Is it worth it?

 

Sometimes we get tired and it doesn't seem worth it. What worked before may not work now. It seems like something is wrong, hormones, thyroid, adrenal fatigue, hysterectomy, whatever. While we might have whatever ailment that changes our metabolism, so does age, micronutrients, and activity.

While I don't count execise calories, there is no doubt what I do burns some calories. I exercise on average an hour a day and my HR is much higher than when I walk, but if I walk 5 miles at a brisk pace it can be the same calories as an hour weight training session.

I don't worry too much about having a big huge plan. I just make sure I do a workout nearly every day, and change it up often, not too much of any one thing, but at least 3-4 weight training sessions a week.

Today I went swimming and I noticed I'm slightly faster and I believe it is from the consistent weight training and just 1-2 more intense cardio sessions that are not too long.

I'm well adapted to my workouts and they do not cause me a lot of stress. It's hard to get going with workouts no matter what time of day. I can always find something else I would rather do, but once I force myself to get going I really enjoy it. Even swimming. It's hard until I get my groove on after several hundred yards, then I start feeling good. Near the end I get tired and I have to make a point of finishing my set number of yards. The same with bike rides, hikes, weight training.

It's hard to get into it, yet it's worth it!

It's hard to have the discipline to limit the food per meal, per day, saying no to snacks, etc. But it's worth it too.

My DEXA shows my metabolism is about 1400 calories per day, so do many TDEE calculators, and my garmin watch shows that I burn about 1400 calories on days I don't exercise. Yet the days I exercise, my TDEE seems to be close to 1900-2000 calories, and that is what I just described with workouts being intense enough to burn quite a bit for this small body, or long enough (if a walk or something lower intensity), but enough workouts with enough intensity to push but not over stress my body. This changes with consistency and adaptation (it's less stress when you are adapted, with the benefit of a nice metabolism burn.)

That means that days that I over eat a little up to 1800 calories or so, if I did one of my workouts I'm likely breaking even - that's great!

It might feel disappointing to break even when I really wanted to have a deficit to lose weight.

But it's okay, I have to remind myself to keep going and try to have a day like today where I eat 1400 calories with a workout. That's at least a deficit for sure. Sometimes I can manage 1300 calories and it's very hard for me to go any lower. I've found if I try to eat at 1100 which is a fantastic deficit, I find I have too many following days closer to 1800 and that isn't helpful at this time in my life, although it's worked several times in the past during certain seasons (usually with the 1st Phorm DB fastpack but even that doesn't work during every season of my life.)

It's a sweet spot that changes upward to a point as you become very consistent.

It takes a renewal every day, and throughout the day.

If it's hard for you, know that is normal and that we all fight a battle no one else sees. We typically think we are the only one with this particular flaw. The truth is everyone has the flaws, you just might not see it.

So keep going, run your weekend game plan. If this one doesn't exactly fit your scenario, MAKE ONE THAT FITS!!

Let's go!

RUN THE WEEKEND GAME PLAN FOR SUCCESS:

1. PLAN THE NIGHT BEFORE!

- Plug everything you plan on eating that day into the app the night before, that way you can ensure you do not blow your macros out of the water

- Check Menus! Most restaurants post their menus online. Make the decision of what you plan on eating BEFORE you get to the restaurant and then track it into the app

2. HIT PROTEIN EARLY

- Set yourself up for success by planning to hit the bulk of your protein earlier in the day, leaving room for carbs and fats later in the evening

- This will help you go out and be able to enjoy yourself and not have a bigger meal put you completely over calories!

3. WORKOUT EARLY!

- Make some time FOR YOU earlier in the day where you can wake up and get your workout, cardio, step in early!

- You will feel WAY better about yourself and each time you do this, it is an investment into your goals!

Weekends count 30-40% of our weeks! Don’t go overboard and track your weekends in and stay on track! 👊🏼

I'm here for you. Let's keep making the healthy lifestyle ongoing, changing with the seasons!

Roberta