By Amanda Thebe and Kim Schlag


This was the provocative headline a social media page, with a significant influential presence posted last week.  STOP! DOING THE PLANK IF YOU’RE OVER 50!


She later updated the post to add some context, stating “the plank exercise puts pressure on the bladder, which may already be weakened without the influence of oestrogen. To prevent further damage modify the plank position by resting knees on the floor, or speak with your instructor about alternative positions.  If you suffer with bladder or pelvic floor problems, prevent further damage by modifying The Plank position, such as resting knees on the floor, or speak with your instructor about alternative positions.”

Yet her stance remained firm, in all her comments and interaction on the post, she stood by her claim that women should stop doing plank after 50.


Well you can imagine the response this evoked.  Women over 50 were up in arms at being told they SHOULD NOT do an exercise that had otherwise been a staple part of their exercise program.

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GP and menopause expert, Dr Louise Newson couldn’t agree more,  “women need to do the right exercise for them and many of my patients who are over 50 regularly do planks!!"   Our advice to you is to make an informed decision on your exercise choices based on your individual goals and needs. Take these clickbait statements with a pinch of salt, and find reputable experts (like the many featured in this article) to make an informed decision about your health and wellbeing.  

Finally, take some inspiration from the following photos. An army of Over 50 Women who won’t be driven to fear by sweeping statements like these.   We would love to see your photos too. Post on social media using the hashtag #PlankingOver50 and we will feature you in our stories.
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You're busy and losing weight is one more thing to add to your to-do list.
Believe me, I get it.
I want you to know that you're not alone.
I'm a working mom of 3 teenagers myself.
You may have found this article searching for "weight loss tips for women" and I promise I have loads of tips for you, but I want to start with a bit of a perspective shift.  Without this shift all the tips in the world won't help you:

If I told you I'd give you a million dollars to track everything you eat, get in 100 grams of protein daily, work out 2-4x per week and hit 10K steps per day for the next 3 months, I bet there's close to a 100% chance you'd do it. 

Would you do it to reach your fitness goals without the incentive of a million bucks though? That's the question to ask yourself. Maybe the answer is no.  Which is perfectly fine. It's just important to be clear in your head that "too busy" is really about your priorities.
​
Of course there's more to it, such as:

• Understanding that losing weight doesn't have to require as much time daily as you might think it does.
• Being clear on exactly what it takes to lose weight, because lack of clear directions can be overwhelming and lead to shrugging it all off with the excuse of "I don't have time for this." A clear and concise to-do list fixes this right up.
• Knowing that there's a learning curve. It will all take longer in the beginning: figuring out how much to eat, how to get in enough protein, how to do each exercise.  It gets faster and easier the more you do it.

This guide to weight loss for busy women is going to cover all of that in depth.  By the time you're done reading it you'll know exactly what you need to do to lose weight and the most efficient, streamlined way to do it. Let's go!
​

Here's an example : 
Let's say that your goal weight is 140lbs.
140 x 12=1680 calories.  That's your daily target.  Personally, I prefer people to use a target range.  It's mentally less stressful than trying to aim for an exact number. So 50 calories below and 50 calories above will give you a range of 1630-1730 calories.
Make this your top priority.
​
CALORIE COUNTING EFFICIENCY TIPS:

• Choose a few go-to meals and repeat them. Makes tracking way faster.
• At the 2-3 restaurants you frequent most choose 2 meals that will help you stay on track and get them in your tracking app.
• Eat more single ingredient items: an apple, a grilled chicken breast. Way easier to track then recipes such as stir fry.  That said:
• For your favorite go-to recipes take an hour and create recipes in your tracking app so that thy're there and ready for you to select quickly 

Protein
Getting in enough protein is weight loss nutrition priority number 2. If you eat enough protein you'll stay fuller, increase your metabolism, and burn fat instead of muscle (you might even build muscle if you're new to strength training or are a person with obesity.) How much protein?

Returning to our previous example: If your goal is 140 pounds:
140 x 0.7 and 140 x 1.0 = 98-140 grams of protein per day.
Mostly Nutrient Dense Food
Most of your diet should be nutrient dense, minimally processed food: fruit, vegetables, whole grains, protein.  The stuff that grows from the ground, had a face, or came from something that had a face.  80-90% of your diet should live here. The remaining 10-20% can come from less nutrient dense sources. Sweets, fast food, more processed food.
Eating in this way will keep you full, help you hit your targets, and allow you enough wiggle room to enjoy your favorite foods, eating out and socializing.
​
MEAL PLANNING/PREP EFFICIENCY TIPS

• Prep more then one meal at a time.  To do this you can double (or triple) a meal and freeze a portion. Or you could cook more than one meal at a time.  For example you could prep breakfast and lunch for Tuesday while Monday's dinner is cooking.
• Do a super easy meal prep weekly. One example- At  the same time: hardboil  a dozen eggs, grill chicken breasts, put chili in the crockpot, chop veggies and make rice in the rice cooker.  You'll be done in an hour (obvs crockpot will keep cooking)
• Pre log your meals the night before.  It saves you time and mental energy to just eat what you've planned (not to mention it keeps you on track,)
• Keep "fast food" that's not fast food at the ready. My short list to keep on hand : a rotisserie chicken or 2, bagged salad mix, frozen vegetables, tuna packets, greek yogurt, frozen berries, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs & oatmeal.
• Buy pre-chopped vegetables

