Phit-N-Phat...Making Fitness and Weightloss a Lifestyle

Drinking Water is KEY to Weightloss

I run monthly weightloss coaching groups on Facebook and PNP  (contact me if you are interested). In April I am issuing daily challenges for motivation and education. Today's challenge is water since it is KEY to weightloss, developing LEAN muscle, recovery, and avoiding mindless snacking.

I want to give you some good information about why water is important to weightloss. From Caloriesperhour.com I found this information...

• Initial weight loss is largely due to loss of water, and you need to drink an adequate amount of water in order to avoid dehydration.
• The process of burning calories requires an adequate supply of water in order to function efficiently; dehydration slows down the fat-burning process.
• Burning calories creates toxins (think of the exhaust coming out of your car), and water plays a vital role in flushing them out of your body.
• Dehydration causes a reduction in blood volume; a reduction in blood volume causes a reduction in the supply of oxygen to your muscles; and a reduction in the supply of oxygen to your muscles can make you feel tired.
• Water helps maintain muscle tone by assisting muscles in their ability to contract, and it lubricates your joints. Proper hydration can help reduce muscle and joint soreness when exercising.
• A healthy (weight loss) diet includes a good amount of fiber. But while fiber is normally helpful to your digestive system, without adequate fluids it can cause constipation instead of helping to eliminate it.
• Drinking water with a meal may make you feel full sooner and therefore satisfied eating less. Note, however, that drinking water alone may not have this effect. In order to feel satiated (not hungry), our bodies need bulk, calories and nutrients.

I encourage people to drink a gallon of water a day. Personally, I drink more than that because I need it. Build up to it. Use flavorings to get it down but do it. 

Related Articles:

Drinking Water Options

It's All About the Supplements

Energy and Keeping Off the BLT's

 

At Least I'm Doing Something

We had a PNP girl call herself out today in the forums today because she's tired of avoiding her Insanity workouts for Wii Biggest Loser. Is there anything wrong with those workouts? No. But if you know in your heart you CAN do Insanity and are just plugging in a workout that's not challenging you to do something then YEP...we got a problem.

Often I hear people under workout all the time. It's most common with people who had to find their fitness. They were once really overweight or never really worked out hard. In the early stages ANY workout is an accomplishment because you weren't doing jack to begin with. 

Then you get fitter, lose some weight, and put in some half-assed workouts that don't get you where you want to go but you are STILL THINKING ANYTHING is better than nothing. 

There are aspects to losing weight that can be easy and others that are hard. If you don't feel like you are working hard to lose weight you AREN'T. It's not just workouts but all the other areas, too. Most people think the hard part of dieting is being HUNGRY. I'm just telling everyone that's the least of your worries. If you are that hungry you are probably dieting wrong and need to comment here for some help.

What's hard is the LIFESTYLE and WORK involved. Yes, you need to do these things most of your life to lose weight and KEEP IT OFF:

1. Sweat a lot, breathe hard, and lift heavy stuff when you exercise. If you are on the phone, chatting with pals, or wearing a smile in MOST of your workouts then quit bitching you aren't losing weight.

2. Fix your own food. I'd love to put everyone on a fun-food diet with shiny wrappers, waitresses and boxes but you're going to be hungry, have low energy, probably catch "food poisoning" more than the average person, and feel as if all you do is work hard for no resutls. The people I know who eat real food and have it prepped on Sunday LOSE WEIGHT!

3. Say NO to the crap you know you are signing up for to avoid steps 1 and 2. Don't tell me you don't have time to do 1 and 2 but you sit on your butt during your kids practices (last I looked you parked your car somewhere and could walk the parking lot or something), go to movies, watch TV, go out to dinner with friends, etc. There's nothing wrong with having a life if you have one to live! Until 1 and 2 is done you haven't taken care of your business to afford luxuries.

And yes, socializing and such is a luxury. When you skip exercise and don't make time to eat right you are bouncing a check! You are over-drawing yourself. That's time you don't have right now. 

No more half-assed efforts, ladies. YOU deserve better. Doing something is what every single person in the world should do to live...not to lose weight.

Oh and I have a good rule of thumb for when it's time to "just do something."

• You better be in the new stages of getting started.
• You only "do soemthing" 1-2 x's a month to avoid skipping a workout (notice not weekly)
• OR, you are coming off a major life upheaval. 

 

Is It REALLY For Your Family?

