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How To Lose STUBBORN Fat (3 TIPS)

How To Lose STUBBORN Fat (3 TIPS)

by | Aug 28, 2022 | Blog, Diet, Exercises

Have you felt like you are just DOOMED to always have those stubborn areas of fat that will never go away?

The simple answer is YOU AREN’T!

But by no means is the fat loss process easy.

However, I’m going to share with you 3 tweaks you can make to your workouts and diet to finally lose that last frustrating bit of fat from YOUR abs and hips.

But first I want to discuss why certain areas are harder to lose from and how our body fight against the fat loss process so you fully know why the struggle is real and you aren’t alone!
 

Why Are Certain Areas Just More Stubborn?

It isn’t your imagination, there are areas that are harder to lose from.

And these areas are often the ones we want to change first that end up being the LAST to go!

Fat loss from these areas, like specifically our love handles, belly and hips, thighs and butt, can be harder partly due to our genetic predisposition, so where we genetically tend to store more fat, but also because there is generally less blood flow to these specific regions.

Less blood flow makes it harder to mobilize and utilize fatty acids from these areas.

And not only that, but there are different types of fat cells in our body – alpha and beta – and both respond differently to the fat loss process.

Alpha cells respond better to lipolysis, or fat loss, and accelerate the process while beta cells don’t respond as well and make it harder to lose the fat.

And guess what areas generally have greater numbers of those beta cells?

Those stubborn areas like our belly, hips and thighs!

A greater concentration of beta fat cells in these areas is why they are so hard to lose fat from!

So not only do the different types of fat cells make it easier or harder to lose from certain areas BUT especially as we get leaner and leaner our body is going to fight back against the weight loss process more and more.

Why Does Our Body Fight Back?

Simply put, our body fights weight loss in general out of our survival instinct.

Our body perceives a calorie deficit as a threat to survival. We have less energy coming in than we are expending and our body doesn’t know when our next meal is coming.

Of course we have our fat stores our body can tap into for energy, but, even when we have more than enough fat for survival, our body doesn’t want to do this. It wants to store that energy as much as possible for later.

So our body does things to try to conserve energy and even get us to eat!

And as we get leaner and leaner, and have less and less stored energy to draw from, not to mention we may have been in a deficit for longer and longer, our body is going to resist losing more and more – triggering us to crave salty and sweet foods even more.

When our body is continually under fed, ghrelin (grel-lin) increases, which is the hormone that triggers hunger, particularly for sweet and fatty foods while leptin decreases, which is the hormone that regulates energy intake by telling the brain to stop eating.

Basically, your cravings are going to increase and try to fight against you staying in that consistent deficit.

And not only are your cravings increasing, BUT your daily energy expenditure often decreases.

Because you have less energy coming in, and your body isn’t sure of when it will get more fuel, it will find ways to expend less of your stored energy.

This may be why you see a decrease in your workout performance or you even find you’re less motivated to move and fidget throughout the day.

It’s also why metabolic adaptations occur. Your body is finding ways to maintain energy for survival over everything else.

It is why it is so key we are conscious of not just trying to do MORE and out exercise or out diet time.

When we turn to more cardio, a bigger calorie deficit, we can actually make these metabolic adaptations WORSE and further slow down our fat loss process from these stubborn areas.

This happens because it causes our body to try to conserve energy even more or find energy from other sources, like our muscle mass.

Muscle is metabolically costly, making it super valuable if we want to get lean.

More muscle means more calories burned at rest.

But because muscle requires more energy to maintain, it is something our body will catabolize when low on fuel.

It’s why we want to avoid doing more activities that put us at risk for losing muscle.

It’s also why we need to avoid creating too big a calorie deficit and focus on our macros to try to prevent as much muscle loss as possible as we seek to lose that last bit of stubborn fat!

Now what are the three key tips to help us lose that stubborn fat?

3 Key Tips To Finally Lose That Stubborn Fat:

I’ll tell you first what is NOT a tip to get better results faster…and it’s often the thing we WANT to do most…

We want to do this because it makes us feel more in control…

We want to do MORE.

We cut out more types of foods. We cut our calories way lower. We train longer and add in more reps, sets and rounds…heck even a second or third session in a day.

