The DOs and DON'Ts of Permanent Fat Loss

I really wanted to call this post 'the secret to permanent fat loss' but that sounds so spammy, right? The truth is it is no secret. It's just not that sexy. It's not the latest "fat-melting" supplement, the magic shake or the latest hard-core exercise program. It's not a secret, it's a lifestyle. 

For years and years I was great at losing fat. I did it so many times, I'd rather not recount how many. I knew exactly how to get the fat off, I just didn't know how to keep it off. The biggest mistake I made was making fat loss a singular focus. It is all I thought about, it is all I cared about. I didn't fit my fat loss goals into my lifestyle, I changed my whole life to fit in my fat loss goals and that wasn't sustainable. Once I lost the weight, I lost the focus and the weight came back on. Here is what I learned from my own fat loss journey and keeping the weight off for good.

DON'T BE GOAL ORIENTED

Say what? It sounds counterintuitive to say you shouldn't be oriented to your goals, but hear me out. It's great to have a fat loss goal, but it shouldn't be a singular focus. It's fine to have a number in the back of your head, but place your focus on the habits you need to build into your life. What are you doing daily to support your goals?

DO BUILD HEALTHY HABITS INTO YOUR LIFESTYLE THAT WILL SUPPORT YOUR GOALS

Focus on the permanent lifestyle changes and habits needed to meet your goal, rather than the goal itself. Focus on the journey, because there is no end. You will find that your goals will continue to change and evolve over time.

DON'T DIET

Seriously. A diet implies a short-term way of eating. You can't be on a diet forever, but you can eat a healthy diet forever. See the difference? Diet as a verb implies something that you do short-term. Forget the low carb or low fat diet. Diets fail. Permanent lifestyle changes win. 

DO CHOOSE WHOLE UNPROCESSED FOODS MOST OF THE TIME

Focus on making healthier choices most of the time. You don't have to be perfect, you just have to make the best choice possible with what you are given. Try to focus on choosing whole unprocessed foods most of the time. Occasional indulgences are OK. Enjoy life, family meals and time with friends without guilt, but learn to make healthy meals at home, pack your lunch and meal prep healthier choices for the week. What you do most of the time matters more than what you do occasionally. When healthy eating becomes just a part of your lifestyle, it ceases being a diet that you can be on or off. 

DON'T PUNISH YOURSELF WITH EXERCISE

Yes, Exercise is important. I think everyone should exercise to build a healthy heart, body and longer life. Exercise is not a punishment for having a body you don't love. Learn to love the body you have while working to improve. Don't exercise to burn off a big meal or to pay penance for an indulgence. It's a mindset. If you view exercise as punishment it's harder to find the joy in movement. No one loves punishment. 

DO MOVE MORE

Move. It doesn't have to be a structured bodybuilding-style workout and you don't have to train to run a marathon. Just move. Do the active things you enjoy. Get outside. Ride bikes with your kids, take a brisk walk with your spouse (or dog), take a Zumba (or bootcamp) class with friends. Try some different fitness activities to discover something you love. Some people love running (like me) some people love weight lifting, but some people hate it. It's OK. Maybe it's Yoga. Maybe it's CrossFit. Maybe it's running with your dog or hiking. Learn how to make exercise a daily habit. Find your thing and just do it, because if you try to force yourself to do something that you hate, it won't last long term. It has to be sustainable. 

DON'T TRY TO LOSE WEIGHT

Losing weight is easy. Stop drinking water (don't do this) and the scale will probably read a couple pounds lighter, but there is a big difference between water weight loss and fat loss. The worst case scenario is muscle loss. You may show a lower number on the scale but if you are losing muscle instead of fat then you are hurting your metabolism, which makes it harder to keep the weight off permanently. 

DO WORK TO LOSE FAT

If you want a lean, fit physique, then your primary focus should be on fat loss instead of weight loss. Eat a healthful diet with plenty of protein, do cardio exercise that elevates your heart-rate and work in some muscle building or maintaining exercises like Yoga, bodyweight exercises, weightlifting or bootcamps. It doesn't have to be 60 minutes a day for 6 days a week, just work in one or two full body resistance training exercises (or 15 minutes a day) to help build and maintain muscle. 

In order to achieve permanent fat loss the goal should be to work on building sustainable lifestyle habits. Make healthier food choices most of the time, fit in some exercise that you enjoy and work on finding that balance between your goals and your lifestyle. If you haven't picked up on it yet, sustainability is the key. Anyone can power through 12 weeks of a hard-core program to quickly lose weight, but if you don't continue those activities after the 12 weeks, the weight will probably creep back on. It is better to lose weight slowly over time so you can maintain it for a lifetime. 

