This makes you upset stressed and question your plan. You think you are not changing or progressing. But this is not true.
Here are some reasons why the numbers on the scale don’t matter and how to deal with it so you can keep going.
The scale is only one measurement that shows you what you weight total.
The scale doesn’t tell you your body composition.
When you eat healthy and lift weights you are changing you body composition inside and outside; you are loosing body fat and gaining muscle which means your weight will not change but you will loose inches.
The scale is not as important because your weight can change at a drop of depending on what you ate or how much water you drank.
For example, every gram of carbohydrate you consume causes your body to hold on to about 3 grams of water.
Which means a big plate of pasta, or potatoes or French fries can guarantee an increase in temporary water weight that will absolutely show up on your scale.
Usually it takes a a couple days for the scale to go back down. So if you see the scale go up give yourself a few days before you panic.
When you first start exercising, the progress you make is happening inside your body.
Your heart is learning how to pump blood more your body is creating and your muscles are getting stronger to adapt to your workouts.
These are things that simply won't show up on a scale. So these are the ways to deal with the scale.
View the scale as one of many ways to track your progress.
If you have scale that shows other measurements focus on those too.
Take weekly pictures to show yourself how you are really doing.
Pictures show how small you are getting and the muscles you are developing.
Body measurements can also show you how much fat you have lost because your measurements will go down even if the scales doesn’t.
In short the scale is one measurement.
The trick is to have other ways to track you progress so you can really see how you are doing.
This includes tracking body fat, inches or pictures.
Remember this number does not define you.
We ALL have been here at one point when being on our health and fitness journey.
If you need help, Top Knot Strong is here to help!
Schedule a free 15 minute consultation to chat about your goals and needs to reach your goals.
There are other ways of tracking progress without it that are more effective at seeing the whole picture.
Time to throw away the scale, at least the idea of it being the best way to track your progress.
Today I am sharing 3 ways that going to help you see where you are making the most progress on your journey.
Without being consistent you can't reach your goals effectively. You will be caught in the yo-yo cycle
Losing weight and then gaining weight constantly. Plus the emotions and stress that comes with it.
Being consistent ensures that you are getting results consistently over time and are able to keep the results that you have worked so hard for.
When someone asks me if this new fad diet or workout program will work, I usually always immediate ask this question....
"Is this something that you can stick to long-term?"
The answer is usually "no" or "I'm not sure."
When it comes to your plan it needs to be something that you can stick to long-term because again, if not, you will not be consistent with it.
Which brings me to my next point....
When your plan is made to fit your goals, needs, and abilities - you are setting yourself up for success.
This means it will fit your busy lifestyle, your nutrition struggles, and your workouts fit your desired body shape.
Without it being made to fit you, it will also be harder to be consistent with.
Obviously the scale only sees one thing only. Your weight.
It doesn't see all of the hard work you are putting in the gym and your meal planning. Nor does it see where you are making the most progress.
Taking pictures and measurements helps you to see a whole view of everything you are working hard for.
Taking inch measurements will allow you to see where you are making gains and where you are shrinking.
This will ultimately help you to see if your program is working on the areas that you are wanting to see the most improvements.
They also don't lie in this. Where pictures can be distorted and we look different under different types of lighting.
Of course with this, it is another form of accountability with yourself and your coach if you are working with one.
Taking your pictures and measurements every week will mean that you are more apt to stick to your plan so that you can see your progress from that week.
The scale doesn't really do this because it's easy to weigh yourself every single morning, look at the number, and then let it define us for the rest of the day.
Pictures and measurements will give that extra layer towards your progress.
How you feel is either a good or bad reflection of your plan that you have been following.
It should be making you feel better overall physically and mentally rather than making you feel worse.
Tracking how you feel with your plan, or at least taking a mental note of it will help you determine if something needs to be changed.
Your plan should not be making you over train, feel drained, and causing it to be more of a struggle to motivate yourself every day.
Over training is a thing and I know you want to get to your goals as soon as possible, but it does take time.
Rushing the process, can hurt you in the long run.
Signs of over training:
Your plan should be enhancing and helping you to progress in the right direction of your goals without adding more stress on the body than needed.
Working with you and not against you in the process.
