Category: Weekly Wednesday Weigh In

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6 Surprising Outcomes of Counting Calories

The most recent post about 3 Places to Find Motivation really had me stuck in my past. When I took my own advice and seriously considered things I used to do that helped me feel my best, there was one thing that came to mind: counting calories.

This week I’m weighing in on counting calories because it is essential on the journey to get fit. Before you can make changes to what you’re eating, you have to know what you’re eating.

I know that it might sound a little nerdy, but I really did count every single calorie that I consumed for about two years. However, I can assure you that it wasn’t as intimidating as it sounds. I simply used the My Fitness Pal app to keep track of the calories I consumed as well as the calories I used. After that last post, I was inspired to start counting those calories again, and I haven’t missed a morsel. Over the past few days, I’ve realized that there are six outcomes of counting calories that may catch you by surprise.

1. You’ll want to move more.

When you initially sign on with My Fitness Pal, they ask you a ton of questions to get to know what you’re hoping to accomplish; they want to help you meet your fitness goals. Then they’ll let you know how many calories you’ll need to consume each day in order to reach those goals. If you also log your exercise (or link a fitness tracker), your calorie count will be readjusted, and you’ll be inspired to move more just to see the numbers change.

2. You’ll start thinking about portion sizes.

If you want to get an accurate calorie count, you’ll need to enter the correct portion sizes when you add your meals. It won’t take long for you to be completely astounded by portion sizes. In some cases, you’ll learn that the portion sizes of some foods are much smaller than you think is appropriate. In other cases, the portion sizes are much larger than you can eat. You might even start making different choices about food based on what you’re logging in the My Fitness Pal app.

3. You’ll consider options with fewer calories.

When you realize that some serving sizes are rather small, you’ll have to make a decision: are you going to eat the foods that might cause you to go over your calorie limit or will you eat something else that’s perhaps a bit healthier and just as tasty, but with fewer calories? If you’re anything like me, you’ll go with option 2…or at least eat half of option 2.

4. You’ll realize which foods you need to limit or eliminate.

Before I started counting calories again, I knew that I had an unhealthy relationship with sugar, but counting calories has really caused me to see just how much refined sugar I eat. I’m starting to see that I need to replace sugary foods with natural sweets like apples and oranges. When you start counting calories, I’m sure you’ll notice some trends in terms of foods you need to cut back on or foods you need to add.

5. You’ll probably start planning your meals.

While you’re trucking along taking care of business, you might have a day or two where you don’t log your calories right away. As soon as you log what you had for dinner, you realize that you are dangerously close to going over your limit for the day. In order to make sure that doesn’t happen again, you might start planning your meals in advance. That way you’ll at least know your calorie baseline for the day.

6. You’ll think twice about mindless snacking.

When you have to log every morsel of food that you eat, even samples at the grocery store, you might not be so willing to snack on those samples…regardless of how enticing they are.

Hopping on the Scale!
Don’t forget to hop on the scale and see where you are this week. Remember: if you were able to maintain and not gain, that’s still a win!

Click to join “The REAL Get Fit With Charity” Facebook Group!

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4 Medicinal Benefits of Exercise

Happy Wednesday! Today’s topic is exercise as medicine.

It’s very difficult to talk about exercise without talking about health. In fact, one definition of exercise is “activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness”.

I see exercise and health as opposite sides of the same coin. The health side of the coin is managed by medical professionals, such as doctors, dentists, therapists and others who ensure that everything is working well mentally, physically and emotionally. They mainly focus on what’s going on inside the body, so we don’t always see a physical manifestation of what they do. The exercise side of the coin is managed by fitness professionals, such as coaches, fitness instructors and personal trainers who are typically focused on physical condition, so we typically see concrete evidence of their work.

I don’t think it’s wise to separate the two because success in on one side begets success on the other side. In fact, there are tons of different medicinal benefits of exercise, but I will only focus on four in today’s post.

Medicinal Benefit #1: Exercise Calms the Mind

There was a time when I thought “information overload” was nothing more than a buzzword or catchphrase, something people said when they were trying to sound scholarly.  When I was in college, I learned that information overload is real. High school was really easy for me, so I never really studying. College was a totally different story. During my first two years, I had a habit of studying for hours at a time with no breaks. As a result, I would get to the point where my brain simply couldn’t function. My mind was swimming with so many facts that I wasn’t able to think straight. I couldn’t even participate in a conversation about what type of pizza I ordered, and that’s not an exaggeration. I couldn’t figure out how to make it settle down. Since I didn’t know what else to do, I went on brisk walks, and it didn’t take very long for my mind to return to its calm state.  

