You guys keep hitting me up asking questions like, “I am doing all the things when it comes to losing weight and nothing seems to be changing! What is going on!?” This is something I hear time and time again! Hell, I even said it myself.
So what is going on? What are you doing that is making it so you are not getting the results you want? Keep on reading because I have 10 reasons why your body may not be changing and what you can do about it!
One – You are not doing enough or doing too much!
I see both sides of this! Some of you are doing it all!! Multiple hours of cardio, working out, lifting till you can’t move the next day. Or you are doing too much cardio and not enough lifting. Take a look at what your week looks like. Look at what you can possibly do, so we can start with a bare minimum.
For my perfectionists out there, working out doesn’t need to be done every day! I like to start with 3 days a week. Take a look at GOOD, BETTER, BEST. What does a good workout look like, what does a better workout look like, and what does your BEST workout look like? 9 times out of 10 I am hitting my 5 workouts during the week. But random shit happens and sometimes I am down to 4 days a week. But for me, my bare minimum is working out 3 days a week.
Two – Calorie count or need to hit a certain calorie amount during our workouts.
I used to do this. If I didn’t hit 400 calories in a workout it wasn’t good enough for me. 🛑 STOP doing this!!! What does a good workout look like?
There are 3 things. – Am I breathing heavily? Am I breaking a sweat? Is there burning in my muscles?
A lot of you don’t have hours a day to be in the gym. So frame the thought and ask yourself “What can I get done in 30 minutes in the gym or at home?” :Can I up the intensity of my workouts?” “How can I increase the intensity of that workout if I have a short amount of time? “
Three – Not giving yourself a rest day.
I am guilty of this too. Or I did yoga or Pilates on my rest day; that is not a rest day!
For a rest day, you are not doing a darn thing! You may go for a leisurely walk, but we are not trying to pump your arms and get your heart rate up. Schedule your rest day each week! I have 2 a week and they are on the same day each week and I DO NOT skip them!
Four – Boundaries. You have no boundaries. 🙅🏽♀️
I see this all the time. Work, work, work is what consumes your days. Does work get in your way all the time? If you look at your week and you always try to fit in a lunchtime workout and it’s not happening… You have to look at a different spot in your schedule.
Look at a different way to exercise. Can I get up early and work out instead of trying to fit it in the middle of the day? It may not look the way you think a workout should look, but it’s a start. Something is better than nothing! Get some REPS under your belt. You are going to feel good and continue this. Set this boundary for yourself.
Five – Always worrying about what you are eating.
Is it too much? Is it not enough? Is it healthy enough? Is it the most organic thing? At this point, for many of you, is to stop worrying about everything and instead focus on consistency. What can you be consistent with? You don’t need to be consistent with all of your meals. Instead of worrying about this being good food or bad food, ask yourself this one question… What can I be consistent with? Pick one meal, and nail that meal. What do our meals actually look like?
I see you eating the same things over and over because you are afraid of food. I always encourage my clients to have a variety and try to eat seasonally. Focus on them to get variety into your diet! Summer comes, what is in season and you eat those fruits and vegetables. This right here will be one of the easiest ways to get variety in your diet and switch things up so that you are not bored with your meals. When you have variety in your nutrition, that keeps you from going off the deep end. Add a little spice to your life!
Six – Not having any fun foods.
Telling yourself you cannot have anything fun! I went the whole 30 and didn’t have sugar for 30 days! So you aren’t going to have it forever? Or just 30 days? You’re not going to have a brownie when your kid makes it? Are you teaching your kids to fear food? I am always about moderation. Navigate the middle of this! You can do it! I have faith in you!
Seven – Have at least 1 to 2 treat meals a week.
Go out and enjoy a meal! You aren’t going for the belly buster or food-eating challenge. But you can go out and have a meal and don’t be overly concerned about it! Enjoy a glass of wine, and have a little dessert. Enjoy the meal but keep portions in control. Do not restrict yourself because it will end in disaster! And you will lose your sanity!
Eight – Radically removing oils, salt, etc.
For a lot of people, we are liberally using oils. Instead of completely removing it unless you have a medical reason, us ladies over 40 need to have the goods fats. Double down on good fat oils. (With the exception of corn, soy, sunflower, safflower, canola, and vegetables. They are all highly processed oils that were never meant to become oils.) But don’t restrict yourself from good fats.
Nine – Fasted Cardio.
This has been a pain in my butt for decades! Fasted cardio is 100% bro science!! Why do people say fasted cardio is good? They think nothing is in my stomach, so my body has no choice but to tap into my stored fat. That is the theory. Research has shown that there is negligible fat that is tapped into with fasted cardio. Nothing has ever really been shown that you get this massive fat release when you do this. BUT… If you don’t feel good having a lot of food in your stomach, don’t do it, but it will NOT give you better results doing cardio fasted.
Ten – Chronic dieting.
You cannot always be on a diet. End of story. We all have phases of dieting, I call them the 4 phases of dieting and it is all based on how your life is at that moment. If I am always dieting my body is always going to be like, “Yup, we know what you are doing and we are going to be a stubborn toddler. I am not giving you what you want no matter how hard you push!” Chronic dieting will be a downfall.
I have my clients cycle through their nutrition. That way depending on what is going on in your life and you don’t have a lot going on, you are going to eat more and exercise more. If your season is a lot of running and traveling, we are going to eat a little less and exercise a little less. And so on and so forth. Always cycling through and it all depends on what is going on in your life.
With my coaching, this is how I work with you. You have to give to get. You have to invest to put in the effort. If you half-ass it, you will get half-ass results. Put your head down and double down, what can I do? Look at the 10 mistakes and say what can I do? What can I do today? From there I can focus on that for 30 days and see what happens! Then I can move on from there.
I will be hitting on these principles in my belly fat code workshop. What are the main causes of belly fat? How can you get rid of belly fat? If this sounds like something you would be interested in and you have never worked with a coach (or you have worked with a coach), this is the best way to dip your toe back into the coaching space. The belly fat code workshop is a 2-hour workshop, really simple and easy for you to better understand how to get rid of the belly fat, keep it off and walk away with an actual plan that will help you fight belly fat with foods that you actually love without feeling the need to deprive yourself!!
LINKS
Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/kimbarnesjeffersoncoach
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/fitgirlmagic/
Website:
https://www.kimbarnesjefferson.com/
Podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fit-girl-magic-healthy-living-for-women-over-40/id1476883661
Cracking The Belly Fat Code Course:
https://www.fitgirlmagic.com/belly-fat-code-march/