Signs of having a good plan:
All in all, the scale is not the best indicator of your progress whether you are trying to lose weight or build lean muscle.
It comes down to your consistency with something that fits you, tracking your progress through other means like pictures and measurements, along with making you feel better in different aspects of your life compared to when you first started.
In fact, if your plan is not working for your goals....
@topknotstrong The hardest but best part about choosing you 💜 ##motivation ##knowyourworth ##mindsetcheck
♬ original sound - Motivation_🎖
I am a emotional binge eater turned NPC Bikini Competitor and struggled with knowing how to eat for my goals let alone workout for them.
After I lost the weight, it became my passion to help other women who were struggling with the same things I did. This ultimately led me to becoming a certified personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist.
When it comes to making your plan we will chat about what it is that you are struggling with along with what goals you are wanting to work towards.
From here I'll create your plan with you to make sure it fits your goals, needs, and abilities.
The Top Knot Strong Tribe is where you will get access to me every step along the way.
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My emotional binge eating felt like it was going to be the death of me being able to reach my goals as I had gained more than 50 pounds over the course of 2 years from it.
I desperately wanted to look and most of all just feel confident in my own skin again.
I tried numerous times to only fail and gain even more in the process, but it wasn't until I made this one decision to work on it and fail forward that I was able to overcome it.
When I was at my lowest, I was already eating out practically every single meal each day and living off of caffeine just to get through my day. Even though I didn't realize it right away, I knew the weight was slowly increasing and my clothes were not fitting.
I was stuck in this cycle and I got to a point where I just hated how I looked in the mirror. I didn't recognize myself anymore and didn't feel confident in my own skin.
I had scrolled through Pinterest daily saving multiple pins of workouts, healthy meals, and inspiration to not use them...
Finally made the decision after I was nearing 200 pounds, to finally making some changes if I wanted to feel better in my own skin and have energy again.
It wasn't until I started to try and eat healthier that I realized it was hard... and every chance that I was upset, angry, or stressed.... I was turning to food to help me to feel better.
This put me in a constant cycle of losing 5 pounds and then gaining back 10 within a short period of time because I would fall off completely with working out and eating healthier.
At the beginning, I just made changes to not eat out as much and pack my food. I even bought some expensive supplements. I started with the workout program Insanity and I was ultimately determined.
However, I ended up with shingles at 19 years old. It was a shock to my system to workout as intense as I was.
I was still hungry even though I was packing healthier foods and eating those. I couldn't even tell you how much I was eating because it seemed like a lot, but I didn't have balance in my nutrition at all.
I would track some food every now and then but I couldn't stick with it at that time on top of everything else.
Overtime I slowly learned how to eat healthier and found my grocery staples for meals that I liked and how I was seeing results.
In this time I also was working on myself mentally by reading personal development books to help with my confidence and motivation to continue to show up and work for my goals.
I finally lost 50 pounds and felt amazing. I even went on to compete in my first Bodybuilding competition because now I just learned to love to challenge myself.
All of this lead to me becoming an ACE Certified Personal Trainer, ACE Fitness Nutrition Specialist, and NASM Behavior Change in Exercise Specialist. Which in turn lead to me creating Top Knot Strong.
It became my passion to help other women through emotional eating and develop a healthy relationship with food and workouts to reach their goals in a more manageable way.
Rather than killing themselves in their workouts, eating salads every day, or starving themselves just to lose weight.
Helping 100's of women now to do just this and for that I am thankful for my journey and gaining the weight that I did.
It taught me more about discipline, how to take care of my body better, and to continually challenge myself out of my comfort zone.
Before I could do anything, I first had to make the decision that I was going to reach my goals no matter how many times it may seem like I fail.
It's inevitable that you will fail or feel like nothing you are doing at first seems to be working. That is normal.
What matters more is how many times you get up and back to working towards you goals no matter what is thrown your way.
I was honest with myself and truly looked at what I was doing that was not getting me to where I wanted to be.
Whatever was not working was changed to something else or eliminated completely whether that was friends, habits, trigger foods, etc.
I am someone who likes to write things down. They just stick better for me and get ingrained into me.
As I was getting honest with myself, I asked myself these questions:
While there are a ton more that you can ask, these will help to get you started in the right direction.