But all of this so often is what truly backfires.

The annoying answer is you can’t out exercise or out diet time.

It’s why these 3 tips are so key to help you build something that you can do to allow TIME to actually create the results you want!

Tip #1: Track Macros NOT Just Calories. And Track PRECISELY.

I’m all for a focus on what is sustainable. I’m all for finding a balance and focusing on progress over perfection.

I think we need to remember that one size doesn’t fit all and to build off of our currently lifestyle to create a balance.

BUT I also don’t want to lie to you.

To lose from stubborn areas, to get that last little bit off and reach a level of leanness you’ve never achieved before, you have to get ready to embrace being SUPER precise in your tracking.

And often you do need to implement more aggressive tactics in your macros and calories.

You also can’t be lax in your tracking.

Precision is truly key.

No bites, licks or nibbles can not be logged.

Everything must be tracked so you can truly move forward.

And focusing on that protein will be key.

High protein ratios have been shown to help us build and retain lean muscle while in a deficit and even help us avoid unwanted fat gain while in a surplus.

So increasing your protein gives you a bit more wiggle room in your calorie intake while helping you prevent and avoid metabolic adaptations.

We want to do everything we can to keep burning more calories even at rest.

Think ratios where you’re even keeping protein over 40%, playing around with carbs and fats based on your activity level and even what you function best off of.

And avoid those extreme calorie deficits. Start with even just a small deficit of 200 calories.

If you do hit a plateau, instead of just dropping your calories more too, switch macro breakdowns! Sometimes a slight switch in your source of energy can get things moving!

The more we can use those macros to adjust, the more we can not only allow a greater diversity of foods to prevent ourselves from feeling restricted and avoid more cravings, but we can also mentally help ourselves not just feel more and more deprived from having to drop calories lower and lower!

Tip #2: Stop Doing Too Much In Your Training!

Too often we just view our training as a chance to burn more calories.

And I know it’s tempting to try to burn more calories to create that greater deficit through your training, but ultimately all that does is cause us to be hungrier and lose muscle mass.

It can actually even lead to greater metabolic adaptations as our body finds ways to conserve energy over the course of the rest of the day DUE to the fact that we trained extra.

Not to mention it can just make us hungrier, which mentally only makes repeating our healthy habits and eating the way we need harder!

So ultimately that extra hard work may simply be backfiring and causing us to exert a lot more effort that is sort of just wasted.

It can ultimately make us feel like we’re doing so much work to only GAIN weight while even being in a calorie deficit.

It’s why, if fat loss is our goal, we need to focus on doing what we can to build muscle over just burn calories in our training.

By focusing on strength work, we can create the stimulus to even BUILD muscle while in that calorie deficit, especially if we’re focusing on higher protein macro ratios.

And more muscle means a higher resting metabolic rate and more calories burned even at rest!

One key thing to note though too is, we don’t just want to turn our strength workouts into cardio so that we feel more worked in our sessions.

Don’t cut out rest. Don’t add in a ton of wasted volume.

Focus on lifting heavy weights or doing movement variations that challenge you.

Think about quality over quantity.

And then add in small tweaks to use every tool in your tool box.

No we can’t spot reduce an area by doing 1000 crunches to lose fat from our abs.

But as we get leaner, and once we have our diet and strength work dialed in, we can focus on ways to utilize more of the mobilized fatty acids from those stubborn areas.

Because areas like our belly, hips and thighs have less blood flow, we can help mobilize more fatty acids from those areas by working the muscles near the fat tissue.

So by including isolation exercises to target those areas in our strength work, even say as a finisher at the end, followed by some low intensity steady state cardio like walking, we can help improve the fat loss from those regions.

We used the isolation moves to mobilize more fatty acids and then utilized those mobilized fatty acids with that low intensity cardio.

And that low intensity cardio is helpful because it burns a higher portion of calories from fat while also not really fatiguing us further!

More movement but in a way that doesn’t detract from future training sessions or put us at risk of losing more muscle!

Tip #3: Embrace The Suck.

Mindset matters most when it comes to achieving any goal we have.

And while it is way more “fun” trying to search for another action or habit to do, ultimately our mindset is what dictates our success.

