Week 4
Checking In
Intermittent Fasting
For those of you who started intermittent fasting last week, I bet that you are not feeling as hungry as you thought you were going to be! Everyone is different and each day will be different. Some people have no problem right from the start while others are pretty hungry the first week. Some days you won’t be hungry at all, and some days may be more difficult than others to fast. This will even out with time. Again, this is another adjustment your body is making. You may notice a difference in your energy and hunger levels after implementing intermittent fasting.
You will continue the intermittent fasting until the end of the program. You may also be finding that it is easier to keep track of your macros! Now is the point where you can stay tight within the macro settings and try to get closer to those numbers.
Progress
You should be feeling different than you did week 1. You're starting to get the hang of it. Your clothes may be fitting differently and your energy and hunger levels should be stabilizing. Are you sleeping better? Do you have more energy at the end of the day? Keep in mind that we are all different. Some may be seeing huge physical changes already and for others it may take 6 weeks or more. Stay positive and trust the process. This program is also not geared toward losing as much as you can as quickly as possible. It is meant to teach you how to eat to fuel your body appropriately, implement healthy habits, and maintain a healthy relationship with food. The rate of fat loss depends on MANY factors… how much you have to lose, gender, stress levels, sleep, hormone regulation just to name a few.
Now that you are half-way through the program, you may take measurements and weigh yourself at this time… HOWEVER, I would caution that if you do not have a lot to lose and you are exercising, you may not see a drastic loss on the scale. This is because you are changing your body composition by losing fat and gaining muscle not just “losing weight.” The most accurate way to measure this change in body composition is by using a body caliper which measures your fat in different areas of the body. This is hard to do on your own and if you do not have a trained individual to help you. Weighing frequently can also lead to an unhealthy relationship with the scale and can affect your mindset which is why I discourage doing this frequently. Therefore, if you do want to go ahead and weigh yourself and do measurements and touch base with me, feel free to do so… but keep in mind that we may or may not change anything with your plan. If you contact me, please send your current weight and measurements and let me know how you have been feeling (energy, hunger, sleep) and let me know if you have any other concerns and I will get back to you.
Next Program
You are almost half-way through the program! I have just opened up registration for the next round. If you would like to continue following the program for another round you receive a $70 discount. I give this to my previous clients who want to continue this program to really make it a lifestyle change. For those who have done 3 rounds you are considered a maintenance client and the price decreases to $65. I have quite a few clients that do this simply for new workouts every 6 weeks. It is much more affordable than paying a personal trainer which can be $65 or more for just one session.
If you would like to go ahead and register for the next program and secure your spot click the button below.
Mindset Task
I covered fat vs. muscle last week. This week I want to talk a bit about results and expectations.
Be patient. I’ll be honest... I am THE worst at this sometimes!
We want it and we want it now. Right?
In most situations in health, nutrition, and fitness the best and more lasting changes take time. It will come. The fat will come off gradually if you are doing it right, and it will stay off.
A healthy rate of weight loss is only 1-3 lbs per week! Keep things in perspective. If you are building muscle, this will be less!
If you had an injury or just had a baby and you are recovering, you WILL get better with time and you WILL get back to where you were... maybe even better!
If you’re struggling with making the right choices with your nutrition and you keep messing up, it’s okay. We all do it. It doesn’t have to be perfect all the time! It takes on average 21 days for your body to make the switch from being carb- dependent to fat-dependent for energy. It also takes this long or even longer for you to break a habit.
The less you have to lose, the longer it takes to target those areas and those last few pounds.
If you have '“stubborn areas” those are typically the last to go. Everyone stores fat differently and has different body shapes. These stubborn areas are called stubborn for a reason. They are the last to trim up and that is just how we are made.
Men and women are DIFFERENT. Men typically see results more quickly at the beginning and taper off toward the end. Women tend to pick up momentum toward the end of the 6 weeks.
If you have hormone imbalances, it will take longer to see results. Your hormones have to get somewhat regulated before your body will burn fat.
If you in a lot of stress or not getting enough sleep, this can hinder results.
Everyone is DIFFERENT. Do not compare your results to others. There are so many factors that contribute to results. These listed are just a FEW! Stick to the process and focus on YOU.
Personally, when I created this program a few years ago, I was at a point where I had hormone imbalances and my body was stressed out. That is why I created this program initially, to fix me! It took about 6 weeks to start seeing ANY differences. The major gains for me came in weeks 6-14.
I have also seen this with MANY clients. Some clients continue the program for a few rounds and some clients go on their own after the first round. Many clients who did not see major results in the first 6 weeks come back after the next and that is when they picked up momentum.
Be patient, trust the process, remember your why and focus on success.
Health Task
Stress
Relax more and stress less. Easier said than done, right?
Did you know that your stress can affect the way your body functions and can affect fat loss?
Remember learning about the Autonomic Nervous System? This controls your breathing, digestion, temperature, blood pressure, and many other functions.
In this system you have:
Sympathetic-”Fight or Flight” system. Activated under stress.
Parasympathetic- Resting state- Allows your body to rest, digest, and heal.
Your body can either be in sympathetic OR parasympathetic but not both at the same time
If you are in a constant state of stress, your body is mostly in the sympathetic state
If your are in the sympathetic state you are releasing stress hormones which can trigger inflammation, cause weight gain, hinder weight loss, raise your blood pressure, just to name a few.
To turn off the stress state and activate the parasympathetic (rest) state here a few techniques you can use
Meditate (there are many free meditating apps you can try. Headspace is one that I like and they do have a free trial). The Peloton App also has some meditation classes including some specifically to meditate prior to going to bed.
Let go of perfectionism- If you set out to exercise 4 days per week and you only get two days, don’t feel bad about it. If you don’t follow the nutrition 100 percent of the time you are NOT failing! This causes added stress. No more food guilt and no more workout guilt. Do the best you can do and if that is 80% off the time then that is AWESOME!
No more limiting beliefs- No more “I’m never going to get this,” or “I’m never going to lose weight.” Rewrite the script! “I am improving every week.” “I am eating healthier than I ever have in the past.” Identify these limiting beliefs, write them down, then re-write your script!
Assessments
Each week you are responsible for completing an assessment. This help you stay accountable, helps you maintain the right mindset, and helps you and I track your progress through the program.
Click the button below to complete the assessment for the end of Week 4.