This became an essential part of my life to stay on track.
Journaling how I felt and all of the emotions that I was going through at the time and reminding myself of what I was working towards and dealing with the change that I was putting myself through.
We all know changing our habits are hard to do as we have to learn to do things in a different way.
I read books that helped with confidence and my mindset for my goals. My favorite that helped me the most when I was going through the hardest part of my relationship with my ex was "You are a Badass" by Jen Sincero.
Totally changed how I was viewing everything. Including myself.
Both I incorporated into my daily routine for at least 10-15 minutes as I didn't have a whole lot of extra time. It was so worth it though!
Whatever you do, your plan should work for you.
This means it needs to fit your goals, needs, and abilities.
1. Plan out the things that you need to do daily as if you have already reached your goals. --> If I have already lost 20 pounds, how would I be living my life every single day?
2. Learn the things that you currently are not sure about. --> What things do I need to learn in order to reach my goals?
3. Start incorporating the things that you can stick to slowly. Adding something each week to start making a habit out of it. --> What can I focus on this next week and track to make it a habit in my new lifestyle?
This is a learning process. So you will need to be forgiving with yourself when things didn't work the way that you wanted them too.
If it didn't work for you, reevaluate it again and again making slight changes to make it work even better for you.
I don't even expect my clients to get it right away because I know we are changing months and years of habits that they have developed. T
Those are not just going to go away overnight.
If you struggle to make plans for yourself or stick to your plans that you have made before, it is helpful to enlist help from someone else.
Having a coach can help to reduce the stress of making your own plan, help teach you and give you the tools that will help you get to your goals, keep you accountable towards your goals, and of course save you a lot of headaches of trying to figure it out all on your own.
There is nothing with having the help. My clients have found that it was more than helpful and they have been able to get to their goals in less time than they would have done on their own.
Learn more about emotional eating and healthy tools that you can use from our community page on Facebook!
We share posts every single week that touches on nutrition, fitness, mindset, competition prep, and more.
Here at Top Knot Strong, I take a more balanced approach at nutrition.
Many diets restrict you of certain foods and limit the freedom you can have in order to reach your goals.
This is why I created the Top Knot Strong Tribe to help you dial in your nutrition while also addressing the areas that you struggle with.
All to help create a custom plan that will work with you and not against you in the process.
Schedule a free 15 minute consultation to go over goals, needs, and abilities to start creating a plan to fit you.
Schedule Appointment ]]>
You are working out, you are eating better and less - but there are still no results to show for it.
This is the most common reason why most will give up and only about 30% stick with their plans. The other 70% will give up within the first year, then try again later.
Let's make sure this is not you.
First and foremost, you need to allow your body the time to change.
No results in the first 1-2 weeks? DON'T SWEAT IT! Seriously...
Your body is going through a lot of changes that it is not used to. You will usually be sore, tired, have cravings, and so on.
Give your body grace and give it time to catch on that this is going to be a new and long-term thing for you.
This goes without saying that you also need to be consistent over time.
It's not what you do in one day, it's what you do every single day that will add up over time.
If you are inconsistent, then your results with inconsistent as well.
Have a plan that works for you, then stick to it. Results add up whether they are the results that you want or not.
Most people need 7-8 hours of sleep in order to function properly.
It helps to give your body time to recover, reset, and get through the next day without relying on caffeine.
I can usually get away with 7 hours as I get up early to write blogs like this and to work on other things before I even go into work.
My dad always did good with 6 hours. SO, it really just depends on your body.
Listen to it.
If you have no one helping to keep you accountable and helping to support you on your journey, you will find no reason to stick to it when you are not feeling it that day.
This also means keeping yourself accountable.
Everyone finds different ways to do this, whether that means having a fitness page or group with others. Maybe just writing down your goals every single day. Even having just 1 friend that is doing the same program as you.
It's important to have someone who knows your goals inside and out so they can ask your questions or your can talk to about your journey.
If you are only eating 1200 calories a day and you are a grown adult.... I hate to break it to you that is not enough per day.
Many I have talked to are not eating enough and are afraid to eat more because they have this perception that they need to just keep cutting calories in order to loose if they are not seeing the results they want.
