Inspiration & Motivation

4-week SHRED week 1 update: Alex adjusts to meet her goals!

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Alex on the right @ hair expo in Oklahoma City last weekend

In case you missed the kick off, Alex (@Alexandriawill) is my new 4-week challenge chick, CLICK HERE to check out her full 4-week GRIT by Brit SHRED plan.  After 1 solid week on the plan, Alex has learned some lessons about herself, her eating habits and her fitness.  Here are her thoughts:

  • Calorie counting is key, but too few calories are not beneficial – Really proud of myself on the calorie control because I was counting EVERYTHING I ate and if I didn’t know the calorie count, I would over estimate it.  However, I realized I was not having enough calories at one point and ended up feeling a little sick.  So I adjusted to ensure I got the calories my body needed while still staying in my budget.
  • Continuous diet adjustments are needed for success  – I realized I needed to consistently eat smaller meals/snacks throughout the day instead of 3 larger meals.  My eating habits are just that HABITS. On the weekends I eat 2-3 larger meals (probably 2) and 1-2 snacks where as during the week I eat much smaller meals with snacks every so hour.  Since I’m working out a lot more during the week on the GRIT by Brit SHRED plan, my body wants more energy = food.
  • Gotta keep it together on the weekends – I realized I binge bad on the weekends, even with just 1-2 meals. Couple that with not working out and I just killed all the work I did for 5 days! I crashed and burned this past weekend with being out of town for a natural hair expo in Oklahoma City. I didn’t fully prepare as I wanted too and eating in Oklahoma City as a vegetarian on a budget was harder than I expected. I simply didn’t have time to find a Subway at 11pm when things close at 10pm. I also just went into a “screw it” moment and forgot my whole goal. I was walking around, presenting and dancing during the weekend, but overall my eating habits were very poor – time of month too!  (maybe TMI, but hey, we’re family).  Overall, I am proud of my progress so far and I will push even harder in week 2!

BRIT’S 2 POINTS OF ADVICE FOR ALEX

  1. Great adjustment on the calorie intake! Remember, a calorie budget helps prevent over eating, but under eating can be counter productive to weight loss as well.  When we don’t eat enough calories, our body goes into starvation mode and our metabolism slows down, thus we burn less calories at rest.
  2. If you know it’s going to be tough to stick with the plan on the weekends, go ahead and adjust your week day diet and workout regiment to be more strict to make up for your “slacker” days.  An extra 10-20 minutes of cardio and a few super lean meals will help balance things out so you can meet your goals.
Alex pumped up and ready to kick start the 4-week SHRED plan at Body Pump class with Brit
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Weight Loss

The ONLY way to lose weight…

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Forget the B-12 injections, fad diets, miracle drinks, diet pills and quick fix workout plans.  Ask anyone who has successfully lost weight AND kept it off and they will tell you that they ATE LESS and MOVED MORE.  Burning more calories than you consume is the ONLY true scientific way to lose weight.  In reality, this is easier said than done.  So here are some helpful tips that have kept me on track during my weight management journey:

  • I CAN’T out exercise a bad diet – No matter how much I hit the gym, it’s simply too hard to burn off all of the calories of a bad diet.  Think about it, a burger and fries could be around 2,000 calories.  This means 2 hours of high intensity cardiovascular exercise to work it off.  There’s simply not enough time in the day to truly burn off the calories in a bad diet.
  • I CAN use exercise to speed up weight loss – You must burn 3,500 calories more than you consume to legitimately lose 1 pound.  So if you take on a low-calorie diet PLUS burn an extra 400-600 calories per day through an hour of exercise, you will obtain your dream body much sooner!
  • HOW MUCH I eat is more important than WHAT I eat – Look, you can eat too many apples and still be fat.  A calorie, is a calorie is a calorie. If you eat too many calories without burning them off, you WILL gain weight.  Don’t be deceived by healthy foods. Too much of ANY food will still pack on pounds.
  • MAKE yourself love fruits, veggies and water – No matter how much I try, I find it nearly impossible to get my body the nutrition it needs within my daily caloric budget without lots of water, fruits and veggies.  No other foods are as low in calories and high in fiber and vitamins.  Also, the water keeps my metabolism revved up and makes me feel full.

Keep these points in mind and you start your week.  Even a small personal commitment to be more active during the day, eat less or drink more water can make a big impact on your weight management.

I love a good sweat session BUT it MUST go hand in hand with a low-calorie, nutritious diet!

What’s more difficult for you?  Eating less?  Or moving more?

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