Just an observation and I'm sure some of you will totally disagree with me but here it goes.

I hear and read a lot about moms making cookies, sweet breads, and other goodies for the "family" and then end up eating more of it themselves than the family does. Often they are doing "clean up" duty. This is simply when everyone else quit eating your homemade goodies and you eat it up at a weak moment in the name of it "needing to be eaten."

It sort of drives me crazy, actually. 

Would it kill you to throw away a few servings that no one else WANTED?

Would it be so bad to just not make that stuff anymore unless it was a special occassion?

Honestly, so many of you tell me a host of excuses...

"My kids won't eat healthy."

"I gotta watch my kids or they are eating sweets instead of good snacks I have available."

"My family insists on having all these things I can't control myself around."

And so on.

Well, let me ask you this? Are you telling me that if YOU can't say no to the homemade baked goods, sugar cereals, cookies, and ice cream that your kids should be more enlightened that YOU??? Hmmm...I wonder where junior learned to mindlessly snack on junk? 

And, I would bet that when you were grabbing a cookie or two here and there you, too, had fresh fruits and vegetables just begging to be eaten.

Oh, as far as demanding spouses and kids, have you ever just tried to FORGET to get a few of the things they "need" each week since you probably do the bulk of the shopping? Start with that crap you can't handle. Maybe if they only have some better options to choose from you can get them on board over time.

I totally believe in a time and place for goodies.

• We made cookies this year for Christmas (TWICE!). I never bake anything but healthy stuff we can all eat but there are a few times a year I do it. You know what? Because it's special I don't have a problem controlling myself. The process becomes fun instead of the eating being a part of frustration or habit.
• I keep a bowl of Halloween Candy put away for when Logan wants a piece (nice and small pieces and I only keep the stuff I don't like). At Valentine's Day and Easter I throw out the old and put in the new. Yep, out of sight out of mind for him and we never eat all of our candy!
• We have treats here but they are REALLY limited because I've taught Logan that he needs to enjoy his healthy foods! Just like Graham Crackers...for special oatmeal I make his regular plain oats with berries, a little plain Kefir, tbsp of Chia Seeds, and then crunch up one sheet of Graham Cracker as a cookie type treat. He thinks that is awesome and calls it cookie breakfast. Guess what? We don't even do that daily!

I have friends who keep a cookie bowl and such and I think moderation is fine. But, unless your kids are eating healthy and you all can practice self-control, then evaluate your motivations to have those things so readily available. If the cookies are for the kids then they should be for the kids. If momma is still digging in a cookie jar and bitching about her self-control - get real.

Like anything, it won't happen overnight but each week when you are re-loading the kitchen think about something that tripped you up last week and don't make it or buy it. When you girls are complaining about stuff you "ate" that was "bad" I'm more shocked that you were willing to put it in your kids body. Not everything but sometimes I'm worried you get upset about the wrong thing!

And, just to give myself a little promo spot...Shakeology is a great way to avoid junk and kids like it! I have several clients whose kids do not eat very healthy and this fills a nutritional hole for them while giving them something treaty to have while weaning off the junk. Check it out!

Making Mistakes Helps You Lose Weight

“You have to make mistakes to find out who you aren't. You take the action, and the insight follows: You don't think your way into becoming yourself.” --- Anne Lamott

It's the first week of our January challenge. Guess what? Most of you are GUNG-HO right now. Warning to you: there is a mistake in your near future.

• A kid will get sick.
• A friend will break-up with her boyfriend and require you to drink with her.
• Your football team is playing.
• A husband will want pizza and not grilled chicken Friday night.
• By next week the work gang is off their "diet" and going out to the local Mexican restaurant.
• You'll need to go to the gym and the boss will make you work late.
• The alarm will go off at 5am but the baby was up all night and you will lay there.

Sad to say, but most of you will have at LEAST one of these things happen, beat yourself up for life happening and wait until the next challenge to get started AGAIN. Until that time you will just spin your wheels with your old habits that make you want to lose weight in the first place.

I'm telling you now that all of these things are going to happen for the REST OF YOUR LIFE. These are not the universe trying "F" with your head. It's called a part of life. 

Do you think when I lost over 100lbs it was roses? No way! I had death, birthdays, a child diagnosed with autism, sickness, we sold and moved a house at Christmas, I travelled a lot, etc. 

