we really just want to make sure that you’re getting your foundation down. What’s your calories at? Do you have your macro plan? And then from there, that’s when we want to step forward and start getting a little bit more detailed so that you aren’t hitting plateaus in the future.

Cori – 33:48

It’s really grabbing those lowest hanging fruits. And you know as much as I think fasting is a detail. If that seems like the easiest thing for you to start with, start with it. The foundation for us would be the workouts, probably the protein, although, as you mentioned, Michelle, also the calories. But the workouts, one nutritional change, the sleep right.

Even with those three, you might think, okay, well, that’s too much, even though those are the fundamentals. So maybe working out and starting back is something you’ve always enjoyed in the past, but you’re not doing it right now and you haven’t made dietary changes. But working out seems easiest. Start with that, even if it’s walking. If you’re, like I, really dislike working out, I need to start something.

Maybe you start with focusing on protein or tracking your food or adjusting your meal timing, but think about how you can take all these different things and meet yourself where you’re at, with making one change to start, and the one that seems like it’s the easiest to grab onto. Maybe it is focusing on sleep, because you’ve not had success making workout or nutrition changes in the past and you’re like, well, hey, I would love to get better sleep. So that sounds really attractive to try and make changes. But again, what you start with will be based on where you’re at currently, and the more you understand your lifestyle and even take time to outline what your current lifestyle looks like today, the better off you’re going to be. Thank you so much, Michelle, for joining me. Any last thoughts off of what I just said, even?

Michelle – 35:06

No, I mean, I would just want to repeat what you said. Honestly, it’s really just assessing where you’re at and trying to find that one thing to change and really building off of that habit stacking, making sure that you are doing what’s best for you and not. And I guess my final thought would just be don’t compare. No one’s journey should be the same and your journey is going to be different from your best friends, from your moms, from your sisters. It’s because it’s your journey, so really just focus on you and that 1% improvement.

*Please Note: this transcript is auto-generated and there may be some errors in the transcript

FHP 610 – But I LOVE Cookies…

FHP 610 – But I LOVE Cookies…

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TRANSCRIPT

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OPEN TRANSCRIPT

00:00
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks podcast. This is a show where I share all my free work on the nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is, if you’re enjoying the podcast, to leave a review or leave a five-star rating or, even better, share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know. So let’s jump right in.

00:30
I got this box and on the outside it says perishable and the return address is an address that I know it’s going to be good inside, and opening it up, it was some of my favorite bars and cookies and my first thought was, oh no, ryan sent me really good stuff, or at least that would have been my thought in the past. Now the good thing is is that I see this and I go, yum, how can I work this in? I bring this up because I think a lot of times we’re, you know, given a present. We have a party come up, we have some life event come up and all of a sudden, when we’re trying to reach a specific goal, we think, oh, no. And then we feel like the person on the diet and either we feel very frustrated, making a big sacrifice that we don’t want to make to try and stick with our healthy eating habits and routine, or we say, well, it’s just ruined, I gave up, I’m going to, you know, enjoy the things, life happened right. And then we sabotage everything we’re looking to build. But it doesn’t really have to be an all or nothing thing or either or thing. We can find a balance, and it’s really key that we do find a balance so that we can be consistent with habits to see lasting results.

01:35
Too often we do think, oh, I’m that person on a diet, and then we say we can’t have any of these things, and that ultimately leads to us, you know, white knuckling our way through, feeling like we just don’t have the willpower at some point to keep maintaining those healthy habits, instead of saying, hey, you know, I’m going to have cookies at this date, maybe. Yeah, sure, you don’t go to the grocery store and get Oreos because you don’t care about those as much, but when someone sends you something good, you enjoy it. The key is really not labeling foods as good or bad, but realizing that we have to find a balance. If we can’t allow ourselves to enjoy the lifestyle things that we really want, ultimately we’re not going to keep doing all the healthy habits we’re trying to implement. The more we meet ourselves where we’re at, the more we think.

02:12
You know, what does my lifestyle look like? What do I enjoy? And I know I enjoy these cookies and bars. I know if I have this box sent to me, I’m not going to want to give them away or throw them out or anything like that. I’m going to want to enjoy them. But how can I then find that balance?

