It had been about a month and a half since I had worked out my favorite gym. I went on my Florida vacation in November and when I came back I just didn’t get it together to join right back up. But last week I went again and took their strength class.
My coach walked by and said “Damn girl! Where’d you get those muscles?” Then said “It was all that rest on vacation.”
And at first I thought – No. I’ve been back from vacation for a while….I have no idea where they came from.
But then I realized he was right (as he usually is haha).
I was rested. I was relaxed. I was moving my body consistently in a way that felt good (lately that means spinning & treadmill/strength workouts) and my food choices have been pretty consistent, too.
All things that lead to a tighter, more fit physique.
The crazy part is, back when I was OBSESSED with what my body looked like, I was exercising all day long (seriously, 3x/day- It was nuts), counting every calorie, tracking all my food then consequently bingeing my face off, I never got the results I wanted.
The more I obsessed, the more I focused on it, more more energy I spent efforting…the less I got in return.
So often I hear from women “I try to eat so healthy all day long. I plan my meals and my snacks and my workouts and then the stress of the day just knocks me off my feet and my plan falls apart.”
Or even more simply I get “How do I get rid of these 5-10 pounds that just seem stuck to my body?
So today I want to talk about how to get the results you want by telling you what NOT to do.
And listen, what I’m about to tell you is going to sound super counter intuitive and it’s gonna go against everything you think you know about how to change your body, but I’m here to tell you the truth, always, and if what you’re doing isn’t working for you, that means it’s time to change your approach, right?
Ok, let’s get into it. Here are 3 reasons why your body isn’t changing:
1) You’re TOO obsessed.
You actually know too much. You have too much info swimming around in your brain. You have all the “don’t eat potatoes!” “don’t eat past 7pm!” “don’t eat carbs!” thoughts constantly running in a loop in your head whether you realize it or not.
The result is either 1) being constantly worried about messing up that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and that’s exactly what happens, or 2) you’re trying to be so perfect that you reach a point of being like “screw this, it’s too hard, life is stressful enough and I’m just gonna eat what I want so I don’t have to stress about this, too.”
I call this the Screw-It Mentality. We burn ourselves out on trying to be perfect and finally say “eff this” then go off the rails.
But it’s not your fault. That’s what you’ve been taught thanks to the diet industry, so don’t blame yourself.
But there’s good news here. There is a middle ground. You actually don’t have to be perfect, and you don’t have to go off the rails. In fact, living in the middle actually helps make sure you don’t go nuts every night, every weekend, every vacation.
The best way to stall your results is by trying to be perfect. Because perfection is a myth. Start learning to navigate that middle ground by choosing to just do a few things consistently and just do your best with the rest.
2) You’re focused on the wrong things.
Studies continue to show how important sleep is when it comes to hormone regulation, hunger and cravings.
You know how it goes, right? You sleep like crap one night and suddenly you’re craving carbs like crazy. And you give in because your body is running on zero, so you don’t have the mental bandwidth to care- you just need to get through the day.
Sound familiar?
So the problem isn’t lack of willpower, the problem is your hormones are all out of whack and that even the strongest, healthiest, most nutrition-knowledgeable person couldn’t will their way out of that.
Aim for at least 7 hours a night (more if you can) to let your body, brain and hormones reset. You need rest. You don’t need a more hardcore diet.
3) Your diet is boring AF.
I’m forever seeing what I call Sad Salads that my people think are doing their body good. They consist of spinach, carrots, cherry tomatoes, chicken and a light dressing.
Sounds healthy, right? But this salad SUCKS for so many reasons:
- There’s like zero flavor
- There’s no healthy fats to keep satisfaction up
- It’s not enough food to keep you full for longer than a couple hours, maybe
- It’s the perfect recipe for feeling deprived and send your cravings through the roof
I’m not saying every meal has to blow your mind, but I am saying that one of the most important things you can do for yourself is to find a way of eating that fuels your body and your mind.
You absolutely need to feel satisfied and your food absolutely needs to taste good. No one ever got results suffering their way through a Sad Salad when what they really wanted was a turkey and cheese sandwich on nice fluffy bread with some chips on the side.
Cuz guess what, you can have it both ways? You only need to make nutrient-dense food choices (like fruits, veggies, lean protein and healthy fats) 80-90% of the time to get the results we want. Isn’t that great news?
So eat that sandwich, girlfriend, then turn that Sad Salad into a side salad and you’re good to go! Mix it up! Give your body the variety and satisfaction it needs.
Here’s bonus truth bomb for you:
Your body actually doesn’t WANT to change. It actually likes where you’re at right now because it’s familiar and as humans, we’re super resistant to change, even though it can be something we want SO BADLY.
And that means your body is really good at not budging.
So when it comes to body change- whether that means losing body fat, gaining muscle, getting stronger, etc—we have our work cut out for us.
But I can help make it a whole lot easier for you.
I can give you the exact steps you need to take to make that change happen and all the accountability you need to stop quitting and see it through to the end.
Click here to check out my 1:1 coaching program, Fresh, Fit & Fearless.
If you’re struggling with the same things over and over and over again, it’s time try something different. Lemme help you figure out exactly what that looks like.
Do this for yourself. You don’t have to keep falling off the wagon and struggling. This stuff can actually be really, really simple.
Let’s do it together.
xx,
Lauren