While this works initially, it won't work long-term and you will eventually plateau on your journey wondering why you can't loose anymore.
The opposite side of this is where you are eating too much and no matter what you are doing for working out, you still keep gaining little by little.
You need to first figure out what your maintenance calories are and then adjust according to your goals.
This is more specific to women, but hormones will make you fluctuate in weight all of the time.
Women can fluctuate in weight by up to 5 pounds per day and this is due to everything else that I have mentioned in this blog.
Stress, sleep, thyroid, PMS, etc.... it all matters.
If you are struggling to see any results and have everything down to a science, it might be appropriate to see a doctor to have your levels looked at to see what is going on.
More than 70% of Americans in the United States are dehydrated.
This leads to feeling hungry when you are really just thirsty, feeling sluggish, and prolonged recovery time.
These are just a few examples. However, your body is made up of more than 50% water, so it's an essential part of your day in making sure that it get's enough.
Drinking half of your body weight (lbs) in ounces per day is sufficient.
If you have stressors in your life, it can hinder your progress.
One thing is that this can lead to emotional eating, but on the flip side, it raises your cortisol levels.
The body wants to protect you from predators, and other aggressors.
When there are always stressors present, your body is constantly feeling under attack and that fight-or-flight response is always on.
This puts you at risk for other things like:
It's true. Having the right balance of what you eat matters too.
If you have too much protein and fats, then your body craves carbs.
If you have too many carbs and protein, then your body craves fats.
It's to help make sure that your body is functioning properly.
If you have the right balance between everything, then you will reduce your cravings as your body is getting more of all of the nutrients that it craves.
Best for last? Well this one hits home for me as I can sometimes be the master at excuses.
If you continue to make excuses for yourself as to why you can't eat healthy, or can't workout, then it is more about why do you keep making them and what you can do each day to make sure that you ultimately can't make that excuse anymore.
For me, that was waking up a few hours earlier each day so I would have the time to do what I needed to at home to prepare for the day. Including having time to workout because I knew I would never get it done at the end of the day when I am already tired and ready to relax before going to bed.
You must find what works for you and make a plan of action to combat those excuses.
Hi, I'm Sarah and I know you don't know me just quite yet, but it's a pleasure that you are here.
I started my journey struggling... depressed, overweight, no support, and emotionally eating my day away.
All of it was exhausting, but I finally made the decision to take control of my life which lead me to get healthier. Then later on to become a Certified Personal Trainer, Fitness Nutrition Specialist, and Behavior Change Extraordinaire.
It's my passion here to help women in creating more balance and confidence through Top Knot Strong's training, nutrition, and coaching to have life-long results and not just until you reach your goals.
I share plenty on here on the blog, but my bread and butter to help women are through my free transformation sessions to dive deeper into what is stopping you and what you can do going forward.
Everyone tells you to eat less, workout more, and somehow that will automatically make you reach your goals.
Truth is, it will take time depending on how much you have to lose and what you decide to do to get there.
For some it will be harder to lose than it does for others, but no one really covers the number 1 problem there is when it comes to losing weight and how to honestly fix it so that you can continue seeing results on your journey.
Can you guess what the biggest problem is?
If you guessed consistency, you are correct.
Weight will fluctuate up and down based on your daily habits. If those daily habits are not consistent, your results will not be either.
It is a journey because even though you can reach your goals, if you stop doing what you were doing in the first place, eventually you will end right back to where you were to begin with.
No one wants that, but I have seen it happen many times. I have even had that happen as well on my own journey.
This is going to look different for every single person. No one will ever be the same and a lot of factors will play into this.
However, there are some key factors to look at on how you can determine what will work for you to make sure you continue seeing the results that you are working so hard for.
If you are unsure of what will work for you and are struggling to find a plan that works for you, lets break it down.
Having a plan that fits your goals, needs, and abilities will be key to staying on track. If it doesn't fit into your schedule, it's going to be that much harder to stick to something.
The days where you are super busy means that you will end up putting yourself on the back burner and not do what you really intended on doing for your goals. Been there, done that.
Some questions to ask yourself:
It's important to understand and have a plan of action for the time that you will be able to dedicate to your goals with your workouts and nutrition.
Fail to plan, plan to fail.