02:23
And I used to say I can’t have dessert. I realized that’s what I actually sabotaged my lasting habits for the longest time and hindered me from getting the body recomp that I wanted. Once I said no, I want to work in dessert. This is a non-negotiable for me. How can I plan it in? I struck that balance.

02:38
So if you’ve been starting new healthy habits and now you’re faced with a life event, whether or not it’s a party, a night out with the girls, you know goodies being sent your way. You know goodies even out at work, whatever it is, and you’re like okay, either I have to try and willpower my way through, but this is my favorite thing, or I’m going to end up sabotaging all the things I’ve worked so hard for. No, you’re not. You can have that balance. Say, hey, I’m going to have this this day, maybe I’m going to plan it into my macros. Or maybe, hey, I’m not going to hit my macros today and that’s A-OK. I’m still going to hit my protein, but I’m going to work this in.

03:06
The one thing we can’t do is either try and willpower our way through constantly, because at some point we’re going to give up, or say I’ve ruined everything. I think that’s a big thing is that we make ourselves feel guilty for enjoying the things we love instead of trying to find that balance. And it’s like getting a flat tire. If you get a flat tire, you pull over, you call AAA, you put on the spare, you try and get moving forward as fast as you can. You don’t go and slash the other three. Yet so often with our nutrition, if we have one cookie, we have one bar, we have one day that didn’t go perfectly, we say, well, I’ve screwed it up, and then we ruin the next week and the week after and the week after that, because we feel guilty and months later we’re starting over. But we’re not really just starting over. We can’t just move forward from where we had been. We’ve now dug ourselves a hole we have to climb out of.

03:47

So if you have something, come up a party. You get sent goodies. Find your lifestyle balance. Don’t just say you can’t have something. Don’t label foods as good or bad. Find your lifestyle balance. Meet yourself where you’re at and realize that your balance is going to look different than somebody else’s. Thanks for listening to the Fitness Hacks Podcast. Again, this is the place where I share all my free workout and nutrition tips. I’m never going to run sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is, if you’re enjoying the podcast, to leave a rating review or share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and it would mean the world to me and possibly change life of someone you know.

*Please Note: this transcript is auto-generated and there may be some errors in the transcript

FHP 609- Fat Loss Is NOT A Lifestyle

FHP 609- Fat Loss Is NOT A Lifestyle

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TRANSCRIPT

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OPEN TRANSCRIPT

00:00
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks podcast. This is a show where I share all my free work on the nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is, if you’re enjoying the podcast, to leave a review or leave a five-star rating or, even better, share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know. So let’s jump right in.

00:27
1. Stop trying to build a lifestyle. So hear me out. When we approach working towards a weight loss goal or a muscle building goal, we think I have to create sustainable habits that become a lifestyle, and while that is partly true, I think we’ve gone too far down this road of trying to make everything feel sustainable, right to start, feel like a lifestyle right to start. And it’s simply not going to, because to reach a goal, we don’t have to reach a new set point we’ve never been at. We’re going to have to do things we’ve never done and they’re not going to feel natural, normal, because what feels sustainable, what feels like a lifestyle, is what we’ve always done, what we want to fall back into naturally, even unconsciously. So I think this attitude of I have to create this lifestyle holds us back from implementing hard changes at times, and I was trying to think of a way of describing it, because that doesn’t mean go do a cleanse, go do a fad diet, go do a diet with a label, something that is completely unsustainable, with no relation to your true lifestyle or what you honestly want to live like after you reach your goal. But I think it has to be this balance of realizing that what you do to reach a goal is not what you will do to maintain it.

01:38
So, in trying to think about this, I was trying to think about a great description of this, and it’s like you get to design a house from scratch. You’re going to build that foundation, you’re going to build that structure of that house and you want that to be perfect and set in place. That is learning about macros. That is learning about progressions. It is things that are unchanging. It is the fundamentals of working out and nutrition that you need to understand because you want that solid foundation. Because so often we don’t learn those things, we go into a fad diet and we’ve thrown up this haphazard house and it’s why it falls down. But once you build that house, once you understand macros, once you understand the basics of working out, you have your program design. You know that you have to repeat workouts.

