Whether you’re a first time Mom or you just had your 4th, making fitness a priority is usually the last thing on your mind. I waited a year before I started working out after my 1st child. It wasn’t until I saw a picture of myself from his one year old birthday party and thought, “oh shit, I need to work out”. If you have had that “oh shit” moment, then I am here to help. Whether it was not recognizing yourself in a picture or the fact that your toddler can out sprint you in the park, we have all been there.
Now, where do you get started? Do you buy a gym membership and throw that kid in gym daycare or do you work out at home during nap time? We are lucky enough to live an age where we have a lot options to make our health a priority. I’m going to outline a step by step guide to “working on my fitness, who’s my witness” throwback to Fergie, love her! Step 1: Tell your partner you are starting a new routine. Then tell them, if you love me, you will support me every step of the way. I’m serious, before I hired an online trainer, which at the time was something completely new to me. I told my husband, I need to get 4 workouts in a week, so you need to help me make this a priority. BTW, he did, because he rocks. And as a result, he joined a CrossFit and making sure he had time to get to classes was a new priority for me. Step 2: Focus on small goals not a big ones. Instead of saying I want to lose 40lbs, set small goals that will eventually lead to that big goal. For example: Month one: I will eat veggies at every meal I will go out for a mile walk with the baby 3 times per week Month two: I will focus on getting a 100 grams of protein every day I will start strength training 1 day per week along with my walks Month three: I will start tracking my protein, carbs, and fats and eat in a calorie deficit I will start strength training two days per week along with my walks Step 3: Give yourself a reward for hitting your small goals. Did you hit all of your goals for week one? If so reward yourself with a pedicure or new workout tank. Hit all of your goals for month one, buy some new sneakers! It’s so easy to buy the kids new cloths and forget about ourselves, give yourself a treat for a change! Step 4: Don’t label one food as good or bad. A lot of times we feel guilty for eating things like cake or cookies and not eating “clean”. Food is food and we shouldn’t feel guilty for enjoying things that taste good to us. Food can be about celebrations and culture, not just nourishing our bodies for optimal health. Not eating pasta, a food your family’s culture and traditions have been based on because some celebrity fitness guru said carbs are bad and not clean is just crazy. One person can have the ability to make you feel bad about something that is a part of your soul. And that’s wrong. Well, I am the person to tell you, eat the dam the pasta! Step 5: Find physical activities that you enjoy. This may take some trial and error but it’s worth it. Don’t be a runner because you think cardio is the only way to get and stay lean, it’s not, and it’s not even as effective as other activities like strength training. Okay so those are my steps and remember, take it easy on yourself. The biggest mistake people make when trying lose fat or get in shape is going too hard to fast. You set these goals for yourself that just aren’t achievable when we’re trying to do things like, oh I don’t know, raise a human, take care of our homes, work, the list goes on. As mothers we put way too much pressure on ourselves to do it all. Make taking care of your body a positive thing, not a stressful thing. Remember your body created life and that’s pretty amazing!