It will end up taking longer to reach your goals if you are constantly just throwing different ideas against the wall hoping something will stick like a spaghetti noodle rather than having a solid plan .
If you don't have the knowledge to reach your goals, find someone who does.
I can't tell you how many times I wish I had enlisted the help of someone who studied what I wanted and needed to know in order to reach my goals. Saves you a lot of time and money in the long run rather than trying to figure it all out on my own.
Some questions to ask yourself:
Your daily habits add up quickly and make a difference whether or not you reach your goals.
If you don't change your daily habits, you stay where you are, or even worse, you will be getting farther and farther from your goal that you wanted in the first place.
They don't need to be overly complicated either. Just simple things that you can change and made a new healthier habit to get rid of the habits that are keeping you from where you want to be.
Some questions to ask yourself:
When you change your daily habits to healthier ones, you change your life.
You may not know whether you can stick to it long-term yet if you are new to losing weight. However, this is the single biggest question I ask anyone who asks if x, y, and z is something that they should try.
I ask this because, usually most will then think about whether it would be sustainable for them. 9 times out of 10 it is not when it comes to some fad diet or cookie cutter plan.
If you are still not sure whether it would be sustainable for you, ask yourself these questions:
Just because someone else does it and it works for them does not mean that will get the same desired results and be able to stick to it for the long haul.
This is HUGE! It's easy to be able to stick to a new plan when it is fresh, but when it becomes 1-2 weeks old.... that's a different story.
Staying accountable means that you have someone in your corner motivating you get it done even on the days you have no desire to show up.
Discipline comes with time and keeping yourself accountable will come with time, but usually takes several years unless you are just that strong willed.
Even for those who are the strongest mentally to power through will need someone in their corner too.
Some questions to ask yourself:
This is one of the biggest reasons that someone will get a trainer and coach because not only are you paying money to someone to take the guesswork out, you have someone who you have to show up for even when you sometimes wish you could take the day off.
Many clients of mine love and hate this at the same time, but it's those who have that accountability, see their results faster than the ones who didn't have someone.
Top Knot Strong has several trainers who can help you in losing weight and reach your goals in a more balanced way so that you reach your goals even sooner.
We specialize in helping you to create a a healthier lifestyle in a more balanced way without cutting out all foods completely and make your plan so that it fits your goals, needs, and abilities.
Our goal is to help you to overcome what has been holding you back from your goals and helping you to become stronger inside and out for long lasting results.
Get started with Top Knot Strong today!
]]>There are so many things you find on the internet so it's hard to know what is exactly going to work for you to reach your goals without paying a ton of money or feeling like you are starving yourself at the same time.
That's why we have complied a list of the Top 10 Things You Need In Order To Lose Weight Quickly here.
]]>There are so many things you find on the internet so it's hard to know what is exactly going to work for you to reach your goals without paying a ton of money or feeling like you are starving yourself at the same time.
That's why we have complied a list of the Top 10 Things You Need In Order To Lose Weight Quickly here.
I know that this isn't the most glamorous thing in the world, but so often overlooked.
Our bodies are made up of over 50% of water, so it really is a no-brainer as to why we need to be drinking more water. It's also very beneficial to us as humans for many different reasons that makes losing weight just a little bit easier in the long run.
If you are new to the whole working out thing and have no idea where to start, let me just start by saying, you just need to be a little bit more active than what you are used to.
This is going to look different for every single person based on their goals, needs, and abilities.
If you are just getting started, then you will want to be working out for at least 3-4 times per week for at least 30 minutes each time.
From there you can increase the intensity or the length of time of your workout based on how your body is feeling and to challenge yourself further to burn even more calories.
In order to lose weight you have to consume slightly less calories than what your body is burning per day.
There are a ton of calculators out there to plug in and see how many calories you need for your goals, but that will vary widely depending on the person and what calculations that they use.
I calculate all of this for each of my clients that I work closely with so it takes the stress out of it and you no longer have to guess, but since I am not working with you yet, I want to at least help you in getting started on the right foot.
Start by tracking your calories that you are already consuming on a daily basis for a week without changing anything as this will give you a baseline to go off of.
From there cut your calories back just slightly to consume less. No more than 500 calories from each day.
