Forgotten Realities of Fitness

Something most people trying to get in better health physically and nutritionally believe that in order to do so, you have to go to extremes.

Instead of sustainable practices like gradually changing your eating and activity habits to reflect the life you envision yourself living *for the rest of your life* people trying to lose weight follow quick fix gimmicks, one trick ponies and extended fasting in one form or another. That's not sustainable! That's extreme. No one does "such and such" detox, cleanse, weight shake yadda yadda day in and day out.

Weight loss is a BILLION dollar industry. It's not built on formulating habits and maintainable lifestyle. It's counting on YOU, the consumer, to buy and diet, see some results, get knocked off course and entice you with another strategy for weight loss, buy it, diet, workout like a maniac 6 days a week, get interrupted and start all over again. In other words the classic YOYO diet. HELLO!! Wake UP!! It doesn't work! (here's where I get desperation in my voice)

You have got to stop. You have got to realize your habits and mind set when it comes to food and moving more (exercise, hiking, biking, walking, swimming, yard work, etc) need readjusting. Somewhere along the way, lezz be honest, you started eating more, eating more processed foods (quick easy dinners and fast food ringing a bell?) and moving less...and less...to where any kind of continual movement seems exhausting. Something along these lines and over the years the weight has pilled on. Because your habits have shifted that facilitates weight gain which often leads to a dramatic decline in health and the onset on chronic disease (eventually).

So where do you go from here? I know you want to lose the weight...like last year. And I'll be honest, fat loss is hard. At one time or another it's going to really stink. Socializing with your friends and family that aren't concerned about similar things can throw a monkey wrench in your game (been there). Life will at times make it tough to eat healthfully. But with time and patience and consistency you will see the you you have envisioned leading a healthy, active and energetic lifestyle.

But it does take time (not a lose 10 pounds in 10 days or your money back gimmick). We all want or wanted to be there as quickly as possible, walking along the "optimal route". But (there's a lot of buts in this article...lol) you have got to come up with a plan that is comprised of a few things in order to reach your goal despite the setbacks (YEAH! Everyone experiences setbacks - hellleerrr this girl right here, too).

ONE: Start small.

You cannot flip your life upside down. This is too much, too soon and destined for utter destruction. Habits. Habits, people. This is one of the many things Precision Nutrition (my coaching company) has been focused on with our clients and they've been doing it for decades. Fitness and healthy living has to come into your life slowly, not drastically, through changing one habit at a time. What does this mean? Well, instead of adopting an intense 6 day a week zero to hero fitness plan, taking "x amount of supplements", drinking protein shakes, and following a meal plan we work on ONE integral part of change that you can easily follow every day. For some, that may be taking a multi-vitamin, drinking "x" amount of more glasses of water each day, or reducing your diet soda intake. I know that sounds like baby steps, but trust me, sometimes this is all a person can handle in their life. Once this habit has been mastered, you set yourself up for another habit to work on now that you've gotten in the habit of this new practice (whatever that may be)

TWO: Track and Feedback

"If you're not tracking, you're guessing!" Precision Nutrition coaches know that guessing is a big fat waste of time when working with clients and moving them on to the next important task. You need to be active in executing the habit you are desirous of achieving. How can you say you've drank enough water if you have no idea how much water you're taking in each day. Can you say you've mastered this habit of drinking "X" amount of glasses if you don't know how many glasses of water you've taken in? NOPE. So track. That goes for exercise. Want to exercise 3 days per week? Plan it, Track it. Get out a sheet of paper, write it on your planner, print out a personal excel doc that allows you to look on the sheet of paper that you did what you intended. Not getting it done? What is getting in your way? Totally living like a rock star on your habits? What makes it happen? Track it, and write down what's working and not working. Then you have a better game plan as to patterns in your life which help you be more aware of your surroundings, trials and failures (yeah, failure is OK!!). If it's working, move on, if you didn't nail it then continue to work on it - 2 weeks at a time.

THREE: Don't do meal plans

Sure, I know you are confused (thoroughly, especially these days) about what to eat. Do I go Paleo? Do I go Vegetarian? Do I eat nothing but banana's? Carbs in the morning or at night?? So you think you need to buy so-and-so's 7 day detox or 21 day Shake the Weight structured, all inclusive guaranteed to work fight the fat meal plan? No. Just no. There you go back on the yoyo. Precision Nutrition has made it easy and accessible for everyone if you want to know how you should be eating. And TOTALLY easy!! It's called "My Plate" (skip down to the title "Where’s the nutritional science..." for less reading and more to the point). Most of my clients follow the Anytime Plate for all of their meals. And the Post Workout Plate for what to eat after you workout. Here's a bonus. Crunched on time? We've got a plan for those of you in a rapid fire hurry. Their Super Shake is perfect for getting in supherb nutrition, as good as any healthful meal. Delicious and oh-so nutritious these hit the spot, are as tasty as you want to make them and will still keep you on the path of healthy. Meal plans don't teach you squat. You do not need to follow a meal plan to lose weight, get in great shape and reduce your risks of certain diseases. And do you really, logically think you need to do that to be healthy year round? Come on...you're smarter than that! Ditch the detailed details! That's far too complicated to make it a sustainable practice! A fundamental knowledge of eating whole, minimally processed foods will take you farther than you ever expected. So be sure to check out their links, do a little bit of reading and BOOM! get out of your own way!

BONUS: Here's three more simple tips that you'll need to lose weight.

-A net calorie deficit

-Adequate protein (meat is your ally)

-Some form of resistance training (assuming you want to maintain muscle, which, you'd be a silly little lady if you didn't) :D

Remember. Start small. Track and give yourself feedback. And follow the My Plate Guidelines from Precision Nutrition. In fact, check out their website at www.precisionnutrition.com and listen to their podcasts when you clean the house, do laundry, dishes, out in the yard, etc for the reality on how to make health and fitness work as a habit in your life!

Until next time, I wish you health, happiness and heavy lifts!

-Brandi

PS. If you found this article helpful, please share and tag me in social media! @real_life_fit_ on Instagram and Brandi Bartmess, Real Life Fit on Facebook! Much appreciated and much love your way! <3