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Why Am I Not Losing Weight?
This article was transcribed from the Ftiness Simplified Podcast. Prefer to listen? Click HERE
Kim: [00:00:04] Welcome back to the Fitness Simplified Podcast. I’m your host, Kim Schlag.
On today’s episode, I speak with a woman named Alia. Now, Alia reached out to me in the
comment section of a post I did on Instagram last week. She has what I would say is a very
common problem, and that is for the past six months, she’s had an incredibly high degree of
effort placed towards weight loss, yet she is not seeing results.
If you can relate to this, you know how frustrating that feeling is. You’re trying and trying,
but you’re just not getting results. And so, Alia and I talk and I coach her through figuring out
what the missing link is.
Wanna find out? Let’s go.
Kim: Alia!
Alia: [00:00:55] Hi!
Kim: [00:01:05] So look, Alia, we’ve only ever chatted very briefly in the DMs, so I don’t
know you at all. Why don’t you tell me– well, why don’t you first tell me where you’re calling
from?
Alia: [00:01:15] Rochester, New York.
Kim: [00:01:16] Rochester. Okay. I’ve been there. Believe it or not, I know Rochester is not a
vacation destination, but when my kids were little, we took them to Rochester on a vacation.
Alia: [00:01:26] Oh, did you?
Kim: [00:01:27] Yeah. We went to the Strong Museum and some kind of lake, and it was
fun.
Alia: [00:01:32] Yeah, there’s a lot to do here. I know it’s not a destination, but there’s
definitely a lot to do here.
Kim: [00:01:38] There is, for sure. So, tell me some more about you, like your family and
what do you love to do and all that stuff.
On today’s episode, I speak with a woman named Alia. Now, Alia reached out to me in the
comment section of a post I did on Instagram last week. She has what I would say is a very
common problem, and that is for the past six months, she’s had an incredibly high degree of
effort placed towards weight loss, yet she is not seeing results.
If you can relate to this, you know how frustrating that feeling is. You’re trying and trying,
but you’re just not getting results. And so, Alia and I talk and I coach her through figuring out
what the missing link is.
Wanna find out? Let’s go.
Kim: Alia!
Alia: [00:00:55] Hi!
Kim: [00:01:05] So look, Alia, we’ve only ever chatted very briefly in the DMs, so I don’t
know you at all. Why don’t you tell me– well, why don’t you first tell me where you’re calling
from?
Alia: [00:01:15] Rochester, New York.
Kim: [00:01:16] Rochester. Okay. I’ve been there. Believe it or not, I know Rochester is not a
vacation destination, but when my kids were little, we took them to Rochester on a vacation.
Alia: [00:01:26] Oh, did you?
Kim: [00:01:27] Yeah. We went to the Strong Museum and some kind of lake, and it was
fun.
Alia: [00:01:32] Yeah, there’s a lot to do here. I know it’s not a destination, but there’s
definitely a lot to do here.
Kim: [00:01:38] There is, for sure. So, tell me some more about you, like your family and
what do you love to do and all that stuff.
Alia: [00:01:46] I am, um, I just turned 43 on Sunday. I have a 10-year-old son and a 15-year-
old stepson, and, um, we do some fostering of kitties and we’re animal lovers. And I seem– I
can say I like to cook, although I don’t feel like I have as much time to cook. We do a lot of
meal prep, but it’s not like, “Oh, I’m going to try this fancy new recipe” like I used to do
before kids.
Kim: [00:02:12] Got it. Well, first of all, happy birthday!
Alia: [00:02:17] Oh, thank you!
Kim: [00:02:18] Did you do something fun?
Alia: [00:02:20] No, my son had the flu.
Kim: [00:02:22] Oh. Okay that’s, that’s terrible.
Alia: [00:02:25] But we did– we did manage to go skiing the day before, so that was good.
Kim: [00:02:29] Okay. That’s good. Do you ski a lot?
Alia: [00:02:31] Not a ton, but, um, we do enjoy getting outdoors in the winter. I love snow,
so.
Kim: [00:02:37] Nice. Well, you guys– do you guys get a lot of it in Rochester?
Alia: [00:02:42] A fair amount, although this winter has not been great.
Kim: [00:02:46] Got it. So, okay, so you have two kids. Do you work?
