Simplicity

I think I’m on at least 15 different mailing lists regarding fitness. Some are trainers I follow, others might be nutrition or therapy based. Not to mention, the countless trainers, programs or organizations I might follow via different social media outlets. And this is the time of year that you see the words in some way shape or form:

New Year, New You.

The message remains essentially the same.

You survived the holidays, now let’s reinvent you.

In my heart of hearts, I know I’m supposed to convey a similar message. I want you to lose the holiday weight. I want you to feel better about yourself: to be stronger and have a better self-image. Contrary to what happens at the box gyms around me, I don’t really see much of an uptick in business in January. Perhaps it’s because the price point for personal training is higher than the fees of joining a place like Planet Fitness or the like. Or maybe it’s just that many people believe they can do it on their own and so that’s the first course of action at the beginning of the year.

But rather than see how many massive changes we can make in your already busy and demanding life, I would only ask that you simplify what needs to be done. Take a look at this list and see what would be the EASIEST change to make in your life starting NOW.

Not drinking enough water? Add 16-20oz to each remaining meal or snack today. Refrain from drinking more water after your last meal of the day. Tomorrow morning, wake up to 16-20oz of water and repeat the drill for the rest of the day. If you find it difficult to eat frequently enough to match water intake to your meals, I recommend setting the timer on your phone to go off every 2-3 hrs. It sounds a little tedious but it will help you develop the habit of keeping yourself hydrated through the day. After a week or two, your body will start asking for the water with signals you’ll be well aware of and you won’t need to use the timer on your phone any longer.

Eating too much in the evening? Start balancing the size of your meals at the beginning of the day so you’re not completely famished at night. One counterproductive trend I see more often than anything else regarding food is people who cram the majority of their calories into the end of the day. If you reverse this trend and keep evening consumption smaller, you will wake up with more of an appetite making this change easier to implement. This is not an easy change to make for many people because they have trained themselves on the habit of overindulgence at night.

Drinking too many calories? This can go hand in hand with the effort to drink more water in general. Look at what you drink throughout the day. Remove or drastically limit ANY drink that has more than 10 calories per serving. This will likely include juices, sports drinks, creamer or sugar in your coffee/tea, alcohol, and pop. While I can’t completely change those who drink diet pop, I would ask that you limit the intake of those drinks and switch for water instead.

Confused by what should be on your plate? The media might have you believe there are bad foods out there. As in, if you eat these foods you’ll never lose weight or look the way you want, etc. While this may be true for those with diagnosed food allergies, the general problem for many is just too many calories in general devoid of food selection. A simple change would be to look at your plate and fill it like this: 50% of the plate should be a fibrous veggie (spinach, broccoli, etc), 25% of the plate should be a protein (beef, chicken, fish, tofu, etc.) and 25% should be a starchy or low sugar carb (rice, potato, etc). No calorie counting necessary.

Crunched for time and don’t think you can exercise? Your body will benefit from ANY movement you do above and beyond what you currently do. Granted, you will need to ramp up the intensity of your movement at a certain point but there are countless studies proving that 3 bouts of 10 minutes of exercise in a day can be just as beneficial as a straight 30 minutes. The important thing is to continue to challenge yourself with the time allotted.

Find one change and implement it immediately. Then, remember to forgive yourself if you happen to derail. Life happens to all of us. Any one of these changes can make a difference for you, you just need to determine which change fits your lifestyle right now. As life and work and family continue to dictate what happens for you, some of these changes may need to revolve around that.

We’re here to help!

The Lies We Tell

Growing up, I never wanted to disappoint my parents. I was never pressured to make straight A’s in school or anything like that, but I was always encouraged to do my best at what was asked of me. The problem was, I wasn’t crazy about school. So, if I liked the teacher and the class seemed somewhat interesting, I would normally do fine with grades. If the class was boring or if I had a teacher I couldn’t click with, my grades would suffer. There wasn’t a lot of extra effort to pull the grades up early on. When midterm grades would come, I would frequently hide them because I didn’t want my parents to see how bad some of my grades were. My hope was that I could get at least a “C” in the struggling classes by time the final report cards were out. I would even go so far as forging my parents signatures on midterm reports just to avoid having to tell my folks I had a “D” or worse.