A healthy outside always starts from a healthy. You cannot outwork bad nutrition, and your mindset will 100% determine whether you succeed or not.
What I always recommend is to pick something that you know that you struggle with. Motivation, belief in yourself, confidence, etc... Then pick a book or podcast to listen or read to help those areas that you struggle with.
I had a hard time at the beginning of my journey because I didn't feel worthy of having the body that I desired and felt like I was never going to get there.
After reading various books, that definitely improved over time and I starting seeing the results I was looking for.
The Top Knot Strong Community here's me say this all of the time....
"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."
When you want to get the results and lose the weight you need to be consistent and plan ahead to avoid falling off track with reaching your goals.
Meal planning and prepping can help greatly in this and was one of the best tools I learned to help myself stay on track and not eat out so much.
If I had food prepped I didn't want it to go to waste, and I didn't have the excuse that I was hungry and didn't have anything at home to eat.
If you start looking at food labels and can't read some of the ingredients on the list, I can almost guarantee it is something that is processed.
There are many ingredients that are artificial and make it harder to break down in your body after consuming it.
Less ingredients the better and it will be easier for your body to digest, which in return means that you are going to get better nutrients out of it that your body craves.
The easiest way to do this is start making the meals that you love at home and have take-out less often.
Yes.... you need to eat veggies.
I completely believe in having balance overall when it comes to nutrition, but you definitely need some veggies in your life.
They are lower in calories which means that you can eat more of them.
They are higher in fiber, vitamins, and minerals that your body loves to give you energy, and less cravings for those things that you body tells you need. When it really... is just wanting some nutrients it is lacking on a daily basis.
If I would have started this sooner on my journey, I would have saved so much money and time from the weight I had gained.
Most drinks that have calories in them are filled with sugar and no nutritional value to you. So as it is digested, most of the time is converted into fat.
With it usually not having any nutritional value, your body is not being satisfied and causing many to eat more or still feel hungry at the end of the day even if you did hit your caloric target for the day.
You get to eat more and will be able to hit that caloric target without feeling starved as long as you are not drinking your calories for the day.
When asked in the Top Knot Strong Community, the number 1 thing they struggle with in reaching their goals was.... Consistency.
Even I still struggle with it from time to time, but making healthier habits over time will keep you more consistent.
If you can't stay consistent, you will lose and then gain everything you lost right back.
This is the biggest downfall in all of the fad diets and programs because they don't address your relationship with food and they are not at your own fitness level either.
Which brings me to the last thing.....
When you don't have something to follow, it means that you are going to spend even more time not staying consistent.
Constantly fluctuating up and down in weight and all of the emotions that goes with it.
You need a plan that will fit your goals, needs, and abilities to ensure you keep the results for long-term.
Both the eating plan and workout plan should work together based on the intensity of the workouts, and the amount that your body needs to not feel starved to keep you getting consistent results.
It would not be my job to not get you the results that you are looking for as a Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Nutrition Specialist here at Top Knot Strong.
I want to offer you the opportunity to join, where you will get access to a monthly workout plan, and monthly eating plan tailored to your goals.
To get get started for a custom plan with a coach helping you every step of the way, schedule a free 15 minute consultation today!
Schedule Appointment ]]>While you want to see the changes are motivated to get started, there is still a little part of you that is scared of the unknown.
..."How long will it take me?"
..."Will this work for me?"
..."What if I am starving all of the time?"
You are not alone, and I also had these very same thoughts at the beginning.
At the beginning I was really clueless to everything!
I didn't know how to eat healthy, I didn't know how to workout, I didn't know what supplements to take (if any), and I didn't know how much I would have to change my mindset in order to achieve what I wanted.
I looked all over Pinterest for ideas and ways to start, saving them all to my motivation and workout board, only to never use any of them...
Eventually I finally started and stopped more times than I can remember. Nothing did stick at the beginning. Working out became a little easier, but my nutrition was still all over the place.
About a couple weeks into my new journey to weight loss , I ended up with shingles and had to stop working out for several weeks while everything healed because the pain was so bad down my right arm.
I became frustrated and upset about the whole situation as I was trying to become healthier just for me to end up with shingles at the time.
Then it dawned on me one day that I just had to make that choice that I was going to be teachable. That I would take the time to learn what I needed to reach my goals and no longer be afraid to fail and keep going no matter what happened.