Alia: [00:02:51] Yes.
Kim: [00:02:52] And what do you do?
Alia: [00:02:53] I work for a healthcare system in their quality department doing event
management, and we run a database for safety tracking.
Kim: [00:03:04] Okay. So, you have two kids, you work, you run your home, um, you foster
cats. That’s a lot of work.
Alia: [00:03:12] Yep. Yeah.
Kim: [00:03:14] So you’re very busy. I’m sure a lot of people can relate to that. So last week
you commented on one of my posts and shared your frustration with weight loss. So, tell me
about that.
What have you been doing? What’s working? What’s not?
Alia: [00:03:28] Um, well, so, what I’ve realized is that, um, I’m still trying to work through
this. I’m obsessed with a number on the scale and I don’t see the number on the scale going
down. In fact, it’s gone up a little bit since I’ve started weight training, which I realized was
likely muscle.
Um, so what I’ve started to do is track measurements. So, I’ve been able to glean some
improvement on that front.
Kim: [00:03:57] Okay. So how long have you been working on losing weight?
Alia: [00:04:02] On and off for years, but, um, I started doing the, um, macro tracking, which
to me, I think is when you, when you start to get serious about it in September.
Kim: [00:04:11] Okay. And when did you start lifting weights?
Alia: [00:04:16] The same time.
Kim: [00:04:17] The same time, great. So, well, why don’t you tell us a little bit about your
workout routine first.
Alia: [00:04:22] Generally it’s four days a week, I’m in there about 45 minutes. Um, I’m
currently trying to progress following a system that my husband is using, so I have a primary
lift, a secondary lift, and then three different lifts that are higher reps, but at a lower weight.
Kim: [00:04:45] Gotcha.
Alia: [00:04:46] So in each week it progresses, you know, a small amount, but definitely it
progresses. So, I don’t stay stuck on a certain weight without moving forward.
Kim: [00:04:56] Okay. All important stuff. And do you enjoy it?
Alia: [00:05:00] I do. Um, I get– I’m not. I’m not the gung-ho 5:00 AM kind of workout
person, but I do need to get in there before my day starts or else it doesn’t usually happen.
Kim: [00:05:12] Got it, got it. And did you say four days a week?
Alia: [00:05:15] Yes.
Kim: [00:05:16] So four days a week strength training.
Alia: [00:05:18] Yup.
Kim: [00:05:19] Got it. And you sound like you have a solid program, like you’re following a
consistent program, you’re working on progressive– progressively overloading, so that all
sounds really good.
So then talk to me about your nutrition. What have you been doing since September?
Alia: [00:05:34] Um, so an emphasis on protein, which I think is different than what I had
ever done before. Um, and trying to get 155 grams of protein a day. So that, um, that shifted
me towards using– well we do a lot of grilled chicken and more protein supplementation
through powders or bars. Which was a change for me, but it hasn’t been going too bad. Um,
45 grams of fat and 125 carbs.
Kim: [00:06:09] And what’s the total calories on that?
Alia: [00:06:12] Uh, 1525
Kim: [00:06:13] 1525. And how much do you weigh and how tall are you?
Alia: [00:06:18] I am 5’8″ and I weigh right now, uh, it was 159.4 this morning.
Kim: [00:06:26] Okay. And how much were you in September? The same?
Alia: [00:06:29] 156.
Kim: [00:06:31] Okay, so a little bit less. And what have you found has happened with the
measurements?
Alia: [00:06:39] I don’t know where the decrease has been, but it’s about an inch and a half
overall decrease.
Kim: [00:06:45] Okay. So, you’ve lost about an inch and a half. How about your– the fit of
your clothes?
Alia: [00:06:51] A little, a little better, but not– you know, my hip and thigh area is where I
feel like I always try to focus and I, I know I can’t target practice on that, but um, it’s, it’s
improved, but not, nothing’s like loose or falling off me for sure.
Kim: [00:07:08] Okay. So, since September, so you’ve gained about four pounds, right? And
your clothes aren’t tighter, but they’re not necessarily looser.
Alia: [00:07:18] Right.
Kim: [00:07:19] Okay. And how about, um, have you been taking progress pictures?
Alia: [00:07:23] Yes.
