Hey gang Julia here!
I wanted to shoot out his very important Blog. You see, I touch base with our awesome boot campers daily to see how they are doing with their fitness goals. If they’re not doing their best, I usually hear excuses which is fine because honesty is the best policy and let’s face it, we are only human. EVERYONE is going to go through highs & lows with their fitness regimen.
THE KEY IS TO NEVER FALL OFF THE HEALTHY HORSE
There are several vital components that will hold us back from seeing & feeling the results from a fitness program. In addition, these important issues contribute to the quality of our lives.
Improve & eliminate the below and you will finally change your body & feel like a new person!
Medication
Shortly after beginning an exercise regimen, our clients are able to get off most their medication. This is a huge victory!! You want to do research on any medication you’re taking to ensure it is not blocking you from losing weight or contributing to weight gain.
Experts say that some of the most common types of medications that may cause weight gain are:
- Steroids
- Antidepressants
- Antipsychotics
- Antiseizure medications
- Diabetes medications
- High blood pressure medications
- Heartburn medications
Not enough sleep
Sleep is #1 in my book! If you don’t sleep, you cannot function. In addition, sleep repairs our bodies- Lack of sleep can cause you to gain weight. When you’re tired, you don’t handle stress as well, so you may reach for food as a coping mechanism. If you do not get adequate sleep, your metabolism will not function properly. On average, we need about 7.5 hours of quality sleep per night.
Alcohol
You can train hard & eat clean but if you’re still drinking alcohol regularly, YOU WILL NOT LOSE WEIGHT. Mind you, when I say lose weight, I’m also referring to TONING & CHANGING your physique. This includes any form of alcohol… wine, beer, liquor. Alcohol contains sugar- It’s LIQUID CALORIES equal to eating a cupcake! Alcohol lowers your inhibitions, which is detrimental to your diet plans… it actually stimulates your appetite. In a perfect world, I’d say stop the drinking all together however, this is not realistic for many as drinking is a social activity. Try organic or all natural alcohol & avoid artificial mixers. These will blow your belly up & are full of toxic chemicals. Everything in moderation… ask yourself “Do I really need to drink to have fun” or “Do I really need to drink this often”.
Stress
We live in a society that demands we do more, be more, and achieve more. Stress moves us forward and helps cope with life’s demands, but it also affects our mood and emotions. Hormones can cause weight gain.
Cortisol, a stress hormone varies among individuals. Studies have proven that people who secrete higher levels of cortisol in response to stress tend to eat more food like simple sugars and refined carbohydrates which can increase insulin levels in the blood. This increase in insulin level leads to insulin resistance which in turn promotes fat deposition (especially in the stomach area) as the body cells stop processing glucose efficiently. Exercise releases positive endorphins which aid in releasing stress.
Eating Out
Eating establishments want to ensure their food tastes extra good so they load it up with butter, salt & tons of artificial flavourings & who knows what else. There’s no way to know exactly what’s in our food when we eat out. Check websites for nutritional information. Also, food portions are hugely out of control! You may be thinking this girl is trying to ruin our party! No eating out, no drinking no fun! Not at all- Everything in moderation. Eating out consistently throughout the week WILL BLOCK YOU FROM SEEING RESULTS. You can however, modify your food order. *I will show you exactly how to do this in an upcoming article- Stay tuned!
Not eating enough during the day
Not eating enough during the day slows down your metabolism two ways. First, your body thinks it’s starving, so it will slow down your calorie-burning capacity in order to “survive.” Second, you are likely to make up for low caloric intake in the last few hours of the day, causing your body to hang on to the food through the night in preparation for another day of “starving.” Plain and simple… eat early and eat often, it will get your engine revving on high!
If you’re a woman over the age of thirty you can do hours upon hours of cardio and starve yourself silly but you’ll only make things harder for yourself. It won’t work anymore! *Read that as many times as it takes to let it sink in.
Thyroid & Menopause
The most common medical condition that causes weight gain is hypothyroidism. A deficiency of thyroid hormone can decrease metabolism, causing appetite loss and weight gain. Women reach menopause at a range of ages, but most are in midlife and are often less physically active than when they were younger. Along with aging comes a natural slowing of metabolism. At the same time, hormonal changes can trigger hunger, depression, and poor sleep.
The key to avoiding this extra belly fat is to maintain and increase the amount of lean body mass, which will, in turn, increase your metabolism or calorie burn rate.
Women need to understand how critically important weight lifting and straight training is to their health. Don’t worry, doing strength training won’t make you huge like hulk
Exercise also helps offset bone loss that can come with menopause. A combination of exercise and a healthy, calorie-controlled diet rich in calcium and vitamin D is the answer to thwarting menopausal weight gain.
Grazing
Do you find yourself board throughout the day constantly looking for snacks & eating? The problem with grazing, is our bodies get used to these added calories which make us even more hungry. It also interferes with the body’s ability to burn fat, leads to obesity and type 2 diabetes. When we eat, our body releases insulin – a hormone that helps carry sugar into the cells to burn as energy. This sugar energy will keep us going for around three hours, after which our bodies will start using energy from our fat stores.
If we can hold out for 3 hours between meals, we burn more fat.
Not drinking enough fluids
Drinking water is one of the easiest ways to turn up your fat burning capacity. I cannot say that drinking water alone will cause weight loss; however, if you are eating a perfect diet, but are dehydrated, you will lose less weight. When your body is dehydrated it cannot burn fat. So please, get 64 ounces per day and as a bonus your hair and skin will shine!
“Eating back” your exercise calories
Many people want to know how many calories their exercise session burned. Usually the reason they want this information is to quantify it in terms of food. In other words, they justify eating a candy bar since they already worked off those calories. However, this equation just doesn’t work. You’ll end up not losing weight, or you might even gain some weight. So remember, food and exercise are separate issues. You can’t out exercise a bad diet.
Are you mentally focused on your fitness & health? Are you currently working out & not seeing results or need accountability & motivation? We are here for you!
To your success,
Julia