Just like with nutrition you should focus on the things that will get you the most bang for your buck.
Then let the rest go. What to focus on as far as exercise for fat loss?
Resistance Training
Lifting weights, along with eating enough protein, is what helps you to keep your muscle while you lose fat in a calorie deficit. More muscle boosts your metabolism and is a big part of looking toned and defined. That's the why. Here's the how:

• 2-4x per week:

2 days= 2 full body sessions
3 days =1 full body + 1 upper body + 1 lower body
4 days = 2 upper body + 2 lower body

Pick what fits into your life the best.  More isn't better. Being consistent is better.  Choosing 2 and being consistent with it is better than choosing four and regularly skipping one or two sessions. If you're on the fence about how many days is realistic for you, choose the lower number.  Do it for a month and then reevaluate. 

• Prioritize big compound moves: squats, deadlifts, rows, lunges, push ups and other upper body presses such as chest presses, chin ups and/or lat pulldowns.
• Focus on getting stronger at those moves.
• Don't focus on getting sweaty and out of breath.  To get stronger you need to move heavy (for you) weight.  You can't do that if you're rushing from exercise to exercise in an attempt to keep your heart rate up.  Remember- the goal isn't to burn calories, the goal is to preserve and build your muscle.

WORKOUT EFFICIENCY TIPS:
Calendar your workouts. You don't have to have set days if your schedule isn't set up that way (mine isn't) but every Sunday physically type into your calendar your workout appointments.
Use Supersets. Supersets pair 2 exercises together. There are multiple ways to use supersets, for our purposes here you'll pair together 2 exercises that work different muscles. In this way you'll get more work done in a shorter period of time. Here's an example for a full body day:
1A 3 x 8 Goblet Squat
1B 3 x 8 Single Arm Row

2A 3 x 10 KB Deadlift
2B 3 x 10 DB Incline Bench Press

3A 3 x 12 Single Leg Hip Thrust
3B 3 x 12 DB Overhead Press
3C 3 x  12-15 seconds Hollow Body Hold

For each number group you do A followed immediately by B (and C in the case of number 3) then rest and repeat the same moves for the given number of sets before moving on to the next superset.  So for 1 you'd do 8 goblet squats followed immediately by 8 rows with the left arm and 8 rows with the right arm, rest and repeat for a total of 3 sets before moving on to number 2.

Put away your phone  It is so easy to add on a significant amount of time to your workout if you're checking Instagram and texting between sets.  Don't do it! Keep your phone in airplane mode or in your pocket or face down next to you until you're done.  

Keep isolation moves to a minimum. You'll get more bang for your buck with those big compound moves I listed above then with isolation moves.  Push ups work your triceps as they're working your chest, while tricep kickbacks just work your triceps. Deadlifts work the whole back of your body in an efficient way.  Donkey kicks, while not useless, don't deliver the same value for the time they take. Of course you *can* do isolation stuff, but think of dedicated tricep/ bicep/ inner thigh/ glute/ calf  exercises as the seasoning, not the main course. Sprinkle them in lightly.

Movement
Getting in as much movement as possible helps to create your calorie deficit.  You don't need to do dedicated cardio, though you can.  I have my online clients get a baseline of their daily steps and then we work to increase them to 10k+ over time.  Some of them like to have an actual cardio session or two to get those steps in, but most don't.

MOVEMENT EFFICIENCY TIPS
Use phone time to get in steps: walk around the office if you're on a call at work or around the neighborhood if you're at home.
Listen to books on Audible while taking a walk instead of sitting down to read
Get in your steps in small pockets of time: Walk around the field while you're waiting for your kiddo to finish soccer practice. Walk around the perimeter of the store an extra time or 2 when you go to Target. Use a bathroom on a different floor at work.  These small efforts add up without taking up a big chunk of your time.

To be successful at weight loss your mindset is critical.  Here are changes to consider:

• I'm too busy to exercise -> I value exercise and will make and keep exercise appointments with myself
• For exercise to be effective I have to spend hours in the gym->I can get in a good workout in less than an hour 2X per week.
• Meal planning and prepping takes so long-> meal planning and prepping saves me time and keeps me on track. I can get a lot done in just an hour.
• Tracking my calories takes up too much time-> There's a learning curve but once I know how to track calories It won't take me more than 15 minutes a day.  I spend at least that mush time thinking, worrying, and stressing about how to lose weight anyway.
• When I'm busy I have to rely on fast food -> It's just as quick to get a salad from a grocery store salad bar or grab a rotisserie chicken as it is to grab a pizza.

You write the story line of your life.  You can frame it any way you'd like.  Keep telling yourself you're too busy and you'll be too busy.  Start repeating and believing the statements above and you'll be making progress in no time.  Remember- "too busy" says way more about your priorities than it does about your calendar.