To give ourselves the best chance of succeeding, I think it is key we go into any goal knowing the positives and negatives.

And the more we even OVERSELL the negative and recognize the challenges we’ll encounter, the more we set ourselves up to succeed.

Because then when we do encounter something hard, we are mentally, and physically prepared over being caught off guard and feeling like we’re the only one that struggles.

So I just want to remind you to embrace the suck.

It isn’t easy reaching a level of leanness you’ve never achieved before.

It will take you embracing being hungry at times. Embracing not necessarily indulging when you’ve had a stressful day or are out with friends.

It may take you training on a day when all you want to do is curl up with the pups on the couch.

The key is reminding yourself of why this goal truly matters to you and even having enough of an incentive to keep going at that time instead of just pushing things off!

So get ready to embrace the challenges and be willing to push through.

Set a strong why, or WHYS, and set a firm end date that really keeps you invested in the process so that you can’t just say “I’ll start tomorrow.” Or “One this one bite, skipped workout, won’t hurt.”

SUMMARY:

So if you want to lose that stubborn fat and achieve your leanest physique, remember you can’t out exercise or out diet time.

You’ve got to embrace the process and realize your body will fight against you at points.

Be ready to embrace the suck as you dial in those macros and calories with precision while focusing on that strength work!

Ready to create the right “recipe” for results so you can achieve your leanest, strongest body WITHOUT creating metabolic adaptations that sabotage you long term?

–> Learn More

 

7 Travel Hacks To Maintain Your Weight Loss

7 Travel Hacks To Maintain Your Weight Loss

by | Aug 21, 2022 | Blog, Mindset, Travel Workouts

There is nothing better than going on vacation. But it is often where we feel like we sabotage our results and our diet and exercise routines go to die.

I wanted to share 7 tips to help you stay on track while you travel so you can keep moving forward toward your weight loss goals. However, I also want to mention that I believe vacations can, and should, be a time to relax and enjoy. Diets often fail because we force restriction at times when we do need to embrace a balance.

We end up not really being able to diet on vacation while also not really allowing ourselves to relax. And this ultimately backfires.

However, if you travel for work or just travel often and want to find the lifestyle balance right for you, these tips can help you stay consistent with your macros and your workouts while not at home!

Do not feel guilty about not using every time you travel as an excuse to splurge. I know sometimes our friends or family can make us feel awkward for caring, but we need to stay focused on what also makes us happy in our progress toward our goals!

Because we can’t just always make the excuse that this is a once in a lifetime experience if we’re traveling all the time!

So what are the 7 travel hacks to help you stay on track?

#1: Save calories.

I hate saying it this way but it is also the SIMPLEST way to state it…sometimes when on vacation if you know there is going to be a bigger meal or even cocktails at dinner, things you’ll want to enjoy, you want to “save” calories for that meal.

This means you will want to focus on eating lighter, and even increase your protein intake earlier in the day. This can help you find that balance so you don’t go into a huge surplus and you even hit some macro minimums you set.

And while a longer fast can also be an option if you do intermittent fasting already, please don’t turn saving calories into starving yourself or you’ll end up overeating at that later meal.

Just think about going lighter with a protein focus earlier in the day to strike a balance!

#2: Find a few restaurants in the area for go-to healthy meals.

When on vacation, it can be fun to try local spots. And depending on where you’re traveling to, there may be some great local places with super macro friendly meals. Or even meals they can tell you the portions on. Many restaurants even list macros on their website so it never hurts to check.

If you can’t find the nutritional info, even try logging something similar to get an idea of macros. You can often find recipes online that give you an idea of the breakdown.

Also, look for chain restaurants. While yes, we want the best quality fuel, many chains do have nutritional info listed on their website. And if you find a dish or two that really works for you at those places, it can be easy to use that any time you travel as that chain may be everywhere!

But planning ahead to have some options to strike that balance can be key and let you play around with logging the meal to hit any calorie intake or macros you’ve set.

#3: Bring protein powder.

Supplements are supplemental, but protein powder is one of the best things to have with you when you’re on the go as it is generally easier to snack on carbs and fats and harder to eat easy, not refrigerated, protein options.

