Losing Weight, Seeing Results
I wouldnât say I have struggled with my weight, but I am not a naturally thin person. To stay in shape I need to work on it, and I can see a difference in my body when I do not work on it (sadness). I want to ramble here for a quick bit about weight and exercise. I am not an expert, in fact I know nothing at all, so these are all just beliefs that I have from reading, experience, or tips from health professionals or trainers throughout my life, but I try to follow them
The mirror test: Coming back from New Zealand I was more over weight than I had ever been. I joined a boot camp which kicked my butt - if you are Denver and want to know more, check out Genesis. The mirror test was explained best by the Connell duo, Gary and Lynn (super duper health nuts who I miss a ton). Essentially, step off the scale and stop worrying about an objective number â instead, strip down and look in the mirror. If you like what you see then you are doing your job, if not, then work hard to get to that point. Rational? Muscle weighs more than fat, so total weight is not necessarily indicative of your health. I love this test even though it is hard to back off of the societal scale.
Happy Weight: If the mirror test is too subjective for you, then I also like the "Happy Weight" test. Essentially, think of the time in your past when you were the happiest with your weight and life. What weight was that? Now aim for that weight.
In and Out: I also learned this at Genesis, but if you want to lose weight, you need to be exerting more energy (so more lifting, more running) than you are consuming (calories). If you are a net negative (remember to incorporate the number of calories you use to live), you will lose weight.
Crunches: If you havenât figured this out by now, crunches alone wont help you out much. Why? Because they are hidden under fat! How do you get your abs to shine through the chunk? Get rid of the chunk first! First, you need cardio. I donât remember where I read it, but monosaccharides burn off first, so in order to burn off those lipids (fat cells, which actually shrink but do not disappear) you need at least thirty minutes of cardio exercise. And Iâm not sure what other people think, but cardio does not mean a slow jog or a lazy bike ride! Pant baby! Sweat a little! Go hard or go home! After thirty minutes of cardio, you start to burn fat. After the fat starts to go away, you can use those crunches to beef up your core.
In effect, (> 30 min CARDIO) + (good diet, see below) + (ab workout) = Bikini, baby!
Food: This is the hardest part for me. I am always hungry, either because I am always working out and playing hard, I am studying, or maybe Iâm just inherently fat (note that studying burns off sugars in your brain, making you crave sweets â per Erica, soon to be MD). You need to eat better! Eating better will make you look better, if you eat like crap, you wont see the results you want from the cardio and crunches. There is another reason to eat healthy too â ENERGY. You will feel better, healthier, and more alive with a good diet. Plus your skin will thank you, your teeth, and almost every part of you. For a link to some super-foods click here. Super-foods I hear mentioned over and over again, however, include spinach, kale, broccoli, blueberries, flax, yogurt, and chia seeds. I try to follow the rule (TRY) âeat what makes your body and soul happyâ (which means I allow myself sweets now and again, moderation is key). Food, people - maybe less, but quality is key. Final note - crappy food is addictive, slowly cut it out of your diet and you wont crave it as much!
Core: Crunches are the go-to for everyone, but there are, in my opinion, better ways to strengthen your abs and make them burn fat. I think that push ups are the most under valued exercise for women. When you do push ups you need to be squeezing your butt, keeping you back straight, looking FORWARD (not at the ground), and USING YOUR ABS to keep your body stable. Pull-ups are another great core exercise. For cardio, I like to run stairs, sprints, and long distance as well â all of these involve your abs. ENGAGE them! You will thank me when bikini season roles around.
Pull-Ups: As alluded to above, I value pull-ups. Most women cannot do a pull up. I was one of those women until last fall. Then I decided that 4-5 times a week I would attempt to do a pull up â just one. I would pull myself up as high as I could and then hold it there for 20-30 seconds. I would try to do as many reps as I could until I could only hold it for 10 seconds. Eventually, I pulled myself up over the bar. From then on, I did the same thing but started with as many pull-ups as possible. Now I can do approx. 15-20 every 3 days or so. For some reason I canât do it the day after ( I think it's because I need to rebuild torn muscle or something, but it is a consistent trend).
I'm happy that when I dance I don't flub... although in saying that, I still have a TON to do to get my body up to full acceptability levels for the mirror test. I also need to have a better mental image of my body... but that is another topic entirely.
Iâll stop my ramblings here for today. Feel free to leave a comment or a question. I will also try to link sources eventually.
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