My father, rest his soul, could see through me like glass. Even if he let me think I had gotten away with the crime, he was normally 3 steps ahead. Sometimes he would play along, sometimes he would bust me. The end result was still the same: it never paid to lie and I never came out on top.

Thankfully, I’ve grown out of that nonsense. But there is still that part of me that hates to disappoint people. Now, it’s more of a conscious effort to be forthright about things, even if the short term truth is unpleasant.

As this pertains to my clients and weight loss in general, being honest and forthright about problems can be just as scary or misguided as what I used to go through when I was in school. Most people are sincerely good people. They want good things to happen to them and they want to do good things to and for others. Not to mention, most people want to please others with their actions.

Unfortunately, weight loss is a tricky endeavor. It’s commonly known that most of usunderestimate how much we eat and overestimate how much we exercise. Case in point, several studies have been done with dietitians where they have to estimate (without the use of measuring devices) the caloric content of random food selections. They’re usually off by over 20%!! That may not seem like much, but if you’re trying to eat a 2000 calorie diet and your accuracy is as good as theirs, you could consume more than 2400 calories a day. In a week, you will have gained nearly a pound of fat! So, if the professionals who arguably know the most about food are inaccurate with their guesses, how do you think everyone else fares?

With clients, I see varying degrees of similar issues. Some clients will fall all over themselves to give you every gory detail of what’s happening with their diet. These are usually the easier ones to help. Others may only give a glimpse at the truth of what’s happening. By unveiling the truth about what they eat it’s like having them invite me over to their homes, perched on their shoulder watching every morsel that gets consumed. Not likely!!

Somewhere in the middle is the majority. Those who know what they need to do, they know how to fix it, they just haven’t acted on it. And as long as I’m not asking them to come clean, they can get by without admission of guilt. Sadly, guilt shouldn’t be associated with how we eat. Food, in essence, should be celebrated. Yet as we all well know, even good things can be overdone.

So my challenge to you is to indeed come clean. Be painfully honest with yourself about anything you consume that has calories: fruits, vegetables, candies, sugary drinks, cream and sugar in your coffee or tea, etc. You don’t have to live every day of your life with a measuring cup. However, it may take getting reacquainted with measuring your portions to get a realistic idea of what a true serving size looks like.

Ultimately, you have to be honest with yourself. Clients can (and have) told me all sorts of things about what’s happening with their nutrition. Fact of the matter, most people just forget. Unless you’re taking the time to journal everything you’ve been eating, you’re not likely to remember. For instance, that sandwich you got from Panera yesterday had a nice smear of mayo on it. That mayonnaise just added nearly 100 calories to that sandwich...from a condiment!!!

The other issue is some people just don’t know how to be honest about their food. It’s the dirty little secret they can’t fess up to OR it’s the disappointment they may have to face if they have to admit it. This goes back to my previous comment about how the desire to please can interfere with what we admit to.

If you’re struggling with your weight loss, remember it’s the lies we tell ourselves that can lead to the most damage.

We’re here to help!

Revisiting The Calorie

There has been a lot happening at RevFit lately. We continue to push for more effective, more efficient weight-loss results for our clients. Some of our clients are just looking for a little bit of weight to come off (5-10lbs) and others have significantly more (100+lbs). So, no conversation about weight loss can happen without discussing the importance of the almighty calorie.

Over the last several months we have seen more diligent and consistent weight loss for our clients than ever before. Not to mention, a handful of our clients have hopped back on the weight loss wagon after some dietary detours.

With these things in mind, I thought it would be a good time for a refresher on how calories will not only help you reach your goals but how variations can affect you as well.

1) We all have a baseline. Take any given person and factor in these things: age, weight, height, gender and level of current activity. Since we are all unique in this regard, calories can vary with a fair degree. Some things to consider in relation to this fact: we need fewer calories as we age (the body is less efficient at burning them), the more you weigh the more calories it takes to sustain the functioning of your body, men are typically more efficient at burning calories than women and the more sedentary you are, the fewer calories you need.