02:14
Once you have some of those fundamental habits and routines and like understandings in place of what it takes to reach a goal or what it takes to adjust your lifestyle, or even that self-awareness of where you’re at and what you might need to change, then you can start to decorate the house right. When it’s built, you can decorate it and as you decide. You know the f the f fashions go this way. You can change the decorations as you make more money and want to add in some extra elegant stuff or stuff becomes old. You can change out all the inner workings. So if you go through menopause, maybe the dressings in the house are chaff to change, right. But we can shift as our lifestyle, needs and goals evolve. But we want it to be the decorations in the house, the wallpaper or lack of wallpaper, painting the furniture, all those different things that we’re shifting, because it’s a lot easier to change those things out over time than it is to rebuild a shaky foundation and we risk everything collapsing in.

03:01
So we want to think about building a lifestyle as can I understand the fundamentals of things? Can I understand okay, everything I’m doing has to come back to the protein, carbs and fat I’m consuming. I can adjust the types of food. I could decide to go paleo, I could decide to go vegan, but ultimately the macros matter most in terms of the results. So I can change the types of food I’m including. I can choose to cut out bread if I think that’s going to help me get better results, but I have to understand the macro breakdowns that cutting out that bread is really going to create. We want to understand the fundamentals. When we understand the macros and what we need as we reach our goal to now maintain our results, we can shift our macro breakdowns to then gain muscle. We can shift our macro breakdowns to then be able to perform in an endurance sport. When we haven’t done an endurance sport, we can shift our macros. We’re changing the exact implementation of those macros, but macros are the foundation, they are the structure of the house. The other things are the decoration, exactly what ratios we use.

03:52
So, as you’re looking to make a change, as you’re looking to achieve a fat loss goal and maybe even reach a level of leanness you’ve never achieved before. Stop thinking it’s going to feel sustainable. Stop thinking that thing that you’re going to be doing is a lifestyle, because it honestly isn’t going to feel that way. A lot of the changes you might look back on and be like, oh, that wasn’t so bad, or I wish I’d done it sooner, and a lot of the fundamentals you’re putting into place again, the macro breakdowns or the workout progressions that are clearly designed, will carry you through to maintaining. But how you’re implementing those things will shift your lifestyle.

04:22
Your diet, your workout should be constantly evolving and if you think about it, we do get this attitude a lot more with diet of. This should be a lifestyle, it should feel sustainable. I have to have this balance right. Cutting out foods to reach a goal is not sustainable, but understanding why maybe I chose to eliminate those foods for a period could be sustainable. But we do this a lot more with diet, where we think it should be a lifestyle, or we go to extreme restriction, versus with workouts. We kind of have accepted oh, I’m going to do this program. Okay, now I’m going to shift to this program when I want to reach a new goal, we have to take that same approach. But I want you to get out of this mindset that it’s going to feel like a lifestyle, especially to start, and that what you’re doing right now will become the thing you do forever, because it’s only the underlying principles, it’s only that foundation of the house that we don’t want to change. We want to be able to decorate it anyway we’d like, as the wind even strikes us, as we want to work towards another goal. So hopefully that analogy helped and I hope that as you’re working towards your goals, things have felt hard, if they felt unsustainable, if they felt different. Good, it probably means you’re on the right track to achieve a new result, because what you do to achieve your goal is not what you will do to maintain it, and the more we can focus on that, the more we can create the principles that build a lifestyle while making the changes and the hard changes that we actually need right now to move forward.

05:28

Thanks for listening to the Fitness Hacks podcast. Again, this is the place where I share all my free workout and nutrition tips. I’m never going to run sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is, if you’re enjoying the podcast, to leave a rating review or share it with somebody you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and it would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know.

*Please Note: this transcript is auto-generated and there may be some errors in the transcript

FHP 608 – My Results Stopped! (Is It Really A Plateau?)

FHP 608 – My Results Stopped! (Is It Really A Plateau?)

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TRANSCRIPT

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OPEN TRANSCRIPT

Cori

00:00
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks podcast. This is a show where I share all my free work on the nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is, if you’re enjoying the podcast, to leave a review or leave a five star rating or, even better, share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know. So let’s jump right in.

