Too Much Protein Slowed My Fat Loss

Too Much Protein Slowed My Fat Loss

Yeah, you can get too much of a good thing. Sure, some foods are great for fat loss but that doesn’t mean you can enjoy them without limitation. I got into trouble along my fat loss journey by eating too much of a fat loss food. I slowed my progress way down until I figured out the mistake I was making. I was eating too much protein. I would say to myself, “surely I won’t get into trouble by having too much protein powder/salmon/chicken…” And then I did. Haha. But it was a very powerful lesson for me and one I wanted to share with you guys!

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(I mean, I drank my protein shakes out of a freaking flower vase! hahaha)

Protein is a critical part of a healthy, fat loss diet. Your body cannot manufacture protein therefore you need to consume it daily to ensure you have what you need. Protein helps to satisfy your hunger and reduce cravings. It helps to build and repair muscle. However, there is such thing as too much of a good thing! I went through a phase where I was eating probably 6-10 servings of protein every day. I didn’t really think too much about what your body does with that excess….

Excess protein can be stored as body fat. Excess protein can be broken down and converted to glucose, yielding a similar type of metabolic response we see with carbohydrates: fat storage, insulin and blood sugar increases, hunger and cravings.

Excessive protein intake can also be very taxing on your body. To metabolize protein, your kidneys need to remove the nitrogen from the amino acids (building blocks of all protein). This creates ammonia as a byproduct, which must be turned into waste by the liver and excreted in your urine. In moderate amounts its no problem – your body is equipped to handle that process efficiently. In excess, however, it can be burdensome.

Consuming too much protein can also lead to dehydration because the process of protein metabolism requires more water than carbohydrate or fat metabolism.

Finally, if you’re consuming excessive amounts of protein, you’re probably doing so at the expense of other important nutrients like dietary fat. You always want to work towards balance. An excess of any one macronutrient can create problems for your health and your weight loss efforts.

So how can you ensure that you aren’t eating too much protein while also making sure that you’re getting enough? Be sure to include a serving of protein with each meal. Eggs are a great combination of fat and protein for breakfast. Chicken, fish and beef are fantastic protein sources for the rest of the day. Don’t worry that consuming protein at each meal will lead to “excessive intake” – it wont – so long as you keep your portions to about the size of the palm of your hand. There’s no need to double or triple up on your protein servings. If you’re still hungry go for more non-starchy vegetables or increase your fat intake.

Exercise For Weight Loss – How My Plan Has Changed

Exercise For Weight Loss – How My Plan Has Changed

Ugh, what is the best exercise for weight loss? Talk about a loaded question with a million answers. When people are thinking about weight loss or wanting to reshape their bodies, exercise gets a WHOLE lot of attention. Seriously. There have got to be HUNDREDS of news headlines every freaking day claiming that this, that or the other exercise is the holy grail of weight loss.

Let’s just get real for a second, ok? Exercise is not, has never been and will never be the holy grail of weight loss. Remember that 80/20 principle we talked about? 80% or more of your success and results will come from what you put in your mouth. Your nutrition choices, and how they facilitate fat loss and hormone balance, are the primary determinants of your progress. Period end of discussion.

With that said, exercise is absolutely part of a healthy lifestyle and can certainly accelerate your weight loss results. Just keep in mind that you CANNOT out exercise a crappy diet. You just can’t. And you’ll be pretty miserable trying so don’t even bother. (Been there, done that.) If you don’t have your diet right, no amount of time on the treadmill is going to get you where you want to go.

When I first decided I needed to get serious and transform my health (and weight) once and for all, I weighed over 300 pounds. I felt overwhelmed by the magnitude of changes I needed to make. I knew that if I tried to do everything all at once I’d get frustrated, feel like a failure, lose hope and probably never reach my goals. I began to focus on cleaning up my diet and didn’t want to have to worry about “gym time”. So I didn’t. No guilt, no pressure, I just identified the biggest rock (food) and invested my energy there.

