Expansion Packs
By now, most of us have probably heard - and have been repeatedly told by fitness professionals - that counting your calories and macros is the key if you are looking to change your body composition, especially if your goals are losing/gaining weight.
I’m not here to argue against the concept and I agree that counting calories and macros consistently will likely lead to the body comp changes one is striving for. If a client has lofty body comp goals and they can commit to being consistent with counting calories for a period of time, then I actually encourage it over other methods. I will talk more about this in my next blog article post. For now though, I’d like to take a moment to say the obsession with goddamn calorie counting is not the key people say it is. It’s a soggy flimsy cardboard key, and trying to fit that key into the keyhole to unlock body comp changes will turn into a nightmare for many people.
Starting your journey with this approach can lead to failure and frustration.
You might be better off putting time and energy into other approaches that you can confidently commit to and returning to counting calories and macros when you are more experienced and have good habits firmly in place. When you have healthy habits in place and when you see success in other areas such as building strength and improving cardio, you will have built up the confidence to engage in harder tasks such as diligent calorie counting and making sure you are in a calorie deficit or surplus to dramatically change your body composition. Establishing a foundation makes everything easier. It’s all a process!
If slashing carbs from your diet, eating far less food, and sweating like a psychopath from doing random exercises to try and burn calories sounds like a nightmare to you, then I’m here to say that there might be a more enjoyable yet effective approach to achieving body composition goals. The key here, and not that flimsy cardboard one, but the solid steel one, is engaging in an additive mindset, not a subtractive one. We’re all about expanding our potential to succeed in what we set out to do.! But first let’s talk about what diet and fitness culture enjoys feeding us….a calorie deficit.
Diet culture focuses on restriction and taking things away from us. Pick any trendy diet and the main mechanism of the diet is calorie restriction. Keto, Paleo, Intermittent Fasting...shits all the same, they give you rules to restrict your calories, they put you in an energy deficit, and in exchange, you lose weight. All these diets have their scientific claims that prove one is superior over others which causes zealots and keyboard warriors in the IG comment section to start verbal warfare. In reality, the odds of one of these diets being superior to another is pretty miniscule. If someone follows the rules of the “fill in the blank” diet and finds success, that’s because it has put them in an energy deficit whether they are aware of it or not. It’s not because of insulin, a lack of carbs, or being in ketosis that got them to lose weight, it’s the consistent calorie restriction.
Fitness culture loves to talk about calorie burn. Companies spend money on advertising to brag about how many calories you burn taking a class with them. “Take this class littered with floor humping burpees, shitty movements with light weights, and no focus on form or technique, and you will burn a bajillion calories” Mainstream advertising is all about thrashing calories through food restriction and mindlessly sweating, as if burning calories is the end-all be-all of health and fitness. Theoretically this CICO (calories in vs calories out) approach makes complete sense, it is effective, and works for many people, but for every success story you see, there are about 100 hidden failure stories that ride along with that success. That’s a pretty shitty ratio, and reveals to me why this might not be the best approach to start things off when trying to improve your health. This subtraction based approach is really tough and the outcome is pretty limited.
This limited, denial and subtraction based approach makes me think that doing the opposite might be better. An additive based approach. That doesn’t mean eating more shitty food. It means adding things to your life that can improve markers of health. You will be healthier, create skill sets, and some body composition changes may ride along with all of this if that is what you are looking for.
Here’s an idea for the New Year: instead of focusing on restriction focus on addition. What can you add to your life that will improve your health? Think of these as add-ons that will improve your situation in life. These add-ons can be part of your health and wellness expansion pack for the year. It’s not a New Year, New You. It’s you + (New Year expansion pack) = Improved you.
Your expansion pack and the list of things you can add to it are infinite, but here are some ideas in terms of health and wellness...since we are in that business:
More steps
The benefits of walking are well documented and you can even pair it up with a podcast, audiobook, or music discovery session for some added brain gains!
Don’t just do cardio for the overestimated calorie burn, do it for your health!
Strength training
Is it tough cutting down on calories right now? Take advantage of the situation and engage in some progressive strength training. Since you aren’t in a calorie deficit you are more likely to build significant muscle mass (if you are maintaining weight and building strength that’s a great marker of progress). When you decide to seriously commit to burning fat, the journey will be much easier with more muscle muscle mass. Plus it’s fun and it’s a skill you can improve upon.
We may be biased towards strength training, but the benefits of progressive strength training are endless.
Add more whole foods to your diet
Here’s a solid infographic if you are having trouble thinking of things you can add to your diet.
Go on more hikes and active trips
Eat more protein
Getting more protein in your diet is not just about building muscle it has many other major roles in keeping us alive and striving. Here’s a great guide to how much daily protein you should aim for (Link)
Cook more meals
Know what is in your food and save money!
Check out this website for simple and cheap recipes. It even tells you how much it is per serving Link
Get more sleep
Sleep is important for a variety of reasons; it has benefits in mental health and cognitive function, recovery from and adaptation to exercise, cardiometabolic health, and many others. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep/day, even if you are a busy NYer!
Eat more plant based meals
Eat more plants! It’s good for you and good for the environment.
Add a healthy breakfast to your daily routine
This is one that I like to meal prep for. Mini frittatas are a game changer when it comes to breakfast meal prep. Check out this recipe!
The list goes on and these are just a few examples. Adding in healthy habits is a great start and can be an easier way to chalk up some wins than being calorie and scale obsessed. These wins add up over time to yield some amazing results! If you aren’t in a hurry with changing body composition, you want to enjoy the process, and you want to improve your overall health then this is the way to go!
Slow and steady wins the race
Real talk: If you have lofty and timely constricted fitness goals then this might not be the best route and a more measured approach will help you manage your goals. You can get to your goals faster, but you will have to be strict with food and ramp up sacrifices to your enjoyment. It takes a lot of work and can be a part time job. I will go over this in the next blog post. Comment below and let us know what’s included in your expansion pack this year!