With a protein powder, you can keep it in your backpack or purse and be able to mix it in a water bottle, coffee or even anything quick you can pick up from the store.

Such an easy way to increase your protein and even save those carbs and fats for that later meal you don’t have as much control over with the family or co-workers.

#4: Don’t buy bulk snacks.

Often when we go on a trip, we buy snacks at the airport. And a bigger bag than we should eat in one serving.

Or we buy snacks for the hotel room or AirBnB for our family even.

And while it can be helpful to have snacks if we don’t know when we will get to eat or if the meals provided us will really work for us, we need to be conscious to not just have extra around as it will be tempting to eat it when you aren’t even hungry!

It’s easy to mindless nibble and let those calories add up.

So be strategic with your snacks especially if you’ll have them around you all the time! Even portion out things so you aren’t as tempted to keep snacking!

#5: Plan in short workouts.

Instead of trying to force yourself to maintain the same routine you would at home, plan in some workouts you can get in even in your hotel room if you’re super short on time.

That plan to do something may lead to you doing more if you can find a gym or end up with more time. Not to mention often you can find gyms with quick class options if that will help with accountability to get moving!

But simply doing something will also keep you in a routine and habit and mentally make you feel good.

And often when we stay consistent with one habit, we want to stay consistent with others!

So even if it is a 5 minute mobility routine so you feel good when you get back home to train hard, the consistency will pay off…and even reverse some of the aches and pains we get from travel postures!

#6: Get out and walk!

Even if you can’t workout, often you will have little breaks in the day where you can get out and walk.

Not only is this a great way to stop mindless snacking, but it does get you moving and can even allow you to explore the area more!

Even if it is just to get a coffee or grab food, try to move as much as you can during the day! Finding ways to be more active will even help you want to do the other healthy habits and routines you want to maintain.

#7: Increase your intensity AROUND the trip.

In preparation of your trip, it’s not a bad idea to occasionally go a bit more intense with your programming prior, especially so you could even use the trip as a de-load workout week or recovery week.

This may be a time too you are slightly more aggressive prior with the calorie deficit, not extreme but aggressive, and also using more intensive cut macro ratios over easier ratios to hit.

You can then move to minimums on your trip, tracking to stay even just accountable.

And then when you come back, you may go back into things with a bit more intensity even just in your macros before relaxing back into something you can fully be consistent with.

This 1 week before and after just can help with damage control and also mentally make us feel balanced when being a little less conscious of those healthy habits while traveling.

SUMMARY:

Remember vacations shouldn’t the time you stress about your diet, but finding a balance especially when we travel more often can be key!

Focus on doing the minimum even just to maintain those results so you can continue to build when you are back home and in your element!

Ready to dial in your diet and your workouts to fit your lifestyle, needs and goals?

–> The 3 Step Recipe To Results

8 Odd Weight Loss Tips I Wish I Knew Sooner 

8 Odd Weight Loss Tips I Wish I Knew Sooner 

by | Jul 10, 2022 | Blog, Diet, Exercises

The secret to results is to be goldilocks and look for the thing that is “just right.”

And the best way to get that “just right” plan for ourselves, is to create it. We need to find that combination of what is RIGHT and what we can do CONSISTENTLY.

That sweet spot is where the magic happens.

Because what is “right” won’t pay off if we can’t repeat those habits consistently. Just like doing the wrong things consistently will only lead to trouble.

But to find what is right for us, we need to step away from seeking some perfect plan or getting caught up in some ideals of perfection when it comes to our training and nutrition.

It’s why I wanted to share 8 tips I’ve discovered really make the difference in creating that just right plan for you…tips that many people won’t like because they don’t promote clean eating ideals or even the no pain no gain mentality that is so popular!

Tip 1: Sometimes it’s better to just give into the cravings over fighting them.

We often waste a ton of effort fighting what we want. And while achieving results DOES mean some sacrifice, too often we just deplete our self control by constantly restricting.

Sometimes it is better to just give in, satisfy a craving and move forward. Often we feel better with our overall plan and less restricted and more willing to stick with things when we also get to include foods we really love and crave.

Sometimes indulging is what we need to be able to stay consistent, strike a lifestyle balance and stay on track.

