Booty Not Responding to Boot Camp?

How’s that boot camp shaping up your booty? With today being the first official day of the summer, chances are strong that you’ve begun some sort of new fitness routine in order to get beach body ready by the time you’re ready to hit the beach. Thankfully, gone are the days when the only options were to feel stuck inside at a step class; more and more people are taking it outside and engaging in top trends (1) such as functional fitness, high intensity workouts like Tabata, or High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and group training. The added accountability of having to show up for class, or to simply meet a friend as well as the long daylight hours couple to make getting into and keeping with your new fitness regime easier. So you’ve got your new exercise game on, you’re feeling better about yourself because of it (as you should) and though you’re feeling a bit better, what the heck is the deal with that number on the scale not budging? Well, we can’t focus only on how and when we’re moving when it comes to how we look and feel. In my experience, what we’re eating accounts for a far greater part of the equation than physical activity. As one of my clients has said time and time again, “Abs are made in the kitchen”! Let’s have a look at some commonly made mistakes that could be sabotaging your progress: 1- Choosing the wrong pre-workout fuel. If you’re up at the crack of dawn to hit the beach for the summer boot camp you joined and you grabbed a quick ‘healthy’ banana to eat on the way there in order to fuel the tank, you’re actually doing yourself a disservice. Evidence from a study published in The Journal of Physiology shows that exercising in a fasted state engages our body to burn more fat and prevent weight gain (2). So rather than supply your body with an endless stream of carbs, even if it is coming from fruit, if you allow your body to tao into its own fat stores for fuel, you’ll set yourself up for a fat-burning metabolism all day long! 2 -Eating too often. For years, I followed, and recommended the old-school approach of small, frequent meals throughout the day to prevent blood sugar dips. And while there’s no one way to eat for all of us, if you’re eating all day long, you’re not allowing your gall bladder to fill with bile, subsequently not enabling your ow body’s fat-burning potential. Plus, studies show that most people snack and still eat the same number of calories in their meals! Researchers who lead a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that regardless of what snacks contained, “A snack consumed in a satiety state has poor satiating efficiency irrespective of its composition, which is evidence that snacking plays a role in obesity.” 3 – Not eating enough fat. Hands down, the number one trend I see new clients following is not eating enough calories or fat at their first meal of the day. No one’s recommending eating so much you feel you need a nap at 10am, but breaking your fast a couple of hours after a workout with egg whites, steamed spinach and a teaspoon of olive oil is far too little. While all those foods are indeed healthy options, the whole meal is too low in fat, too low in calories and would absolutely set someone up for that 3 pm urge for ‘something sweet’. If that’s what not to do, what should we do? Eat mindfully, eat in balance and learn how to dial in to those last little nuances that truly do add up to be the deal breakers in even the most solid looking healthy eating plans. Curious to learn more? Reach out to learn more about upcoming summer workshops and cooking classes as well as to learn how I can work with you to create your own very custom course for you and your friends or co-workers! 1 Brown, Jill S. “Top Fitness Trends for 2016: Does Your Favorite Make the List?” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 21 June 2016. 2 “Phys Ed: The Benefits of Exercising Before Breakfast.” Well Phys Ed The Benefits of Exercising Before Breakfast Comments. NY TIMES, n.d. Web. 21 June 2016. 3 CHFS, JJ Virgin CNS. “Why Snacking Can Stall Fat Loss and Fast Metabolism.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 21 June 2016.