People exercise for all different reasons. Some do it to gain strength or endurance. Some do it as an energy booster and stress reliever. Others do it for the community or to improve longevity. But one of the primary reasons people workout is to lose weight, or at the very least, reduce waist circumference and increase toning.
For some, results come in a flash. They drop an easy five pounds in the first few weeks or so and go down a few pants sizes within several months. That’s wonderful! Others, however, find it much more difficult. They exercise with great effort, sweating through intense workouts day after day, and see improvements in their movement, strength abilities, and endurance, but just can’t seem to make the scale budge or, even worse, they find themselves gaining weight.
What’s going on here? I have one word for you and it might not come as a surprise: Nutrition. As a Certified Nutritional Health Coach, I see many people who struggle with the things I described above. I’ve had multiple clients tell me that they were on the brink of giving up CrossFit all together because they weren’t seeing results (with a few diet tweaks by the way, they dropped anywhere from 20-50 pounds within a few months!). Your workout isn’t the problem! It’s not that CrossFit “isn’t working”. It’s just that you probably need to assess other habits in your life that are inhibiting your body from giving you the results you’re looking for.
Let’s look at some of the most common habits that contribute to the lack of weight loss or toning in people who are working out often:
1.Carb Loading
Carb loading is a popular term that often times gets thrown around when talking about exercise. Most people know that the body uses carbs as energy and fuel, and who doesn’t need more energy when working out? Not only that, but most people have a recollection of someone in high school or college who ate an entire large pizza and massive plates of pasta and had perfect washboard abs and was a “beast in the gym” as they say. Seems like something to imitate, right? I’ve even heard guys reference Micheal Phelp’s diet. “Did you know he eats like —thousand carbs a day?” I’m sorry to break it to you, but you are not Micheal Phelps. And you probably don’t have the metabolism that your college buddy had. Neither do I! Don’t overestimate the amount of carbs you need. The typical American diet is already overloaded with carbohydrates, so most people don’t actually need to increase their portions when working out, at least in the beginning. Fruits and vegetable already have an excellent amount of carbs and should be utilized as your primary carb source along with small servings of whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, or oats. Use healthy sources like these to fuel up approximately an hour or so before your workout.
2. Eating More Due to Increased Hunger Without Changing Diet Habits
Another reason that people often times don’t see results when working out is simple: They are hungrier, therefore they eat more. Working out can make you hungrier, which is not a bad thing! The problem is this: if you already have unhealthy eating habits in place, you are now just eating increased portions of calorie, fat, or carb laden food which may stall results or even cause weight gain.
3. Overestimating the Amount of Calories Burned
There are many devices that now calculate the amount of calories you burn during a workout. Unfortunately, studies show that these devices may be inaccurate in these calculations… by a lot. So think twice before you trust the number on the screen to give you permission to grab a donut.
4. Adopting the “I earned it” mentality
Another common reason people see a stall in results is due to adopting an “I earned it” mentality. After pushing yourself in the gym, it’s easy to give yourself a pass to order dessert, snack all the time, or ask for another bowl of chips and maybe a margarita on Friday night. After all, you earned it, right? There’s certainly nothing wrong with treating yourself once in a while to some yummy, decadent food, but people oftentimes underestimate how easy it is to “out-eat” the workout they did earlier in the day. Breaking this habit requires a mindset shift, from the idea that you “earn unhealthy food choices” to pursuing a lifestyle of health, nutrition, properly fueling the body, and enjoying a few intentional treat meals here and there. For more information on changing this, read my post on the treat meal mindset here.
5. Unintentionally Consuming Sabotaging Foods That are Touted as “Healthy”
If none of the habits listed above fit you, you may fall into this category here. Some people are working out hard and are staying disciplined in making healthy choices. They are drinking smoothies, ordering salad, snacking on protein bars, cooking meats and grains, and even juicing. Sounds pretty solid, right? Unfortunately, you could be eating all of the foods listed above and still be retaining unwanted weight. I’ve seen it dozens of times with clients I work with. It’s very important to learn to read labels correctly, food combine properly, and figure out what portions of carbs, protein, and fat your body needs. This is going to differ from person to person. But let me tell you, it’s an incredible thing when you figure out what works for you and hit the “sweet spot” for your body – where you are feeling full of energy, performing well in the gym, and are seeing the inches melt away.
In closing, don’t let poor nutritional habits undo all the hard work you’re putting in at the gym and don’t get discouraged thinking that your exercise isn’t working – trust me, it’s doing wonders for your body! Once you marry good nutritional habits with a solid workout schedule, you will see all the results you’re hoping for.
For more information on healthy eating and nutritional health coaching go here.