Too often in our attempt to avoid the thing we want we end up eating more in the end or we end up eating things that honestly are just as bad. And on top of that we ultimately only eventually give in, which because we’ve felt so restricted, can lead to overeating the thing we initially wanted anyway.

Sometimes just preemptively having that thing can help us find a better balance and avoid that binge cycle!

Tip 2: Drink your diet drink.

Fake sweeteners have become super demonized. And while the data really doesn’t support that demonization, I’m not going to tell you that diet drinks are healthy.

However, I do feel like they can also be key to us creating something sustainable that we ENJOY.

Honestly, sometimes when you want something sweet or you want something to satisfy a craving, swapping in that diet drink can help us strike a balance. Having that diet soda may actually help you stay more consistent and be healthier overall. Too often we get caught up in the “one bad thing” instead of seeing the overall healthier balance it can help us create.

It may help you avoid other unhealthy foods and “cost” you less overall.

It may be the way you start to even transition yourself off of sugar filled drinks.

It’s all about small improvements and finding our balance.

So don’t fear sometimes swapping one not so ideal thing for something that makes an improvement in your life even if it isn’t yet “perfect.”

Also we have to find our balance. If a diet soda keeps you overall consistent, that vice may be what you need to actually hit that 80/20 balance not just for a few days or months but for YEARS…

Tip 3: Plan in meals out.

Often when we start a new diet we avoid going out because it isn’t as easy to stay on track.

But this can also backfire and make us always feel like that person on a diet. It’s what can lead to us becoming even burnt out with the changes.

If you enjoy meals out, plan them in. If you need the break with cooking, plan in your favorite restaurant meals.

Find ways to work in things you love, even planning in those meals out first to adjust the rest of your day around.

And then just log the best you can. Sure it may not be perfect, but logging as consistently as you can is key. And then watch how that meal impacts you. If you’re not seeing results, you can always adjust. You can always make swaps to dishes to more easily hit your macros.

Or you can even find new restaurants that list out nutritional info to make grabbing lunch on the go easier.

But don’t avoid habits and routines you love. Find ways to work them in.

Because completely cutting out habits and routines we enjoy ultimately derails us just to try to be perfect short term. But we need to be careful with that all or nothing attitude.

We need to remember that long-term consistency is key!

Tip 4: Want fast results? Be ready to sacrifice.

We all want to hear it will be easy to see results. And while we can definitely see results by making fewer changes to start, the faster we want to see results, the more we have to embrace some sacrifice and focus more on perfection in those new habits.

Basically the faster we want results, the more dedicated to the changes and the harder we have to be willing to push, especially to start.

And too often I think we gloss over this fact. We try to make things sound as easy for ourselves as possible, but I think this sets us up for failure because we then aren’t prepared for the challenges that pop up.

It does take more perfection short term and more sacrifice short term, the quicker we want to see dramatic changes and the further we are from our goal. Also the longer we’ve been in our current situation and the more we have working against us, the more we have to OVERCORRECT to start.

But we have to remember we have to base these changes on a solid foundation of those basics so that we can steer back to sustainable as we reach our goals.

It’s why macros and designing clear workout progressions are key. These fundamentals allow us to create sustainable habits even if we do more of a cut to start or shift into more of a muscle gaining phase. These fundamentals don’t change even as we transition into maintenance even if their exact implementation adjusts with time.

We have to remember that what it takes to reach a goal will NOT be the same thing we have to do to maintain it!

Tip 5: The longer you’ve struggled, the longer you’ll struggle….sorry this is just a reality.

If you just gained the weight recently and haven’t had it on for long, if you’ve done a diet or workout plan before and see results, you’re going to see faster results this time through. You know the pain, your body also isn’t content where it is, and so your body will respond quicker.

It’s why it isn’t really fair to compare your results to someone who just gained a few pounds over the holidays if you’ve been up in weight for years. It’s why you can’t base your results on that of a trainer or bodybuilder who gains and loses weight all of the time.

The longer you’ve had the weight on, the less you’re familiar with what you need to do, the HARDER it will be to really get the ball rolling.