2) In order to see a change in physique, you HAVE TO alter your intake. Many people make the mistake of assuming that as soon as they go from sedentary to exercising that their body will transform into a calorie burning dynamo. This RARELY happens. Yes, exercise does help you burn calories. However, unless you're training for marathons year in and year out, it will not be the amount of calories you'd expect. I tend to tell people: exercise shapes your body, food gets you closer to (or further away from) your goals. It also bears to mention that as you exercise your hunger will typically go up. This is important for those of you trying to lose weight to keep in mind.

3) There are some people who gain weight because they don't eat enough.

I'll throw my own numbers out so we can use a frame of reference:

Age: 38
Weight: 140lbs
Height: 5'9"
Gender: Male
Level of Current Activity: Light to moderate activity

I know that it takes me approximately 2100 calories per day just to maintain my body as it is right now.

Let's assume I wanted to lose 5 lbs. The moderate deficit I would need to create would be approximately a 20% deficit in relation to my maintenance. That puts me at 420 calories. Deduct that from my maintenance calories and I would need to eat approximately 1680 calories (let's say 1700) daily. There are roughly 3500 calories in a pound of fat, so if I didn't increase my exercise activity it would take me a little over a week just to burn 1 pound.

I will say this: If I am accustomed to eating 2100 calories per day and I drop down to 1700 I will definitely notice a difference. It won't be easy and I WILL be hungry. This is one of those circumstances where I would just need to suck it up and focus on the goal. The body will adjust to the change and it won't be so unbearable after a few days.

As with many things in life: consistency rules.

Where many people get in trouble is their impatience. There are some people who can make a drastic drop in calorie intake and see very favorable results. However, the body tends to wise up and will stop dropping weight for fear of starvation. At this point, weight loss can stall or even worse, the body will hoard the small amount of calories it's receiving and store them as fat.

Using my information from above, let's say I wanted to either drop more than 5lbs and I wanted it off faster. I really have only two choices: do longer or more intense calorie burning cardio and/or take another drop in calories. The problem with continually dropping calories is, at some point you can't go any lower. The body will just start shutting down. Organ function can be impaired as well as cognitive abilities, etc.

While there is nothing exciting about having a routine or predictable food plan, it does keep the goals on pace. The body will always have a mind of its own when it comes to the rate of weight loss. With weight loss, you are constantly trying to stack the deck as much in your favor as possible. The more factors you have control over (proper caloric intake, proper water intake, appropriate and consistent exercise) the better chances you stand to have.

Need to know where you stand? We can help!

You Just Haven't Earned It Yet...

Sometimes, it's okay to be a cheater.

Alright hear me out on this one.

When it comes to diet plans and weight loss, you may hear the terms "cheat meal" or "cheat day" used with a fair amount of frequency. So, what do they accomplish?

If you've been living in caloric deficit, meaning: you're eating less than a maintenance level of calories to cause weight loss, your hormones are postively and negatively affected. In many ways, you get the response you're looking for by losing weight. However, when you spend too much time in deficit, your body might stall with progress.

Many diet plans add in a cheat meal or a cheat day to accomplish one of a couple scenarios

1) Allowing you to have the food you've been depriving yourself of so you can justify the restrictions of your "proper eating"
2) "Reset" your hormonal balance so you can return to weight loss again

I've found something else interesting can happen as well...

Let's say you've been eating really well from Monday through Friday. Calories are in line and you're not bingeing on foods you might normally.

Then on Saturday evening, you have something you normally wouldn't like: cheeseburger and fries, or pizza, or a slice of cake. Typically, your body recognizes that you're eating junk and a thermogenic effect can happen internally. In other words, signals go off in your body saying "This shouldn't be here!!!" and your body works overtime to help flush the system of the food.

This is where the cheat meal can be really beneficial for those who are trying to lose weight.

That being said, you HAVE to have dietary consistency for this to work and it does NOT work for everyone.