I started by focusing on a couple small things I could do each day to lose the weight because I was at my heaviest and I had finally had enough of feeling exhausted and so weak.
I was drinking all of the sugar-filled drinks you can think of at the beginning and hardly any water. Which had partially contributed to my weight gain.
I knew that if I was going to lose weight, I needed to cut those out and drink more water.
I was not only going to feel better being more hydrated, but I was also going to feel all of the other benefits of drinking water too!
It didn't matter what kind of workouts I was doing at the beginning. I just knew I needed to move more to burn extra calories by getting my heart rate up.
Running and walking at the beginning to eventually following various cardio programs. Then finally getting into weight lifting later on.
As I said before my nutrition was terrible...
I was eating out practically every single meal of the day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner - you name it.
It had become such a bad habit for me and I was basically eating anything and everything that I wanted because of the stress I was going through at the time on top of not feeling confident in my own skin.
I started by cutting back on the amount of times that I was eating out and teaching myself how to make healthier options. Until I finally was eating more at home and not picking up food every chance I could on the way home.
I didn't have anyone at the beginning who was already on their health journey that I was close to. I felt alone and is part of the reason it took me so long to get started in the first place.
I started by joining fitness accountability groups to start not only getting to know people, but also as a source of inspiration too.
I knew I had to create a different mindset and had to change my daily habits to lose the weight. So when it was suggested to read 'You Are a Badass' there was no hesitation in purchasing it for myself.
I changed my way of thinking over time - which changed my mindset, mood, and results!
As I get ready for a Body Building Competition, I still focus on what I need to do daily in order to reach my goals and step on the stage.
Your daily habits are your foundation to get what you want.
Change your habits, change your life.
Schedule a free 15 minute consultation with one of our certified fitness and health coaches below.
Schedule Appointment ]]>I was feeling the full effects of that 2 'o clock feeling.
I knew there had to be reasons as to why I was constantly drained, but I hardly knew the first thing about how to change it. I was stuck in it and honestly felt like I was in a brain fog too most of the time.
I would drink caffeine to only crash later on in the day. Then having to only drink more caffeine again!
About 80% of the people that I talk to also struggles with this and are always asking me what they can do to help have more energy on a more regular basis. So I am going to share what I have done and what helps me to have more energy.
Your habits. Plain and simple.
I talk a little bit about your habits in my post about Why Your Diet Fails and Habits Succeed, but I really wanted to focus on the energy aspect here.
The way that you fuel and treat your body is going to have the most effect on why you don't have energy today.
If you fuel your body with the correct nutrients, you will not only feel better, but you will have more energy too!
If you are not getting enough sleep, you will start to feel fatigued and lethargic. It has been proven time and time again that you are not your best and can't perform to the best of your abilities when you are already tired to begin with.
6-8 hours of sleep are crucial in recharging and letting your body recover.
You've heard it probably hundreds of times by now, but there is a reason for that.
Most are dehydrated on a regular basis, which can make you feel hungry when you aren't, you will have poor digestion, and are more tired.
When you are properly hydrated, you feel and look better, along with more energy because you aren't drinking all of those caffeinated drinks.
The goal is to aim for at least half of your body weight in ounces of water per day.
Getting more exercise has 100's of benefits, with one of them being more energy.
When you exercise, your are getting the blood flowing and heart pumping which helps to wake up your body.
If you are not currently exercising, start with 1-3 times a week going for a walk and exercising for up to 30 minutes to get your heart rate up an body moving.
When you put good in, you will get good out.
When you eat foods that are processed (meaning from a box, can, etc.), your body has a harder time digesting them. They are usually filled with sugars, sodium, chemically made ingredients and more that your body was not meant to have in the first place or in excess.
If you fuel your body with foods that are fresh, your body will be able to digest them better and able to process and use the nutrients in them that your body craves and needs.
A good rule of thumb is to stick to the foods on the outer perimeter of the store and avoid going down the aisles as much.
Sometimes you can't get everything from the foods that you are eating. Vitamins help you to supplement what you might be lacking from your nutrition.
Of course always consult your doctor to see what you need on a daily basis, but a good daily multivitamin can help giving you an array of daily vitamins without spending a ton of money.