Kim: [00:07:24] And what do you see there?
Alia: [00:07:26] I see more definition in my upper body.
Kim: [00:07:29] Okay, that’s good.
Alia: [00:07:31] And some of the ab area.
Kim: [00:07:33] Okay. Okay. So those are good things. You’re still– tell me more about you
being stuck on the number on the scale.
Alia: [00:07:46] I wish I could. I don’t know. I have it in my head that this is my goal weight of
like 145 to 150. Um, that’s what I had weighed years ago. And so that’s what I feel like I
should get back to. But I’m struggling with it.
Kim: [00:08:02] Yeah, I think that’s a really common thing. We get a number in our head
from a weight that we like the way we looked and we think that to like the way we look
current
ly, we need to be that weight.
Alia: [00:08:12] Yes.
Kim: [00:08:12] So I think that’s a really common thing. So, let’s pretend for a minute that
scales don’t exist. Okay? You have no idea what the number is. Let’s go strictly on the way
your body looks. Are you happy with it now or is there still progress you would like to make?
Alia: [00:08:27] I would still like to lose fat.
Kim: [00:08:29] Great. So, when you look in the mirror, you’re like, okay, there’s still some
fat here that I would like to lose.
Alia: [00:08:36] Yes.
Kim: [00:08:38] Okay. That’s good to know. So, talking about your nutrition, then, ’cause
most of nutrition– most of that is going to come from your nutrition.
So, talk to me, when you think about from September to now, tell me what you think you’ve
done– tell me one thing with nutrition that you think just you really do it well. Like, you
know you should be doing it and you do it really well. And then we’re talking about one
thing, like if you’re, if there’s a place with your nutrition that you feel like you could make
improvement, what would that place be? Talk to me about what you feel you do really well.
Alia: [00:09:10] Well, I feel like once I get a meal plan and meal prep set up I do really well
sticking to it. So, getting those meals prepped on a Sunday and you know, I can eat the same
thing. I do okay with that. I feel like, um, what, one of the questions that I’ve had is, with
protein supplementation am I getting into some inflammatory results?
Kim: [00:09:45] Say that one more time?
Alia: [00:09:47] Are some of the artificial sweeteners, like, giving me some inflammation.
Like, I’m wondering if it’s something along those lines and I’m struggling with–
Kim: [00:09:55] Are you talking about like bloating as in like bowel distress?
Alia: [00:09:58] Yes.
Kim: [00:09:59] And so physically do you feel that way? Do you feel like it’s affecting your
stomach? Like you don’t feel well?
Alia: [00:10:05] Yes, I’ll get a distended stomach.
Kim: [00:10:09] Okay. So, two things I’d say about that. One, that can be a very real thing. I
cannot eat a lot of protein bars. Um, I pretty much have cut them out because when I do, I
am noticeably bloated and believe me, nobody wants to be alone in a room with me
because it does not do good things to my digestive system.
That said, it doesn’t prevent fat loss, so you could still be losing fat. You might not be
noticing it in your belly area if you are bloated from the protein. So, um, do you do a lot? Tell
me how much are you– how much are you doing with, um, protein bars and protein
powders?
Alia: [00:10:47] Um, I don’t do bars generally very often. I would say at most once a week.
But scoops of protein per day? Two to three.
Kim: [00:11:01] Okay. You know, that could be a lot. Um, how do you feel about switching
that up? So, first of all, your protein is definitely on the high side. Um, you’re up at 155. You
could lower that like a gram per pound of body weight is fantastic, but you could go as low
as 0.72 and still be in a good range. So, you could lower it a bit if you struggle to get there
without the protein powder. And still have great results.
How do you feel about trying to nix the protein powder for a bit, or at least reduce it to see
how you feel, you know, with your stomach?
Alia: [00:11:38] That’s what I have been, um, considering. And I’ve also been looking at, like,
historically through MyFitnessPal, looking at the grams of fiber that I’ve been getting in my
diet and wondering about the correlation with that in the, in the digestion.
Kim: [00:11:55] Got it. So, it’s really important for you to know, like, first of all, we want you
to feel good and we want you to like the way you look. And so, if your belly is distended,
cause you’re bloated and you have a lot of gas that doesn’t feel good and you don’t like the
way that looks. So, I do think you should maybe work on cutting back a little bit on the
protein powder and get protein from food sources for a bit and see how you look and feel
that way.