00:29

Progress is never linear Along the way. There will be plateaus, times when your results slow or even seem to stop building, and too often when this happens, we get frustrated and we give up. We stop doing all of the habits that moved us forward, but this leads to us just regaining the weight and losing all of the progress we’ve made. That’s why I want to go over why we often see our results plateau and what we can do about it. First, I do want to clarify what a plateau actually is. This isn’t just not seeing results for one week. It isn’t even gaining a pound one week after losing to the week prior. A true plateau is at least four weeks of no changes whatsoever no changes in measurements, no changes in weight, no improvements in workouts, nothing. And it’s at least four weeks for a number of reasons. For instance, a woman with her period will see fluctuation based on the time of her cycle. A woman in menopause may have changing hormone levels leading to slower changes. As we get older, results simply happen slower even as we don’t have the optimal hormone environment we did when we were younger. And an advanced trainee may have adapted and can handle more. So it actually needs a longer time and greater training stimulus to see results. Basically, you can’t just say you’ve hit a plateau because results aren’t happening fast enough, and while we never will happen fast enough, and while we don’t want to keep repeating something that isn’t working, we also need to realize what is realistic before we make a change. And the answer when we do plateau isn’t just doing more. We can’t just keep trying to slash our calories lower or train harder and longer. That may even sabotage our long-term results. So here are five reasons your results may have plateaued and how to address these situations.

02:18

First, a plateau doesn’t actually mean you aren’t still making progress. I did mention this because you may just be in a dead zone. You may be in that phase where your body is fighting the weight loss process, because our body does want to fight the process. It believes where we’re at is natural and normal and taking in fewer calories seems like a threat to your survival. Your body doesn’t want to lose weight, so it’s going to do everything it can to resist those changes and hang onto the fat stores’ fuel for future use.

02:47

This is when you have to stay consistent. You’ve hit a period where you’re doing the right habits, but things just need to accumulate more before you see the payoff. It’s almost like you just have to give your body time to embrace and trust that it can still survive as you make the changes. So, while it feels like nothing’s happening and you’ve hit a dead zone, avoid the desire to want to do more or change things up. We have to remind ourselves that we don’t need more tactics, lower carbs or new exercises or fancy tools or crazy fat burning supplements. We just need more time, more time doing the habits that add up. So, as hard as it may be, your plateau may just be that you haven’t been in long enough. You saw that initial pop of results with your first big changes. But now you just need to keep up the plan and things will snowball. Stay consistent and keep tracking what you’re doing. Realize that results are accumulating and will only show if you don’t give up.

03:44

The next reason we often plateau is that we haven’t reassessed our needs in a while. Often it takes longer to reach a goal and along that journey we have to adjust and evolve. Nothing works forever. Our lifestyle and schedule may change, impacting how we need to train, and if our training shifts, we may need to adjust our nutrition to match. Even our body and hormones may shift, impacting what we need. What you need before menopause is different than what you’re going to need during menopause or even after menopause, and if we don’t adapt as our body needs, goals and lifestyle evolve, we won’t continue to see progress towards our goals and may even find we go backwards.

04:24

So if you haven’t assessed how all of the systems are working together and making you feel it may be time to review everything, too often we emphasize just one component over looking at how all the systems are working together. We seek a better move, a better macro ratio, we search for an ideal, but one component alone doesn’t fix a broken system. So if your results have stalled, assess how everything in your lifestyle is working together and if it’s actually meeting what your body and even mind need right now. And as you assess, you’re going to need to be honest with yourself. I bring this up because too often we’ve plateaued because our consistency simply isn’t there. We’ve gotten lazy with habits we’ve gotten comfortable with. We see progress and start to put some of our healthy habits on autopilot, and often 1% deviations over time lead to us drifting further and further, of course, and so we aren’t even implementing a lot of what we need and we start to regain the weight. But we can stop this drift off course before it happens, by honestly assessing, when results are plateaued, if we’re truly being as consistent as we think.

05:27

Tracking your food, recording your workouts to watch your improvements and consistency can help us stay on track. What gets measured gets managed. Don’t let how you feel about your habit color what’s actually going on. Don’t make the excuse you’re being good enough actually slide. If you’ve hit that plateau, it’s time to see room for improvement and growth with the habits you’re already doing. Find those deviations in your consistency and address them. Once you have, you can then assess if those habits are no longer in line with what you need. But don’t stop doing something until you know your consistency is there to validate needing a change.