The difference is that I finally realized my life wasn't going to snap into a perfect zone so I needed to learn how to make my life fit into the circumstances. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired of me.

To this day, in maintenance, the same things happen. I constantly don't get my way with how I want the days and weeks to play out. I make mistakes. I eat crazy on vacation, I skip workouts when I just can't get it done, etc. The difference is that I don't let what happens in life change my LIFESTYLE. 

When I need to miss a workout, it's OK. I just know that day I need to re-tool my week. I might not even get every workout in but I'm still going to be healthy and exericse. Unless you are training for a huge race...what does a missed workout or two mean over the course of the next 30 years? Nothing. 

On vacation I eat. On date night I have my wine (and plenty of it). I enjoy these times because after six years of doing it I'm maintaining my weightloss. It's not vacation and date night killing you; it's vending machines, lunches with the gang, and then just nibbling your way through cookies, cakes, crackers, chips and leftovers from the kids' plate that's stopping you.

So, as we proceed through week one of our PNP January Challenges - no perfectionism. When you have life happen I don't want bitching in the threads that your life is so unfair. I want you discussing what happened and feel free to be frustrated. Just don't let it stop there.

I'm looking for women who will show up in the thread, honestly saying why they had to miss workouts or didn't eat on plan BUT HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE (like we talked yesterday) about where they go from here.

Learn from your mistakes. They are there to teach; not punish.

Again, smile more, hug more, and plan the life you want to live.

 

Do the Complete Opposite: 2012 Version

Two years ago I led a 12-week workshop here on the blog and I was looking at the information to refresh it for my current challenge teams on Phit-N-Phat.com. With New Years coming at you in ONE week, I would like to give you motivation to join our weightloss community.

Many people have heard this before...

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again achieving the same results."

Are you stalled in your weightloss but FEARFUL if you change something you'll gain or it won't work? Paralyzed by that fear you continue to do the same elliptical routine, eat the same frozen dinners for lunch, then have weekends where you can't control your eating.

Are you waking up and skimping or skipping breakfast, making a plan to workout at night? The problem is you are tired, stressed, and ready to gnaw off your arm when you get home so you eat until the kids go to bed where you collapse in the bed to watch TV.

Are you always giving into temptations...lunches with co-workers, cake at the office, Burger King on the way home, and a hot latte when Susie Q. needs a caffeine fix? Each week you think about packing some snacks, having prepared meals at home, and then just don't do it thinking you'll "wing it" this week.

Girls, girls, girls...are you INSANE? No...but I think you are in desperate need of help.

George Does the Complete Opposite Video

On our challenge teams we have people in all stages of the fatoss cycle. Some are just starting out trying to learn how to make small changes that can last a lifetime. These ladies will focus on skills, changes, tactics, and rephrasing the mental messages.

We have other teams focused on Beachbody video systems. Most of these women are motivated to workout and following several programs together for encouragement, to get questions answered, and to work with me on how you can take shelf programs like P90X or Turbo Fire and customize it for YOUR specific needs.

Another team needs menu FOCUS. This group works with me privately and recieves menus, prep instruction for their food, and help on making the menu fit their calorie ranges. They also must follow Shakeology through me as part of the nutritional piece.

And, we have a WHOLE LOT of PNP ladies doing my own written programs or working with other training formats but bonded by sharing their weightloss and fitness journey. They focus on discussing their journey, their life, ups and downs, and finding likeminded women to connect with. 

The similarity with all of these groups is that each is finding a path to fitness and health that FITS THEM by stopping the endless cycle of trying failed plans. I can't tell you how often I did it myself and watched people start a typical MONDAY with too few calories, a bunch of food they don't like the taste of, and then heading to the gym for an hour when they haven't worked out in six months. 

Guess how long these people typically last? About two to three weeks. That's why gyms know in February attendance will be back to normal. 

This year, do something different. Start with small changes to your lifestyle. Try joining one of our teams or just visting www.phit-n-phat.com and following some of the ladies in the Challenge Forum. You'll likely find tips and women just like you striving to feel better about themselves.

Keys To Weight Loss Success

Looking back on how I lost 110lbs and trying to come up with what I changed, I found that it really took me changing my whole lifestyle to make it happen. 

It wasn't done overnight - it took me a year and a half of steadily working at it. 

I didn't make a ton of changes at once - I tackled one thing at a time until I could STAND to add another change. I avoided changes that made me feel like it was unfair that I was "not living" like everyone else.