As far as fat loss, fiber and where you get your protein from is not going to be hindering your
weight loss. It’s not. You will still be losing weight. But I do think it’s something important to
address. I had a noticeable difference in the way my stomach looked when I cut out the
extra protein I was getting in through supplements ’cause it just didn’t sit well with me.
Look, I didn’t try a ton of brands so I’m– it’s possible you could just keep trying different
brands and find one that works.
Alia: [00:12:39] Sure.
Kim: [00:12:39] If you don’t want to go that route, like literally, there’s no reason you have
to supplement with powders and bars, but you could just try, you know, more chicken, more
eggs in those things and see.
Um, okay. So, it sounds like one thing you do well is when you meal prep, you actually eat
the food you prep and that works really well for you.
Alia: [00:13:00] Yes.
Kim: [00:13:01] Awesome. How often do you get a meal prep in?
Alia: [00:13:05] We usually do those on Sundays ’cause my husband has been macro tracking
as well.
Kim: [00:13:10] Oh, that’s super helpful when you’re doing it together. Does it happen most
weeks or you know, 75%?
Alia: [00:13:15] Most weeks.
Kim: [00:13:16] Okay, good. That’s great.
Alia: [00:13:18] And, and if we don’t do that whole meal prep, we generally make sure we
have veggies on hand and we always have grilled chicken.
Kim: [00:13:25] Good. That’s fantastic. I’m a big fan of even like those mini meal preps
where it might not be like every meal is ready, but if you have a protein source prepped and
you know, some vegetables cut up, I think that’s fantastic.
Um, okay. That sounds great. All right, so tell me where, with your nutrition, if there was a
spot that you think, “Hmm, this could be improved as far as fat loss,” what do you think it
would be?
Alia: [00:13:49] I think cravings for chocolate.
Kim: [00:13:56] Okay. Yeah, that’s a super common one. So, tell me about that.
Alia: [00:14:01] It tends to be mid-cycle, every mid-cycle. Um, and it often seems to occur
with extra bloating or extra GI problems. Um, but I have learned to get just some high cocoa
percentage, dark chocolate with a little less sugar than the general chocolate bar and have,
like, a small quantity of that just to ward off that craving. Instead of totally giving into it.
Kim: [00:14:34] Yeah, those cravings can really, um, they can really impact the level of
success you have with fat loss because they tend to leave us, uh, lead us to eat more calories
than we have available to stay in our deficit. Um, and if it happens– if it happens, um
multiple times a month, whether it’s due to, you know, your cycle or whether it’s just, “Hey,
this sounds good tonight,” it can have more of an impact than you might think.
Even though you’re on track so much at the time, that off track, like nibbling, um, chocolates
and those kinds of things can really have an impact. When you think back, like, so do you
track in MyFitnessPal? Is that what you said?
Alia: [00:15:16] Yes.
Kim: [00:15:17] Okay. So, when you look back at your log, like when do you think is the last
totally, like, not fully tracked day?
Alia: [00:15:27] Um, well, Sunday, because we were kind of coming down to the flu in the
house. Um, but my numbers were low across the board, honestly.
Kim: [00:15:40] On Sunday when you didn’t track you, you don’t feel like you ate that much?
Alia: [00:15:43] Yeah.
Kim: [00:15:44] Got it. So. I would say that’s one place you could really look, is those days
where it’s like kids are sick or I’m craving things or I’m busy and you don’t track, they’ll feel
like you didn’t eat that much.
It’s interesting how we can have this idea in our mind that we didn’t eat that much, but if we
had actually been tracking the numbers would have added
up enough to put us at
maintenance, right? We’re not in a surplus, but we’re not losing anyway, and doing that six
months is insanely frustrating, right? Like where are we– how long ago was September?
September, October, November, December, January, February. Yeah, six months ago. Six
months of maintaining your weight. Now, clearly, you’ve lost a little bit of fat because you’re
seeing more definition, but we would expect– I would expect that the scale, if you were
losing fat and building muscle, I would not expect the scale to go up.