06:04

Too often we stop doing what could lead to growth, thinking it isn’t working just because we ignored the inconsistencies in our calories or macros or even workouts that are actually there. Along with ignoring those inconsistencies that allow us to feel like we’re being better than we are, we stop pushing our comfort zone. We stop building off our healthy habits. We make one or two easier changes that lead to results initially, but we don’t keep going. But to reach a new and better result, a goal we’ve not achieved for a while, or maybe even ever, we need to keep pushing our habits and lifestyle forward.

06:36

As weird as it sounds, you’re creating a new you, a new identity and lifestyle as you work to become the person that has the goals and results you want. That means we have to keep making changes, even when we start to feel more uncomfortable. And while I know this isn’t a popular opinion or a fun thing, to own success is sacrifice. The loftier our goals, the more we have to be willing to push ourselves. So if you’ve found your results plateauing, ask yourself. Am I continuing to push myself to make changes or have I fallen back into what’s comfortable? Well, we don’t want to be changing everything all the time. We can’t stop driving forward and become complacent.

07:14

If we want results, and throughout your weight loss journey, you need to give yourself credit for the changes and results that are building, because too often we just say my results have plateaued, when results are actually snowballing. We’re just choosing to measure progress in only one way. If we want to lose weight and we don’t, on the scale one week, we can decide we aren’t progressing and give up on something that’s working. When really results are building. We just happen to eat later than I before, or drink more water or do something that made the scale fluctuate up that single day and instead of recognizing that our pants are fitting looser, or that our lifts went up that week, or that we’re sleeping better or our aches and pains have diminished, we say we aren’t progressing because we just didn’t see progress in one specific way. That’s why we need to manage our expectations and set more than one way of determining success. The more ways we measure success, the more ways we give ourselves to be successful, and this is what keeps us moving forward, to give results, time to snowball. So just because the scale isn’t changing doesn’t mean results aren’t building.

08:18

Track other complementary goals that help you repeat the habits you need to keep moving forward. Track improvements in how you feel, how you’re sleeping, your energy levels, your lifts, your runs, your rides. Even track the consistency and celebrate wins in repeating those habits. But realize that often what we even label as a plateau really isn’t one. We just didn’t see progress in one specific way, even though we’re moving forward. Remember that plateaus are normal and they’re just chances to assess how things are going and if we truly are meeting ourselves where we’re at.

 

Don’t simply give up. Don’t simply try and do more. Simply use this as a time to assess and give results. Time to build as you meet yourself where you’re at with those habit changes. Thanks for listening to Fitness Hacks podcast podcast. Again, this is the place where I share all my free workout and nutrition tips. I’m never going to run sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is, if you’re enjoying the podcast, to leave a rating review or share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and it would mean the world to me and possibly change life with someone you know.

FHP 607 – How Your Fitness Is Like A Road Trip

FHP 607 – How Your Fitness Is Like A Road Trip

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TRANSCRIPT

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OPEN TRANSCRIPT

00:00
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness hacks podcast. This is a show where I share all my free work on the nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is, if you’re enjoying the podcast, to leave a review or leave a five-star rating or, even better, share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know. So let’s jump right in.

00:29
Treat your journey to results like a road trip. If you do this, you’re going to see better results faster. So I want to explain why your journey, your path, is truly like a road trip to your results. Okay, think about it this way You’ve mapped out even your plan, just like you would map out your road trip. But when we map out our plan, we still often think this is where I am, this is where I want to go. Here are the habits that get me there. We don’t think about pit stops or flat tires or speed limits, and I’m going to go over how these things factor in and why we need to consider them, not only on real road trips, but on our road trips to the fitness results that we want. So, speed limit, flat tire rest area why am I showing you these three pictures of these three things when I’m talking about achieving amazing fitness results, whether or not it’s, you know, performing well in a race, lifting more in the gym, seeing weight loss, seeing body recomb?