I made less and less mistakes. For the first time in my life I CHOSE to quit whining how life was unfair and examined what things I NEEDED TO CHANGE so that life would quit happening to me.

I think that was the biggest shift. For most of life I complained how things were constantly going to crap.

Why me? Why did MY schedule always change? Why do I have to work extra hours at work? Why is that when I start doing good a bunch of crap comes up?

My husband never had these traumatic events happening. He's always had it easy. Well, that's what I always thought of him and others who are "skinny" or have it together.

They actually have just as many flat tires, late nights, unexpected visitors, invitations to eat out, kids sick, vacations planned, flus, volunteer opportunites, and friends calling them up bawling their eyes out.

The key difference is they are prepared most of the time for these things, say no to a lot of stuff they would like to do but don't have to for, and don't make excuses.

• It's EASY to say you are too tired to workout. It's a victory on the scale when you workout and you didn't want to.
• It's NOBLE to start Monday saying you are going to make great choices all week. It's SIMPLE to eat out prepped food in your cooler you spent time fixing on Sunday. When those unexpected events or sick kids pop up you handle it with ease because YOU DON'T HAVE TO COOK!

At our Columbus Half Marathon PNP meet up event this past weekend, many of us discussed what it takes to lose weight. I thought I would share today. Our PNP group is smart so listen up!

1. Weigh-in once a week. We LOVE to say the scale isn't our friend. Well it can be if you use the numbers to reflect on how often you BLT'd, missed a workout, ate out, had a SMALL slice of birthday cake (I mean we all know that cake at the office means we barely had a little bit - rolling my eyes), or added creamer to your coffee, a little extra PB to your oats, and a smidge more rice with dinner.

That scale number isn't always 100% accurate, of course, but don't complain about it not showing love if you weren't 100%. That's like saying your kid can hit you a couple of times a week and you won't care. Stop bitch slapping your diet and you might get better results. And sister, you better show me detailed records of your effort in food and workouts before you whine about the scale not moving.

2. EXERCISE! You got to do it and most workouts should be hard. I'm all for walking in the beginning. Trust me. Walking was HARD for me at 250lbs. But if you are exercising and it seems "not so bad" then just know that minimal effort = minimal results. 

3. Support from friends and family. Don't keep it a secret or those food pushers will come after you. They have to know how important this is to you. Tell them your goals, your plans, and what you AREN'T doing anymore. But when you do that you have to strap on the big girl panties and DO IT. Just because you are losing weight doesn't mean the rest of the world has to diet with you. 

I also advise a fabulous community of like-minded people - shameless plug - join www.phit-
n-phat.com

4. If you crave foods you will binge on then get them out of your house. Don't be stupid and keep chips if you will eat chips! Find subs for the things you love. A lot of my girls who binge or can't resist
sweets use Shakeology to curb the sweet tooth. I love it because I love ice cream. Every night I make a big ole shake that has the consistency of a Frosty and it keeps me from wanting other junk in the health. My girls use it for their chocolate fix...especially when PMS strikes!

5. Cut out sodas and juices. If you got weight to lose you shouldn't drink your calories. You need to eat them or you will feel miserable.

If this wasn't enough...I also shot a video of me discussing how important the social influences are to your weight loss success!

 

 

Why is Journaling Your Food Important?

We have a fascinating conversation in our forums discussing journaling. Everyone knows journaling is important but how many of you truly own up to the BAD days? I hate to call it that but it is what it is. We all have them. Trucking along the weight loss highway then we just go off a cliff into a valley of candy, pizza, mac and cheese and washed away in a river of booze.

I have spent the last few months FAITHFULLY tracking in Loseit and learned a lot about myself that I would never have learned had I not started journaling every day. It's the days I eat out, drink, party, have extra, etc. that are teaching me valuable lessons.

I used to like having a day I didn't track. I was wrong because my "why" was wrong. It isn't that I'm too anal all the time. Sure, I might worry too much about what goes in my mouth but not journaling the free day didn't cure me of that either. That avoidance day was me saying, "I'm just going to eat and eat, not track, give myself a break, because I really don't want to see what it is like when I'm eating until satisfied."

It wasn't I needed a break from tracking; I didn't want to see what a day of free eating looks like because I was usually out of control and out of my comfort zone.

