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WEEK 5: YOU vs. THE SCALE?
It’s popular to say, “Ignore the scale! Toss it out! The number doesn’t define you!”
In several ways I agree with these statements:
1. Muscle does in fact weigh more than fat, BUT do you have significant lean muscle? Check out this visual...if you’ve actually put on significant lean muscle, the number on the scale is absolutely misleading. However, (and this is said caringly) if you don’t have lean muscle developed, well, the scale is in fact telling you how much you weigh with the amount of lean muscle you (don’t) have.
2. The number on the scale is not a measure of YOU, a person, a woman, wife, mother, lover and all the other aspects of you. I’ve been in a place where the number on the scale did chip away at who I was, and for that reason I worked very hard to avoid the scale…for years.
That said, now that I’m in a place of self-love (built up over years of taking care of myself, lifting weights for inner & outer strength, and filling my life with positive people & relationships), I do find the scale helpful to quickly check in on my progress. BUT let me explain further before you go jumping on your scale!
My son Curtis (4 years old) started school this week!!!
Yup....my baby does this too!
Looking at mommy!
In this pregnancy I put on over 35 lbs (I normally weigh 115-118 lbs, and 2-3 pounds less than this for competitions/photo shoots). I know this because they weigh you every time you go see the doctor when you’re pregnant.
I had a significant amount of lean muscle going into this pregnancy. I was (unknowingly) pregnant when I won the North American UFE Pro Bikini championships in Nov 2013. Therefore I would judge my pre-pregnancy weight much differently than an inactive 115 lb woman (I likely would look and measure MUCH smaller).
While I remained active during my pregnancy, and did strength training right up until I delivered baby Faith at 41 weeks, my lean muscle SIGNIFICANTLY decreased as I reduced the weights I would use for safety reasons as I progressed in my pregnancy.
I’m able to write this all in a very detached manner. I feel that I am simply giving you factually my background so you have context of what I’m doing and learn from an example. If you were to publically describe your weight history and current weight, would you feel any emotional twinges? Shame even? If you stepped on the scale today, and the number was higher than you last remembered, would that upset you? If it would, then I would gently and caringly ask you to avoid the scale until you are feeling rock solid in your skin - loving YOU for YOU NOW.
My Week 5 Belly:
That belly made those feet...there's no room for (self) hate in a grateful heart.
Loving yourself doesn’t mean that you may not want to change yourself a bit, or drop a few pounds (or ten or more). But to effectively use the scale as a tool for progress check-ins, you need to see it as just that a tool…detached from YOU.
EXERCISE: WEEK 5
I continued with my Beginner Strength Program this week. I did 3 sets of each exercise and can feel myself becoming stronger and more able-bodied.
You can download this program by CLICK HERE!
In reading through the introductory notes & program overview in the(and my weekly post-partum blog), you'll notice I follow a gradual process to "becoming fit".
With that self-assessment, I’ll explain how I’ve effectively been using the scale to manage my nutrition.
NUTRITON: WEEK 5
I believe that a healthy diet is one free of restrictions & labels. I don’t label my food “good/bad”, and I’m realistic with my ability to (not) prepare all my food “from scratch”. I know there is more to life than being perfect with my food choices.
As a result, this is my lifestyle approach to my diet:
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I do not weigh & measure my food. I learned what proper portion sizes of proteins/carbs/fats look like, and it’s second nature to me (using my hands as guidelines) to adhere to reasonable portions. CLICK HERE for a past post on portion sizes using your hands.
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I do not track & analyze my food each day for calorie/macro counts. I know that many people find tracking their food helpful, and at the beginning when you’re trying to get a sense of where you are currently, this is helpful. However, I don’t see this as a way to LIVE day-to-day. I think it puts too much of your daily focus on food instead of LIFE.
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I enjoy ALL the foods in my diet. The foods & supplements I choose are palatable, tasty and I enjoy all of them. Do I enjoy ice cream more than kale salad? Duh! But I’ve learned how to make my healthy food choices ones that I truly enjoy. This aspect of my diet has been key for me to avoid too many treats & caving into temptations. When you get to enjoy a daily chocolate-peanut butter protein shake, or whey crackers that taste like sour cream “chips” – it’s a lot easier to stick to healthy eating every day.
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I eat 2-3 “treats” a week. The number of treats depends on how many special events I have that week (I don’t say no to my son’s birthday cake or my favorite pasta dish on a date night). That said, I know it’s a TREAT....obviously, it’s no longer a treat if you eat those foods often/daily.
So when I stepped on the scale for my weekly progress check-in (I resist standing on the scale more frequently because it can start a downward spiral of giving control to the scale), and the number was the same as last week. I thought “Hmmm…drat. Perhaps I should tweak something in my diet.”
I didn’t freak, I didn’t beat myself up….it was simply a number that was telling me that if I wanted to lose more of the fat I’d accumulated during pregnancy, a change was needed.
For me, the change needed to come from my nutrition, as I’m physically unable to up the intensity or duration of my exercise. Exercise is a gradual process that I’m committed to & respect. Also, nutritional tweaks as often much more effective in making an impact than exercise changes – though nutrition changes are typically “harder” mentally.
In looking over my lifestyle approach to my diet here’s how I considered my options to change:
Option 1: Weigh & measure all my food to ensure I am hitting a specific calorie/macro count.
Answer for me: No way. I’m not prepared to do that at this point to shed a few pounds.
Option 2: Track & analyze all my food.
Answer for me: See answer for Option 1 J
Option 3: Change to foods less palatable to cut a few calories.
Answer for me: I don’t think that’s necessary, ever. Even in my “tightest” contest prep diets, I still enjoyed my food choices.
Option 4: Reduce my “treats” from 2-3 to 1.
Answer for me: I could do that…in looking at my next couple weeks I didn’t have any special events where there would be food I would want to treat myself to.
Therefore this week, I treated myself to some dill pickle chips & peanut chocolate M&Ms while we were camping (more than just a couple handfuls!) and the rest of the week enjoyed my healthier food choices.
I’m happy to report (I always write a week behind where I actually am), I have dropped 2 pounds and looks like that was an effective change.
My typical daily meal plan is shown in Week 4 so you can see what it is I’m eating (and enjoying)! If you'd like to discuss including Isagenix products in your lifestyle diet, I'd love to chat with you about that - contact me at erica@sisinshape.com to set up a call. I can't share these products enough!
RECIPES:
1. 4 Step Chicken & Asparagus Bake - Click HERE