01:23
Okay, so let’s first talk about the speed limit. You won’t travel at one speed to achieve the results that you want. You think about it this way there are times you’re more motivated and times you’re less motivated. When you’re more motivated, you’re going to be willing to make more sacrifices. You’re going to be able to do a lot more things. You’re going to see results a little bit faster. However, when you’re less motivated, you can’t do as much, and trying to force ourselves to go the same speed at each time is going to get us into trouble. If you don’t go the speed limit on the road, you’re potentially going to be pulled over. So when you can drive faster on the highway, you want to take advantage of it. When you have to go to slower speed limit, you need to obey that slower speed limit, because trying to cheat your way to faster results is potentially going to get you in trouble. So consider how motivated you actually are. Think about what sacrifices you’re willing to make and then steer into whatever speed you have to go at that time. If it is a time where other priorities in your life need to take over priority, make sure that you’re scaling back on those goals to keep moving forward, because we don’t want to just stop. If we’re allowed to drive 25 miles an hour, we want to go 25 miles an hour so that we can get to that 60 mile an hour place a lot faster.

02:27
When we’re in this different speed zone, we want to think about the fastest sustainable continuum. So we want to think about, if we have to go a little bit slower, the speed limits lower, maybe we’re in that sustainable phase. We’re doing things that strike that lifestyle balance that we know are going to help us stay consistent with things, but might not drive us forward as fast because we aren’t willing to make as many sacrifices. However, maybe we’re more motivated. Maybe the pain of staying in the position we’re in pushes us forward. We’re willing to make more sacrifices. This is where we can steer towards that faster end of that fastest sustainable continuum in terms of habits Continuum. So when we go towards the fast side, we’re going to be able to make more sacrifices, do more things that will drive us forward faster.

03:05
But you can’t push yourself into one if you’re not motivated to be in one. And when we do, that’s where often we feel like we don’t have the willpower or self-control to keep going. So if you do have one of those periods where you’re on the highway, able to drive fast, consider those mini cuts. This might be a time where you go into more of extreme deficit. Do a little bit stricter macro breakdown. However, if you’re having to drive a little bit slower, if you’re not as motivated, if other priorities are taking again priority in your life, think about doing a macro’s minimum. How can I do less and still maintain my results and keep myself moving forward? Because really it’s not that we’re doing all or nothing and we do do all or nothing. It’s like we’re driving in the opposite direction of where we need to go. Right, we want to think about how can we keep inching forward, how can we go at a slower speed but keep moving in the direction. We need to go Off of this.

03:51
Okay, things won’t go as planned. On your road trip. You might have your AAA card. You might know how to put on the spare tire if you need. You might know where all the gas stations are in case you need to fix your car up. But we have to realize that things aren’t always going to go as planned. And on road trips we often do have a plan in place for when we have that hiccup with our vehicle, or at least we should. You don’t, but how are you going to get back on track after that? We’re not going to go slash the other three tires on our car just because we get it flat. We’re going to call a tow truck or replace it with the spare that we have in our car.

04:21
But sometimes, when we’re approaching our diet and workout routine, when we get a flat tire, when we have one deviation, one thing that goes off plan, we sort of say, yep, the day is messed up, and then we go eat the whole box of cookies or we skip the rest of the month of workouts. Right, we want to figure out how can we get ourselves back on track more quickly. So we want to have that plan be in place. We want to have that backup plan. We want to have something that’s going to help us move forward when deviation, step backs occur, because success is failure to some extent and I know that sounds really weird to say, but success is a lot of failures, but you just keep picking yourself back up and moving forward after each and every one. So think about how can you get your AAA card to keep you moving forward in your fitness journey? Is that having a proven plan? Is that having an outside expert accountability? What can keep you moving forward and help you get back on track when you do have those hiccups and things don’t go as planned?

05:09
Now, the last thing I want you to consider, which I think is honestly the most important and probably the least sort of done, is creating those rest areas. So when you’re driving in your car and if you’ve been driving for a very long time, you could try and push through not sleeping. You can try and do the caffeine thing right, but ultimately you’re putting yourself at risk to fall asleep at the wheel and you could end up not getting there or getting there a lot slower if you don’t just take those rest breaks. We want to do the same thing when it comes to our workout and diet routine. We need to take dieting breaks at points, give our body a mind of break. We need to take the load weeks with our workouts because while it can feel like we’re not moving forward and technically you know, if you take a pit stop when you’re traveling on a road trip you aren’t moving forward at all but ultimately allows us to keep moving forward a lot faster because we’re able to focus, we’re able to really put our all into what we’re doing.