I get a lot of questions from women about deadlifting:

1. How do I deadlift?
2. Am I strong enough to deadlift?
3. Do I have to use a barbell?
4. What's the best technique?
   

Now here's the deal, I teach middle aged women how to deadlift the same way I teach 15 year old boys and 35 year old men to deadlift. How to deadlift is how to deadlift. Of course each individual will have different needs, goals, and preferences. In this article I'm going to show you how to deadlift the right way for you.

Most importantly, I want you to know that this lift is for you. It's not just for muscley dudes or perky 20- something Insta models. You, a middle-aged bad mama jama are gonna own this lift.  Let's gooo!

This is solidly middle-aged me at 48 deadlifting 270lbs at a bodyweight of 127lbs.  That's well over 2x my bodyweight.

What body parts does a deadlift work anyway?

Allll the parts:)

Deadlifts train your grip, your arms, your upper, mid and lower back, your glutes, your core, and  your legs.

If you're thinking purely in terms of aesthetic benefits, deadlifts are fantastic at lifting your booty, toning your thighs and chiseling your back. Of course they're useful in everyday life- moving furniture, boxes, bags, kids.  You'll be stronger and safer pretty much any time you're lifting heavy stuff up off the ground as you train your deadlift.

First things first.  Before you even pick up a weight let's get you grooving the right movement here. It's important to note that the deadlift is not a squat. It is a hip hinge.  I remember being supremely confused about the difference between these two movements when I first started lifting. Here's a breakdown:

When hip hingeing your butt goes back, not down.  Imagine that someone wrapped a rope around your waist, stood behind you and pulled.  Which direction would your hips move? Would they go down towards the floor? Of course not. They'd go back, in the direction of the pull. That's the motion of a hip hinge.

Notice that in a squat you bend both your knees and your hips maximally, whereas in a hinge you bend your hips maximally while bending your knees minimally. Also take a look at my shins in this graphic; they're almost vertical in the hinge and angled forward in the squat.
​
Watch the video below to learn 3 drills you can do to learn to hip hinge:
1. The dowel drill
2. The wall tap drill
3. The door shutting drill

Video yourself performing these 3 drills and compare them to my video. 
Does your form look the same?
No? Keep practicing.  You'll get it!
Yes? Great! Well done.  Moving on...

Cable or Band Pull Through

​A great exercise to practice the hip hinge movement is the cable or band pull through.  I'm gonna bet  you think it's a little awkward  One of my clients calls it "flossing her vagina." 
I promise it's worth the weird:)
Here:  watch how to do it with a cable and rope attachment.  You can also do it at home with a resistance band.

How To Cable Pull Through:

• Set cable on a low setting
• Walk far enough away from the cable stack (or anchor point of the band) that you feel tension. 
• Use a wide stance with toes turned out and your body slanting forward. (otherwise the weight will pull you backwards.)
• Keep arms locked
• Think about trying to touch your butt to the wall behind you (there's that hinge!)
• Full ROM. Hands should reach all the way through your legs. At the bottom of the movement your chest will be parallel to the floor.  
• Stand up & squeeze your glutes HARD. (Don't hyperextend your back at the top though.)

Once you feel confident with your hip hinge you're ready to give the first deadlift variation a try.

 Set up

• Stand with your feet a little wider than shoulder width apart with the bell between your ankles.
• Keep your chest up tall & wide. Imagine you're wearing a t-shirt with a logo on the chest that a person standing in front of you has to be able to read at all times during your lift.  Show them your logo. 
• Arms hang down in front of you

Now you're ready for that hinge you've been working on.
Let's see it!
 Step 1:

• Push your hips back and try to touch the wall behind you with your butt.

 Step 2:

• Grab the handle, squeeze your armpits as though you are trying to hold a clutch purse under there and someone's trying to snatch it out. Take a big breath into your belly (not your chest), brace your abs like you're about to be punched in the gut, push the floor away with your feet hard and stand up tall.

 Step 3:

• Reverse the motion by pushing back into your hips (hinge!)
• Reset between each rep: all the way from the clutch purse part

Common Mistakes:

• Setting the bell out too far in front of you.  It should be right between your ankles.
•  Bending from the waist & reaching for the KB with your hands.  They'll make their way there as you push your butt back:)
• Hyperextending your back at the top. Just stand up tall.

​What if I can't get into position to deadlift the KB with that form?
Try this: elevate the KB up to a height that you can lift it with proper form. You can elevate it on plates or a box.  
Here's a video so you can see all the parts of a kettlebell deadlift in action:

If you have a trap bar available, give that a go next. If not, skip ahead to the section on sumo deadlifts (but watch the videos on breathing & bracing and how to take the slack out of the bar as those will apply to sumo and conventional as well as trap bar deadlifting.)
​You'll stand inside of the bar so the weight will be closer to your center of gravity as opposed to either a sumo or conventional barbell deadlift where the the weight is out in front of you.  The trap bar enables you to pull with a more upright position, which is just an easier position for many people to take. It is also less stressful on the hips, which makes it a great option for those with crankier hips. 


