Muscle vs Fat

So i've been out of the exercise world for a while. Longer than I care to think about. Once upon a time I weighed about the same as I do now, but was a size smaller. It's hard to comprehend how there can be such a difference in size with the same weight. It can also be mentally challenging to not get discouraged by the weight on the scale and give up. This is something I've seen over and over again over the course of my career. Even though I know what to expect it is still something that I too, struggle with everyday. With that being said I thought that I'd share some facts on muscle vs fat.

First of all, even women need to weight train. There is a very common misconception that if women weight train they will "look like a man" or "bulk up". The truth of the matter is that you have to know what you are doing and train hard to build a lot of muscle as a female. So why is it important to weight train as a female? Faster fat loss. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn and the slimmer you look. So start lifting ladies! :-)

Another misconception is that "muscle weighs more than fat". A pound of muscle and a pound of fat weigh the same...a pound. However, muscle does take up less space so it it possible to weigh more yet look smaller. This is one of the reasons why I HATE the chart the Dr's use to determine if you're under/overwieght or obese. I really don't see how you can determine where an individuals health stands based on these charts. By these standards I am actually considered obese for my weight & height...... I am a size 8 and obese! Seriously?!

Anyway, what is the point to all of this? Stop letting the scale dictate how you feel about yourself! It's just a number and should be used as a reflection of yourself. I know it's easier said then done. I get caught up in the numbers game too but am learning to go by how my clothes feel rather than what the scale says as I hope you will too.

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We're only human....

Sometimes it's so easy to get discouraged and be hard on ourselves for just being human. I'm not really sure why that is. I think that sometimes I really do have too high of expectations, which can be good but also not so good in certain instances. 

Especially in the battle of losing weight and getting healthy. I've spent the last six years of my career coaching people and telling them to realize they've had their lifetime to create bad habits and not to expect to make a change overnight. Sometimes it really is hard to practice what you preach! I was however just recently reminded that we need to not be so hard on ourselves and realize that the fact that we are even trying should be a victory in itself.

Why am I bringing this subject up? Well I just had a very fun 2 weeks on vacation, 8 of those days in Myrtle Beach.....without my Isagenix and clean eating! Did I have fun? Yes. Did I eat like a mad woman? Yes. Do I feel horrible for doing so? Yes. But I have 2 choices really: I can choose to be upset about not sticking to my plan and give up because I already went off track or I can suck it up, deal with it and move on.

We should celebrate every pound lost, every workout completed, every healthy recipe we try, etc.. If you fall off the wagon, SO WHAT?! Tomorrow is a new day. Get back at it and move on. That is what I'm choosing to do. I'm getting back on it and continuing to do what I need to do to reach my goal. 

What are you choosing to do?!

Where to begin

I am such a creature of habit it's disgusting!! When one thing changes in my life I automatically go into freak out mode of how to make my new schedule work. Even though I literally have nothing but time now I've still managed to overwhelm myself. So I get that it's not always easy to make a change and I understand (kinda) why people get comfortable and don't ever want to try something new. I guess I've been comfortable with being uncomfortable for quite awhile now though so I'll make it work just as I've been doing most of my life now.

I had a few days of fun and to let myself digest the thought of being unemployed (that took a few days of drinking....ha! J/k only one! Lol) but now I have to dive back in and get back in it. Today I'm going to go for a nice little run (just took a shot of ionix supreme and am drinking a cup of coffee as I type this)  and then take a few hours to plan and prep for the week. As if I'm not already in freak out mode, we leave for Vacation Thursday evening.....eek! Not that vacation is a bad thing ....again I'm a creature of habit! Luckily, I should have my shipment here in time to have to do one last cleanse before we hit the road and to have enough shakes to get me through vacation.....,Yes, try to stay 1/2 way healthy on vacation but that's a whole other blog!

So, today I'll take some time and share with you how I go about me planning and prepping. Remember I'm not a nutritionist I'm just a real person sharing how I do things. I'm happy to give advice or help anyone in any way that I can though. It's what I love to do and what I'll miss most about the gym So please, hit me up with any questions at any time!

This week was pretty easy to plan since we have dinner plans Wednesday and leave for vacation on Thursday. Here is peak at what I normally do for the week. Sometimes I'll switch meals through out the week but I'll always stick to the meals I have planned. This also makes it much easier when grocery shopping and helps save money since I know exactly what I need. I'm way less likely to buy junk when I have a plan for the week. (My friends think I'm horrible since I very rarely buy junk food for my house)

Since I make a lot of the same meals often I generally know the nutritional content but if I need to look something up I just enter the recipe in myfitnesspal.com and get the information from there. I always keep track of my caloric intake though. I know some people are against the calorie counting but I absolutely have to watch my calories and what I'm eating. I have a horrible metabolism and gain weight quickly if I'm not conscious of what I'm eating.

In preparation for vacation I also placed another Isagenix order to have snacks to take with me to help avoid the temptation of eating junk the whole time I'm gone. One of my favorite things about this program is that they offer several low glycemic snack options.....even chocolate.(Isadelights are a god send. For real!) so when I'm on the go I can grab a bar to take with me and not have to worry about not having so etching sensible to eat while I'm out. It makes my life much easier. 

So wish me luck as I'm off to the beach for a week. My goal is to have fun but not go completely off my diet. 

I'll let you know how it goes!

If you're interested in learning more about Isagenix visit my website at www.jennifersexton11.isagenix.com