Muscle vs. Fat...this is why you should throw out the scale!

Right now you're looking at 5lbs of fat, and 5lbs of muscle.

Notice how much larger and bulkier the fat is in comparison to the muscle. This is visual proof that even if you gain muscle and lose fat, your weight probably won't change that much. However, your body will be leaner, tighter, and smaller. So which one is more important? Would you rather weigh 10lbs less and still be flabby, or the same weight, and tight, lean & toned?

For example...a woman, 5' 6" tall weighing 140lbs who does regular muscle enhancing exercise, will have a lower body fat percentage, and look slimmer, than a woman of the same height and weight who doesn't exercise and therefore has a higher ratio of body fat.

I think it's time we stop obsessing over the # on the scale, because it is so incredibly inaccurate when it comes to tracking your progress. I personally haven't weighed myself since high school. It only made my life more frustrating and discouraging...two things you definitely don't need when tackling an intense fitness program, or any fitness program for that matter.

I used to think that cardio was the best weight-loss cure...thinking that I could get the toned body I wanted just by running alone. I was so wrong! I was running 5-10 miles every day, and saw little change in my body. Yeah...that was frustrating. It happened for a few reasons.
1) Muscle burns fat, even when you're not exercising...and I didn't have enough of it.
2) My exercise routine was the same every single day - resulting in a plateau that negated pretty much any results. This is one of the reasons why INSANITY is so effective, because you are constantly switching up your work-outs, and producing maximum results in the shortest amount of time possible.

So how do you track your results? My personal favorite method is by using a body fat percentage meter. You can pick one up from Amazon for a reasonable price. Just make sure you choose one that measures fat throughout the entire body, not just the upper body (here is an article that explains how body fat percentage monitors actually work). It takes all the guesswork out of tracking your progress, and really is the only way for you to know for sure that you are losing actual fat. Another great but simple method is measuring. I would recommend measuring the areas where you carry the most fat, for women around the thickest part of the upper thighs, and for men around the bellybutton area. This can vary between different body types, so pick your own personal problem-area.

So...in conclusion...throw out that scale!!!

(me holding 10lbs of fat...if that doesn't motivate you I don't know what will!)

ONE WEEK LEFT!!!

I know, I know, I totally slacked on blogging the past two weeks! Life got a little crazy, and those MAX workouts don't leave you with much extra energy! As of today, I officially have one week left. I am so incredibly proud of myself. I pushed myself to a level I never thought I could get to before, and I realized just how much my body is capable of! And the results are awesome. My body fat so far has gone from 23% to 17%, and pretty much toned up everywhere. After this last week I'm going to take a Recovery Week (Core Cardio & Balance) every day, maybe with some Cardio Abs thrown in, and then jump right back into the MAX workouts and do it all over. Now that I know how good this program works I can't wait to see what it will do to me after Round II : ). I will be posting my final results & pictures next week, but here is one from today.Breakfast: Think Thin Protein Bar
Snacks: Flax Crackers, Almonds
Lunch: Shakeology w/banana
Dinner: Clam Chowder (homemade w/light soy milk, not heavy cream!!)
After Workout: Casein Protein Shake

Here are some various tips I've acquired since the last time I wrote.

If possible, don't work out when you're in a hurry. I did this once...never again. It just stresses you out, and takes your energy away from the exercise. Plus, I tried fast forwarding through the breaks to save time, and ended up almost not being able to finish. INSANITY takes just as much mental strength as it does physical strength...and if your mind isn't in the right place, you're making things harder than they should be.

Wait AT LEAST three hours after a meal before working out. If you need something in your stomach right before, grab a handful of almonds or a banana.

The object of each exercise is not to get to a point where it's easy. You should constantly be pushing yourself and digging deeper!

Day 34: MAX Recovery

My legs have never trembled so much! MAX Recovery is hardly a recovery, so don't underestimate it. However, it was nice to have a break from hardcore plyo for a night. Just prepare to have your thighs set on fire. As usual, the upper-body exercises were tough for me. The elbow-back push-ups were really really hard, unfortunately my arm strength just isn't there yet, so I wasn't able to go all the way down to the floor on most of them. I did, however, kick ass on the core exercises : ). The squat pulses were definitely the most 'painful', in a good sort of way. I can't believe I used to think my quads were strong, holy goodness!

Breakfast: Shakeology (banana+strawberries)
Lunch: Chicken burger patty w/steamed veggies
Snacks: Plantain Chips, Kashi Crackers, and Snap Pea Crisps
Dinner: Shakeology
After Workout: Casein Shake *I decided to start drinking Casein because it is metabolized slowly, and is perfect to take in the evenings because it prevents your body from going into starvation mode during sleep.

