Are you always active and feel like you should be losing weight but aren’t? A lot of aspects of work and life keep us active and feeling exhausted, and yet we don’t see any weight loss results. The key might be doing more than what you’re already doing even though you might already feel like you’re doing enough.
Doing More Than Normal
I recently had a conversation with one of my friends that went something like this:
Friend: I don’t know why I’m not losing weight, I walk a bunch all day at work and I’m on my feet all day. I eat healthy, and don’t drink that much.
Me: Okay, that’s great what else do you do?
Friend: Nothing, because I work all the time.
Me: Okay, let’s discuss!…….
To save you a long story, the point is my friend isn’t seeing the results she wanted and I tried educating her as to why she’s not seeing any results when she’s “active” at work. Does that sound familiar?
Many of us have busy jobs that require a lot of mental and maybe even physical attention. I know, for me personally, the demand of teaching classes, working with clients, and my personal hobbies and interests keep me moving all throughout the day. So my friend, who is a nurse, hence all the walking at work, why isn’t she seeing results?
Why aren’t I seeing results?
My friend has been at her job for over a year now and one of the reasons she’s not seeing results, even though she walks and moves throughout her day, is because her body is used to that activity. After her shift at the hospital, she’s exhausted and goes home to sleep. Sometimes we can confuse mental fatigue as physical fatigue, and this is why we sometimes think we’re too tired to go to the gym after work.
Your body will adapt to stimuli if you’re consistent with it. So even though her nutrition is good, her body is so used to the activity requirements. In order for her to change her results, she has to do more. So if you walk 5 miles at work, hey that’s a great thing! But, if you’ve been in your position for more than a few months, you’re body will adapt to the amount of effort (5 miles) that you do for most days of the week. So what should you do?….. MORE!
What does more mean?
More means more… she could walk more (distance or time), she could take an exercise class, or workout another day in her week, etc. Once you’re body adapts, you have to introduce or change the stimulus it’s receiving. The body can adapt in as little as 4 weeks. That’s why we say you should update your program every 4-6 weeks. Introducing a new stimulus can help you avoid plateauing and keep hitting your goals!
So how do you start to add more?
Well, it depends on your goals and your availability. Maybe you add in an extra fast walk somewhere in your day. Maybe you take that HIIT or Strength class you’ve been afraid to try. Maybe you ride the bike for a little bit after your workout/class. More can be anything that continues to challenge you!
If you’re wanting to do more in order to achieve the results you’re wanting, let’s do more together. Come see me for a free fitness consultation!
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Written by Kailyn Danhouser, EP-C; Personal Trainer at Elite Sports Club – River Glen & North Shore
Kailyn graduated from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse with a B.S. in Exercise and Sports Science. She is an American College of Sports Medicine: Certified Exercise Physiologist (EP-C), AAAI/ISMA: Certified Pilates Instructor, and Certified Diabetes Prevention Lifestyle Coach. Kailyn specializes in Functional Training, Group training, Special Populations, Weight Management, and HIIT. “I want to inspire people to find exercises that they enjoy doing every day. There are many opportunities all around us to move our bodies, we have to look for them. The exercises you do are better than the ones you don’t do.”