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Do you want to lose fat? I can show you how with these 5 simple tips. You can start losing fat right now and get in the best shape of your life. 1. EAT MORE PROTEIN Yes you heard me right, I want you to eat more. I want you to take your weight and multiply it by .9, for example 145 pounds times .9 equals 130. That is the number of grams of protein you should be eating per day no matter what. And by protein, I mean lean protein like chicken breast, ground turkey, fish, and lean beef. Protein will keep you fuller longer. Having a meal of just pasta is not going to keep you as full as having a piece of chicken, some veggies, and a smaller serving of that pasta. Not only are you consuming less calories than just having the bigger portion of pasta but you’re also getting micronutrients from the chicken and vegetables. By making these small changes, you have just reduced your caloric intake, increased the amount of beneficial micronutrients your body is getting and you will stay fuller longer, which leads to less snacking, which leads to an even bigger caloric deficit. 2. EAT CARBOHYDRATES AT NIGHT Has anyone ever told you to stop eating carbs at night and you will lose weight? Chances are they have and its bullshit. It doesn’t matter what time of day you eat carbs, as long as you’re eating in a calorie deficit you’re going to lose fat. If you are eating 150 gram of carbs per day, and you eat them all at breakfast and lunch and none at dinner you will lose the same amount of weight if you instead ate 50 grams at breakfast, 50 grams at lunch, and 50 grams at dinner. Eat carbs when you want to eat carbs. There are a lot of celebrity trainers out there who say you can’t eat carbs at night, even though the research doesn’t support that. The problem is ego, it’s tough for people to admit when their wrong, I get it, you get it, but just know this, if someone truly wants to help someone else they should have no problem admitting their wrong. And if someday the research supports that you shouldn’t eat carbs at night for fat loss, then I will come to your house say I am wrong and rip that sweet potato from your plate. Just kidding I won’t take the sweet potato :) 3. EAT FAT I want you to eat fat, but fat from whole sources like meat, avocado, and eggs, stop buying reduced fat Oreo’s, your body isn’t falling for it. You know what else your body isn’t falling for? Bulletproof coffee. Hey listen if you want to add 50 grams of fat to your coffee, do you. But just know you are now limited to what else you can eat during the day. And if you’re eating in a calorie deficit, the goal should be to feel as full and satisfied as possible while also still losing fat. 50 grams of fat is 450 calories, most women eating in a deficit are around 1,500 calories total for the day. If you want to spend a 1/3 of your calories on coffee, go for it, just know that you are either going to bed hungry or you will end up not eating in a deficit. But hey all that butter and toxin free coffee is going make you a happier person right? Don’t fall for the hype people, have some eggs, sausage and toast instead. 4. LIFT WEIGHTS Lifting weights does not make women look bulky. It is very hard to gain muscle and look “bulky and jacked”, women who do have that physic actually worked very hard to get it. So when someone says I don’t want to lift weights and look bulky like her, it’s actually insulting, because no woman accidently got muscles like that, you have to work for it. When you strength train and eat in a calorie deficit that is high in protein, the fat starts coming off faster than any 1,200 calorie diet and running on the treadmill will get you. And you might find that you actually enjoy strength training, seeing some muscle definition is a result of hard work. And if your goal is to look “toned”, lifting weights will get you there faster than running and doing a bunch of sit ups and pushups. Pushups are awesome by the way. The picture below is me, on the left I had been doing a popular commercial diet that seriously restricted my calories and foods. I was working out 6 days a week. I lost 10 pounds in 6 months. The picture on the right was another 10 pounds lost, but this time in 6 weeks. The difference was that no food was off limit and I worked out 4 days a week strength training on my own. Find what makes you happy, find what makes you want to get up and move. Try Salsa dancing, try CrossFit, try Barre, try it all until you find what sticks. 5. EAT AS MANY MEALS AS YOU WANT
I’m dead serious, it doesn’t matter how many meals a day you eat, as long as you’re eating the same number of calories and are in a deficit, you will lose fat. Eating 6 small meals a day does not make you a fat burning machine. If you don’t like to eat breakfast, don’t eat it, save those calories for a bigger lunch or dinner. Don’t need a snack, don’t worry, 3 meals a day is okay. Again, it’s the total number of calories that matter not the time of day. If you start implementing these changes in your life right now, I guarantee you will lose a pound a week until you hit your goal. If you have questions or want custom macros for FREE, just sign up on my home page, I will also send you my Recipe book for FREE. Yes I said FREE twice, PS I don’t sell shakes or supplements, I give out free content because I want to help people, not make a commission on some overpriced shake. And if you end up hiring me to be your coach, that’s cool too. Just know I am a certified personal trainer and a certified nutrition coach, I help people find what works for them not just what worked for me! I would love you for you to follow me on Instagram: nmguerrette and my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/nergfitness/. |