I did, however, buy a treadmill. I wasn’t ready (or willing) to jog or even walk briskly. The thought of it stressed me out and I didn’t want to take on anything I wasn’t SURE I could do. I put the treadmill in front of the TV and many evenings, while watching a TV show, I’d walk very, very slowly. I didn’t break a sweat. I didn’t want to. I just wanted to move a little bit more. Sometimes I’d walk for 5 minutes. Other times I’d walk for an hour. I did that consistently until I had lost my first 50 pounds.

By the time I had lost 50 pounds I was feeling pretty comfortable and at ease with my new way of eating. It felt effortless. It wasn’t a strain. I wasn’t obsessing over food or white-knuckling it through my days to avoid a binge. I felt in control. Everything was good. I was ready to take on more and I decided I wanted it to be working out.

I joined a gym and hired a trainer. I worked out with him 2-3 days each week for 30 minutes per session. So we’re talking 60-90 minutes PER WEEK. I would characterize those workouts as cardio/resistance. We definitely lifted weights but nothing all too heavy. We focused on high intensity workouts that included resistance but also included LOTS of movement so my heart rate was always elevated. The goal was to not stop moving, maintain my muscle mass and burn fat. We definitely weren’t focused on building strength at that time.

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I have to say that those workouts helped me fall in love with fitness again. I had once really loved it but let’s just say “we lost that lovin’ feeling” for a while!! It came back! I started doing some additional workouts on my own. My confidence started to grow. I bought a few kettlebells and a few times a week I would do swings and goblet squats in my home office. I actually even brought one of the kettlebells to work and I’d often take a break in between meetings to knock out 20-50 swings! I was really loving it.

By this point I had probably lost about 100 lbs and my weight loss was beginning to slow. I was seeing sagging skin in my arms and belly and wasn’t too happy about it. I talked to a number of experts, did a lot of research and made the decision to switch personal trainers. I started training 3 mornings each week (30 minutes each session) and we really focused on full-body strength movements. I’m talking squats, deadlifts, etc. I knew I needed to get stronger and build a better foundation so I could have a strong core and avoid looking like a huge sack of skin. On the days I didn’t workout with my trainer I would do high intensity cardio workouts. Uphill sprints, burpees, jump rope – you name it. It was hard but it was good. I was training 6 days a week and continuing to make progress.

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I wasn’t surprised when I hit my next plateau. I was pissed but I wasn’t surprised. That was just about 2 months ago. I am closer than ever to my goal weight and my body just isn’t quite as responsive. I’ve lost a ton of weight in a fairly short period of time and understandably, my body has adapted. I made the decision to change trainers AND change gyms. Instead of a traditional personal trainer, I now work with a strength coach three times each week. We work on form, speed and strength. We focus on large muscle groups, lifting HEAVY weight and truly finding my inner athlete. Three days a week I’m working strength with Blaze and the other three days I’ve switched it up: 2 days I do longer duration cardio workouts. I used to avoid traditional cardio – those types of workouts weren’t good for me at the beginning but now my body is really responding to them. That is an important point to make: what works for you will likely change throughout your weight loss. That’s ok. That is normal. Your body will adapt, you’ll gain strength and endurance and you’ll need to switch things up. Don’t get frustrated by plateaus – embrace the opportunity to work on a new area of your fitness and wellness.

Here’s what I have found is most important when it comes to pinpointing the best exercise for weight loss:

The exercise you actually do trumps the exercise you think you should do but always avoid. Seriously. If you hate running, don’t run. If you love Zumba – go Zumba your ass off!! Sure, there will always be good/better/best when it comes to effectiveness but no one will argue that the most effective workout is the one you’ll actually do. And you know which one you’ll make time for? The one you love.
Listen to your body. For several months I over trained. I pushed myself too hard and I hurt my knees in the process. Unfortunately, I’m still paying the stupid tax on that. The pain flares up every now and then. I want to push through it. I hate being injured. But I don’t push. I back off and always, always, always avoid aggravating the injury. There’s always an alternative. Chill out. Don’t take yourself out of the game by being stubborn.

Expect plateaus. You cannot do the same thing indefinitely and expect to get the same results. Your body will adapt and your results will slow. Don’t get frustrated, just roll with it and use it as an opportunity to try something new.
Lift heavy things. LIFT HEAVY THINGS. I’m serious!!! LIFT HEAVY THINGS!!!! I don’t care how old you are or where you are in your fitness journey – LIFT HEAVY THINGS!!!!

