Ladies, listen up! Wanna hear something that is so true and also so unfair? Our biology is sexist! We may have come very far in the year 2016, but our bodies still think we should be barefoot and pregnant from an early age. Ugh! Accordingly, we are super-sensitive to energy deficits (too low-calorie, too low-fat, too low-carb) and nutritional stressors. The body sees this as a threat to reproductive success!
““Nope, no babies during a famine. Let’s make your hormones all funky, make you become resistant to weight loss, lower your metabolism, and make you fatigued”.”
Ok, so what does this mean for YOU? It means you have to make small, incremental, sustainable changes. It means you focus on the 'long game' just like your body does so it doesn't see the changes as a threat, but more like a new and comfy norm. It probably means the results you see won't happen as quickly as you'd like, but it's the only way you can make a lasting change. It also means your goals must creep into many different aspects of your life - nutrition, movement, stress management, relationships, self-confidence, feelings of fulfillment. ALL areas of your life affect your relationship to your environment, your food, and the way you treat yourself.
So, that's why you can't just cut soda out and lose 10 pounds like your husband did. (I actually get asked some version of that question just about every week).
Ladies - respect your biology, but please continue kicking butt and taking names in a very 2016-ish way. <3
In health,
Tara