Battle with the Post-Bridal Bulge: Week 3

Kelly Ripa Can Kiss It

Woo hoo- I've made it back to Memphis Adventure Boot Camp for three weeks! And I'm liking the results. But more on that later.

Let's talk about REALITIES.

We women are complicated creatures. Surprise! It may just be me, but I feel that society pressures us to be these super-human, multi-tasking, "I-can-handle-it-all-with-a-smile-on-my-face" creatures and to look like sexual goddesses while we do it. We are expected to handle all of life's stresses (including things that are beyond our control), provide for the loved ones around us, and oh yeah, squeeze in time to "love myself." Whatever that means. When written out on here, it sounds insane to even attempt. But if I can't help but think, "Kelly Ripa and Rachel Ray can do it all and look smoking hot while doing it, why can't I?"

Well, I'll tell you why. Because my reality is just nothing like theirs. While I don't have a gaggle of kiddos like Kelly Ripa, I also don't have a personal training and assistants ready to cater to my every whim. I have a small business, big taxes, a husband and two dogs who I love dearly, but also make me want to invest in Merrie Maids and Dyson stock. But that's ok because I'm learning to accept my reality. For better or worse.

How does this relate to my Post-Bridal Bulge? I don't know about you, but I sometimes have unrealistic expectations for myself in regards to my body. These unfulfilled expectations lead me to feel like a failure and tempt me to give up. Failing at nutrition or skipping more than two days of Boot Camp makes me want to dive face-first into a Pizza Hut pizza. I am trying to learn (and be ok with) the fact that my best is simply that; the best that I can possibly do. And if that's not Kelly Ripa's best, then so be it.

But I also believe that educating myself is imperative to setting and reaching realistic goals and fulfilling my own self-imposed expectations. I asked Dexter Tenison, the Memphis Adventure Boot Camp extraordinaire, to explain some of the myths about diet and exercise that I am definitely guilty of believing. 

Common Myths Answered:

By choice, I spend most of my professional time working with women. It seems that they have a lot of things thrown at them that engages their inner desires to be more beautiful, skinner than they currently are, or be part of something that they are missing out on. Doubt and confusion is thrown at women every day. Medical weight loss diets, diet pills, rubs and creams, infomercial products, running versus weight lifting, and so many other seemly contradicting things only cast  doubt that the ability to change is simply within oneself. Here, I want to give you three of the most common myths I have run across while working with my awesome groups of women.

1. Weight matters.

I think weight actually does matter, but when people think of weight, they think of the number on the scale. Weight is more complicated than that. We can break weight into 2 components: lean weight and fat weight. Lean weight is going to consist of your muscles, bones, and other innards. Your bones and innards stay around the same in size and weight, so muscles are what we are looking at when dealing with lean weight. The other is fat weight. Essentially, this is your cushion and protection from the environment. Too much fat on the body causes stress and other health problems.

Since we know this, why on earth would you want to lose just any weight? You want to focus on fat weight, right? What’s the point of losing weight if your ratio of fat and muscle is still out of whack after losing the pounds?? Using body fat as a way to measure success is so much better than weight alone. A skinfold caliper or bio-electrical impedance scale are fairly accurate ways to measure your body fat, and thus are a better way to keep track of your lean to fat ratio. I have seen people who look skinny, but are quite unhealthy due to their ratio being off. Get the scale out of your head and you’ll be far ahead of the game!

2. Eat less….

Eating less might be something you have to do, but for a lot of people, it might actually be eating more! Each person is different when it comes to this. Their lifestyle, current level of activity, and other factors affect this. Contrary to belief the human body is made to be good at one thing: NOTHING! We are generalist in a biological way of thinking, which means we aren’t very good at anything, but we are able to do a lot of things decently. How does this relate to eating? We have a level of caloric need that is not too high, but not too low either. So, we can lose weight without losing muscle, putting the focus on fat loss instead. (See, it relates to the first myth!) Most people who get to their desired leanness eat 5-6 meals a deal, with a combination of lean meats and complex carbohydrates in every meal. For most people who do this it actually means an increase in calories, but ultimately results in a reduction of the waist line! Any reduction in calories should not be drastic and it has to relate to your activity levels.

3. Exercise more….

Ok, maybe you haven’t been doing a dadgum thing and exercising more would definitely be a good thing to do. To say “exercise more” is too vague and most women resort to spending endless hours on cardio equipment and then doing crunches until they are blue in the face*. Exercise must have components of cardiovascular training, true, but it must also have whole body resistance training, flexibility, and core strength. I think most of you are on board with most of that except resistance training. Resistance training is what creates the increase in lean mass, which speeds metabolism and creates that toned, more attractive look women are after. The “getting bulky” thing does not happen to women as it does to men because you don’t have enough testosterone in the body to make you big like guys do. So, a balanced scorecard with all types of exercise will lead to better results, versus simply more exercise.

*Totally guilty.

Make sense? Again, I'm a work in progress, but this information definitely helps me to better understand how to work out and eat more effectively. Read: Skipping meals are not going to get you anywhere. Neither is doing the same workout every single day. Meghan = thankful for Boot Camp.

On to my accountability stats:

Beginning measurements:

• Weight: 126 (up 11 lbs since September!)
• Arms: 22 mm
• Waist: 32 mm
• Legs: 22 mm
• % of Body Fat: 28.99%
• 36.53 lbs of Body Fat
• 89.47 lbs of Lean Body Weight

Week 3 measurements:

• Weight: 125.6 (down 0.4 lbs)
• Arms: 18 mm (down 4 mm!)
• Waist: 32 mm (down 6 mm!!)
• Legs: 22 mm
• % of Body Fat: 25.92% (down 3.07%)
• 32.56 lbs of Body Fat (down 3.97 lbs!!!)
• 93.04 lbs of Lean Body Weight (up 3.57 lbs!!!!)

When I first got measured on Friday, I saw that number on the scale and my heart dropped. Then I remembered the point Dexter made above (#1) about not placing too much emphasis on what the scale says. I calculated my percentage of body fat and lean body weight, I am really, really proud of the loss in my waist and my almost 4 lb body fat loss. Boot Camp is working for me!!

Oops, I:

• Pigged out on Pizza Hut on Wednesday. The snow day made me weak!
• Did not order a "lean" entree at Olive Garden Friday night. I am a sucker for baked ziti. But I didn't eat it all, ate a salad- and only ONE breadstick, which is next to impossible. Right, ladies?
• Overindulged in Ponchos white cheese dip (again) at lunch on Thursday. I just couldn't stop. Pattern?

Proud because I:

• Ate breakfast everyday again this week
• Made a conscious effort to curb my soda intake
• Did NOT go back to sleep after boot camp any day this week!
• Ordered steak and frites at River Oaks and I only ate about 1/4 of the fries given to me. 

Goal for this week:

• No soft drinks at all!

Fat Fact:

• We have added 600 calories to our daily diets since 1970, according to the 2010 US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Report. (The main culprit? Grain-based desserts-think cookies and cake.) Health magazine Jan 2011

Again, the offer still stands for you to come to Boot Camp with me. Or if you don't really like me, go on by yourself- there are lots of friendly ladies in all of the classes offered. Except Lori- she throws things at you. If you would just like more information, please check it out here. Or find them on Facebook.