I want to end this little ditty the same way I started it. The most IMPORTANT thing you can do for your weight loss an health goals is clean up your diet. You don’t need to take on the world all at once. If that is where you need to improve, focus on improving that. Put your energy there. Take your time. Practice, practice, practice. You don’t need to take on exercise if you aren’t ready. You will serve yourself (and your health) by mastering your nutrition and adopting healthy, moderate nutrition changes. Add the fitness component only when you’re ready and don’t be afraid to go slow.

80/20 Rule For Weight Loss

80/20 Rule For Weight Loss

Have you ever heard of the Pareto Principle? Maybe you’ve heard it called the 80/20 rule. I heard about it years ago but it wasn’t until I applied it to my weight loss journey that it really transformed my life. I’m not kidding. This one principle has changed the way I look at just about EVERYTHING! This simple truth allows you to DO LESS yet YIELD MORE.

So this guy named Vilfredo Pareto once observed that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by only 20% of the people. It was quickly realized that most things in life roughly mimic this ratio:

  • 20% of the people generate 80% of the wealth
  • 20% of the plants in a garden produce 80% of the bounty
  • 20% of employees are responsible for 80% of the workload

Essentially, it boils down to this: 80% of your results come from only 20% of your actions. A powerful 20% of your inputs will generate 80% of your outputs. Read: We are wasting much of our time doing frivolous crap that doesn’t produce the results we’re after!!!

Think about the 80/20 rule in your own life:

  • 20% of your household chores make 80% of the difference. Vacuuming the floors + cleaning the bathrooms + wiping down the kitchen counters = 80% clean. Sure, you can spend your time doing the other 80% of stuff but you won’t feel like it is clean unless you’ve tackled that omnipotent 20%.
  • 20% of your problems account for 80% of your stress. Its the big rocks that keep us stressed out, right? Job, money, etc. Yes, there are lots of little stressors but its those couple biggies that cause the problems.
  • 20% of your projects take up 80% of your time. At home or at work, there are most often a few key things that seem to take up the majority of our day.absolute

Here’s where the powerful part comes in. When you identify, in any area of your life, which activities fall into that 20%, you can focus on those things, de-emphasize the time you’re spending dealing with the rest of the stuff, and see DRAMATIC improvements.

I have applied this to my fat loss journey and I’ll tell you, it has been transformative. You can read fat loss tips all damn day long. Everyone has an opinion and you can create a huge list of all the things that will help you burn fat:

  • Eat more vegetables
  • Eat less sugar
  • Focus on protein
  • Watch your fat intake
  • Avoid gluten
  • Count calories
  • Measure portions
  • Don’t eat out
  • Prepare your food ahead of time
  • Do lots of cardio
  • Lift weights
  • Get enough sleep
  • Limit your stress levels
  • Avoid chemicals
  • Take leisure walks
  • Balance your hormones
  • Take specific supplements
  • Drink protein shakes
  • Blah blah blah

It can quickly become overwhelming. It can make you feel like its completely impossible to keep all those balls in the air. Oftentimes, the 100% view can keep us from acting AT ALL because it seems so impossible. But there is good news!!  80% of your results will come from only 20% of your activities! You can pick the most impactful 20% and those big rocks will generate the majority of the success you are after!!!

Now, keep in mind that those 20% activities won’t be the same for everyone! You need to figure this out for yourself. Don’t waste your time and energy watching what other people eat, how often they exercise, what type of exercise they do, what supplements they take, etc etc. Invest your time and energy monitoring what works for YOU and then focus on those activities. Identify which activities have the most pay off for YOUR body.

Though I don’t want you to assume that they are YOUR 20% activities, I’ll tell you what I’ve found mine to be. These are the big rocks I focus on. Sure, I might throw in other stuff from time to time, but I know that my results are going to come from these things, so they become my non-negotiables. Anything else is gravy.