Day 33: Max Cardio Conditioning

Whew, awesome workout. Max Cardio Conditioning is my fave so far. It really does feel like day 1 all over again! Which is pretty encouraging, actually, because I know a month ago there was no way I could do what I'm doing today. I wasn't able to keep up as much as I'd like, but I'm not letting it get me down because I know each week I'll be able to do a little bit more. These were the exercises I found exceptionally difficult:

Push-up Abs: Again, those upper-body strength exercises kick my ass. But man o man did this set my abs on fire...and I loooove that feeling.
Football Sprints to Plank: Couldn't keep up 100%, but I wasn't far behind. Great exercise though.
Plank Punches: Also probably because they were at the very end, right after Push-up Abs. I had to take a few split second breaks so my arms wouldn't give out.

Tip of the day: Like I said before, don't get discouraged if you find you can't keep up with the MAX work outs like you could in month 1. Remember that each week you're going to improve, and that the more the difficulty of the workout increases, so will your results.

Breakfast: Shakeology (banana+1tbs organic peanut butter+2tbs instant coffee)
Lunch: Think Thin Protein/Meal Replacement Bar (20grams protein, 0grams sugar, 300cals)
Snacks: Plantain Chips (great 'potato chip' replacement, I get mine at Trader Joe's), Snap Pea Crisps
Dinner: Kashi Lemongrass Coconut Chicken frozen entree
After Workout: Casein Protein Shake

Day 32: Max Interval Plyo

Not gonna lie, tonight's workout left me crumpled on the floor in the fetal position. In a completely good way!! There is something incredibly rewarding about finishing a workout that leaves your body completely spent. Just knowing that you pushed yourself to the max and kicked ass. In fact......I'm so tired that I don't have the energy to write anymore haha. Catch me tomorrow.

Day 31: Fit Test & Max Interval Circuit

Oh. My. God. That was freaking hard!! But I must be honest, it felt really good to take the intensity level back up to 110%. I'm beginning to love the feeling of sweat dripping from my body, and the burn that sets in during each exercise. These are just reminders that my body is transforming into exactly what I want it to be. Plus, I didn't fail as miserably as I expected I would haha, I actually made it through relatively well without many breaks at all. The exercises themselves were slightly more difficult than month 1, but where it really got hard, was repeating them over the span of an HOUR! That was the most grueling part, in my opinion. I thought the plank punches were pretty hard, probably just because they were at the very end and because my upper body strength is my weakest link. But I LOVED the burn I felt in my abs. Month 2 definitely brings it to a whole new level! It feels like day 1 all over again, which is a GOOD thing because it means my results are going to be twice as good.

Oh yeah...almost forgot to talk about the fit test! This one was tough. I improved in every exercise except for switch kicks. If you don't improve a ton on this one don't be too hard on yourself, remember that you still have 3 more fit tests to go. I also "cheated" and did it the day before on my day off. Some advise against this, but I say do what's comfortable for you. I knew that today was going to be a SUPER long day for me, and that I probably wouldn't have the steam to give both the fit test and my work out my all, so I opted to separate them.

Tip of the day: Eat small amounts often throughout the day to keep your metabolism running like a well oiled machine. If you wait too long between meals it will go into starvation mode and store fat instead of burning it. Additionally, you want to keep your energy level up so you don't crash in the middle of your work out!

Breakfast: Protein bar
Lunch: Shakeology (1 scoop, frozen banana, 3 ice cubes, milk, blend...with frozen strawberries mixed in after)
Snacks (throughout the day): Flax crackers w/light swiss cheese, banana, protein bar
Dinner: Veggie burger w/guacamole (minus bun)
After workout: Recovery drink *definitely needed it today

My Journey to Health.

It seems to be a common trend in America today to look good no matter what the cost. We impulsively resort to 'quick-fixes', completely disregarding the permanent damage they have on our bodies. Crash diets, diet pills, artificial/souped up protein powders, plastic surgery, eating disorders, and God knows what else...as long as it seems 'easy & quick', we're all over it. I'm sure every one of you has at one point in time been affected by this, so I thought I would share my story on the matter and how I came to realize that health should be prioritized before the way you look, not the other way around. Once you do this, I promise, it will pay off, in more ways than one. I hope that by sharing my experiences you can learn from my mistakes, and save yourself a LOT of wasted time, and more importantly, save your body from having to undergo the strain of unhealthy eating/exercise habits.