I can eat a lot! A 4000 calorie day is easy to reach for me. Heck, I can do even more than that and still not feel too full. I'm not kidding. I eat fast, always been a gobbler, and feeling full doesn't bother me. I have to be REALLY FULL to feel uncomfortable. Y'all who say I just felt so miserable are my heros because my full belly actually feels good.

The moment I journaled the days that I ate non-clean/non-healthy things, drank, or whatever , I saw I didn't eat as much of the stuff. When I started putting a number to the food it all became real! It had worth and value and I started coming up with tricks to savour food rather than devouring it. I had tastes rather than cleaning my plate. And although my calories are still high they are about HALF what they were in the past when I just ate without having a measurement. For me it's been a game changer in keeping my body weight down.

I don't NOT eat but I don't hide from it. I see it, exeperience it, accept the value of it, and own it. When my results aren't where I want them I can easily look back and see what needs to change rather than feeling like I've worked hard. I do WORK HARD most of the time. I also see I PLAY HARD just enough for the 80% to allow me to tread water!

And, honey, if you are trying to lose weight you can't afford to be in the work hard/play hard category. To be blunt, I earned my time here...you gotta do the same!

Jane, a long time member of PNP wrote that she used to keep a calendar with big X's on it for the days she "blew it" or "didn't track." This was a comment I made to her in that thread.

I love what you said, Jane, about the big X. What does that teach you? Maybe a pattern of a day you off track each week, but you don't see what you eat, how much damage do you TRULY do, what foods do you reach for, etc. I can promise that most people who just blank out the bad days are the same exact people who get frustrated when the results aren't happening. They cry I am trying so hard...I don't know what to change because 80% of the time I'm doing so good.

It doesn't matter if you eat well 80% of the time to create a 1500 calorie deficit for the week if 20% of the time you eat an extra 2000 calories in a day going out to eat, having a burger, fries, and a beer. Seriously. That's all it takes to erase 80% of the hard work and then some.

TRACK.IT.ALL or quit moaning you aren't losing like you should.

 

Repost: Stages of Weightloss

When I was a corporate trainer, I had the opportunity to go through Situational Leadership II. It dawned on me last week how applicable it is to the fat loss journey. Many of my girls are in different stages of the fitness lifestyle: beginners to advanced and they all have a place in PNP.

 

We've discussed in our private groups how intimidating it can be for beginners to see the menus and exercises the veterans do. I converted the SLII information into fat loss terms so we can see no matter how “advanced” you might be we all fight the same fight. Here’s what I wrote to them and then I’ll tell you my own thoughts. 

 

Stage One - Blind Excitement…this is where you are stoked and ready to go. You finally hit the place where you know you have to do something with your life, found a plan that is for you, got your stuff, and been to the store/signed up at the gym/entered a challenge. Everything is shiny and new and you are ready to go! This stage lasts about 1-3 weeks.

 

Stage Two - Reality Zone…here we are, grumpy from calorie deficit, tired from excrutiating workouts, hormonal most of the time, temptations all around us, and our minds are doubting what the heck we are doing to ourselves. Often in this stage you haven’t seen BIGGEST LOSER type numbers on the scale and the excitement is gone. You've realized it really is a lifestyle and not a TEMPORARY DIET. Black and white thinking plagues you.

 

Stage Three - Gaining Momentum…in this stage you know what to eat, you are pretty faithful to the exercise program, you have a few questions as you learn more and more about exercise and eating right, but you just need a little push and shove along the way. You still have questions, but you pretty much know what you are doing and can get yourself through crisis and such without too much help. You've developed a level of self-confidence to make a wise choice when temptation is around.

 

Stage Four - Cruise Control…here you are, super confident, you know what you are doing, you get your schedule and go for it without hesistation, you eat well, you enjoy your spluge meals without problems, and you find yourself cheerleading others more than yourself these days. This is the stage we all dream of getting to.

 

The funny thing about these stages is that they are completely fluid. Everyone moves from one stage to another, forward and backward through the entire journey of fat loss. You don’t skip stages on your way up or down, you might move very quickly, but you don’t skip one.

 

This brings us to Corinne. I travel the stages often and you probably think I am the master of stage four. Just depends on what I am doing.