​Set up

• Stand inside of the trap bar with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width & arms straight down to your sides
• Keep your chest up tall & wide. Imagine you're wearing a t-shirt with a logo on the chest that a person standing in front of you has to be able to read at all times during your lift.  Show them your logo.

 Step 1:

• With your arms long, push your hips back and try to touch the wall behind you with your butt.

 Step 2:

• Grab the handles, squeeze your armpits as though you are trying to hold a clutch purse under there and someone's trying to snatch it out. Take a big breath into your belly (not your chest.) & brace your abs.  Here, like this:

Then you're going to take all the tension out of the bar. You'll hear people call it "taking the slack out of the bar."  One way to think of it is like you're trying to bend the bar.  I think this video will help you understand (it shows a barbell, but it's the same idea): 

• Push the floor away with your feet hard and stand up tall.

 Step 3:

• Reverse the motion by pushing back into your hips (hinge!)
• Reset between each rep: all the way from the clutch purse part
• Pull from a dead stop each time

Here's a video putting it all together:

Sumo Deadlift
Ok, I don't want to alarm you, but things are about to get exceptionally exciting.  Hold onto your hats ladies I'm about to share with you the ins and outs of my personal favorite lift, the Queen of the Deadlifts in my opinion. Her Royal Highness the Sumo Deadlift.  Let's gooo...

In all seriousness, I like it so much because I'm stongest at it.  You might find the same to be true for you, or maybe not.  But in any case you should give both Sumo and Conventional pulling a go to see which you like best.  And honestly there's room in your training for both.

​A lot of what we've already discussed so far will apply to Sumo as well:

• Hip hinging
• Show your logo
• Clutch your purse under your armpits
• Breathe and brace
• Take the slack out of the bar
• ​Reset & pull from a dead stop each time.

OMG you've learned so much already!!! 
Seriously, you now know more about deadlifting than most people ever will.
Watch this sumo tutorial and then we'll chat about a couple things that are different with this lift:

Sumo Set Up:

• In a Sumo Deadlift you want to stand with the bar in front of you so it's either touching your shins or at most 1/4 inch away from them. "Feel the steel" is a good cue to remember that you want that bar in close.
• Start with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Over time you can try widening your stance to find the spot where you're strongest.  Toes turned out. Arms long in front of you.

Step 1:

• Send your hips back (try to touch your butt to the wall behind you) while keeping your chest up (show your logo)

Step 2: Grab the bar with your hands shoulder width apart ( so they 're inside your legs.) You want to have your grip be low down just under your fingers instead of up higher in your palm.  If you grip it up higher the weight of the bar is just going to cause it to slide lower anyway (that won't feel good or help you lift.) Start with it in the correct position as shown in the graphic above. 

• Squeeze that clutch purse under your armpits
• Breathe and brace
• Take the slack out of the bar (listen for that click.)
• Instead of pushing through the floor with your feet, for sumo I want you to imagine that there's a crack in the floor between your legs and you're trying to spread that crack open with your feet. I like to imagine that there's something valuable down there I want to get at.  Like a huge stockpile of Lucky Charms.
• Stand up tall and finish by squeezing your glutes.

Step 3

• Reverse the motion and return the bar to the floor. Remember to start the lowering of the bar my pushing your butt to the wall behind you.

Conventional Deadlift
We've arrived at our final deadlift variation, the conventional deadlift. Everything you've learned up till now is going to help you master this lift.  The main difference between sumo and conventional is the position of your feet and hands.  Instead of having your feet wider than shoulder width with your hands gripping the bar inside of your legs, you'll stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and your hands gripping the bar just outside of your legs. This change makes some of what we've discussed different.  Here's a list of what will stay the same:
​

• Hip hinging
• Show your logo
• Clutch your purse under your armpits
• Breathe and brace
• Take the slack out of the bar
• ​Reset & pull from a dead stop each time.

Take a peek at this video to see a coventional pull:

Set Up

• The placement of the bar is different than in sumo.  You don't want it as close, because then you're going to have to move the bar around your knees instead of straight up (and straight up is the most efficient path, so that's what you want.) You also don't want it too far out in front.  It's not safe for your back and it's not a strong position to pull from either.  The sweet spot? Right where you tie your shoe laces.  Even if you're not wearing shoes, you can picture that spot, right?
• Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and your arms long, ready to grip the bar just outside of your legs.

Step 1

• Send your hips back (try to touch your butt to the wall behind you) while keeping your chest up (show your logo.)

Step 2: 

• Grab the bar with your hands just outside of your legs. You want to have your grip be low down just under your fingers instead of up higher in your palm.  If you grip it up higher the weight of the bar is just going to cause it to slide lower anyway (that won't feel good or help you lift.) Start with it in the correct position as shown in the graphic above. 
• Another big difference in the set up is the wedge. You hold the bar and use it to counterbalance as you wedge yourself against it. Watch that a few times on the video to see what that looks like.
• Squeeze that clutch purse under your armpits
• Breathe and brace
• Take the slack out of the bar (listen for that click.)
• A final difference is at the moment you initiate the pull, instead of thinking about opening up that imaginary crack in the floor, imagine pushing the floor away from you as hard as you can.
• Stand up tall and finish by squeezing your glutes.