I would expect to see the scale to at least stay the same. So maybe you’re building some
muscle and not losing all that much fat. So, to get that to happen adherence to your deficit. I
think your deficit is on point. I think around 1500 calories is fantastic. Um, you know, you
could even go a little bit higher.
One of the things that could help is having some days where you have a little bit higher
calories so that you can fit more things in, like chocolate. And planning those things in can
help so that you’re not craving them as much.
Alia: [00:17:09] Okay.
Kim: [00:17:10] How does that feel? Does that feel like, “ah, too many calories?”
Alia: [00:17:13] No.
Kim: [00:17:17] ‘Cause at 1500, like if you had some, a range of 1500 to 1600 calories four
days a week and 1700 to 1800 calories a couple of days a week, you could have some more
room for things that maybe you’re craving and get some of those yummy things in there and
be able to stick with it really well because adherence to your plan is totally, it’s the key.
If you’re not losing weight, it’s because somewhere, somehow, you’re not in a deficit and
finding that somewhere is the key.
Alia: [00:17:47] Okay.
Kim: [00:17:48] Anywhere else you think it might be besides cravings or does that seem like
that can be the spot?
Alia: [00:17:56] I don’t, I don’t have anything that glares at me as being an obvious, um,
factor.
Kim: [00:18:05] Okay. How about, um, what are your weekends usually like?
Alia: [00:18:12] They’re a little more difficult because there’s not the general– you know,
we’re not always, like, sitting at the table at lunchtime or sitting, you know, the, the plan,
the, um– the cadence of the day is not always consistent.
Kim: [00:18:28] Got it. Um, and do you find that on the weekends when you don’t have a
consistent schedule, that you are not sure if you’re sticking to your targets? Are you kind of
just estimating, or are you on a weekend weighing, measuring food, those kinds of things?
Alia: [00:18:47] Um, what I find actually is if I don’t focus on getting the protein through the
day, I end up very short on that at the end of the day.
Kim: [00:18:54] Okay. Makes total sense. How do you feel about total number of calories by
the end of the day?
Alia: [00:19:04] Uh, I actually don’t usually look at calories too much. I know that when I, if I
stay within five grams of the carbs, protein, and fat, that the calories generally work
themselves out.
Kim: [00:19:17] Gotcha. Gotcha. So, calories is the number one thing you should be looking
at.
Alia: [00:19:23] Okay.
Kim: [00:19:24] Knowing that you hit your total calories.
Now, if you are hitting your macros and you’re totally on target, you should be hitting your
calories, but if you’re off some on your macros, then you’re not going to be hitting your
calories. So, if you like to count macros, there’s no reason you can’t. Um, I have my clients
count their protein ’cause it’s important for us to maintain our lean mass while we’re in a
deficit and I have them count total calories.
So, if you’re using MyFitnessPal, you can easily see the calories adding up, right?
Alia: [00:19:53] Yes.
Kim: [00:19:53] So if you want to, if you want to keep paying attention to the protein and
fat, you can. Fat loss is not dictated by the ratio of protein– of carbs and fat. What research
has shown us is that you can lose fat on a higher fat diet, higher carb diet, or equal amounts
of both as long as you keep your protein the same and you keep your total calories in check.
Okay.
So, paying attention to your calories is going to be a game changer because if you’re not sure
about what the macros have done, you’re not sure about what the calories have done.
Alia: [00:20:23] Right. True. That makes sense. Um, and I don’t love tracking macros, so.
Kim: [00:20:28] You don’t, okay. Well then this might be a better fit for you because it’s less
numbers.
Alia: [00:20:33] Yeah.
Kim: [00:20:33] When you track just calories and just protein, it gives you a lot more leeway.
You’re not trying to like get some magic combination like at three o’clock and be like, wait a
minute, I still need X number of protein and I have no carbs left, but I need to get some fat,
but, you know, it can get really tricky with those numbers.
Alia: [00:20:51] It feels difficult.
Kim: [00:20:53] It can be really difficult. It can be difficult to juggle and look weight loss as
hard as it is. Anything we can do to streamline the process can help. Some people enjoy
tracking all three numbers and that’s totally cool. I personally do not. I’ve done it for a time. I
did not like doing it. Um, it sounds like you don’t like doing it. So, I would say give up looking
at the, the pro– at the calorie– hello, I’m saying everything backwards. Give up looking at
the fat and the carbs and just focus on hitting your total. That should be number one, is
hitting your total calories.
