I'm Kelli and I blog over at The Turquoise Piano (there's a lot of awesome stuff over there so come visit). Right now I'm doing some posts about my baby weight loss. I had this little cutes a couple of months ago.
I tipped the scales at around 175 before I had her on November 16th and I'm down to 149 right now, with a goal of 10-15 more to lose.
Me in labor (notice the sander on the floor. That's how I roll).
one week postpartum -- end of November
now -- in the process of losing it
In my former life (pre babies) I was a nutrition and exercise consultant and I taught the difference between a "diet" and an effective nutrition and exercise plan. Today I want to talk about why so many weight loss programs and "diets" fail. I'm going to explain it for you right now.
It is important to understand that becoming lean or tone is achieved through fat-loss and lean muscle gain, not weight loss. This is important because:
- Muscle tissue burns calories. One pound of lean mass/muscle burns around 15 to 50 calories a day. On the other hand, one pound of fat only burns 6 calories a day. Plus fat is stored energy, storing nearly 3500 calories per pound.
- Rapid weight loss or under eating can cause muscle tissue to be used as energy, thus slowing down metabolism and making “rebound dieting” more likely.
- Muscle weighs more than fat. Muscle is more dense than fat, meaning it takes up less space which means fewer “inches”.
I know we all want to lose weight super quickly but here is a "chart" as to why that is a bad idea.
INCORRECT WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM
| Before | After | Results |
| Weight: 200 lbs Body fat %: 30% Lean body mass: 140 lbs Fat mass: 60 lbs | 170 lbs 30% 119 lbs 51 lbs | weight loss: 30 lbs Fat % same lost 21 lbs lean mass lost 9 lbs fat mass |
The problem with this program and how they lost weight is that they lost lean muscle mass (fat burning machinery), meaning this person in the beginning had a metabolism that could support around 3000 calories a day and stay the same weight. Now at the end of the program because 21 lbs of muscle (fat burning machinery) were lost, this individual can now only support 2000 calories a day. What happens next is devastating. If that person goes back to eating 3000 calories a day, but has now lost 21 lbs of muscle, his/her metabolism is slower than in the first place and s/he will get fatter. This happens all the time and is often referred to as “yo yo” dieting.
CORRECT EXERCISE & DIET PROGRAM
| Before | After | Results |
| Weight: 200 lbs Body fat %: 30% Lean body mass: 140 lbs Fat mass: 60 lbs | 170 lbs 10% 153 lbs 17 lbs | Lost 30 lbs Lost 20% Gained 13 lbs lean mass Lost 43 lbs fat |
This exercise and diet program is more effective than the first because of the amount of lean muscle gained. This person had a metabolism that could support 3000 calories to stay the same. Now this person is eating 4000 calories a day and getting leaner because the food intake is sufficient enough to promote muscle gain. The likelihood of this person to “yo yo” is not very high.
In order to achieve your fitness goals safely and effectively, while performing the least or optimal amount of exercise and consuming the greatest optimal amount and type of food, it is important to understand the Five Components of Fitness -- food intake, cardio training, resistance training, supplements (I currently only take a multi vitamin and an omega 3 sup), and personal assistance (i.e. someone to be accountable to).
Food Intake: healthy foods that make you feel full and give you essential nutrients.
Cardio Training: burns fat, uses calories for energy, benefits health.
Resistance Training: builds lean muscle mass (the calorie burning machine) and strength and is vital to long term health.
Personal Assistance: Most people have more success if they have someone to be accountable to, someone to help them, and usually a professional to help them get through slumps or plateaus.
Supplements: Let's be honest. Even when we're eating super healthy we're not always getting all of the necessary nutrients. So take at least a multi vitamin and an essential fatty acid. There are also fat burners and stuff but that's for another post.
Mmmkay, so does everyone take the oath to generally eat healthy foods, do cardio and resistance training, oh, and drink at least 64 oz of water per day?
If you need help, I'm completely happy to answer questions. You can ask me anything and I'll do my best to give you a legit answer. You can contact me through The Turquoise Piano blog or Facebook page. Join me on my fitness journey!
Food Intake: healthy foods that make you feel full and give you essential nutrients.
Cardio Training: burns fat, uses calories for energy, benefits health.
Resistance Training: builds lean muscle mass (the calorie burning machine) and strength and is vital to long term health.
Personal Assistance: Most people have more success if they have someone to be accountable to, someone to help them, and usually a professional to help them get through slumps or plateaus.
Supplements: Let's be honest. Even when we're eating super healthy we're not always getting all of the necessary nutrients. So take at least a multi vitamin and an essential fatty acid. There are also fat burners and stuff but that's for another post.
Mmmkay, so does everyone take the oath to generally eat healthy foods, do cardio and resistance training, oh, and drink at least 64 oz of water per day?
If you need help, I'm completely happy to answer questions. You can ask me anything and I'll do my best to give you a legit answer. You can contact me through The Turquoise Piano blog or Facebook page. Join me on my fitness journey!
As someone who has just come off the yo-yo diet train, is it reversible? I did my RMR and it was 1210 calories. I am now working with weights and a trainer (3 days a week) and interval jogging three days a week. How do I get my body back up to eating more calories in order to gain muscle and not fat? I also have to deal with Hashimotos.
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