So if you’re struggling with taking on a new challenge, if you’ve struggled with hormonal changes and with weight that has been on a very long time, get ready to really grind it out without seeing the progress you so desperately crave to start.

Realize it WILL be harder for you.

So set habit goals to give yourself daily things to focus on. It’s key to really create those changes that build toward the long-term results we want. And track those habits as you implement to celebrate those as wins because you have to find a way to embrace the process.

Tip 6: Stop feeling guilty.

I mean this in so many ways, but we’ve got to stop the guilt if we want to truly change our lifestyle. We are human. We’re never going to be perfect.

Don’t feel guilty if you want to fit something into your macros that isn’t healthy. Don’t feel guilty for a skipped workout. Don’t feel guilty for a day not going as planned or eating out of stress.

Often these things don’t derail us, it’s the guilt that changes our habits and mindsets for days after that adds up.

So focus on what you can always do to move forward. Focus on meeting yourself where you are at. Focus on 1% improvements and seeing everything as a learning process!

But stop sabotaging yourself by making yourself feel guilty for being HUMAN.

Tip 7: Stop trying to just exercise for longer.

Focusing on making your workouts longer is a waste of time. Period.

The only reason your workout should get longer is because you’re training for a specific competition or your rest times have to be ridiculously long for max attempt lifts.

Honestly, too often we make our workouts longer and just waste a lot of time and effort. It often also leads to us being extra tired and burnt out and hungry which ultimately leads to hormonal issues, metabolic adaptations and cravings that backfire and sabotage us.

So often us trying to train more as we eat less is what sabotages our weight loss efforts and makes us feel like we just don’t have self control.

It’s also what leads to more metabolic adaptations so we can feel like we aren’t losing while starving ourselves. Our body fights against what it sees as starvation.

So stop just trying to do MORE.

Use your training to build muscle and move well. Focus on using the time you realistically have to train wisely!

Tip 8: Don’t turn strength workouts just into cardio.

Too often we seek just to feel worked from our workouts. To be tired and burn a ton of calories.

But this is why we can feel our programs are unsustainable and we get skinny without looking leaner. It’s what can hold us back from actually seeing the body recomp we want, and getting the lean arms or toned abs we desire.

Because cardio doesn’t build muscle and can even be catabolic to it. It can ultimately make us look softer especially if we are in that calorie deficit to lose weight.

So when you do strength work, don’t fear rest. Don’t feel like you have to be destroyed and out of breath every single workout. Track your numbers and focus on progressive overload! Focus on lifting more and really challenging those muscles so they are forced to repair and rebuild stronger!

SUMMARY:

As tempting as it is to do more, to strive for perfection in our diet and workouts, results really come from 1% improvements and meeting ourselves where we are at!

You need to find the “right things” that you can truly be consistent with long term!

Set yourself up for success. Get the coaching and support you need to learn how to rock those results no matter your age…

–> Learn more about Redefining Strength’s coaching program!

 

Lose An Extra Pound Per Week Without Changing Your Current Diet Or Workout Routine

Lose An Extra Pound Per Week Without Changing Your Current Diet Or Workout Routine

by | Jul 3, 2022 | Blog, Exercises

Want to lose weight but not sure where to start? Feeling intimidated by tracking macros? Feel like you’re already training hard but not seeing results?

Because making changes, and getting started, is the hardest part, I wanted to share how you can build that momentum to see results with a very small tweak to your current lifestyle.

We have to remember that the more we do, the more we do. And this can mean that a positive habit change can lead to more positive habit changes…or inaction can lead to more in action.

So what easy thing can you start doing today to get better weight loss results?

Think about why weight loss occurs…

Because we create that calorie deficit.

You can create, or increase that deficit in two ways…

1: You can cut your calories lower.

This works to a certain extent, but too great a deficit created this way can cause metabolic adaptations and hormonal imbalances.

Not to mention, dietary changes are the hardest for most of us to start.

And if we’re already in a deficit, the thought of eating less may be a struggle and backfire.

So instead you can try way number 2 to create a deficit and do more exercise or activity.

2: Exercise more.

The problem with this is your body adapts. And you can’t just keep adding on more and more and harder and harder training. You’ll end up burnt out and injured.

You can’t out exercise your diet.