05:55
So consider those breaks pre or proactively. Don’t just sort of let them have to happen. Really say, hey, I’m going to start a plan these things out and then don’t be afraid to listen to your body. Because if you do listen to your body, if you do even pause to learn, ultimately you can reach your goal a lot faster without having any massive setbacks. Because even think about this way, think about like, if you get a little bit off track or you think you might have taken a wrong turn, it’s better to pause, check that map, check the GPS and get back on track right then, versus continue to drive and get even more off course.

06:26
Same thing goes for our workout routine. If we keep going when we aren’t sure if something’s working and we haven’t paused to assess what our data is actually telling us. We’re not going to see the best results as fast as possible. So plan in those pit stops, plan in those breaks, embrace them. As much as we often want to try and just keep going at our 100% intensity, it gets depleted with everything else going on in life. So the more proactively we do plan in those breaks, the more we can move forward a lot faster.

06:49
So I just want you to remember that your lifestyle is not stagnant, so your route is going to constantly have to be adjusting. Every time we’re working towards a new goal, we have to outline a new road trip for ourselves, because we’re not going to the same destination and often what took us to St Louis is not what’s going to take us out to California. So we have to recognize that we have to set out a different road trip, a different roadmap, each and every time we’re working towards a new goal. So just recognize these three different things. You’re not going to travel at the same speed, okay, but you got to obey the speed limit to some extent. So embrace whatever speeds you have to go. There are going to be hiccups, flat tires, things that pop up. How are you going to move forward as fast as possible when something does happen and then plan in those pit stops proactively so that you can ultimately move forward a lot faster and not put yourself at risk for fully sabotaging everything? Because, trust me, if you don’t do a D-load week and you end up injured, you’re going to be out for a lot longer than potentially doing that D-load week and addressing things before they add up.

07:42
Hope this imagery of planning out your fitness road trip really helps you think about your journey in a different way. Thanks for listening to the fitness hacks podcast. Again, this is the place where I share all my free workout and nutrition tips. I’m never going to run sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is, if you’re enjoying the podcast, to leave a rating review or share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and it would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know.

FHP 606 – The Upside vs. The Downside of Health & Fitness

FHP 606 – The Upside vs. The Downside of Health & Fitness

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TRANSCRIPT

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OPEN TRANSCRIPT

00:00
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks podcast. This is a show where I share all my free work on the nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is, if you’re enjoying the podcast, to leave a review or leave a five-star rating or, even better, share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know. So let’s jump right in.

00:29

There is a downside to every upside, a cost to every reward, and the more we recognize this, the more we really empower ourselves and give ourselves the opportunity to move forward and meet ourselves where we’re at and I started thinking about this actually because I had a sweatshirt on that said Bumblebee Brain and I speak very fast. I’m trying, even right now, to speak slower, but when I get really excited, I know I speak really fast. But that fast pace is also what makes my brain work, in my opinion, in a very amazing way and make connections in a very interesting way. That is the downside to the upside. It’s something that you know. We always want to work on those flaws a little bit, but we also have to accept that they’re there and embrace them because of that. Upside right, you might have long arms like I’m good at doing pull-ups because my long arms but it impacts me negatively, potentially for all their exercises. So there’s always a good thing about ourselves, but it also comes with a cost and this is why we can see results happening very fast with specific systems, but also slowly at times, and I think the more we really own this and learn this about ourselves, like our upsides and our downsides, the more we can create systems that work for us. But I also think it’s key we address this when it comes to these systems themselves, because while we are creating something or we want to create something sustainable, this doesn’t mean that we’re going to like everything that we do in the day

01:40

Right, I’m sorry I don’t know about you, but I don’t like wicking up with alarm. I like the upside of that, of being up early enough that I can do all the things that I have to do, that you know I get a great start to my day, that I don’t miss my flight, you know all these different things, but I don’t actually like wicking up alarm. I accepted it and we don’t even necessarily think about some of those downsides, because there are so many upsides and we’re willing to embrace them or they’ve just become such a part of our systems. However, we become very, very aware of those downsides when we’re first starting a new habit. Right, all we can sometimes focus on is all the negatives of that habit instead of seeing the upsides to it. Sometimes, like even if we were counting macros and it’s, you know, tedious and boring. We have to wear food and it takes extra time and we’re not used to it and it’s annoying. With now entering the recipes and all these different things, we find all those downsides but we don’t think about the upside of. Hey, this is the daily habit. That will get easier, that will help me make sure that I’m reaching my goals and know exactly what I’m consuming, to make accurate tweaks, because in the moment we’re very caught up in those downsides.