Number two, get in enough protein.
Alia: [00:21:25] Okay.
Kim: [00:21:25] If you do that consistently every day for the next 30 days without a doubt,
you will see a change in either the scale or the inches, the fit of clothes, pictures, or all of it.
Without a doubt 30 days of hitting your calories and your protein. You’ll see a change.
Alia: [00:21:41] Okay.
Kim: [00:21:42] So four days, 1500 to 1600, 3 days, 1700 to 1800 I think is a really good
range for you.
Alia: [00:21:51] Okay.
Kim: [00:21:52] Um, protein. You can– I don’t have a calculator on me, but you definitely,
you could, the high end, 150, low end– hang on, actually I do, I do have a calculator. Low
end, let’s see. It’s like 108 to 150 grams per day. Um, hit that, hit your total calories and one
thing that I have to say can really help you to be able to hit your calories is actually planning
them into MyFitnessPal ahead of time.
So, the night before or the morning of, put in there what you want to eat, make sure those
numbers add up, that you hit your protein, that you hit your calories, and then just work
that plan.
It makes it way easier than partway through the day trying to like dance around to figure out
how you’re going to do it.
Alia: [00:22:46] Yeah, I do– I should do better at that. That’s definitely an opportunity for
me.
Kim: [00:22:50] Okay, great. That’s a great place to dial it in. When it comes to weight loss, it
can feel very mysterious.
It always comes down to figuring out where am I getting more calories than I think I am?
Even if on paper or on our app, it says I’m getting this number of calories, if you’re not
seeing the changes that you want physically, if the scale is not moving, somehow there’s
more calories involved, and I think we’ve, I think we’ve figured out where it is for you.
30 days. Super consistent, hit those calories, hit that protein, pre-log to be able to do that,
and then for sure, I’d love to hear back from you and see what you find out. You accept the
challenge?
Alia: [00:23:26] Yeah, I do. I do.
Kim: [00:23:27] Amazing. What other– do you have any other questions? Anything else you
want to talk about before we wrap up?
Alia: [00:23:36] No, but I think, well, now that our days are starting to get a little longer, I do
enjoy walking, so I don’t know how, um, if I were to add more like 30 to 45 minute walks, I
know it’s still equally important
to lift, but how does– how do you figure out what’s better
for an individual?
Kim: [00:23:58] So I love that you’re asking that question.
I’m a huge proponent of daily walking. I say do it in addition to your lifting that you’re
already doing. If that, if that feels too burdensome for your schedule, you can still get really–
a really good training effect with three days of lifting with a lower body, an upper body, and
a full-body day. Um, that can be a really good thing if you, if it feels like I don’t want to train
four times a week if you don’t enjoy it, if– look, I love it, so four days a week works great for
me.
Four days a week is fabulous, three days, as long as you’re hitting each muscle group twice,
so a lower body day, an upper body day, a full body day, walking every day. It doesn’t have
to be a dedicated 30-40-minute walk. It can be. Do you, do you track your steps now?
Alia: [00:24:44] I do. I, um, I have an Apple watch. I don’t know, I can’t tell you what my
average is. It’s been low because I haven’t been walking, I’ve been focusing and lifting,
thinking that that was priority, but I feel like walking for me mentally is, um, huge.
Kim: [00:25:00] You know, it can really lift your– it can really lift your mood. It can really
help with the, the calories out portion of calories in, calories out.
I wouldn’t say it should be a priority over the lifting, but I do feel like it’s on par with it. So,
number one, number one focus for weight loss has to be your nutrition as far as calories in.
The other nutrition piece is your protein. After that: strength training, hitting it at least three
times a week and getting in daily movement.
You can get that daily movement in throughout the day. You can– and I talk about this on
my stories all the time, all the weird ways I get to– I get movement in. Like, I will pace
around when I’m on, if I’m– well I can’t do it now cause I’m on a podcast, but if this was just
a phone call between you and I, which I do this all the time with people, I would be up
walking then.