I monitor my weight to keep myself in check and if I find the scale creeping up a bit (like it did over the holidays) I always first examine my habits. What am I doing differently on a daily basis? Did any bad habits slip in? I evaluate and then adjust. I don't freak out about the scale or weight gain, because I know that when I sustain healthy habits, my weight will stabilize to a healthy number. 

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Coach Lea

Share Your Love of Exercise with a Partner Workout

It's the week before Valentine's day and love is in the air. This week for workout Wednesday I am sharing a workout that you can do with the love of your life, your better half or any sucker you can convince to work out with you. hah.

Finding a workout partner can be a great way to stay motivated to exercise. Any partner will do, but when it's your spouse or significant other it makes it easy to encourage each other, cheer each other on and push each other with a little friendly competition. After all, they already live in your house.

For this blog post I recruited my BFF and bootcamp attendee Cathy and her husband Chad. They were the perfect couple to showcase for this Valentine's Day partner workout post, because they just got married in January!

Congratulations to the newlyweds, Chad and Cathy! Aren't they cute? They came over to the #shredshed ready to work out and be my fitness models (sorry, the gig doesn't pay well). I am also secretly thrilled that someone else is in my exercise photos besides me. 

This workout is in a circuit style. We are going to perform the assigned reps for each exercise and move to the next exercise without resting. This way we will keep our heart rate up for a cardio and strength workout in one. Once you complete the circuit, rest for one minute between circuits and repeat one to two more times. 

We are using an 8 lb medicine ball. This is an affiliate link: That means if you decided to purchase from this link, I make a small percentage of the sale with no additional cost to you. No one is getting rich here, it just helps with the running (pun intended) of this blog. 8 lb medicine ball.

Partner Workout. Save to Pinterest for Later!

LUNGE PASS WITH TWIST

Stand side by side with your partner. Each partner will lunge forward on opposite legs so the forward legs are next to each other (see picture). Twist towards the forward leg and pass the medicine ball to your partner. The other partner accepts the medicine ball then both partners face forward and return to standing.

This time both partners lunge forward using the other leg and twist away from each other. Return to facing forward then back to standing. Repeat on each leg eight times. 

LATERAL SQUAT PASS

Face your partner and with your hips pushed back, lower into a squat position. Staying in the low position both partners take a big step out to the side, then bring together both feet and pass the ball. Do four reps on each side before moving on to the next exercise. 

SQUAT PRESS AND ROLL

Face your partner. Both partners squat down with a straight back and chest up. While in the low squat position, roll the medicine ball to your partner. The other partner accepts the medicine ball and stands up and presses the ball overhead. Each partner should squat and press 8 times with the medicine ball before moving to the next exercise. 

RUSSIAN TWIST

Sit with your back to your partner at a 45 degree angle. Lift your heels off the ground to increase the challenge. Rotate your torso to pass the medicine ball to your partner. The other partner accepts the medicine ball and passes back on the other side. That is one rep. Complete eight reps before moving on to the next exercise. On the next circuit, pass the ball in the other direction.

STRAIGHT ARM PLANK TAP

Face your partner in a straight arm high plank position. Make sure your wrists are directly below your shoulders and your body is in a straight line from your shoulders to your toes. Do not allow your hips to raise or sag. Lift one arm to tap your partner's opposite hand as shown, then do the other side, this is one rep. Tap eight times before moving on to the next exercise.

STRAIGHT ARM SIDE PLANK WITH REACH UNDER

Partners perform a straight arm side plank so they are back to back. Be sure the shoulders are stacked directly over the wrists. With one arm straight in air touch hands in the high position, then reach below to touch hands under the plank. Complete 8 reps and switch sides. (Or change sides on next time through the circuit.)

Do you feel the love? Grab your #swolemate, your #fitfam or your #gymbuddy and use all the hashtags when you do the workout. 

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Coach Lea

52 Healthy Habits Week 3: Macro Cycling

Happy Monday, Friends! I've been writing each week about my experiments with new healthy habits because I believe habits are the key to success when pursuing any goal. Want to make big changes? Start with small sustainable actions. The more consistent we are, the more likely we will reach our goals. No matter where we are in our health, fitness and wellness journey, there is always something small we can do to improve. I'm a fitness trainer and still always looking to continue to grow and evolve by making small sustainable changes in my lifestyle.

