There’s so much information out there in the online space about Health, Fitness, and Nutrition! Who even knows where to get started? These are my Ultimate 6 plus one – ways to navigate it all without driving yourself crazy. Focus on the small things consistently – change one or two at a time, and last, but not least, love the skin you’re in. Transformation or living a healthy lifestyle has to start from the inside first. You can’t be hating on yourself to get where you want to go. It will be a hard road. Love the skin you’re in and embrace your beautiful self first. Practice self-compassion in every area. Fall, get back up and do it again. Learn from roadblocks and continue to grind it out without judgment. We have enough of that in the world as it is. Without further ado, here are the Ultimate 6 plus one! 🙂
- Let go of the scale weight; it’s just an arbitrary number. It tells you in that moment of time what your whole body weighs. It doesn’t differentiate between fat-free mass, fat mass, water, tissue, bones, organs, poop, etc.. Forget what you heard that a pound of muscle is more than a pound of fat.
- The scale is only one measure of progress. I think if you look at it as just a tool, and don’t live and die by what the number says back to you, then use it – if not abandon, the damn thing.
2. Lean protein- protein is your building block, without it, I like to think we would wither away- well our muscle anyways. Nine times out of 10 women overestimate how much they actually consume. I’ll ask a client what were their protein sources for the day -the usual response is 2 or 3 eggs with a piece of chicken at dinner, and possibly a protein shake. That’s not even half of the recommended intake for fit individuals.
- Now, we don’t need 2-3 g per pound of body weight- don’t get beside yourself. But what we do need, as an active individual, is anywhere between .8- 1g per pound of body weight. So if you’re 150 lbs, your intake could be around 120-150g. Nothing too crazy, then fill the rest of your daily nutritional plan with carbs, fiber, and fat.
3. Lift the things- lift and lift often. Lift before you think you need more cardio. Lift heavy things according to your fitness level. Lifting is relative to each individual. Progressively lift heavier weights over time. Your body will let you know when a 20lb Goblet Squat has become too comfortable. Lifting the things will help you build muscle and retain it. As we age, our muscle starts to diminish, so the longer you can keep it on the better.
- If you have never lifted, that’s no problem because you’re never too late or too old. Lastly, muscle mean metabolism. The more muscle you tend to have, the more likely your metabolism is running efficiently. The cool thing is you will burn more calories at rest.
4. Listen to your body- sleep, recovery, food, rest. You must get quality sleep. I know this day in age, we think sleep isn’t as important, and we tend to believe we can get more done if we burn that midnight oil. You are better off getting sleep, than trying to get as much done as you can. So you can’t get 8-10 hours, how about 6-7 and make them quality hours.
- Turn the TV and electronics off an hour before bed- use blue light blocking glasses- they are my favorite, make sure the room is cold and use blackout curtains. Lastly, read a book before sleep. Try these few tips, and see if your quality of sleep doesn’t improve tremendously.
- Recovery- I recommend taking off two days from lifting the things. It gives your body time to recover and rebuild. That’s where the real action happens, during the muscle repairing process. Nothing wrong with some active recovery, just take a break from the weights.
- Food- This is a crucial one as well. Are you eating enough, or too much to support your activity level? Check in with your energy levels, fatigue, hunger, and cravings. Secondly, are you eating nutrient dense foods more often than your favorite treats? I’m all for moderation and balance, but we do have to be careful with making sure we are getting most of our calories from wholesome foods first, and then treats. 🙂
5. Leisure walking – Oh! The benefits of walking. Do I even have to tell you? It’s perfect for recovery; it’s also muscle saver- muscle sparing. You see, when you double up on cardio or use too much, we can burn through the muscle mass we carry. So walk more to keep that muscle. Walking is very relaxing, and I get all in my feelings- thinking, which helps me write some of best content. To me, walking is a no brainer.
- Traditional cardio has it place- but always use the minimal effective dose to get physique results.
6. Let go of dieting- create a small deficit based on your bodyweight, activity level, and age. Leave the quick fixes, the pills, and potions alone. Leave the Atkins, Weight Watchers, etc. and focus on eating nutritionally dense foods most of the time.
- In the end, DIETING is what is keeping us fatter. Year after year, we diet and pack on and take off the same 10-15 lbs. Crazy huh, I bet you didn’t even notice that. Every time we diet it’s harder to lose the weight. Ever wonder why it was harder this time around, and you had to get more extreme to drop the pounds? It’s the body fighting you back, and it’s holding on to the fat because it wants homeostasis. It’s easier to work with the body rather than fight it.
- Focus on eating well- I love to use my system #AMEN to help navigate eating well.
A- Always keep your water intake in check: How to know if your drinking enough water? If you are thirsty, then that’s one way, and if you go to the bathroom, and your pee is dark yellow- then you’re not drinking enough. It doesn’t have to be entirely clear, but it should be light yellow- those are some excellent guidelines to start with for your water intakes
M- Meet your daily Protein requirements- If you haven’t been eating .8-1g per lb of body weight, then start increasing slowly every day until you reach your requirement.
E- Eat Mindfully- Slow down and pay attention to your satiety.
N- Nourish your body with fruits and veggies.
- You can start with one of these guidelines and work on them individually or incorporate them all at once. Do what works for you and be consistent with the process!
7. Love thyself- Love the skin your in. Embrace yo self, don’t wreck yourself! No negative self-speak. Self-compassion will get you further than hating on yourself. It’s a process to start to love yourself right at this very moment. Just keep working on it and before you know it, you’ll look in the mirror, and your reflection will be smiling back at you, loving all of you!
Thank you guys for taking the time to read my Ultimate 6! I hope that you can use some of the tools to help you along your journey or in your everyday life. I would love to connect with you in your inbox. I send out weekly emails with my best tools, insights, and personal stories.You will also be the first to know about contests, challenges, and discounts on services. You can sign up here by clicking on the link and get a simple guide to eating without counting calories: Beauty of Strengths Email Newsletter!
