Top 10 Reasons You're Not Seeing Fat Loss Results After Birth
Chances are you've tried to lose fat after birth before, and if you're like many of the moms I work with on a consistent basis, then I'm sure you've felt that your effort to lose weight doesn't match the results after strenuous life changes including working out and eating right.
When I first started my personal training career, I used to hear from people all the time who tracked calories, who worked out consistently, but still struggled to see a lasting physique change.
So, I rolled up my sleeves and go to work to figure out real dial movers that were actually going to help moms lose and keep off weight.
Today we're going to dive into TEN reasons to consider when trying to determine why you might be struggling with fat loss.
When it comes to fat loss there are 3 big rocks I want you to consider:
Detox Your Mind
Most people are searching for the wrong kind of detox. Your mental health is the largest component of your health and also your weight loss goals, and the sooner you start working from a place of mental clarity the sooner you can start enjoying life and lose weight at the same time
Manage Your Meals
Calories do matter and so do hormones and gut health. However the law of thermodynamics can't be ignored, which states that energy can not be created nor destroyed in an isolated system, and Calories are energy for the body. Therefore, the ratio between "Calories in" versus "Calories out" matters when it comes to fat loss.
Doesn't mean you need to count them, and it also doesn't mean that it's the only component that matters in fat loss because ultimately the body will not let us diet to death.
Master Your Movement:
Ever feel confused about whether or not to do cardio?! What about strength training? Is my workout program strength training? Doesn’t all the information out there feel like it's contradicting itself?
I get it, I've been there.
But you will turn your body into a fat burning machine if you prioritize strength training with cardio on the side. If you want to go deeper on this subject, check out my free LIVE training: 5 Secrets to Lose and Keep off Fat Without Dieting
Now if you've mastered all the basics and you're still struggling to lose weight and see the results you've been working hard to achieve, here are 10 possible reasons to consider:
1. Expectation Management
Most people think that in order to melt fat off your body, you must start with the perfect exercise and diet program, but that might be EXACTLY why you’re struggling to lose and keep off weight.
You're here so I don't have to tell you that exercise and nutrition are important, but if you're reading this, you're struggling and so I want you to consider that you might be stuck in the body back mentality.
Mama, I know you just want to get your body back, but your body never left you. Have you ever looked at an old photo of yourself and laughed thinking that you thought you were fat then?
Yeah, me too.
So, I have a question for you: what will you gain by achieving your fat loss goal?
Because you don’t need to lose weight to be worthy.
And when you feel worthy, any and all negative commentary about body parts will not matter to you because you know better.
Because losing weight will not automatically mean you will feel worthy or all of a sudden love yourself.
And when you feel worthy THEN the fat will melt off your body.
Why?
Because your brain will bring back to you how you feel on the inside.
So, when your worth depends on an external circumstance like the number on the scale, what makes you think that weight loss will make you feel worthy?
And when will you know you’ve lost enough weight?
So, the takeaway here is this: you are worthy NOW and when you can really feel and KNOW that, you’ll be able to release the unwanted fat on your body once and for all.
2. Style of Workout
Remember that our body is designed to stay in homeostasis, meaning consistent and never changing. In order to make a change in the body and use energy that is stored, we must put the muscles under stress. Are you doing the EXACT same workout over and over again never changing the intensity, load, and density? Are you doing extensive cardio exclusively?
Cardio is not a bad thing and is an important part of any program, however we want to prioritize metabolic resistance training because we will build strength, lean muscle, AND endurance.
Lean muscle mass promotes fat loss. The bulk of our calories used is determined by our resting metabolic rate (RMR). The RMR is determined by the amount of lean muscle mass in the body and how hard it works.
3. Hormone Profile
Our metabolism is uniquely individual and what works for someone else might not necessarily work for you. We tend to get hyper focused on "eating less and moving more" and often times create TOO large of a calorie deficit that puts too much stress on our metabolism. This causes us to hold onto stored energy.
Depending on whether or not you're breastfeeding, or whether you are in the early postpartum or not will have an impact on how your metabolism responds. How do you know if your hormones are balanced? The best way to find out is to go check in with the doctor and get some blood work done, and check in with your food. Are you eating primarily vegetables and good sources of protein?
4. Drinks/Bites/Licks/Weekend Eating
Remember earlier when I talked about how Calories do matter? I see two things frequently happen:
- People tend to ignore the calories in their beverages and all the bites and licks of food lying around the house or office. If we aren't mindful in the way we eat, we might be having way more bites than we think and those start to add up quickly overtime.
- Oftentimes we create very restrictive and binging cycles. People usually have the urge to start a diet on Monday and will be incredibly restrictive Monday - Thursday and put their cravings out of wack. By Friday our mantras sound like this, "I've been good all week, therefore I can...." We say things like "Oh, I'll just start on Monday..." and we put our entire system off kilter for long periods of time.
5. Stress
In order to make a physique change your body and your muscles need stress. Stress isn't entirely bad, BUT the opposite side of the coin - relaxation and restoration are just as important. We get into trouble because our bodies respond to mental stress in the exact same way. Our nervous system literally believes we're in a life or death situation and our hormones act accordingly.
When we are constantly in a stressed state, it will impact our hormones and our metabolism, therefore our fat loss efforts.
6. Sleep and Rest Activity
We tend to think more is better when it comes to exercise and that isn't always true. We under-value rest and sleep, and it's very important. Rest and restorative movement are the times when we will combat stress, and repair the muscle from the stress we put on it through exercise.
7. NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)
If you look at the TDEE (Total daily energy expenditure) graph, a large portion of the energy used is in the movement not classified as traditional exercise. All the energy needed to walk, move, stand, fidget, and live is classified as NEAT.
Not only will NEAT movement help combat stress, we can make small changes like: walk more, take the stairs, park father away, stand at the top of every hour that can make a significant impact on whether or not you're seeing results.
8. All or Nothing Mentality
We tend to attack change in our bodies with this idea that everything has to change and that we must go all in, otherwise it isn't worth it. We have somehow convinced ourselves that the small changes that compound over time aren't worth it.
This type of mentality leads to the super restrictive then binge pattern because "we're always starting over Monday." We're much better off adapting to the "All or Something" mentality because that will lead to consistency and lasting results.
9. Consistency
Change requires consistent efforts. With a physique change there is no quick fix, and we run the risk of adding more stress to our metabolism with yo-yo dieting and yo-yo exercising. Consistent efforts are what going to help us win the race in this circumstance.
10. Accountability
The clients that have the most success are the clients who know they have to show up to appointments, answer coaching calls, and/or have peers relying on them for accountability.
Whatever efforts we've done to get here aren't going to be what gets you there, and we don't have to go at it alone.
Want to get fit from home, but have no time? Try the 30 Minute Method! I created it to help moms like you get fit from home. Learn More: http://bit.ly/32wftfx