So I stepped on the scale to prove a point to a friend and not surprisingly the scale provided zero validation of my progress the last couple of months and even the last couple of years.
My weight midday was 129.2 which is a weight I’ve seen often in the past few years. It’s nothing new.
What was new was the fact that the pants I’m wearing in the pic above, I couldn’t bring over my thighs last summer at a weight between 128-134.
At the beginning of this summer I could put them on, fasten them, but they were far from comfortable. My last weigh in this year was 130 sometime in February.
Yesterday, I grabbed them, put them on, and wore them all day comfortably.
No change in weight but my body composition is different. My body is smaller and more importantly DENSER w/ muscle packed on.
Top 4 fat loss behaviors
1. Fat loss IS a SKILL SET not a number!!!!
10 years ago my journey began by asking myself the question, “What am I doing now, that I wasn’t doing when I was happier w/ my body?” Wine was my answer then. Two years ago…my answer: BINGE EATING.
I eat the right things and exercise is obviously a priority in my life. What was killing my results was white knuckling my way through hunger so that I could eat the perfect meal. Except perfection isn’t reality so I’d go home, famished, only to overeat. At my peak this was probably happening 3 times a week at about 500-1000 calories/binge. No wonder results weren’t visible!
When I committed myself to eliminating an unhealthy behavior, binge eating, vs “achieving” a previous scale weight, I no longer relied on the scale for feedback. I stopped worrying so much about the perfect foods at the perfect times and in the perfect portions and focused on how I felt. If I overate one day I had to analyze what went wrong in order not to have a repeat episode. What the scale said was completely irrelevant.
2. IT TAKES PRACTICE
If achieved goals are set of well executed skills, isn’t it reasonable to accept that we will encounter failure along the way? Isn’t it true then that we should expect to fail more often at the beginning when these sets of skills have had the least amount of practice? Isn’t it true that we need time to fine tune and perfect our skills? WE NEED TO GIVE OURSELVES TIME TO PRACTICE SKILLS!!!!
Did it turn you off at the beginning of the blog that I said “two years ago” I began to focus on eliminating binges from my weekly routine? I know two years sounds like an eternity in this business where 21, 24, and 30 day diet plans are the norm. I think of all these best sellers as “jump starts” like we did in April. They motivate us and get us some quick, inspiring results, but if you are in it for the long haul (and aren’t we all?) you then have to do the really hard part, discovering how some of these behaviors can become habits.
3. REFLECT ON FAILURES
I have failed countless amounts of times these past two years and can also report waves of strong and low motivation to achieve my goal. Natural, right?
Without a doubt this photo shoot renewed my interest in my goal and I think my fast loss this go around has a lot to do with the fact that I’ve put in the time, practiced, and now execution feels almost (and I do emphasize the almost) easy. I am much quicker to have a bite or two of a “cheat” during the day if I know in the long run it will prevent a binge. I am much quicker to add carbs to my meals because I know if I eat them in moderation throughout the day, I will not overeat later. It’s become second nature to ask myself the questions below if I feel hints of cravings entering my system.
* Were my workouts more intense this week?
* Am I waiting too long to eat between a meal or several meals?
* Am I sleep deprived?
* What am I doing for recovery?
* Did I drink enough water?
* Did I try to eat a “perfect” meal or did I prioritize feeling satisfied?
I have failed enough at all of the above to know that if things get ugly, one of those behaviors is likely the culprit. As cheesy as it sounds, failures truly are learning opportunities.
4. DON’T BE AFRAID TO EXPERIMENT
The magic meal plan doesn’t exist. STOP ASKING FOR IT! High protein, lots of veggies and fruits, unprocessed carbohydrates, plant and animals fats, and water are the basics. No one understands your workouts, your family demands, your work schedule, your likes and dislikes better than you.
As Sweat grows, the pressure to subscribe to a certain way of eating gets bigger and bigger but, just like with our workouts, we follow science not the trend.
Fat loss is a complicated balance between hormones, calories, and psychology. You HAVE TO put yourself in the driver’s seat because no expert has the map to your unique metabolic formula.
YOUR TAKE AWAY:
I know that the mentality to put down the scale is not a new one, but it’s still a very difficult thing to embrace. We can eat right for 3 weeks and feel defeated b/c the scale went up 3 lbs. We can eat crap for 3 weeks and feel like a million bucks because the scale reflected a “good” weight. We hinge our day’s happiness and our body image on a piece of equipment that can be manipulated by salt, barometric pressure, unlevel flooring, hormonal fluctations…etc. It’s unreliable.
1. Measure your success by how consistently you can repeat a fat loss behavior!
2. What habit has creeped it’s way into your routine that is unhealthy and hindering results?
3. Taking into account your home and work demands, what skill(s) are you willing to commit to right now?
4. Get ready to practice, fail, and tweak!
REMEMBER, YOU HAVE TO GIVE YOURSELF TIME TO GET IT RIGHT!
