Myth : Lifting heavy makes you fat

First off, I want to thank you all for taking the time to read my blog. The response has been completely overwhelming! I love hearing everyone’s story and of course I will do anything to help along the way. Many of you have reached out because you would like to start your fitness journey, but have no idea where to start. Oh lawd, trust me I was there.

In the past two years, the things I’ve learned about fitness have blown my mind.  I never realized how much I was cheating myself in the past by not learning some of these critical facts.  I hope these help you on your fitness journey. If you have any others, drop them in the comments section!

1. Throw away your scale. Take it and recreate the scene from office space where they smash their computers to bits. The scale is total bullshit.So many women say, “well I
   

   Left: 135 lbs Right: 125 lbs Science is amazing

   think I’d like to weigh 125 lbs. What they don’t realize is that you can weigh 125 lbs and be a size 6 or 125 lbs and be a size 0. Muscle is smaller than fat.   See the pic to your right. In the left I weigh 135 and was about a size 8. On the right I weigh 125 and am a size 0. 10lbs…7 sizes. Measure your progress by inches or my personal favorite, selfies!

Note to Self: Be like Rhonda.

2.  You’re gonna have to lift heavy. This message goes out to a lot of my girls: get in there with the boys and lift heavy.  “But I don’t want to gain or get huge!” The truth is, you will gain, but it will be lean muscle.  If you don’t tone that muscle under the fat, you’ll be flabby. Many people who lose a lot of weight struggle with loose skin.  I don’t because I get in there and throw those weights around.  I was so scared at first, but don’t be intimidated. We all need to start somewhere.  Don’t get me wrong,  I do cardio but you have to strength train. My team mate Rhonda teaches Zumba, but you’d better believe she can hold her own in the weight room. Rhonda has a motor in the back of her Honda. Because she lifts.

3.   You’re going to have to eat more food.  A lot of people actually don’t lose weight because they aren’t eating enough or enough of the right foods. So many girls tell me about how they drastically slash their carbs. Carbs are good for you when they are the right carbs. My diet is full of carbs like zucchini, english muffins, sweet potato, and more. When you deprive your body of carbs for too long, you will sacrifice your muscle. Also, if you aren’t eating enough, your body could feel it is in starvation mode and hold fat longer. If you don’t know how much to eat, check out IIFYM.com or even better, sign up for this 90 minute class that comes with a set of macros.  Still confused? Check out my blog post on IIFYM.

4.  Drink Water.   Water has amazing benefits. Not only does it create healthy skin, but maximizes physical performance and prevents bloat. It also has many health benefits from fixing constipation to prevention of kidney stones. (I had them. Lort, you don’t want them).  You should at least be drinking a gallon a day. Before my competition I had over 2.5 gallons a day. Now, that’s not an everyday practice, but I was lean AF.  You’re going to have to go to the bathroom more, but hey…small price to pay?

5. Change your mindset to “You can have it all, just not all the time.” I know so many people say things like “I just workout so I can eat.” Welcome to the hamster wheel of dieting my friends. When I was heavy, I would do nearly an hour of spin class then go smash some wine, wheat thins, and cheese because it was “healthy.” If you are just trying to change your lifestyle, maybe drink one day a week instead of 3, and swap out the wheat thins for cleaner carbs. Don’t get me wrong, I can still eat an entire pizza like a snake devouring a rat. (your welcome for that image)  A method like IIFYM allows you to enjoy yourself, but in moderation. Remember, dieting is simple…calories in vs. calories out!