Stubborn Weight Loss?

There's weight loss....and there's STUBBORN weight loss.

You know the kind, right? It's often the last 5 pounds as opposed to the first 5 pounds. It's when you feel like you've tried everything, but nothing works or lasts (even though it seems to work for everyone else!).




Bad news, good news. Bad news first? Ok.... there isn't anything different about the way your body works.



Ready for the good news? There isn't anything different about the way your body works. ;-) We all have very different energy needs, for sure. This depends on how much and how hard you exercise, how much you move between workouts, your age, your body size and composition, your dieting history, thyroid function, etc. BUT, there is one common set of rules for EVERYONE: If you take in less energy (calories) than your body requires for fuel, you will lose body fat. If you are not losing body fat, you are not in an energy deficit for YOUR body. That may mean you're not losing weight on 1500 calories a day, but your friend is losing on 2000 calories a day. Super frustrating, right? But the same principles apply. Their body simply requires more calories to function on a day-to-day basis than yours does. (If we knew for sure that the calorie tracking was accurate - which it's nearly always not. But that's a different story).



What about the people that tell you you're gaining weight because you're UNDEReating? Not true. It's nice to think about, but it's simply not true.



Now, can you get yourself up to the point where your body does burn more calories everyday so you can maintain or lose more body fat while eating more calories? YES! That's a process called reverse dieting and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have about that.



But let's stick to the science here, ok? Losing body fat requires an energy deficit so that your body is required to make up the additional calories it needs by taking it off of your stored body fat. Your stored body fat contains calories / energy... just like your food! If you want to decrease body fat, you need to use it up. That's how it 'goes away'.



I got into this even more in last week's live video. Check it out here.



Here is some more information about my online coaching program - including cost and before / after pictures.



And if you'd like to chat to see if we're the right fit to work together, schedule a call here! Looking forward to hearing about your goals so we can devise a plan for how you can CRUSH THEM. ;-)



Hope your week is off to a great start.



XO,
Tara

Your Type A-ness is interfering with your results

Are you a ‘control freak’?

I am too! Well, trying hard to let go a bit, but it’s definitely a part of my personality. And just in case it’s a part of yours, too, I wanted to share why you may be finding that you’re successful in other areas of your life - career, family, business, relationships - but can’t seem to figure out how to hack your way into the health or body goals you have set for yourself.

That’s why I recorded a live workshop video for you on exactly this topic. And as always, I share in the video what you can do about it; how to learn to work WITH your personality type. ;-)

In good health,

Tara

Is that a protein bar...or a carb bar?

As a health coach - slash - nutritionist - slash - personal trainer - slash - RN, you can imagine that while I work with lots of ‘general health’ requests, weight loss is a top priority for many of my clients.

One of the most common mistakes I see people make on their weight loss journey is mislabeling their food groups. Watch the video below to find out if you, too, are making this common mistake. The good news is that with a few simple swaps, you may be right back on track with your weight loss goals.

If these videos are helping, make sure you sign up for my newsletter list so you don’t miss any!

“See” you soon!

In good health,

Tara

Why am I overeating?

What were you like as a child?

This question fascinates me because it tells me about your childhood, your memories, your priorities, but also much more than that.  It gives me a little window into the way you view things. Chances are, if you speak negatively about yourself as a child now, you're probably often speaking negatively to yourself as an adult.

• Circumstances trigger thoughts. 
• Thoughts create feelings.
• Feelings lead to actions (or inaction or reaction).
• And action (or inaction or reaction) lead to a result.

"Great, Tara, but I thought you were a health coach...not a therapist." (insert eye-roll here).  ;-)

Yup...exactly!  I'm a health coach.  I deal with nutrition and fitness and lifestyle changes.  But really, truly what I deal with is people.  The WHOLE person.  Because becoming healthier, losing weight, gaining confidence, lower your blood sugar...these are require a change in thought to be able to end up with a changed result.  It's not a quick or easy fix, but it IS a permanent fix!

I want you to absorb this.  This is big and it may require you to open your mind and allow yourself to see things differently.  Circumstances are just facts.  They are the things that happen with NO judgements placed on them.  It is our thoughts that follow that label things "good", "bad", "mean", or a "problem".  Those thoughts then trigger a feeling - sad, frustrated, happy, angry.  The feeling makes us take action, NOT take action, or REact.  And THAT action, brings us directly to our results.  

What's empowering about this is that so much of what we think is out of our control is in fact, very much in our control.

I'm overweight. I overeat.  I can't stop overeating.  It just happens.  Why does this have to happen to me?  Why do I have to have this body?  I don't want to be deprived or hungry.  I don't overeat, my metabolism is broken.

Does ANY of that sound familiar?  It's a snippet of the stream of thought I hear from so many women!  When we take on the role of the victim and place the control outside of ourselves, it's easier to check out and not face our emotions.  The only problem food can solve is hunger.  Almost every person I know (including myself) has tried to solve problems other than hunger with food at least once or twice or way more than that.

The good news is that it IS in our control to stop the cycle.  It will mean that we have to feel the things we were trying to avoid feeling by overeating, though.  It won't be easy or totally comfortable.  It WILL get easier as you get curious about yourself and allow yourself to feel the full spectrum of feelings.

Who says we're always supposed to feel happiness, anyway?  We're humans and we have a mixed bag of emotions.

If you are overweight - whether you are currently gaining weight or simply maintaining a weight that is more than you believe to be healthy - it means you're overeating.  Overeating simply means eating more than your body needs to maintain your desired level of health.  Quite often we need FAR less food to maintain our optimal health than we think, so we assume something is wrong with us.  We assume our metabolism is broken.  It's not.

If you eat when you're hungry and stop when you no longer feel that hunger, you'll have eaten enough.  If you still want food after you are no longer feeling hungry, then you are using food as a comfort for something else.  We have ALL done it.  No shame.  No guilt.  Just love and curiosity for yourself and what you might actually need besides the extra food.

Overeating doesn't mean you overeat at every meal, or everyday, or even every week.  It can look like this: You eat like a bird all day or all week and then finish a whole bag of chips and a handful of cookies because your willpower ran out.  Or, you end up ordering lots of food at a restaurant, but only on your "cheat" day (I really dislike that term, by the way!).  It comes in many forms.  But, if you are gaining unwanted weight or maintaining a weight that is more than you'd like for your health, then overeating according to what YOUR body needs is happening at some point. 

This is good.  This is great, actually!  Why?  Well, this means YOU are in control.  You CAN and will be able to improve your health and lose weight once you allow yourself to cure the root cause rather than treat the symptoms (such as going on a "diet").

This might have struck a cord with you.  And I owe it to you to share it with you anyway because I'm here to help, not to hide information from you that might ruffle your feathers a bit.  I hope you can understand that.  :-)

In good health,

Tara

P.S. If you're feeling really lost or confused, please, please, PLEASE send me an email at Tara@TaraAllenHealth.com so we can chat.  You have the ultimate control over your health and life.

Weight Loss is More Than Calories In, Calories Out!

Hey there!

Have you ever experienced weight loss resistance?  You're counting calories, points, macros...and just NOT getting the results you think you should be?

Weight loss tends to be oversimplified most of the time when, in fact, there are A LOT of factors that go into who loses weight, when, how, why, how much, how fast, etc. 

In this video, I talk about 3 things having NOTHING to do with calories that can affect your weight and metabolism and give you clues into where you may want to focus your attention.

Now, if you are liking these videos, consider joining my private Facebook group where I share DAILY content to help those on their weight loss and health journey.  :-)  Yup - daily - for FREE!

Join us now!

In good health,

Tara