Not too long ago in high school - freshman year of college (actually come to think of it, that was a long time ago), I would do just about anything to be thin, in shape, and beautiful. In fact, I've tried just about every single one of the methods I listed above (minus plastic surgery).

Crash Dieting/Eating Disorders
I started experimenting with crash dieting in high school. I think we've all done it, or all of us women anyway. Before I had *any* understanding of nutrition and the metabolism, I skipped meals, expecting to lose loads of weight because of the restricted caloric intake. And I did, for about a month. What I didn't understand was that I was kicking my body into starvation mode, and that my metabolism would eventually adjust to the change and my weight loss would plateau. And that's exactly what happened. The metabolism is a beautiful, frustrating thing. It's designed to keep us alive and adapt to just about any situation you throw at it, which is why it is SO important to keep it happy...seriously, piss off your metabolism and you can pretty much kiss your weight loss goals goodbye. However, I didn't know this at the time. So I took things a step further, and stopped eating altogether. Biggest mistake of my life. I kid you not. If I could take back one decision in my entire life, it would be that one. The physical, mental, and emotional repercussions of engaging in an eating disorder are so incredibly massive, and they take years, sometimes a lifetime, to repair. Anyway, once I stopped eating it was just a huge downward spiral. Sure, I lost a lot of weight, pretty fast. But once you stop eating for that long, you will gain weight twice as fast because your metabolism has been in starvation mode for so long. You can't just say, "I'm going to be anorexic for a month or two just to get to the weight I want, and then I'll start eating normally," because by that time you've F-ed up your body so bad that it won't burn calories as efficiently as it was before. And this is why eating disorders kill people. Because once you get to that point, you either want to be healthy again and are ready to risk gaining all the weight back to repair your metabolism, or you feel trapped, like gaining weight is the most terrifying thing in the world, and that you have to keep on starving yourself. And by then that is the point you will have come to, starving yourself just to maintain weight. Sound fun? No. So please, spare yourself the pain and frustration, be happy that you have a functioning metabolism that burns the calories that you eat, and if you don't think it's burning them fast enough, then focus on increasing your metabolism through frequent exercise and eating small, healthy amounts often. Avoid putting your body into 'starvation mode' at all costs. Even after just 3 hours without eating your body is forced to store calories as fat instead of burning them, because it does not know when it will get it's next meal. Crash dieting and eating disorders are extremely counter-productive, and they pretty much screw over your metabolism. I struggled with my eating disorder off and on for about 6 years, and my metabolism is just now getting to the point where it can burning calories efficiently.

Diet Pills/Artificial/Souped Up Protein Powders
I think I've pretty well established that a happy metabolism=easier weight loss, right? Ok. Diet Pills=UNHAPPY METABOLISM. Throughout those unfortunate 6 years, I also experimented with these. Who could resist the outrageous claims they make, right? Most of these pills have the same affect on the body as eating disorders do. They may (I stress...*may*) work, but even if they do, it will only be for a short period of time. However, once the metabolism adjusts for to the crap you're putting into your body, your weight loss will plateau and you've just made natural weight loss 10x more difficult, and weight gain 10x easier. So once again, spare yourselves. They do not work, and after a period of time will become counter-productive and actually make you gain weight. 'Artificial/souped up protein powders' do the exact same thing. Products like No-Xplode that increase your heart rate/blood flow are not only extremely dangerous for your heart, but also have the same affect on the metabolism.

Alcohol
Ahh, this is a tough one for me. I'm not really a hardcore partier but I do love having a drink every now and then. And realistically, I probably will have a drink every now and then until the day I die. Moderation is definitely key here. Most people, myself included, drink without thinking of what it's doing to your body. Alcohol is not 'free calories', in fact, it is metabolized exactly the same way as sugar. Additionally, it clogs your liver. Big deal, right? Actually, when your liver is too busy filtering alcohol, it can't effectively filter other toxins/fats, and they will go straight to your gut/hips.

In summary - if something seems to be a 'quick & easy' fix, it's not. It is a long-term detriment to your body, and will only make your weight loss goals harder to reach. Be a purist to your body. Don't do anything that will unnaturally affect your metabolism. And don't be afraid of hard work, because when it comes down to it, that is the only thing that is going to get you long-term results. Your health is priceless, invaluable, and it will be with you for the rest of your life. It's up to you to decide what condition you want it to be in. Pursuing health will not only give you a great body now, but it will enable you to do the things you love to do later in life. Make health your priority, and the nice body will come as a result, permanently!