Also training MORE can often lead to us doing more and more cardio, which is catabolic to muscle tissue and can then result in muscle mass being lost so we burn fewer calories at rest and ultimately hinder our weight loss and fat loss results.

Not to mention often trying to add in more intense training sessions can spark our appetite further, making it harder to maintain our dietary calorie deficit.

BUT there is a way you can get a bump in your calorie burn through increasing activity WITHOUT stressing your body, or increasing your appetite, further.

In a way that basically keeps your non exercise thermogenesis or the calories you burn outside of your “workouts” higher while not putting you at risk for overtraining, burnout and muscle mass loss.

This activity even has you working in that “fat burning zone” where more of the calories you burn come from fat.

This so unsexy, simple activity is WALKING.

Yup. By adding in just a little extra walking into each and every day you can easily help yourself lose more weight each week and overcome that plateau.

Even just starting with an extra 15 minute walk per day, or increasing your current step count by 2,000 steps, can really start to add up!

Walking will not add to your fatigue but it will help you increase the number of calories you burn in a day.

It won’t detract from future workouts because it won’t create fatigue.

It even mentally can help you stay on track with your nutrition because you’re not just sitting around wanting to eat or repeating the habits you’ve always done. Getting moving can help you want to do MORE of the positive lifestyle changes you are making.

It can also be easy to include in your day as you can use it as a social activity or way to wind down.

You can even break up your walks over the course of the day to fit your schedule.

But this extra movement increases your energy expenditure in a sustainable way that can help you get started losing weight or break a plateau.

It’s perfect if you’re just starting out and need that easy transition in and beneficial even if you’ve been dieting for longer.

And if you’ve been dieting for longer, not only can the addition of walking keep you moving when you tend to want to conserve energy by moving less due to lower body fat levels and an extended deficit, but it can also be used to help lose that last little bit of stubborn fat.

If you have an especially stubborn area to lose from, and are down to that last little bit, you may find that timing your walks right after a burner or session focused on these areas really makes the difference in your result!

Of course this isn’t a magic pill but it may be that final thing you need when you’re just almost at your goal!

SUMMARY:

To get the best results possible, we want to know all the tools out there we can use to create a healthy sustainable lifestyle.

And walking is an amazing way to lose an extra pound each week without making more changes to our diet or even having to change our training sessions!

So to start making a change today, think about increasing your step count by even just 2000 steps with a brisk 15 minute walk!

Ready to get the accountability and support you need to see amazing results?

Learn more about my coaching:

–> Apply To RS Coaching

 

10 Weight Loss Hacks (That Actually Work)

10 Weight Loss Hacks (That Actually Work)

by | May 22, 2022 | Blog, Diet, Exercises

You’ve lost the weight…now what? You can’t just go back to what you were doing prior, but you also can’t stay in a deficit forever!

Instead you’ve got to transition into maintaining, knowing that it will be a process as you find the balance right for you. But what does maintaining your results really mean?

Since it can be a challenging process, I wanted to share 10 tips to help you find the lifestyle balance you need to maintain your results forever.

 

10 Weight Loss Hacks To Help You Keep The Weight Off For Good:

1: Realize your weight will fluctuate.

Maintaining doesn’t mean there won’t be little ups and downs. The scale will still often fluctuate daily due to inflammation, water retention, even your meal timing the day before.

The key is realizing you have the tools to “catch” things before they become an issue or you start the trend backward.

But also be conscious that as you balance out, you may see a slight scale increase. Do not stress! And then use other forms of measurement as you maintain as the scale won’t show muscle gains which can be occurring as you go out of that weight loss deficit.

Focus on how your clothing fits and even take measurements at set intervals!

2: Don’t cut out processed foods.

The more you restrict foods, demonize things, the more you cause yourself to crave things and ultimately derail your consistency.

Part of why we can never maintain our results is because we don’t know how to work in the things we enjoy and love and WANT to eat at some point.

Food is not just fuel.

If you enjoy candy, find ways to work it in as you build those maintenance habits and transition into maintaining your results.

Find ways to work in the things you love first.

And also recognize we have to stop these sweeping undefined labels. Not all processed foods are just evil.