Taking our typical week as an example, let's say you eat really well on Monday and Tuesday but you go out with your friends for chicken wings and beer on Wednesday. You most likely won't get the option of having a cheat on the weekend as well. Your body needs/craves/wants consistency in many ways. When you can establish several days in a row of clean eating, you stand a better chance of the cheat meal having positive effects.

I'll add this as well: the thermogenic effects tend to be more pronounced if you have a "greasy" meal.

But here's the other thing: if you have a significant amount of weight to lose (let's say over 30lbs), you would be better served to stack up several weeks of consistent eating to lock down the habits before you can even consider a cheat meal.

The downside to adding the cheat in prematurely is, from a behavioral standpoint, you may not know when to stop eating the "unhealthy" food choices. It can trigger more poor eating and turn a cheat "meal" into a cheat "weekend".

So, while there can be some really positive outcomes to an unhealthy food choice, you have to EARN that luxury first.

Too Much Of A Good Thing?

Fruit can get a bad rap.
Too much sugar?
Not good for weight loss?
Not so fast.
There's a way to navigate the fruit section of your supermarket with your sanity intact.

Let's start with the lowest sugar options of the bunch: berries.
Berries arguably pack the most bang for your buck when it comes to fruit consumption. For one, they're an excellent source of fiber. Two, they're great sources of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Raspberries, blackberries and blueberries would be the best options and strawberries should be mentioned as well. In most cases, you can consume between 3/4 to 1 cup as a serving size and you'll hardly see 100 calories. To even out a potential blood sugar spike, you can combine the berries with a serving of nuts or Greek yogurt to get additional protein and healthy fats.

At the midway point, you've got fruits like apples, peaches, melons, fresh apricots, and grapefruit (among many others). These are still good options as long as you're keeping them between 1 and 2 servings a day.

On the high-end of the spectrum, you consider fruits like bananas, mangoes, figs, grapes, and cherries. The biggest issue with fruits like these is the fact that you lose a considerable amount of fiber which can slow the digestion of the food in your system.

Last but not least, the type of fruit you generally want to stay away from is dried fruit. The reason: most of it has added sugar and artificial preservatives.

So, how can fruit help or hurt your weight loss goals?

Consider that most people consume far more carbohydrates in their diet than necessary. That doesn't mean you should cut them out altogether but rather be cognizant of portions.

You see, fruit isn't the only source of carbohydrates in the typical western diet. Most people are getting more grains than they need from over serving cereal, too much bread (much of which is heavily processed), rice, potatoes, and pasta. I didn't even mention dessert!!

While it's possible to keep many of these foods in your diet to help you with your weight loss goals, many people are unaware exactly what a portion size should be and end up going overboard.

A couple of tips to consider: limit yourself to 3-4 carb options per day. For instance: a measured serving of steel cut oats, 1-2 fruit options per day and a small sweet potato with dinner. If you're going for a higher sugar fruit, try to save it for after your workout along with a protein option (or mixed with a protein shake) to help push protein into your muscles faster.

How about those super-mega-ultra exotic fruits? I'm talking to YOU acai and goji. These fruits are fine but they're not the miracle fruits everyone would like to claim. To be honest, you can find miracle fruit in the same aisle as those miracle pills...which is to say, you WON'T find them.

Sorry to burst your miracle bubble!

As for fruit juices, most of them are better left alone. Going back to the comment above about fiber, if you strip a food down to it's juice you lose the majority of the fiber. Not to mention, most commercial juices have added sugars. If you absolutely have to partake, stick with the standard portion size (8 oz. for most) and go 100% natural.

While I'm on the natural topic, another issue comes up which is whether to buy organic. If you have the financial wherewithal to buy only organic, go for it. Otherwise, if it's a food you typically peel before you eat you're generally safe to buy non-organic. Any fruit you eat as-is, should either be washed excessively to lessen the amount of potential pesticides or just purchased organic to be "safe".

It's easy to consider all-or-nothing approaches to food selection but they aren't the only way to be successful with your goals. You can make more appropriate choices and spread them out throughout the day without feeling like you're sacrificing everything you enjoy.

We can help you understand how to fit what you love into your goals!