Step 3

• Reverse the motion and return the bar to the floor. Remember to start the lowering of the bar by pushing your butt to the wall behind you.

​Film yourself deadlifting. From the side and from the front.  It's super easy to do.  Just prop your phone up against a dumbbell a water bottle, or whatever's handy. Look for these common mistakes:

• Bar out too far in front of you
• Hips in the wrong spot (typically too low and attempting to squat the weight up.) If you notice your hips shooting up before the bar, try raising them up to start.
• Shoulders either too far behind the bar or too far in front of the bar.  Line the bar up with your armpit.
• Craning neck up. Give yourself a double chin the whole time.​
• Rounding lower back. Your lower back should be neutral through out the lift. Rounding can be  caused by a number of things but one thing to focus on is a lack of tightness - remember to squeeze your purse under your armpits hard and make that bar click.
• Bending your elbows. Nope. Arms stay straight
• Yanking the bar off the ground. Nope again:) Even though the deadlift is called a pull, think of it as a push. Push with your feet (either down or out depending on which deadlift.)
• Hyperextending your back at the top.  Just think of standing up tall. No more.
• Shrugging your shoulders at the top.  Keep your shoulders down away from your ears.
• Lowering the bar by breaking at the knees first.  No good.  You'll have to take the bar around your knees then. It's a good way to hurt your back.  Instead lower the bar by pushing your hips back first.You don't bend your knees until the bar has passed them.

If you've gotten this far then you, my friend, are serious about learning to deadlift. Practice what you've read and watched here and you'll be a deadlift master.  I'm here to help you  anytime.  Drop any questions you have below and I promise to answer.
Xo,
​Kim

by Kim Schlag

What Even Are Carbs?
If you go based on headlines you might think carbs are the superillain in the latest Marvel movie.

The real answer is far less exciting.
​
​Carbohydrates are one of three macronutrients that make up our food (protein and fat are the other two.)
Carbs are categorized by how simple or complex their chemical structure is.  I'd list those categories and the various carbs in each, but I actually want you to read this article while awake.

Just know this: In the end, most carbs are digested into the sugar glucose before they're absorbed into the body.  So whether you eat oatmeal or poured a few teaspoons of sugar into your coffee, they'll both end up as glucose.

Carbs are your bodies main source of energy.  Interestingly, if you don't eat carbs your body will use fats and protein for energy. So while you can't survive without protein and fat you can survive without carbs.

Just because you can survive without them though doesn't mean you should, or that it's better. Carbs provide much in the way of micronutrients and fiber.  Yay for health & pooping!

Also, if you like lifting heavy things or running really far, or generally sportsing hard you should know that carbs can help optimize your performance in all of your hard sportsing.  
​
Besides, I think that we can all agree with Oprah...

Which foods contain carbs?

• Grains: bread, pasta, rice, cereal, crackers, pretzels
• Potatoes
• Vegetables
• Fruit
• Dairy
• Sweets

Surprised by any of those? 

Why are people afraid of carbs?
Can't say for sure but some good possibilities include:

• Nutritional science is still young. We're learning as we go. 
• The media loves a good story. "Everything works." doesn't attract a lot of viewers/readers, but "____ food will make you fat/ burn fat/ cure cancer etc? That stuff's good for business. 
• The words insulin & sugar  

So, do carbs make you fat?
Short answer? 
No.
Longer answer:
There is a growing body of scientific evidence, including a large randomized clinical trial published just last year, that shows that when protein and calories are matched there are not significant differences in weight loss between low-carb and low-fat diets. The same study also found no association between insulin production and weight loss.

I'm not sure how interested you are in reading actual studies but I'm going to link them below in case you are:) In any case, here's the take home point: Both low carb and low fat diets work for weight loss, so choose what you can stick with, remembering the critical point is total calories. 

But what about eating carbs at night? 
It still comes down to total calories.  If eating carbs at night (or protein or fat for that matter) means you eat more calories than you burn in a day than, yes, you'll gain weight.  But the same would hold true whether those calories were eaten at night or not. If you eat more calories than you burn, even if you eat them earlier in the day it will have the same effect.

But I have to eat carbs low on the Glycemic Index, right?
So the GI is a ranking of carbohydrates according to how fast they cause your blood sugar to rise. The higher the ranking on the scale from 1-100, the faster the food causes your blood sugar to rise. The idea many people have is that for fat loss low GI carbs are best.

Let's talk common sense first.  If you look at the index you'll find that watermelon is ranked a 77 while Peanut M&M's are ranked a 33. Now in my fantasy world Peanut M&M's are a supreme fat loss food, but realistically speaking does it seem logical that you should consider Peanut M&M's part of a fat loss diet but shun watermelon?

One of the major problems with the GI is that it looks at food in isolation, yet that's rarely how we eat food.  When's the last time you sat down and just ate rice for lunch? 

As to the science, in studies that control for macronutrients and fiber there is no fat loss advantage to the low GI diet vs the high-GI diet.

