This is an email that landed in my inbox last week! I love this question and wanted to share it so Madeline can apply some of these suggestions and see how this stuff works for her, and have her share how some of these modifications helped or didn't help her. Madeline reviewed Jillian Michael's 90 day Body Revolution for me which took her right into her wedding last May. Then summer broke out and threw her for a fitness loop (all her reviews are in the blog archive). She went right into a temporary move for an intense summer internship for her and her husband, and now she is in year 3 of law school. She has reestablish her routine and is looking for ways to enhance her approach. Her question is a good one and our back and forth will show how I approach clients and their questions. We are going to call this series LOCK IT UP.
Here is her story followed by a few counter questions:
Dear Beth,
This summer was awesome, but also not awesome in some ways. I worked 12 hours most days, so my workouts suffered. In addition, I was treated to lunch almost EVERY day. Even when I'm ordering a salad out, it's still not as healthy as a salad I would bring. Justin and I were usually exhausted, so we often grilled some meat and ate some veggies/brown rice, but a lot of times we got take out.
All this is to say I put on a couple pounds this summer. It's not enough to be noticeable, but I can feel it. My pants are a bit tighter than they were before, and I can just tell I'm not me. I've gotten back into my regular workout schedule this semester - working out 5 days a week. I'm also back in my eating schedule - yay!
Here's the problem: all the things that I do regularly maintain my weight. I've maintained the same weight for almost 3 years (before this summer). I'm totally maintaining where I am, but I want to lose a few. I think it is SO hard to just drop a couple pounds. I'm struggling to figure out the best way to do this. Diet more intensely? Workout more?
Here's what I've been doing:
I'm using a running for weight loss app 3 times per week. Basically, it's alternates run/walk/sprint to keep your heart rate up and down. I'm LOVING the app.
I'm doing tabata workouts 2 times per week. Chris Freytag (LOVE) came out with a HIIT dvd. Tabata workouts are new to me, so in case they are new to you, which I doubt, I'll explain. Tabata is 20 seconds of all out effort doing something, then 10 seconds of rest. You do a total of 8 exercises which equals 4 minutes. You do 5 four minute sets for a total of 20 minutes. 5 minutes of warm up before, 5 minutes of cool down after. I'm really liking it!
My diet:
1 egg 1 apple in the morning. Sometimes a cup of coffee w/splash of fat free half and half
25 almonds as a snack
My usual spinach salad. I usually top it with some mozzarella/parmesan and some oil/balsamic.
other snack: UGH struggle bus here. Sometimes GF pretzels. Sometimes celery w/reduced fat peanut butter. Sometimes baby carrots.
Dinner: we usually grill some sort of meat, do some rice/potatoes, and a steamed veg.
What can I change to drop some? I've been journaling my workouts/eating as best I can.
Goals:
Jamaica on December 14 - I'd love to be just 2-4 pounds down by then.
Bridesmaid on March 29 - I would love to hit my goal!
Your my coolest friend, (I may have edited this!)
Madeline
Beth's recommendations:
Let's try a couple diet modifications and a workout tweak every 1-2 weeks!
When I add up calories for this day, with chicken on your salad, it doesn't add up to too much food, especially with your activity. The "how much" may or may not be an issue. I am not as concerned about the portion of veg, fruit, or meat. The dairy, nut butter, and nuts, and any processed snacks are the spots where I would like you to focus on. When you eat these snacks, how do you feel? Are they so tasty? How is alcohol fitting into this picture? I know you have an awesome vino collection.
I am going to start with a question. I see three areas I would target to tweak your diet. Let's pick one and play with it for a week or two.
1)
Dinner: Maybe try and swap the rice and potato scene for a different starchy veg, roasted brussel sprouts, or a salad with roasted beets. And not even every night, just try to make dinner a two veggie dish affair, and minus the starch some of the time. This starchy veg could also be a take along for lunch salad or snack the next day.
So I am exploiting a little inside info here! I know you find yourself better off without gluten, after finding out your partner was also gluten bothered. And rice is sans gluten, BUT it is often cross contaminated with gluten, and may be just a little bothersome to your system, but no so much so that your noticing anything. This mild inflammation may also effect your ability to digest and absorb all the good stuff your eating.
2)
Snacks: Do you feel like the nuts satiate you? You may want to soak them to make them more digestible. Also, same thing as above with the Gluten free pretzels, and other crunchy stuff, your starchy evening veg could maybe be a more nutritious friend, or put your apple or a berry snack here.
3)
Lunch: Skipping dairy at lunch, and throw a greens variety show. Subbing out the queso fun and adding fruit here might help your cause! Spinach is great, but throwing in a mix of different greens will provide differen nutrient mix, as each green has different strong points. Does this salad have chicken too?
4)
Breakfast: I would add in some protein from the night before, or an extra egg, or a cup or two of veg. And maybe lose the apple and bake it for dessert or move it to snack town.
I guess my workout tweak is also first a question…
Bravo! You are getting in lots of cardiovascular business. Tabata based exercise is backed by research and extremely effective for improving aerobic capacity, and running is also great cardiovascular exercise. Running steady state can overtime burn less and less calories, but the fact your interval training will minimize this phenomena. Neither of these qualify as strength training and I would suggest that is your missing piece to your big O of a really awesome exercise week. This was a huge part of the 90 day Jillian Michaels stuff, and if you have not lifted weights in a while you may have seen experienced muscle loss over the summer. Muscle mass is more metabolically active, gives you the power to do drive your exercise moves, and shapes your body. And reduces your risk of disease! Your mix might be a little changed making your usual recipe not as effective.
Are you willing to add a day of exercise and run one less?
OPTION1) If yes, here is Option 1, run two days of the week, Tabata two days of the week, lift two days of the week. Lifting program only needs to be 30 minutes!
If adding a day is not an option, no problem.
Two ways to go:
OPTION 2) Two days of a longer workout. Add a simple lifting program before or after your running program. I would suggest 20 minutes max for this. Before would make you a little more tired during running, so after is fine too. Doing weight training after cardiovascular exercise can be ever so slightly less effective, just a "boop" less effective. Research shows you tend to lift less weight, do less reps, but the difference is not SO much that if you have a preference you need to change it.
OPTION 3) OR…drop a run day
and a Tabata day, and add 2 strength workouts, still 5 workouts a week. So…run two days, Tabata one day, lift two days!
You could do full body strength program and through in a half tabata in between circuits if you'd feel uncomfy without it, on one of those days. And on the other a walk-run warm up and cool down, and a sprint in between workouts. These are topping options! Not necessary!
To gain muscle mass you need to do 2 days a week of lifting. I would suggest 8-10 full body moves. I know you excel at using a videos. You could use one you know or we could find something fresh and new. So let's both cruise the video scene, OR we could meet online on POWHOW which is an online teaching website that has the option to record digitally. We could do a session, record it, have you try for a couple weeks, then update. Either way will work. WHATEVER you chose, start slow with the weights, and build as you go!
Think on these, and remember that it's a work in progress so if we pick and option and it's not doing the trick we can change. OR we can rotate the options on a 3 week cycle for variety. Your body needs novelty too.
Side bar: IF you chose to strengthen before your workout, repeat a week of your run program or go back to some workouts on the app that felt relatively easy. And turn down your sprint effort, your body will be more fatigued by the resistance training, and therefore more prone to injury. You may want to do this for a couple weeks, or more depending on what your body is telling you!
Let me know what you think! And we can target whatever you would like! Think…small changes.
It will take a while to see changes, and we made need to add more strength training if we are not seeing a big difference in a 4-6 weeks.