So, when you’re at work, any chance you have to get up and pace while you have a phone
call. Take it. You could set your Apple watch to beep once an hour to remind you to walk and
you go to the furthest bathroom in the building and you know, even if you don’t have to go
the bathroom and you touch the door and come back to your desk.
There was a guy I knew who would walk out to his car. He would park the furthest spot away
he could at work and a couple of times a day he would program his watch to make him go
out to his car and come back. And all of these things add up. Wherever you’re at– track for a
week and see like, “Hey, where am I at now?”
Alia: [00:26:21] Right, right.
Kim: [00:26:21] You draw a baseline and start upping it a little bit at a time, a little bit at a
time. Over time, getting yourself up to 10,000 to 12,000 steps for a fat loss phase can really
help with that calories in, calories out piece.
Alia: [00:26:36] I think that that, um, that component has definitely been overlooked– or
not overlooked but set to the wayside, um, and for sure that’s got to have an impact.
Kim: [00:26:48] It can have a huge impact. We really– especially those of us who strength
train, who make going to the gym a priority in our mind, we’re really active people, right?
And we are, but if that’s an hour a day, four days a week, what about the rest of the days,
right? And what about the rest of that day? You have 24 hours in a day. Maybe if you’re a
really good sleeper, you’re sleeping eight of them. The rest of the day trying to find ways to
get more movement in, to sneak some in here and there and really get yourself so that you
are active. It’s a hidden place that you can really pump up your calories out part.
Key point here: do not add those calories back to MyFitnessPal. Don’t sync your Apple watch
to it and have them tell you, “Oh, you know, eat a couple of hundred more calories,” or
you’re eating that deficit right back up.
Alia: [00:27:35] Yeah. Don’t want to do that.
Kim: [00:27:37] Yeah. You don’t want to, and it’s such a common mistake. So yeah, I think if
you can work on really upping it. And again, do it a little bit at a time, over time. Don’t jump
into like “now I have to get 10,000 steps and I have to, you know, I can’t do the lifting ’cause
I don’t have time for it.” Keep your lifting. If you want to go down to three days, you could
make that switch. Um, but keep your lifting.
Start increasing your total time, total steps walked day after day, a little bit at a time can
make a really big difference.
Alia: [00:28:07] Perfect. That’s all pretty straight forward. And I think easy to implement.
Kim: [00:28:12] Amazing. You know what? When it comes down to it, weight loss is really
straightforward. It’s just hard to do. But the stuff you have to do to lose weight isn’t
complicated.
It’s not fancy. Um, and it, it always comes down to these simple things and we can get really
sidetracked with thinking about things like, “wait, is it my protein powder or is it, you know,
that it’s causing me to be bloated?” And that can, like I said, it can feel really uncomfortable,
but in the end, bloating and fat loss aren’t the same thing, and you can be bloated and still
losing fat.
Alia: [00:28:41] True. True.
Kim: [00:28:42] Tackling both of those sounds like an important piece for you so you don’t–
so you’re not bloated, but they’re definitely not the same thing.
Alia: [00:28:48] Right.
Kim: [00:28:49] All right, Alia, it has been super good talking to you. Um, so message me
back. Let me know, 30 days of consistency. You know, really keep track of the number of
days you hit your calories.
A good way to do that is to get yourself a calendar and every day you hit your calorie target
and your protein target put an X on it. See how many X’s you get for the next month and let
me know.
Alia: [00:29:12] Sounds good. I will do that right now. I’ll get that calendar started.
Kim: [00:29:15] Amazing. All right, thanks so much for coming on. I really appreciate it. I
think people are going to learn a lot from hearing this conversation.
Alia: [00:29:22] Well, I hope so. I know I have.
Kim: [00:29:24] Oh, good. I’m so glad. All right, I will be seeing you around Instagram and
looking forward to hearing from you.
Alia: [00:29:29] Thank you, Kim.
Kim: [00:29:30] All right. Bye bye. You’re welcome.
Alia: [00:29:31] Bye.
Kim: [00:29:37] Thanks so much for being here and listening in to the Fitness Simplified
Podcast today. I hope you found it educational, motivational, inspirational, all the kinds of –
ational.
If you enjoyed it, if you found value in it, it would mean so much to me if you would go
ahead and leave a rating and review on whatever platform you are listening to this on. It
really does help to get this podcast to other people. Thanks so much.