 

• When I am building muscle it is still new to me to add weight so I struggle between stages 2-3 for most of the build journey. It's going to be a long time before putting on weight make me feel confident like a stage 4 person feels.
• When I am maintaining I am quickly a 4. It's easy for me to eat the right foods for me and exercise because I have learned through trail and error what works for me. It took only six years!!!!
• During weightloss mode I am like all of you. A 1, 2, 3, and finally a 4. I love the first couple of weeks, feel tired and exhausted, then quickly start seeing that it just takes determination and sometimes being a touch hungry. Once you know what to expect you can respect it.

 

The key to these stages is recognizing where you are in the process. Knowing that all of these stages are normal might help you to move through them better. Stage Two is naturally the danger zone and where most people quit. Identify when you hit that stage and find strategies to help you move through it.

 

So, what stage are you in?

How Many Calories Should I Eat?

I get this question a lot. In my custom training programs I give women their calories and guidelines for menus and in my PNP purchaseable training programs like In and Out the Gym I give standard guidelines.

Women still will ask me and often people find me frustrated because they seem to blow their "diets" or calorie ranges often. Some people will tell you that's just a matter of weakness, etc. I agree if you are on a deadline to lose weight that is the case. You can't afford to "blow it" and often must be hungry, etc.

But, my average client doesn't have a sporting event they are getting super lean for. My clients are in this to be healthier and feel good. Feeling good means not obsessing about the next meal because they are starving. It also means having control over their impulses so that they aren't feeling horrible the next day over a bad sugar binge.

I'm giving you an answer to one of my www.phit-n-phat.com members who emailed. She weighs a little over 200lbs and has not been able to lose weight for a long time. She's very active doing videos, running, etc., but has a problem with "doing good all day then it coming apart in the afternoon/evening." Sound familiar.

Before I post my answer I want to note the following things:

• You are probably not allowing yourself enough calories each day.
• You might be WAY undereating the first half the day when you are distracted and busy.
• When you get home to loads of food options, your adrenaline will release, and the hunger kicks in feeling UNCONTROLLABLE.

Babe, you have been hungry all day. You were just too busy to listen to the subtle clues your body gave you. When you get home the body decides to scream and toss a tantrum like a three year old because we ALL know that will get your attention and cause you to do anything to shut them up!

Now for my answer.

If you weigh over 200lbs and you are eating 1500 calories then you are eating what someone who weighs 150 should eat to lose and feel mildly hungry. You should eat based on what you CURRENTLY weigh; not what you want to weigh. The body doesn't respond well to that. It still has organs and functions to carry out and needs the fuel to do it. It will also have nowhere to go when you get smaller because you already ate in the low end of "dieting."

At your weight if you were a client I would multiply your weight by 9-12. That would be your range and you would follow menus for that based on hunger levels each day.

Body Weight (BW) x9 are the days you are busy, sleep late, go to bed early, or just so full of veggies you don't need more.

 

BWx10 is your wheelhouse. Pretty much eat this most days and re-do the x10 every 10lbs you lose.

 

BWx11 is when you need that extra snack. You might be PMS'ing, having a special day, tired, munchy, salt is low, etc. It's your guilt free way of having something extra WHEN YOU NEED IT.

 

BWx12 is your super active and super hungry days. You don't eat here very often. It's really for days that are high in activity or a day where you know you will just eat your arm off and staying at 12 will save you.

 

AS you get smaller, move to 10-12 and around 160lbs stop x9 anymore. The goal is always to eat as much as you can and lose. Not the other way around. I like girls to eat more, exercise hard, and settle for a solid pound or 1.5lb of FAT each week (not muscle and fat and be in the 2lb range every week). 

The big thing is get in your range. Eat it faithfully with HARD execise and see what happens after TWO weeks. You should lose. If you don't lose, drop the all ranges by 100 calories and try again for two weeks.

If you have to drop the range after four weeks I would examine how hard you are working out. You might need more intensity and heavier weights.

One important thing to remember, though, you must be 95% in your range and 95% with your exercise for two weeks. If you are less than 95% then the problem isn't the calorie range; the problem is you are not working your plan. I see too many people blame the exercise schedule and the calorie range when they need to examine their habits.

I hope this helps you find a calorie range that allows you to keep those habits clean and strong.

Maintaining Weightloss

Maintaining a weight loss is multifaceted. You know I lost 110lbs and I've been keeping it off now for six years. Here's what I have learned about it.

It's so much like losing weight that it is hard to separate maintenance thoughts and weight loss mode thoughts.

