Desire Fitness & Sports Performance

Part 5
Who can relate?

Many of us can relate to the struggle of beginning and maintaining a fitness routine and healthy eating habits. Below is a common reason/excuse, and a possible solution.

Common Obstacle: Nutritional Challenges

Solutions:

1. Plan meals ahead of time; Meal prepping is a tremendous help
2. Focus on Whole Foods
3. Prioritize protein
4. Minimize sugar intake
5. Increase fiber intake
6. Find and follow a social media influencer that provides simple and effective recipes and meals
7. Seek guidance from a nutritionist or nutrition coach if needed

Part 4
Who can relate?

Many of us can relate to the struggle of beginning and maintaining a fitness routine and healthy eating habits. Below is a common reason/excuse, and a possible solution.

Common Obstacle: Negative Self-Talk

Solutions:

1. Practice Positive Affirmations

2. Surround yourself with supportive people. Everyone doesn’t have your best interest and well being in mind. It is a lot easier to stay focused if you have a person or two that are pulling for you. This is where a personal trainer might be beneficial. They should be encouraging and one of your biggest cheerleaders throughout your journey.

3. Lastly, but a very important solution is to focus on how exercise and healthy eating habits make you feel, rather than just the physical results.

Fat Loss Myth
A Fat Free diet is a must for weight loss

Facts

- There is a such thing as good/healthy and bad/unhealthy fats

- Fats are necessary and needed in our diets.

- They play a role in our body’s absorption of nutrients, hormone balance and regulation, brain function, and satiety.

- Fat in our diet keeps us feeling full longer, which helps with keeping the number of total calories consumed in a day lower. This can assist with being in a caloric deficit.

This verse ties into Who Can Relate part 3.

“Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly.”
Job 8:7 NKJV

We constantly look back to recognize our success, rather than anticipating success and looking forward. For most of us, it takes months and even years before we can even remotely recognize our success, celebrate it, and possibly feel good and secure about how far we have come.

I shared all of that to say, we should CELEBRATE any success and change along our health and fitness journey. Don’t just wait until you reach your end goal. Many people never get there, because they never gave themselves any grace, or celebrated their successes along the way. Neglecting to do those two things prevented them from seeing where they began, overcoming any setbacks, and the progress they had actually made.

Fat Loss Myth
Eating Late at Night Leads to Weight Gain

Facts

- For weight loss, it is all about being in a caloric deficit.

- Eating later in the day or at night does not inherently affect your weight/fat loss.

- Total daily caloric intake is what determines your weight loss or weight gain; NOT the timing of your meals.

- You need to know your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) so that you can be in a deficit of that number, if you are wanting to lose weight/fat.

Fat Loss Myth
Spot Reduction/Training is possible

- Despite what you may think, or have been told. It is not possible to target certain areas of the body to hit with exercises, that determine where fat loss comes from.

- Everyone is different. Some people notice it in their face and neck first. While others may notice it in their legs, or other parts of their body.

- For a lot of people, the slowest or last area that we notice a loss is our stomach, love handles, and lower back areas. These are typically the areas where we want to lose it first.

- There is no amount of crunches or other core exercises that you can do, to make you lose fat in your core first. The same is true for any other body part or muscle group.

- It is a FACT that ABS are created in the kitchen. Steady state cardio and other exercise do help the process.

- Strength training, some cardio, and a nutrition plan all work together when it comes to fat loss. It is a process, and it takes time.

Part 2
Who can relate?

Many of us can relate to the struggle of beginning and maintaining a fitness routine and healthy eating habits. Below is a common reason/excuse, and a possible solution.

A common obstacle is the lack of knowledge, or feeling overwhelmed when it comes to information and what to do.

Start with simple and achievable goals. For exercise start with basic strength training exercises, maybe even bodyweight movements. Then gradually increase the intensity and complexity of your routine. As for nutrition, if you are wanting to lose weight, you have to be in a caloric deficit.

Fat Loss Myth
Fad/Crash Diets are the way to go

Reasons why these are NOT the best option:

- Typically, not a sustainable way to eat. Most of them require the individual to eat an extremely low amount of calories daily.

- They can wreck your metabolism, and over time prevent your body from being able to burn more than a certain number of calories daily.

- Most people usually gain their weight back, plus additional weight as soon as they start eating normal again. They then get stuck in a cycle and move in and out of different diets, only to short lived success.

- These diets can increase an individuals risk of developing an eating disorder. Some people begin to have negative emotional experiences and viewpoints about certain foods and calorie consumption in general. When they become obsessed with calories, eating only certain foods, and eliminating certain foods or food groups altogether, this can create a fear within the person and lead to the development of an eating disorder.

Benefits of Strength Training

- Increased muscle strength and endurance
- More muscle enhances the metabolism, and helps with weight management
- Reduces the risk of chronic some chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis
- Improved quality of sleep and overall energy levels
- Enhanced confidence and self-esteem
- Protection against age related muscle loss and cognitive decline

Who can relate?

Many of us can relate to the struggle of beginning and maintaining a fitness routine and healthy eating habits. Below is a common reason/excuse, and a possible solution.

A common obstacle is time constraints, but prioritizing your well-being and scheduling workouts and meal planning/prepping can help overcome this hurdle.

By putting our health first and thinking ahead, we can make healthier choices and avoid relying on fast food for convenience.

Fat Loss Myth

Cardio is best. Cardio does burn calories, but doesn’t necessarily lead to fat loss. Yes, cardio does aid in overall weight loss, but it can also lead to the loss of muscle. However, strength training is actually better when it comes to fat loss. In fact, an individual could burn significantly more calories in a weight training session, than they do spending the same amount of timing performing cardio. While developing muscle at the same time, which would lead to the body’s metabolism speeding up. We also typically burn more calories for a longer amount of time after completing a strength training workout, than we do when we peform a cardio workout. With that being said, a program that incorporates strength training, cardio, and of course a strategic nutrition plan, is the best way to lose fat.

5 Tips for a 2024 Body Transformation

1. Do it because you LOVE YOURSELFLF! NOT because you hate the way you look, and NOT because you are hate the number toybsee on the scale.

2. Focus on MOVEMENT! Get your body moving. That can be walking, cycling, jogging, yoga/pilates, stretching, swimming, or fitness classes

3. Eat more PROTEIN! There are multiple reasons as to why this is important. See one my previous posts, or message me. 🤷🏾‍♂️

4. STRENGTH TRAIN! Our bodies burn more calories when it is carrying more muscle.

5. COMMIT! Make a commitment for a better version of you in 2024. If nothing changes, guess what. nothing changes! This is why many people seek help, and seek out personal trainers and fitness coaches.