Medicinal Benefit #2: Exercise Reduces Stress

Although this benefit may not seem much different from the previous benefit, they are quite different. Stress can be defined as physical or mental pressure, agony or anxiety. Some people take anti-depressants and other forms of medications to help them cope with stress, but Harvard Medical School stated that exercise is physical stress that can relieve mental stress by releasing endorphins in the body. In other words, exercise can lift your mood and simply make you feel better. If you’re on medication, continue taking that medication, but be sure to let your doctor know that you’ve started exercising in the event that the levels need to be adjusted.

Medicinal Benefit #3: Exercise Positively Impacts Blood Pressure

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 75 million adults in the United State have high blood pressure or hypertension. Many of those individuals are on some type of medication to keep things under control.  According to a recent report by the Mayo Clinic Staff, exercise makes your heart stronger, which allows it to pump blood with less effort, resulting in lower blood pressure. Exercise may not eliminate the need for medication, but who knows what could happen if you make exercise part of your daily routine.

Medicinal Benefit #4: Exercise Wakes You Up

One could argue that the final benefit isn’t quite fit with the others unless you consider caffeine a type of medication.  I’m including it because there are countless people who truly believe that they simply cannot start their day or get through their afternoon without a dose of caffeine. I will readily admit that I’ve felt that way a time or two. However, a short quick bout of exercises pumps the blood and stimulates the mind, so that you no longer feel exhausted. If you’re having trouble starting your day, try doing ten jumping jacks shortly after you roll out of bed. Instead of grabbing your afternoon espresso when 2:00 pm hits, try taking a quick up and down a couple of flights of stairs at work. You might be surprised at how alert you are after a few minutes of exercise that gets your heart pumping.

HOPPING ON THE SCALE Don’t forget to hop on the scale and see where you are this week. Remember: if you were able to maintain and not gain, that’s a win!

Click to join “The REAL Get Fit With Charity” Facebook Group!

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3 HUGE Benefits of Stretching

Today is Wednesday…that means it’s time for our first Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in! On this day of every week, I will encourage you to hop on the scale (more on that later) and I will share my thoughts on some health and fitness or nutrition topic in the hopes of encouraging you to be and to do your best! Today’s topic is stretching.

If you ever participated in organized sports as a young person, you probably started practice with warm-ups and stretches. I don’t recall any of my coaches ever explaining why we had to stretch, but we weren’t allowed on the court or the field until we were done. If we were late, we still had to do warm-ups on our own. As a kid, I didn’t see a purpose for all of that. I figured the coaches were stalling or using the time to set up equipment that could have been taken care of before we arrived.

Before I became a fitness professional, I really thought stretching before a workout was seriously overrated. If I planned on doing a 30 minutes run, it didn’t see the point of stretching for fifteen minutes before and after my run. I mean, who has that kind of time?!?!? I’d just head outside, run for half an hour, then head back in and get on with my day.

I have since learned that there tons of benefits that come as a result of stretching. And that lesson wasn’t learned during my coursework.  

Improves Circulation

When you stretch, you’re stimulating the blood flow of the muscles engaged in the stretch. Have you ever sat at a desk for a prolonged period of time? I’m pretty sure that when you stood up, you arched your back for a quick stretch and suddenly felt much better. Your muscles pretty much have that same reaction when they are stretched. If you haven’t stretched in a while, it might be a little painful at first, but if you stick with it, it will be more comfortable in no time!

Minimizes Risk of Injury

Participating in strenuous exercise with cold muscles is very dangerous. Referring to muscles as “cold’ has nothing to do with how those muscles feel when you touch them with your hand and everything to do with what’s going on beneath the surface. Stretching literally warms up your muscles and gets them ready for movement. If you’re short on time and need to stretch before your workout, head over to YouTube for my quick lower body stretch routine.

Enhances Workout Experience

There’s nothing worse than having to stop a workout because your legs pretty much stop working. Actually, there are quite a few things that are much worse than that, but it’s pretty discouraging not to be able to finish something you truly had your heart set on doing. When you stretch before your workout, it gives your muscles an extra boost, so you’ll be able to push through.

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Hopping on the Scale

Weighing yourself every week is crucial. Why? Knowing how much you weigh allows you to reflect on your week to see just how much your day-to-day activity impacts your life. If you have a really active week, you may see the number go down. If your week is really sedentary, the number could either go up or stay the same. The point is: you have to know your number. So hop on that scale. Then write that number on your calendar. I’m excited to see what happens next!

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