When you are keeping your weight off you aren't doing much different than what you did when you lost weight. For most of us the exercise SHOULD stay the same. You might get an extra day off, be able to shave off a few minutes each day, but you still have to lift your weights, do your cardio conditioning, and stretch. Just because you aren't losing weight doesn't mean you can let your heart and muscles go to crap.

Same goes for food. All that food that made you fat ain't suddenly healthy or in play. It will still make you FAT! You eat the same but just a smidge more of it. And I mean a smidge. You diet and you are sort of hungry and you maintain and you go to slightly hungry before it's time to eat.

See I think those of us with current or past weight issues  don't "get" the idea that the "skinny" people just don't think about food like we do. They eat when they need to eat and they wait til they are hungry. Then they eat til they ain't hungry; not loaded like a gun ready to blow. Novel concept.

This is what makes it SEEM like they can eat what they want. THEY can because when WE aren't with them they aren't eating and thinking about food 24/7 like we are.

I actually blogged about this some in 2009. Thanks to Dawn W for sending this to me, BTW.

If you are maintaining your weight then you are eating and exercising like it takes to maintain.

This is the hardest concept for people to ACCEPT. Maintaining a healthy weight is a lot of work! You don't just lay around. You still have to work hard to look good. You still have to eat right to look good. It just doesn't get EASY for you one day. Sure you can like your new lifestyle but don't think it will be a walk in the park either.

It's SUPER HARD for people to accept how hard it is when they are maintaining about 20lbs from their goal. You are caught between two worlds: the world of what I USED TO DO and the world of what I NEED TO DO to get results.

I wrote yesterday about Breaking Weightloss Plateaus but the biggest trap you can avoid is this one simple statement...

But I used to eat XYZ or lay on my couch and NOW I do...

I admit to falling into this statement when I want to tighten up my body. But guess what...my thighs and ass don't give a damn what I did at 250lbs. or even 175lbs. It doesn't matter anymore. They are saying what you going to do at 145lbs that will get you results like you want to weigh 140 or 135lbs???

That's the thing. Maintenance is a dance. You are either doing it and trying to find satisfaction in being the SAME weight OR you fall into maintaining before you need to.

This is where all that goal setting and knowing what you really want come into play. Only you know how bad you want to lose weight and what you want to look like. Some people want it bad enough to eat stricter, less, and add intensity to workouts. Others enjoy the lifestyle they have and will exchange 5 or 10lbs to enjoy date night, pancakes after a long run, and grabbing an apple and yogurt so you have one less snack to prep each week. Cough cough.

I still track in LoseIt just about daily. I have it set to maintenance. Staying 145-146 is easy and means I can exercise a little less each day. The big measure for me is my Buckle jeans. I bought them 3 weeks post competition (2nd week of June) and every single pair fits just right! I guess my success will be each Friday night when I slide them on and feel great in them.

In maintenance you don't have many numbers that will give you a woot woot when you see them. I mean, how excited is it to always see the same thing? You get used to seeing lower numbers and it becomes like crack; you want more even when you don't need more.

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Workouts - Let me update you on what the week looks in my life. We're training for 4-5 half-marathons this fall. I do 2 easy 30-40 min. runs for cardio, 1-hour long tempo run, and 1-long run each week. 3 or 4 days I lift for 30-45 minutes. I doing super and triple set type workouts gearing up to meet loads of PNP girls at two Jen Hendershott camps this fall.  I also mix in a little bit of PiYo a couple times a week which is my stretching. I make sure I take off a day each week and sometimes two if I'm really beat or busy at PNP.

Food - I eat carbs when I want to! Most days I eat oats for breakfast, sweet potato with lunch, 2-3 apples a day, sometimes I do a banana for one of those or some grapefruit, almost always a Shakeology and 100 cal bag of Kettle pop right before bed, yogurts, cottage cheese, fish and veggies for lunch with the sweet potato, and for dinner we mix it up with steak, pork chops, big salads, spaghetti, or everyone has a frozen pizza of choice. I do WW and the boys do Annie's or Kashi.

I always have fresh veggies cut up or roasted each week so that when we make our lunch and dinner I just throw in what sounds good. It really is that simple these days.

We also keep nut butters and seeds around all the time so we can do rice cakes and butter or I can toss some pumpkin seeds into a shake or bag of popcorn for quick snacks. Oh, and I buy those 100 cal guac packets to use with baby carrots for an easy snack before dinner if I'm super hungry and don't want to go crazy. :)