  • Documentation. I write down my goals and I write down everything I eat. If it goes in my mouth, I write it down. This not only helps keep me accountable, but it allows me to go back and troubleshoot. Keeping my goals in front of me helps me stay focused and motivated.
  • Lifting heavy weights. Sure, I do cardio. But I know that my results come much more from challenging my body and the hormonal response generated when I lift heavy weights. I lift a minimum of three times each week. Sometimes 4.
  • Emphasizing non-starchy vegetables, healthy fats and protein at every meal and limiting my carbohydrates to my evening meal. Its not complicated. I don’t count calories. I don’t measure portions. I don’t have a strict eating pattern. I eat when I’m hungry. I eat foods I love. Before dinner I enjoy non-starchy veggies, fats and proteins. At dinner, I do the same, but I’ll often include a clean carbohydrate like sweet potato or apple.

I could generate a long list of other things that support my fat loss like sleep, walking, interval training and a million other things. Sure, they’re great. But they also take time and effort. If they happen, awesome. That’s fantastic. But I invest my energy into my 20% because I know that’s where my results come from.

Your 20% will probably be different from mine! Do you know that you’re much more likely to stay on track when you plan out a weekly menu? Maybe that’s one of your big rocks! Are you someone who really notices a MAJOR difference when you prep your food a few times a week? Make that one of you 20% items. Maybe you know your success relies heavily on getting enough sleep. That should be on your list. At the end of the day it comes down to this: become a student of your own behavior and motivations. There is more learning that can come from knowing yourself than from any blog or expert out there.

What’s your 20%? Find it. Focus on it. That’s where your energy should be spent.

What’s The Weight Loss Equation?

What’s The Weight Loss Equation?

This past Saturday morning I drove to the gym and didn’t really feel like going in. I wasn’t in the mood to get sweaty and I kinda wanted to phone it in and get back home. I just didn’t feel “on”. But, I was there. I knew my body needed it and I decided to just get it over with. I am so glad I did. It ended up being an awesome workout. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes it doesn’t. In this case, it was a song on my playlist that really spoke to me, motivated me and got me in the zone.

I was doing a circuit of weighted step-ups and flights of stairs when “Remember the Name” started blaring through my headphones:

“10% luck
20% skill
15% concentrated power of will
5% pleasure
50% pain
100% reason to remember the name”

I pushed through the workout. My strides suddenly became intense and purposeful. I got focused. I wiped the sweat off my hands and grabbed the weights tighter. I went faster. I worked harder. I thought about the lyrics.

“20% skill
80% fear”

I kept it on repeat for the duration of my workout. I thought about it the entire way home. I thought about my journey. I thought about the times I have thrown in the towel and the times I’ve picked myself up and dragged myself back on track. I thought about the differences between my past failures and my current determination. My jaw was set as I embraced a renewed determination to crush my goals. I’m not giving up. I’m not giving in. I’m going to crush my goals and I’m going to capture the essence of what has made this possible for me. What was the formula for all the past failures and what is my formula now? Its not 5% pleasure or 50% pain (usually), but what is it?

For all the years leading up to my transformation I feel like it looked like this:

70% planning the perfect regimen (over and over)
25% stressing and obsessing over it
5% doing the work

Seriously. I’d read and read and read. I’d commit to a super-strict plan that was BOUND to give me results. I mean, how could it not? It was flawless. Perfectly clean eating, daily workouts…it was the recipe for fat loss success. Except that it wasn’t. I couldn’t follow it. It made me crazy. It was someone else’s plan. It wasn’t mine. It wasn’t for me. It didn’t fit my lifestyle and honestly, at the time, it was biting off far more than I could chew. I’d spend most of my energy finding and understanding the plan. I’d spend the rest of my time worrying about how I’d make it work. And hardly any time DOING the work.

It DIDN’T work. In fact, it created this snowball effect of feeling not good enough, feeling ashamed, feeling embarrassed, feeling the need to hide and then feeding my feelings of insecurity (with cookies and ice cream and Mexican food). No lie. It was destructive. It hurt my self esteem and often led to weight GAIN.