What should you focus on when it comes to carbs and fat loss?
First do this:

• Keep total calories in check by eating fewer calories than you need to maintain your current weight.
• Eat adequate protein: 0.7 to 1.0 gram per pound of your lean body mass (use your goal weight for LBM)

Then, as far as carbs:

• The remainder of your calories can be divided between fats and carbs however you prefer.
• The majority of those carbs (80-90%) should come from whole, minimally refined, nutrient dense sources​.
• 
  

That's really it. 
Don't overthink this.
Carbs aren't the villain.
​They're also not the sexy super hero played by one of the Hemsworth brothers either.  

Yes, I mostly wrote that to have a reason to share this fine picture. But seriously, its food not a summer blockbuster. We can cut way back on the drama. If you start to feel worked up about it remind yourself that food doesn't have moral value.  It's just food.

Email me any time if you have questions about how to put any of this into practice:) 

References:
Gardener et al: Effect of Low-fat vs Low- CarbohydrateDiet on 12 -Month Weight Lossin Overweight Adults and the Association with Genptype Pattern or Insulin Secretio. JAMA 2018
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2673150
Karl, JP et al. effects of Carbohydrate quantity and Glycemic Index on Resting Metabolic Rate and and Body Composition During Weight Loss. Obesity. 2015
​https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26530933
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Recently I came across an article by a women's fitness magazine about meal combinations that would "kick start" your metabolism and burn fat.  Articles about weight loss are hardly a rarity, but this one got me in the gut because it's exactly the kind of article that for dozens of years I'd seek out and think "Yes!! This is the missing piece! This is why I'm not losing weight.  I'm not combining the right foods!" or "I'm eating at the wrong time!" or "I shouldn't be eating this entire food group! That's what I'm doing wrong!"

To be fair, the foods suggested in this article are all super nutritious and the benefits listed were spot on.  Buuuut.  And this is a BIG but, the idea that these specific food combinations are some kind of special magical fat loss formula is a problem.  What if I combine these foods in the suggested manner and eat huge portion sizes? Will I still lose fat?  What if I want to eat other foods besides these 16 listed foods sometimes (crazy, I know)? Can I still lose fat?  

These kinds of fat loss "secrets" often end up just distracting us from the unsexy, not-at-all secretive actual principles of fat loss.  Looking for some bit of weight loss magic personally kept me stuck for years. Lean in close and I'll tell you a secret..... there IS NO SECRET.  And that is The. Best. News. Ever.
  
​Why? Because if there's no secret, no hidden formula, trick or tip out there that we need to wait to discover it puts us firmly back in a position to TAKE ACTION.  And action is what makes progress happen!

What action?  When it comes to weight loss there is one overriding principle.  That principle is this:  if you consistently eat fewer calories than you need to maintain your current weight you will lose weight.  I'm betting you've heard that before, right?  I told you, there really IS no secret.  Calories matter when it comes to weight loss. And if someone tells you they don't, then you should never ask that person for fitness advice again.  Ever:) 

Here are 4 actions you can take if you're ready to lose fat and keep it off:

1.  Eat in a calorie deficit:  A good starting point is to multiply your body weight (in lbs) by 12, That will give you a daiily calorie target.  For example, if you weigh 150lbs you would multiply 150x12 to get 1800 calories. Consistently hit that calorie target each day.  (If you have 50lbs or more to lose you will need to set that multiplier lower, like at 10X bodyweight.)  Use a calorie tracking app such as My Fitness Pal or Lose It to track your calories.  Don't get bogged down in all of the information those apps give you (ie how much sugar, carbs, fat, etc. you are consuming.) Just pay attention to the total calories and the grams of protein ( see #2 below)

2.  Eat .7-1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily.  So our 150lb person would eat between .7x150 - 1 x150= 105-150g of protein each day.  Getting in enough protein helps to maintain and build muscle.  This is important because the more lean muscle you have the more calories you burn even when you're sleeping or just watching TV!   Eating sufficient protein also helps to keep you full, which is obviously super key to being able to stick with your plan. Need a few protein ideas? Here ya go:
Chicken
fish 
lean cuts of beef
lean ground beef/chicken/turkey
eggs
egg whites
greek yogurt
shrimp
scallops
tuna fish
cottage cheese
pork loin
beef jerky
protein bars
protein shakes

3.  Eat mostly whole, nutrient dense food.  Vegetables, meat, fruit.  You know what I'm talking about:) If 80ish% of your calories comes from these kinds of foods then you can happily enjoy whatever junk food suits you for the other 20ish% of your calories. The key is to incorporate these foods into your daily calorie target.  I'm partial to cake and ice cream, but if you're a chips and dip kinda gal, go for that.  Really.  Eating "fun" foods in moderation helps us to be able to maintain this way of eating over the long haul.  Which brings us to #4...

 4.  Stick with it! Consistency is the missing piece for a lot of people.  Be patient and stick with these couple of action items.  I don't mean just for a week or a month. And I definitely don't mean only when it's going well.  The people who succeed at fat loss are the ones who keep working even if the scale doesn't seem to be moving. They get right back on track when they get off.  And they don't start looking around for the "next thing" to try. Consistency+patience=results. Remember that formula!!

