Losing and regaining the same 5, 10, 30, 50 lbs over and over isn't fun. But ya know what's worse? Realizing that the weight you lose and the weight you regain aren't actually equal.
"I eat clean and workout but am not getting results."
You eat clean. You workout. But you're not loving your results.
What gives?
Does this sound familiar? I hear it all the time. People email me, DM me and say this. Here's the deal ...
It means almost nothing to me when someone says they "eat clean" and / or that they "workout". The reason is that the nuance matters. A LOT.
What does "clean eating" mean to them? What types of things do they eat? What types of things are they avoiding? What times do they eat? How much food? Are they meeting their micronutrient needs? What's the balance of their meals like? Are they getting enough protein per meal? Across the whole day? Enough fiber? What kinds of fat are they getting? How many intentional carb servings per day? How much alcohol? What’s their blood sugar management like?
One can consider themselves a "clean eater" (most people are referring to eating minimally processed foods when they say this), yet still be eating in a way that tells our body to store excess body fat and / or keep the current amount of excess body fat. We’ll know that to be the case when we have fat loss resistance. Our body doesn’t do that by accident. If it’s happening, it’s happening for a reason.
The same can be said about those who say they "workout". I love it because any exercise is better than none, right? But also, chances are there are things we can do to optimize your routine to get a bigger bang for your buck if you’re not happy with where things are at.
What types of workouts are you doing? How often? What's the intensity like? What are rest / active rest days like? How sedentary are you between workouts? How much strength training are you doing? Is it a progressively overloading + comprehensive program? How much steady state cardio? What about sprint level cardio bursts like HIIT for VO2 max improvement? How much overall movement do you get each day? Do you have a plan that feels very manageable inside your full life and one that you’re able to be consistent with even during hard or busy weeks?
Nuance.
When I get emails or DMs saying, "I eat clean and workout and just can't get the results I want" it does NOT tell me your body is broken (even when people tell me that’s the conclusion they’ve drawn). It tells me we have some information to get through and tweaks to make so you can and will finally get those results you've been spinning your wheels for.
A few notes to keep in mind if this is resonating:
1) Eating too much "clean" food for your current metabolic rate will lead to fat gain or fat loss resistance.
2) Cutting back on food with a slow metabolism instead of boosting your metabolism first can be a dangerous choice. The goal shouldn't be to enter a calorie deficit no matter how low it needs to be. The goal (for health optimization PLUS body recomposition) should be to boost your metabolism to a healthy and robust rate so that when you do dial back slightly, you're still taking in a very nourishing and satiating amount of food.
3) Eating too little in general or too little of one or more components (like protein, for example) can actually interfere with your fat loss goals as well. Starvation mode isn't a thing, but metabolic adaptation is. This means your body will 'cut corners' so that it can learn to run itself off of the smaller intake amount without dying. Your heart will keep beating and you'll breathe but your thyroid might start to down-regulate, energy levels will decline, you may notice things like brain fog, muscle will start to waste away and healing won't be as efficient.
To start:
1) Make sure you're eating 30+g of protein in each of your 3 meals per day.
2) Strength train 2-4 days a week to maintain or add muscle (and increase metabolic rate and carb tolerance).
3) Go for a daily walk.
4) Work up to at least 25g of fiber daily.
5) Prioritize sleep quantity, quality and consistency (no big swings in bedtime from weekdays to weekends).
If you need more targeted help with your health and / or body composition goals, check out my 1:1 coaching program details. Spots are very limited as it's all customized and a very high touch program but I have clients graduating out of the program often, so spots do open up fairly often. :-) It's first come, first served. Fill out the interested form if you're ... interested (haha) and I'll get back to you shortly with more information and expected timeline.
XO,
Tara
Fat loss: A learning series
You're a real catch... and I appreciate the heck out of you.
Just wrapped up another super-exciting launch at Tara Allen Health. One thing I typically do when I'm in 'launch mode' for that one week, several times a year is I tend to do more live videos on social media. My goals with this are 1, to share more context about what I do in the course and why I do it so differently. 2, I'm more present for those who have questions. And 3, I want to make sure that even if you and I never get to work together, you still have lots of actionable tips to implement on your own. If you're a TRANSFORM alum, these lives might serve as good reminders for you as well. ;-)
But maybe you missed them? So I wanted to drop them here in a blog this week. Feel free to select just the topics that sound interesting to you or listen to them all in order as a learning series. You don't need to stare at my face! Haha. Pop in some headphones and take me along on a walk, while you're doing housework or even just listen on your commute.
Only thing is ... all the talk about enrollment for TRANSFORM: Body + Mind being open is no longer applicable. Cart closed last week and we actually began yesterday. The next round will be in January though so don't feel like you missed out. You can now hop on the waitlist for that round if you'd like.
Ok, here we go ...
Episode 1. Is there more to the fat loss story than "eat less, exercise more"?