Heck, technically COOKING is processing a food so watch the labeling as it often only creates guilt instead of balance.

3: Create mini cycles.

Most of us don’t do well without direction, with just doing something “forever.”

Even when maintaining your results, set mini goals, set little cycles for yourself where you have a specific focus.

Test out ratios. See how calories impact you.

Experiment with cycles.

Focus a bit more on body recomp or more on gaining muscle. Not so much that you’re cutting or bulking but just so you have a focus for your fueling and training.

4: Set performance goals!

There is no better way to give yourself mini cycles with end dates than to set performance goals.

Not only can these give you direction in your training but they keep you training hard and fueling well which only promotes retention of your aesthetic changes!

If you want to achieve that first full pull up, design your workouts to work toward that. Even make sure your diet fuels that muscle growth and performance so you can train hard each and every session!

5: Track. Yup. Track.

I know we think tracking is just about weight loss, but learning to maintain our results is a process in and of itself and tracking allows us to make sure we are dialing everything in and slowly transitioning out of that deficit.

It also allows us to make sure we are eating enough to fuel our performance goals.

So while in maintenance you may not track as strictly or even every day, remember that tracking can be that accountability and check in especially if you do feel your energy dipping or your pants getting a bit tight.

You now have a tool you can use any time you need to tweak something and move forward!

6: Realize you won’t always be motivated.

Accept that maintaining means that at points you still want to do little cuts for that beach vacation or little muscle gaining periods to lift a bit more.

There will be holidays where you don’t care and times of year you want to lean down to feel extra fabulous.

Ebbs and flows should be embraced and we need to realize we won’t always be 100% motivated in the same way.

So while we want to set boundaries or bumpers so we don’t go to either extreme, we have to realize we will fluctuate with time.

7: Embrace minimums.

When trying to maintain our results, there will be times we really only do the minimum. But that SOMETHING is what keeps us on track and maintaining even if it isn’t driving us forward toward a specific goal.

Minimums may be calorie caps or protein minimums. It may be a Plan B to our workout routine if we’re busy or a modified schedule just so we do something.

But we won’t always be motivated and there may be times life and stresses need to take priority. These minimums help us avoid losing ground while striking a lifestyle balance.

Consistency is key and this helps us be better than we would have been otherwise to keep us maintaining the results we worked hard for!

8: Don’t diet on holidays OR vacations.

There are 300 days of the year you can focus on working toward a specific goal. But holidays and vacations are not one of those days!

Sometimes we may need to set boundaries for ourselves to keep moving forward as fast as possible, whether it is a calorie cap or even pre-planning what we will eat, but too often we worry about gaining weight or losing weight on the holidays or vacation.

When really that one day doesn’t matter. Heck even those two days don’t matter.

It’s all the days AROUND the event that matter.

Stay on track before the event and get right back to your healthy habits after.

It is 100% a-ok to just enjoy those days without guilt or stress or worry.

9: Always have the day after plan.

Often it isn’t the actual missed workout or day of overeating or stress eating that causes us to sabtoge our results. It isn’t the vacation or party.

It’s the fact that we feel guilty and that one day becomes two days or weeks or even months before we get back to the habits we need.

We let the old habits sneak back in and snowball.

Having pre-prepped meals for the next day already available to get us back on track or a progression, with even a plan b laid out, can help us get right back to our routines and habits.

Especially if you’ve gone on vacation or have a party, plan ahead for how you’re going to get right back to your habits the day after. That will allow you to make sure that one day doesn’t add up and you keep maintaining the results you worked hard for.

10: Try new things!

Often when we are trying to lose weight we get into very set routines and even very repetitive in how we are training and fueling because it is working.

But these same habits and routines can get boring. And when we get bored we are more likely to slip back into old habits.

So find new things to challenge you. Find new things to learn and experiment with.

Test out new macros and recipes. Experiment with new training splits and even moves.

Have some fun experimenting and learning to keep your training and eating interesting!

SUMMARY:

Just remember maintaining is itself a process. And with these 10 tips you can maintain the weight loss results you’ve worked hard to build!

Stuck and struggling to see the results you want and deserve?

Watch this video for my 3 Step Weight Loss Recipe.