We can learn new habits by practicing them. I've been incorporating a new habit each week while building on the previous week's habit and reporting on them here to keep myself accountable. It's important to note that most of these habits are small and sustainable. The idea is to not make your new habits too lofty, aka run 6 miles 6 days a week, cut out carbs and read one book a week. You would just be setting yourself up to fail. Try instead to set smaller achievable goals like exercise at least 15 minutes a day (OK if more, but at least 15 minutes), add a serving of green veggies to each meal and read for 20 minutes before bed instead of watching TV or scrolling social media. These are all small achievable actions that performed consistently over time can lead to big results and an overall healthier lifestyle.

I don't have any expectations that I will be perfect, do everything right or never mess up. I'm human. We mess up. I'm sure over time some habits will stick, while others will fall away. In fact, I failed on my week one habit of getting up early to work on my business, blog and/or workout, but then pulled it together for week two. It is not about perfection, it's about making small progress each week.

I'm proud to report I did much better my second week of my week one habit. We got up early 6 out of 7 days at 5:30am. It helped a lot that my husband is doing this with me. We leaned on each other to find the strength to get up early when the warm blankets were beckoning us to stay in bed. What did I learn? A support system goes a long way, whether it is a spouse, a friend, a coach, an accountability partner, a FB group or maybe just a dog that is excited to go for a walk. 

Last week my goal was to log my calories every day into the MyfitnessPal app. I've been doing Cori Lefkowith's macro cycling program. It's a six week program that cycles the percentage of calories that come from protein, carbs and fats every two weeks.

For me it is an experiment to see how manipulating macros within my already healthy diet can affect my body composition. I did log every meal for seven days (win), but I didn't do so well on actually hitting the targeted macros. Maybe I'm a little too stuck in my ways, I generally eat the same things for breakfast, lunch and snacks every day and then hubby makes dinner and he decides what he wants to cook each night.

I had a hard time making changes to my usual diet because my usual diet is already healthy. My percentage of calories from fats were high and my percentage of proteins were low compared to the targets (carbs were generally spot on). I made some small changes, removed higher fat nuts & cheese sticks and added cottage cheese and lowfat Greek yogurt to raise protein, but I never quite got there.

MyFitnessPal daily report

I try to learn from these types of experiences to help me better understand my own clients. Part of me wants to say "I can't do it, Cori. I can't hit those numbers." but then I think about how when my clients tell me they can't do something and I ask them if they can't or if they won't. There is a big difference. If I want to give the program a fair shot, I have to follow the parameters of the program, not just do it my way and then declare it didn't work for me. This applies to any fitness or nutrition program in the world: It only works if you do. 

“This applies to any fitness or nutrition program in the world: It only works if you do. ”

— www.leagendersfitness.com

I didn't buy Cori's program for nothing. I bought it because I wanted to see if manipulating macros will affect my body composition, but if I am not willing to make the changes to meet the numbers she targeted, then how will I ever know?

Now there would be nothing wrong with trying a program, making the changes and deciding that I didn't like the way it made me look, feel or perform and then going back to my old way of eating (again, already healthy). But I haven't followed it closely enough to really know. Next week I am going to plan ahead and work harder at achieving the targets, even if it means giving up my beloved morning eggs for a few weeks. (gasp!)

So while my week 2 habit was to log my calories into MyFitnessPal, my week 3 habit is going to take it a step further and work harder to adjust my daily meals to hit the prescribed marcos. Since hubby makes dinner, I will have to log my dinner first with whatever we are having and working backwards the rest of my day to make the numbers work. Let me try it, see how I feel, then decide after completing if it is something I want to continue long term. Who knows? Maybe I will love it and never look back. 

Change is hard for everyone.

I'd love if you will stay tuned next week to see how it all went. If you want to choose your own new small sustainable healthy habit and build on it each week, I'd love if you would join me for accountability.

52 HEALTHY HABITS

WEEK THREE: ADJUSTING MY FOOD INTAKE TO HIT MY MACROS
WEEK TWO: LOG MY CALORIES INTO MYFITNESSPAL
WEEK ONE: EARLY TO RISE

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Coach Lea

Pain vs. Discomfort: Know the Difference to Avoid Exercise Injury

You hear about pain all the time in fitness.

"No Pain No Gain." 

"Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body"

"Pain is Temporary, Glory is Eternal."