Many multivitamins have your different B vitamins that are great for energy.
In our society today, there is hardly a time where people are unplugged and not attached to social media.
It is important to take time away from all of the social platforms and take some time to care for yourself.
When you do a little self-care and self-reflection, you are developing and working on the right mindset that till allow you to make better choices for your health and goals in the long term.
You will feel more relaxed and at ease.
If you are noticing that nothing seems to be helping and you have been doing what you need to have more energy - then it is always a good idea to consult your doctor.
There are times when people are struggling to have more energy on a daily basis because of underlying causes that you didn't even know you had before.
Thyroids, chronic fatigue and more. See your doctor when you need any peace of mind or to see what the underlying issue might be.
You will notice that you will have slightly more energy than you did before, but you won't be running a marathon by tomorrow.
It takes time to build up more energy as your body has been so used to the old ways and habits you have had. Each week you will notice a slight increase in your energy though when you follow these.
Top Knot Strong provides personalized plans for all of the clients we work with to better help them in reaching their goals.
After all, what works for one person may not work for the next.
Schedule a free 15 minute consultation today to chat.
Schedule Appointment ]]>Then later feel frustrated and guilty about not reaching the goals that you so desperately want to achieve.
You are not alone and I'm here to share why diets just don't work at the end of the day.
Diet is defined as the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats. Also defined as, a special course of food to which one restricts oneself, either to lose weight or for medical reasons.
It's not really your fault. Diets are typically not made to be long-term and when not maintained, you will gain back anything that you have lost.
I have seen so many diets that claim that you will lose 10-20 pounds in a given week when you follow it. It's not at all healthy and can more harmful than good for you physically and mentally.
When following all of these different diets, you might end up in a frenzy. Following a diet that is too restrictive will most of the time make you binge on foods later on. Following a diet that is too "laid-back" will make it so you aren't really reaching your goals and aren't getting enough of the right nutrients that your body craves.
At the end of the day, there are no magic pills or supplements that are going to allow you to eat whatever you want and lose the weight that you want to. Unless, you really want to put harmful things into your body and gain it all back as soon as you stop taking the supplement....
There are no short cuts and if you truly want to keep the weight off, without any crazy side effects - you are better to be as natural as possible about it.
Your eating habits are ultimately what you got to where you are today.
Whether you eat the way you do because of how you grew up, you are crunched on time, you let your emotions get the best of you, or just don't know how to eat healthier for your goals. It's the reason you are not where you want to be right now.
This what the diet cycle looks like for most people.
Sound familiar? You are not alone! I can guarantee more than 50% of everyone has had this happen to them too when trying to follow a diet of any kind.
You aren't where you want to be and that's most likely why you are reading this right now. So I want you to think about the daily habits that you currently have.
No matter what, in order to change where you are right now, you will have to change what you are doing on a daily basis.
This doesn't mean that you will have to cut everything completely out and can't enjoy yourself. We know by now that will not help you at all!
You will need to build healthier and balanced habits that works for you, your lifestyle, and goals.
Keep a log of everything that you are eating and drinking on a daily basis. When you become more aware of what you are putting into your body, you will start to see what things you can cut back on or cut out completely as they won't help you to reach your goals.
If you buy healthy food, you are most likely going to eat it. After all, you spent your hard earned money on it right?
When you have healthier options all around you, you will start to naturally eat those better options too.
Most of the time I have found people are struggling because their friends and family don't understand why you would want to choose to eat healthier and lose weight. They love you just the way you are... but at the end of the day, you have to be happy with yourself and the skin you are in.
Everyone has their own reason for starting their own journey and there is no wrong answer. However, surrounding yourself with those who get you will make your journey that much easier!
Find a Facebook group, a gym/meal prep buddy, or follow the social media pages that resonates most with you.
You can always join the Top Knot Strong Community for free on Facebook for extra support and surround yourself with those who are on the same journey that you are!
At the end of the day, it is about your habits and not as much about dieting. If you develop better habits, the results will follow.
The best way to do this is by having something that better fits your goals, needs, and abilities!
Chat with one of our coaches today to go over a plan what will best fit you so you don't have to keep starting and stopping.
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