Episode 2. 6 things you're doing for weight loss that are backfiring
Episode 3. Fat loss goal of less than 10 lbs? Or want to “tone up”? Discussing 8 things specific to YOUR goals to keep in mind.
Episode 4. Fat loss goal of 10 lbs or more? Sharing 7 tips specific for you.
Episode 5. 7 reasons you’re giving yourself cravings and what to do about it.
Episode 6. The biggest mistake the weight loss industry is still making!
Hope this helps!
XO,
Tara
Fat loss is just ONE reason to optimize health...and not even the best one.
There are a million reasons to optimize your health…and fat loss is just one.
"But Tara, aren't you really into body love and body positivity and body neutrality…?"
YUP!
"But Tara, are you saying it's ok to want to lose excess body fat too?"
YUP!
"Ummm…is that confusing?"
Nope! I mean, typing this email in the third person in hopes that it's as entertaining to you as it is to me right now is a little confusing. But fully embracing body love / positivity / neutrality alongside believing wholeheartedly that we all have the right to choose whatever goals we want to work on for ourselves? That's not confusing to me in the least!
If you want to hear 12 minutes of my thoughts on the topic, check out this recent video.
Or, just understand that fat loss is just one of many reasons to optimize health. Fat loss is not particularly motivating either in the long-run. So, if you want to stay in the game for a while, you may want to consider chasing some additional goals. I just saved you the 12 minutes. You're welcome. :-D
If you fall in the camp of women that do have fat loss as a goal, but also would like to focus on feeling better, improving your energy, and living long enough to watch your grandkids drive your own kiddos crazy, leave me a comment. Tell me your goals. The simple act of writing them out and sharing them with someone (me!) will help you to get started.
XO,
Tara
Weight loss and GOOGLE! Huh?!?!
What do Google and weight loss have to do with each other?
You many be thinking, "Nothing!" But hear me out. ;-)
In a recent video workshop, I talk about exactly this - both literally and metaphorically. It's worth the watch (or listen) if you have been feeling a lack of motivation or direction lately in your healthy / weight loss journey.
Come join me inside my FREE, private facebook group for women looking to lose weight in a healthy + sustainable way for more resources, recipes, and video trainings!
In good health,
Tara
How often should you eat for weight loss?
Hey there,
If you are on a weight loss journey, you may be wondering how often you *should* be eating.
Is it 6 mini meals?
3 meals and 1 snack?
Three squares?
Check out my latest video to find out! I'm also chatting about meal timing, frequency, metabolism, real foods, intermittent fasting, balancing meals, detoxing, and more. :-)
Do you find these videos helpful? Let me know! Is there something else you'd like me to do a video on? Drop that in the comments below!
In good health,
Tara
The 4 reasons you eat (yup, there are ONLY 4!)
“When it comes to losing weight, you MUST treat the cause...or the results will be temporary!”
Here's the deal...diets are bandaids. They are NOT getting to the root cause of why you are overweight. They are NOT teaching you anything except for how to conform to someone else's rules for a set amount of time. And? The weight comes right back...and then some.
Boo!
But there's good news too...
There are ONLY 4 reasons why you ever eat. You may eat for 2 or more of these reasons at a time, but it will ALWAYS fit into at least one of the following reasons:
1) Fuel. You're physically hungry and want to fuel your body with healthy foods. Cool!
2) Joy. You want the pleasure of the way something tastes or the experience (social, usually). This can be a glass of wine, some dark chocolate, or your favorite cupcake or ice cream. There is a time and place for this in our lives. Frequency of the indulgence should depend on your goals.
“Goals are dreams with a deadline. Treat them as such.”
3) Distraction. You really need a break or to veg out. You think you deserve _______ (insert junk food here) because you've been working hard all week. You find yourself at the bottom of a bag of chips and don't remember eating them all! You will recognize this as feeling out-of-body - like you're in a fog while you're eating.
4) Numbing. You're avoiding feeling sad, angry, bored, lonely, frustrated, stuck, powerless, etc. This gets deep. And, this one means that when you stop overeating, you will HAVE to start to accept feeling your feelings and not resisting them. It takes us just as much energy to resist our feelings as it does to just feel them and carry on. Wowza! You will recognize this category as binge eating...lots of food in a small window of time. It will feel as though it's out of your control. But, it's not. There's that good news I mentioned!
Once you become aware, things can start to change. Awareness alone can be a powerful change agent.
Check out this live video I did on facebook last week all about this topic.
If you're feeling like you're ready for a change, let's make a change! Consider me your tour guide. Check out my customized, all-online (no appointments necessary), one-on-one coaching program - Pioneer Nutrition and Fitness Coaching. ***This is only for those that are serious about making a change and who are ready to experience the added benefits of boosted energy, healthy emotions, and overall wellness that will come with their weight loss.
In good health,
Tara
P.S. Are you inside of my private facebook group yet? If so, "see" you there! If not, why not!? You will get a community of like-minded women, challenges to participate in if you wish, healthy recipes, and weekly workouts...all for FREE! ;-) Join us!