"Pain is temporary, Quitting Lasts Forever."

or my favorite:

"Pain is Temporary, Your Half Marathon Finish Time is on the Internet Forever." (hah.)

Not so fast.

These popular quotes about pain send mixed signals because I believe these quotes are referencing "discomfort" not literal pain. It's just that "No Discomfort, No Pain" doesn't have the same ring. So what's the difference between discomfort and pain? It's important to know. 

I went to the physical therapist for my shoulder a few years ago and I remember the PT telling me to alert her if I felt pain during our exercises. She was very careful to explain the difference between discomfort and pain because a lot of people confuse the two. Discomfort is OK and natural, pain is signalling a larger problem.

When we feel pain it is our body's way of telling us something is wrong. We must not ignore pain signals or try push through them. Pushing through pain could lead to long-term injury, which could leave you sidelined for months on end. 

Pain is usually a sharp or stabbing feeling in a specific area, numbness or radiating. If you experience pain or swelling stop what you are doing immediately and allow your body to rest and recover until the pain subsides. Consider seeing a doctor if the pain persists for more than a week or two even after resting.

Discomfort is feeling that something is difficult or challenging. It can be a burning sensation in your muscles or breathing heavily. It might mean fatigued or heavy legs when running. It might mean mental exhaustion or even muscle soreness in the days following a hard workout. These are all relatively normal reactions to exercise and in most cases you should try to build mental and physical toughness by powering through these uncomfortable feelings. "Discomfort is temporary, Glory is Eternal" Sounds more like it. 

My favorite saying is "If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you." you have to stress the body in order to change it, but feeling pain is not our goal, pushing outside our comfort zone is our goal. We want to challenge ourselves, not kill or hurt ourselves through exercise. It seems like common sense, but like my hubby likes to say "Common sense is not so common."

“Common sense is not so common.”

— Hubby

The fitness industry glorifies hard workouts. Go hard or go home. People want to get crushed every session or they feel like they didn't get a good workout. It's simply not true. We are best served when we alternate between high intensity, low intensity and rest days. Those low intensity days allow our bodies to recover. Yoga, stretching, jogging, walking, flexibility and balance training are all low-intensity workouts that make us stronger overall athletes and should not be ignored or underestimated. A balanced schedule of high and low intensity workouts will keep you feeling strong, healthy and help avoid injuries. One or two high intensity workouts a week should suffice for most athletes. 

Exercise should not cause pain. If you feel pain, it means you should back off and allow your body to recover. If you start a new exercise plan, progress slowly, increasing the duration and intensity over time. Once you adapt to a certain exercise you can continue to progress by making it harder as you get stronger. Sound confusing? Need help putting together a progressive exercise plan to reach your goals? I can help. 

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Coach Lea

30 DAY PLANK CHALLENGE

Welcome to the latest edition of workout Wednesday! Each week I share a strength training or running workout to keep you motivated. This week we are talking planks. I put together this plank challenge for beginners to progress you to a one minute plank or more in 30 days! Are you ready? 

Planks are my favorite core exercise because they engage all major core muscle groups including the transverse abdominus, the rectus abdominus, the external oblique muscle and the glutes. Do your planks regularly to improve core strength. Great for runners!

Beginners: Follow the plan as shown. Alternate between the plank exercises every day. For example: Day 1 you will do a 20 second straight arm plank, day 2 a 20 second elbow plank and and day 3 a 20 second side plank (on each side), day 4 back to straight arm plank for 30 seconds and so on according to the schedule. 

If you can't hold for 20 seconds without rest, hold for as long as you, then add 5 to 10 seconds every 3 days. Progress at your own speed. 

Advanced: Perform all three exercises every day.

STRAIGHT ARM PLANK

In a high plank position position your shoulders directly over your wrists. Your body should form a straight line from your heels to your head. Do not allow your hips to sag down or raise up in the air. Engage your abs and breathe normally.

ELBOW PLANK

Begin in a low forearm plank position. Position your elbows on the floor with your hands flat on the floor and your shoulders directly over your elbows. Do not clasp your hands in front of you. Your body should be in a straight line parallel to the floor. Engage your core, pulling your belly while breathing normally. Be careful not to sink your hips or raise your butt in the air. 

SIDE PLANK (EACH SIDE) 

With a straight arm lift yourself up into a side plank position. Your shoulders should be directly over your wrists. Stack your feet and don't allow your hips to drop. 

If a straight arm side plank is too challenging, start on your elbow.

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Coach Lea