My weight loss equation is drastically different now. Some people might say its 80% food, 10% exercise and 10% mindset. Some people might say its 50% diet and 50% exercise. I disagree with all of that. This is my equation for success – in life, in fitness, in weight loss and in work. It looks like this:

100% of: SHOW UP. BE CONSISTENT. LOVE YOURSELF.

show up. be present every day with the desire to improve.
be consistent. don’t hop around from trend to trend and get distracted by what so-and-so is doing. do YOUR work and do it every day.
love yourself right where you’re at. every day. love yourself on days you screw up. love yourself on days you do everything right. love yourself when you fit into your skinny jeans and love yourself when they won’t freaking button. love yourself when your face is puffy and love yourself when you start to see progress. love yourself when you crush your workout and love yourself when you decide to sleep in.

When you doubt yourself (and you will) – DIG IN. As Blaze says, DO THE WORK. Let your own uncertainty be the fire that fuels you. Does someone in your life not believe in you? Who gives a sh*t? Dig in. Prove it to yourself. Prove it to them. Don’t get down and dive into a bag of chips. Put on your sneakers and hit the road. With every bite of that clean meal you’re eating, imagine your body transforming. Imagine where you’re going. Imagine how you’ll feel as you achieve your dreams. 100%. Every day. There are no excuses except the ones you create and decide to believe. Hear me? THERE ARE NO EXCUSES EXCEPT THE ONES YOU CREATE AND DECIDE TO BELIEVE.

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This cycle of being on track Monday-Thursday and totally off the rails Friday-Sunday won’t get you where you want to go. Beating yourself up every time you eat a treat is unhealthy and counterproductive. Feeling pressured to “work off” the food you eat doesn’t serve you. All those thoughts and behaviors are a waste of your very precious energy. Every day I do my best. Every day that looks different. Every day I wake up and commit to doing my best. To honoring my body and giving it what it needs. I am consistent. I don’t do this when I feel like it. I just do it. I do it because I love my body, not because I hate it.

100% of your very best, 100% of the time.

Tiny Changes for Massive Weight Loss

Tiny Changes for Massive Weight Loss

I was listening to a Tim Ferriss podcast recently while I driving home from Asheville, NC. I don’t remember who he was interviewing but they talked about a concept that really resonated with me and I wanted to share it with you.

The concept was that of pursuing 1% improvement. What if you could improve yourself by 1% every month? Where would you be in 1 year? How would your life be different in 5 years or 10 years? 1% improvement seems very manageable, like something you could work towards in just minutes each day.

Though I wasn’t actively working towards a specific 1% improvement, its this “baby step” approach that I used to help me achieve massive weight loss. I knew I couldn’t do everything all at once. I had tried that before. I would quickly become overwhelmed and feel like a failure and give up. I took an incremental approach to my weight loss and it made all the difference. I’d work to adopt one small change, practice it, master it, become comfortable with it and then move on to something else. Over time it resulted in a complete, radical transformation.

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It was late September when I first heard this concept and I decided I’d do an experiment, taking it quite literally. I decided to pursue a 1% improvement in my body composition each month for 3 months. Every morning when waking up I’d write down the one or two things I was going to do that day to push towards that goal. Some days it was a workout. Other days it was a commitment to avoid specific trigger foods that were challenging me (nuts is a big one for me!). I am determined to reduce my body fat by 1% each month in October, November and December.

What if you decided to improve your mindset by 1% each month. Let’s say that this month you decide to work on eliminating all negative self talk. Each day when you wake up you write down 1 thing you love about yourself. Every time negative thoughts come into your head you replace them with the days one positive affirmation. Think about how much improved you’d better and happier you’d feel after one month!

What if you decided to improve your health by 1% this month. To do that, maybe you opt to cut out artificial sweeteners. Every morning you take a minute to think about why its important to you and how you’re going to go about it. I recently did this and I was surprised at what a positive difference it made in my cravings and hunger. Until I removed the artificial (and natural) sweeteners, I didn’t realize how much they were increasing my hunger and cravings! When I stopped putting stevia in my coffee and drinking naturally sweetened diet sodas my sugar cravings virtually disappeared. There’s no question that this improved both my health and my physique.

Sure, 1% is a little arbitrary and requires some estimation, but the bottom line is this: when you constantly strive for very small, manageable improvements, the effect is exponential. A year or two from now you’ll hardly recognize the healthier, happier you!

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