02:32

So I think sometimes, when we’re going to create a new system, it can be really good to say, hey, here are the habits that I feel I need to reach my goals, what are the downsides to them? What are the upsides to them? And then, in assessing, you might say, hey, these downsides right now feel a little bit too painful to do. So what are some habits that have fewer downsides, or downsides that I’m more willing to embrace, sacrifices that I’m okay with right now, knowing that you can always step up slowly. That’s that habit stack right. Okay, I’m okay with adding more water because this feels easy. I’m going to put my water bottle out at different places. The downside to this is okay, yes, I have to remember to drink. Or yes, I have to drink and maybe go pee a few more times during work.

03:07

Whatever, it is right, you have some downsides to the upsides, but the upsides feel worth it, and so the pain of that or the sacrifices you have to make with that habit are easy. So you start with it. Okay, knowing the downsides and upsides, it allows us to use them. And then saying, okay, now, off of this, I’m feeling really motivated. What else can I do? And build off of that?

03:23

And you might find too that by looking at the downsides and upsides of different things, you can meet yourself where you’re at, based on your motivation, because so often we only start something when we’re super motivated and sacrifices feel way more worth it when we’re motivated right With January. You know, maybe you weren’t as good during the holidays. You have a little bit of weight on you. Your pants don’t fit right, you’re so you’re a little bit more motivated, you’re in a little bit more pain. So the pain of change is something that you’re more willing to embrace. So you make a lot more habit changes.

03:49

However, once that motivation fades, all of a sudden, work gets busy, family life gets busy, things you know shift and you don’t have that pain of staying stuck as much, maybe even seen results, and so you’re feeling a little bit better already too. Then some of the sacrifices might not feel worth it. The downsides might not feel worth it. So that point that’s a good time to reassess. Okay, what habits am I doing? How can I even change these habits so they don’t feel like as much sacrifice at times, knowing that you have to go back to the minimum? You’re not going to see just one consistent lifestyle over the entire year. You are going to see ebbs and flows. It’s why I love having people stay and like coaching for a little bit longer, even when they’re maintaining their results, because a lot of times what we don’t realize is how much our lifestyle really does shift over the year.

04:28

There are times that shifts over the year and those shifts are something that we don’t often address and it comes down to, again the upsides and downsides to every habit, even habits we’ve done for a really long time. That times we don’t even notice the downsides too, just because they’re so a part of it. Like I mean, if you think about working out, the downside is you’re taking that hour to potentially work out, that 30 minutes to work out, maybe you have to do more laundry for your workout clothes because you’re sweating through more clothes. Like it can seem silly some of the downsides, but those can also have an impact depending on what other priorities we have going on. And so the more we can assess every habit, the downsides and the upsides, and then even where our head is that motivation wise, who we are, again our personal downsides and upsides to see where they match with the habits. Right, because we do have different priorities in our life. We do have different strengths.

05:11

Some of us might embrace, you know, having to have a schedule a little bit more than others, because that’s part of our, you know, type A-ness, versus if you’re more type B, that might be more of a challenge. So trying to fit in the workout in a consistent way is harder, right? So there’s different downsides and upsides to our own habits and to our own personality. But the more we take time to step back and really weigh them, the more we can meet ourselves we’re at and then even adjust based on how motivation, based on how lifestyle changes happen over the course of a year. So stop ignoring that there are negatives. Stop, you know, trying to run from them, own them and really work around them and plan around them and plan for them as much as you can, because it’s going to help you see better results.

05:50

Thanks for listening to the podcast. Again, this is the place where I share all my free workout and nutrition tips. I’m never going to run sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is, if you’re enjoying the podcast, to leave a rating review or share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and it would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know.