Make Weight Loss Easier: Muscle and Movement

Are you tired of hearing about making weight loss easier?

I hope not.

Because here comes another edition!

Muscle and movement.

I don’t want to get all technical and in the weeds of this topic.  So, I’m going to keep this post quite short.

I’ve given you the basic formula for losing FAT; which is a waaaay better idea than just losing weight by the way.  You can lose weight by not taking in any water one day or having a good bowel movement.  My guess isn’t you wouldn’t count that as losing weight because what you really WANT is to lose fat.

Back to the basic formula:

Energy (calories) consumed < Energy expended = Energy deficit (burning fat to use for fuel for your body)

Simply, you need to use more energy than what you put into your body each day.

So, there are two ways to lose fat. 

One...eat less energy.

My last two posts have been focused on consuming fewer calories by eating more protein and managing emotions with realistic optimism so you’re not eating through the emotions.

Today, I’m going to help you out with the other piece of the puzzle; EXPENDING MORE ENERGY, so your body uses fat as the energy source.

How are you going to make this easier?

By building muscle. 

Why?

Well, if you haven’t heard the overused saying… “muscle burns more calories than fat”.

It’s true.  But more importantly, in my opinion, the more muscle you have, the better your body feels and operates and the more you MOVE.

I believe God made our bodies to MOVE.  They were meant to work and be physical.  They were NOT meant to sit in a chair all day.

The less we move, the less we use our muscles, and the faster they disappear (not truly disappearing, I’m being a little dramatic)!

Movement maintains muscle which is a WONDERFUL thing, but I want to encourage you all to BUILD muscle.

Yes for the extra calorie burn.  AND, yes, to your body functioning with ease.

It’s a positive reinforcement loop.  The more you build muscle the more you move well.  The more you move well, the more energy you will have, and the more you want to move, thus a drive to build more muscle. 

It’s really an awesome loop to get yourself into ;)

Not only can increased muscle mass help you lose fat it also has a WHOLE host of other benefits like:

• Better immunity
• Increased heart health
• Decrease in osteoporosis
• Decreased recovery time after surgery
• Increased energy
• Improved insulin sensitivity (less risk for diabetes)
• And so much more

So where do you start to build more muscle?

Well, I’m not a personal trainer (even though it sounds SUPER fun!), so my suggestion is to go to an expert.

Hire an expert who will set up a plan to help you build muscle (which doesn’t always have to include lifting weights, but it will help you build muscle faster).

But if you don’t have the means to hire a personal trainer to help you, start here…

Walk.

Yes... walk.  Move those legs.

Walk as much as you possibly can.  Try to increase the amount you walk each week.  Sometimes when you walk, add some wrist weight or ankle weight or even carry around some soup cans.

Here is what I need you to hear…

This is about making weight loss easier.  

Want to know the HARDEST steps you’ll take during your weight loss journey?

The first one.

Because you’ll tell yourself that step isn't enough, it won’t do anything, that it won’t even make a dent in the amount of weight you need to lose.

And, at first, you’ll be right.  It won’t feel like you’re making any progress.

But, it’s all those little "stretches" and changes that add up.

I think about my one client, we’ll call her Jenny since I haven’t asked permission to use her name.  Jenny started coaching with me.  At the beginning, she said over and over again, “I just don’t feel like I’m doing enough.”  That’s because we implement small steps like adding in more protein and walking a few more minutes.  

And, I kept reigning her in from adding more, doing more, because honestly, she was so consistent with the changes she had made.  It wasn’t worth her getting overwhelmed and quitting.

Each week, we would make SMALL changes to stretch her just enough.  She started doing a 10-minute arm routine with 5-pound weights.  Then she added some ankle weight and did a standing walking video.  Nothing extreme and nothing that took a lot of extra time.

It took her a year, but she has lost 65 pounds and kept it off.

And she tells me that she doesn’t feel like it’s hard… because it’s now just the way she operates… lives her life.

I tell you this because I want to warn you.

You may read this and then decide you want to hire a trainer, go to the gym 5 days a week for an hour, and start building some muscle.

And, if that really excites you and you have time for it, GREAT!

But if you feel like you can’t add one more thing to your schedule and losing weight is moving farther down the list of to-do’s, I get you. 

And I can help.

You can sign up for a free consult call HERE.

It will be, by far, the best thing you can do to make weight loss easier.