So there you have it.  Those are the nutritional "big rocks" you need to get in place to start smashing your fat loss goals. Exercise is also an important piece of the puzzle (one which I'll be addressing soon!) But a person can make serious progress with the nutrition piece alone, while the same can not be said about exercise alone.  Most of us would rather spend a few hours a week killing it in the gym rather than paying attention to what we eat day in and day out, but that just doesn't get results.

Let me add in a bonus action item: Do not wait for just the right time to get started.  It's never coming!! You think it is, I know.  I did too.  When the kids are older, when they're back in school, after vacation, blah,blah,blah. The list of a better time to start is never-ending, and always changing. It's not going away. Ever. So what's the answer? Start now, however imperfectly.  I know that feels uncomfortable.  We want to start out "just right."  But doing something will always get better results than doing nothing.  Every  Single  Time.  

Let me know if you have any questions about getting started losing fat.  I would love to get you answers and help you in any way that I can!


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It's the start of Thanksgiving week and I'm sitting at my kitchen counter up to my eyeballs in paperwork: To-do lists, shopping lists, recipes, menus, invitations. The holiday season is about to start and I'm feeling pumped! The half-dozen weeks of festivities, excitement, and goodwill that start with Thanksgiving and don't end until we've brought in the New Year are always my favorite time of year. I love the music, the food and the knowledge that at this time of year it's socially acceptable to put glitter on absolutely anything.

The one thing I don't love about the holiday season is that I often lose sight of my personal fitness goals for a good month and a half. And that is a loooong time to set aside what I typically value enough to dedicate time to day-in and day-out the rest of the year. The past two years I've tested out a few strategies to find a better balance between enjoying the holidays and making continued progress on my fitness goals. So here is My Number One Best Strategy To Enjoy the Holiday Season and Simultaneously Make Progress on Your Fitness Goals (that would sound so much more fun if it were written in gold glitter.)

Embrace this truth: When we think of our nutrition and training in all-or-nothing terms, we often end up with nothing. That is especially true at this time of year. If we are super ridged in our mindset of what success looks like for any given day and unwilling to give ourselves a break, we often just give up. This example will hopefully make clear what I mean: Let's say you usually go to the gym 3-4 times a week to workout. Maybe you take a certain class or follow a specific routine and you're there about an hour each time. Now it's December 5th and you haven't made it even once so far this month. You've been busy and don't see that letting up anytime soon. There's no way you have the hour and a half it takes to get to the gym, train and get back home. So you think to yourself "January 1st I'll get right back on it," and continue on with your busy day. All or nothing. Either 1 1/2 hours to workout as usual or wait until the holidays are over.

But aren't there loads of other choices in between? What about 30 minutes at the gym? What about a 15 minute bodyweight circuit at home? What about going outside and doing intervals for 30 minutes? Heck, what about running up and down your stairs for 10 minutes? Something isn't nothing. Consistency is so important to success in fat loss and/or muscle gain. A little bit less exercise over the course of the holiday season is still loads better than waiting until January to do things "right."

​ It is the same with nutrition. After a few parties we might be tempted to just think "Ugh, so many calories. I've messed up so much at this point, and there're still many more events coming up. I'll get back to my healthy eating on January 2nd." We just gave ourselves liscense to go hog-wild for weeks! It's so counter-productive to our success. I tried eating the same way I do every other day of the year last December; focused on lots of water, vegetables and lean protein. Then at holiday events I enjoyed the things that were important to me. Rolls and butter with Thanksgiving dinner? Yes, absolutely. Random tray of store-bought cookies at a caroling party? No, thank you. It's not about all or nothing for me this holiday season. It's about keeping as many good habits in place as possible, enjoying every second of the indulgences I choose to take and being ok with the "not-perfect, but not-nothing either" results that brings. Happy Thanksgiving! I'd love to hear fom you- what strategies do you use to enjoy the holidays and stay committed to your personal fitness goals as well?

Top ten answers on the board. Survey says...
1. I don't have time
2. It's too expensive
3. It's too hard with small children
4. I don't know where to start
5. I'm so out of shape and I'm embarrassed for people to look at me while I work out
6. I'm waiting for a better time to get started -when my kids start full day school, after vacation/Christmas/pumpkin spice season :)
7. It's too hot/cold/dark/rainy
8. I'm tired and just want to relax
9. I'm too old
10. It's boring

Have you heard these excuses? Have you used these excuses? Now please know that I get that some of these are valid reasons that exercising is challenging. No doubt about it. But challenging doesn't have to equal impossible. The old saying "If it's important to you you'll find a way, if not you'll find an excuse," is repeated so often because it's true. It's T.R.U.E., true! The choice is ours to make. Will we encounter one of these reasons not to exercise and find a way around, over, under or through it OR will we stop short and let the challenging nature of the situation excuse us from facing it? If you want to look better and feel better there's really only one choice.

