Eat More to Lose More!

There have been times over the years that a client will hit a plateau when training, and it's time to break her out of that rut. Nothing is more frustrating than training hard, and not seeing results, or being stuck. I will take a look at a typical day, and her eating patterns, and I can quickly spot the problem. She's not eating enough! Once I had a client show me her typical day of eating, and she was only taking in 800 calories (and 200 of them were from wine). No bueno.

The results of severely restricting calories actually prevents our bodies from burning unwanted fat stores effectively - and unfortunately, this means that weight loss slows down. The body goes into starvation mode. Our bodies become super efficient at making the most of the calories it does get from food and drink. The main way it does this is to protect its fat stores and instead use lean tissue or muscle to provide it with some of the calories it needs to keep functioning. This directly leads to a loss of muscle, which in turn lowers metabolic rate so that the body needs fewer calories to keep ticking and weight loss slows down. We want to boost that metabolism throughout the day, so it's a furnace that gets rid of unwanted jiggle!

How do you keep your metabolism ticking and your body out of starvation mode? Eat More!

Just make sure it's quality snacks between meals, so you're not over-eating. It's a tricky thing to say exactly how many calories someone needs, but if you're losing more than 2 pounds a week, you might be restricting calories too often. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends never to go under 1200 calories if you're a woman, so be sure and track your food intake, to make sure you're at that number.

Snacking throughout the day will help you reach your caloric requirements for weight loss. Quality lean protein sources and complex carbs (yes, I did say carbs) in combination with unlimited veggies will leave you feeling light and ramp up your metabolism throughout the day. If you go to our blog post list you will find other articles that outline our trainers favorite healthy snacks, and a few other articles related to clean eating and weight loss.

There are approximately 3500 calories in a pound of stored body fat. So, if you create a 3500-calorie deficit through diet and exercise over 7 days, you will lose one pound of body weight per week. Create a deficit of 500 calories a day, and you've got it! This is the healthy way to do it. I've heard from many clients that do severely calorie - restrictive 'weight loss diet plans' and they come to me after they have done the program, lost a bunch of weight, and six months later they've gained it all back (and many times more!). The only true way to healthy weight loss that lasts, is a change of eating habits and exercise. I know, that's not fast or easy - but nothing worth having is! Once you start on your personal weight loss journey, you will be amazed at your new energy levels, and how things seem easier in everyday life. You might even start to love your new lifestlye! Many of our Texas Fit Chicks that were sedentary before boot camp with us, now look forward to working out and love their new way of life.

One last tip - never, ever leave the house for an afternoon of errands without something in your purse so you can stay strong when the 3pm cravings come around. Perfect and portable options would be

Almonds (Raw/Unsalted) around 20 is 1 serving

Quality Protein Bar (there is a lot of junk out there that's basically a candy bar in disguise with the amounts of sugar they have) Here's a great one that's really tasty and VERY healthy http://www.questproteinbar.com/

Apple

Edamame

Banana

Pear

This will set you up for success no matter where you go! I also leave a Quest Bar in my glove box...just in case I've forgotten to throw one in my purse.

Hope this information helps you ~ we'd love to have you join us at Texas Fit Chicks Boot Camp for a non-military women only boot camp that will bring a trainer into your life and guide you on your journey!!! Click here for a list of our times and locations around the N. Dallas area

We also train REAL Housewives in the Austin Area! Located in Cedar Park, Tx - MWF 5am-6am with Alyssa! Reach her here - trainwithalyssa@gmail.com for more information

If you are a current client of ours ~ we'd love for you to comment below and leave 3 words that describe boot camp with Texas Fit Chicks (yes, limited to just 3 :)
Have a GREAT day chicks!
Melody Chandler
Owner/CPT
Texas Fit Chicks boot camp
texasfitchicks@gmail.com

Saturday, January 28, 2012