Conquering these excuses is mostly a mental endeavor. Here are three strategies that can help:
1. Discover and remember your "Why." Why do you want to get fit? Be very specific. Is it because your health is compromised because of your excess fat? If so, how? High blood pressure? Diabetes? Do you want to get fit so you can keep up with your kids at the park? Do you want to be able to go clothes shopping and find things that look good on your body? Whatever your reason or reasons are write them down and put that paper where you'll see it often. When you find yourself making an excuse not to exercise, read your "Why" list.

2. Brainstorm solutions. Think of the top 2-3 excuses you typically make for not exercising on any given day. Write those down. Underneath write every idea you can think of to overcome that challenge. Pick the combination of solutions you think has the best shot of working, make a plan and then do it. If it doesn't work, head back to your brainstorming list and try again.

​3. Do something today. Sometimes what we need is just a little momentum. We need a small victory to kind of get the ball rolling. So today; that's right-today(!) I challenge you to to pick any form of exercise and just do it for 20 minutes. Who doesn't have 20 minutes? Go for a walk, a bike ride, or a swim. If you have a gym membership and just haven't been going- go today. It doesn't even matter what you do once you're there. Just do something! I'm a big believer in the power of planning as far as fat-loss success is concerned. Meal planning and calendaring workouts are great tools, but while you're getting that planning going, just get moving. Whatever workout you do today is a million times more effective than the best laid plans for a workout another day!

Be stronger than your excuses ladies! If you've found this article useful, please pass it on to another woman in your life who could also benefit from it. And, as always, I'd love to know how these strategies work for you or how I can be of help to you in your fitness journey. You can comment here so others can learn from your experience or message me privately. In the next few weeks I'll be blogging and vlogging about some more specific solutions to the challenging obstacles that keep us from making the nutrition and exercise related changes we know we need to make.  Now, get out there and move your body!

Ahhhh.... First Grade. The kiddos are so young and excited about life. It is a time of newness and huge leaps in learning. Unfortunately for one of my sweet children it was also the year of discovering that being called fat stings. After school one day this child looked up from the kitchen counter where homework and after school snack were happening and asked with great concern "Mom, am I fat?"

"Why would you think you're fat?" I questioned.

"Because Ava poked me in the belly in class today and said that I'm fat."

I have to admit that at that moment I wanted to poke this Ava girl right back. As a woman who couldn't remember a time as a mature adult when I wasn't concerned about losing weight, I was furious. I have definite memories of wanting to lose weight as a teenager, but as a first grader? I have no memory of body self-consciousness and whether my body was fat, skinny or in between at that young age. I couldn't believe we were having this conversation.

I actually can't remember the exact words I said at the counter that afternoon, but over the years since then, my children and I have continued the conversation about bodies; both theirs and mine. I've tried to help them be more comfortable in their skin than I was for a majority of my adult life. I'm not sure I'm getting it 100% right, but that's kind of the nature of this parenting gig, isn't it?

1. I have tried to make it clear that there are a lot worse things a person can be then fat. It sure doesn't seem that way in our society sometimes, but it's true. Mean, rude, dishonest, untrustworthy, lazy... The list goes on and on. Why is fat a go-to slur?
2. I have taught my sons and daughter that no one has the right to an opinion about their bodies other than themselves and their doctor (and for the period of their childhood, their parents). Period. End of story.
3. When I have spoken about my own weight loss I have spoken about it in terms of getting healthier and feeling better. It was obvious I was making huge changes in what I ate and how I exercised and I wanted to frame those changes in the positive way I was experiencing them. I try not to say "I CAN'T eat that," or "I HAVE to work out." I want the kids to know that I am making choices and there are some things I choose not to eat ever and some I choose to eat sparingly, but that in the end they are my choices, not something that is being done to me that I'm enduring.
4. I try to focus more on what my body can do then what it looks like. As I was losing the weight I didn't make a big deal in front of the kids about dropping a clothing size. I did, however, make a big deal about my gains in the gym. First pull-up? Who wants to come watch me do one? Squatted almost twice my body weight for the first time? That was definitely discussed when the kids asked me how my day was. So much emphasis is placed on making our bodies look a certain way, but I think it's much more empowering to shine a light on what we can do with those bodies, rather than how we can make them look. I think it's particularly good for my kids to see me work and work to be able to accomplish something physically that I couldn't do before. I share my victories and struggles with them as they happen day by day. And I encourage them to focus on what their bodies can do and what they can accomplish them.
5. We talk a lot about healthy food choices. I serve healthy meals sprinkled with occasional indulgences. We talk about food as fuel, eating when we're hungry- not just when we're bored, and how our food impacts how we feel. I want them to have an awareness of what they put into their bodies, how it impacts their health, and how it makes them feel without thinking about it in terms of food "making them fat."

My hope for my children is that they won't spend nearly the amount of time thinking about the number on the scale as I have in my life. There are so many more important and interesting things to think about after all. I hope that they will experience the excitement of stretching the boundaries of what their bodies can do. And I hope that the next time someone else tries to share an opinion about the shape and size of their bodies that they feel confident in ignoring that opinion.

How have you approached discussions of weight/ body image/ your weight loss journey with your children? I'd love to hear about conversations that went well and also times where you weren't sure what would be useful to say.