In the mood for a reminder as to why the scale is shit for a progress metric?
These photos are taken 12 weeks apart.
On the left I had been in a calorie surplus for about 2 months. My strength training was 5-6 days per week. Lots of steps, probably around 15k per day. It was cold, were were home bound most days and I spent plenty of time walking slow on the treadmill while I was watching Netflix.
I was deep into my recovery phase, not tracking my intake, working out as it felt good and giving my body rest.
THIS WAS A CRITICAL and INTENTIONAL TIME for what came next.
Early in March I switched to a full body training split that has me working HARD in the gym three days a week. The other four days I focus on recovery, mobility and dynamic stretching. There is walking every day because I love it. No formal cardio otherwise.
I am eating some of everything and all of nothing.
I am actually recovering on my rest days.
I am managing stressors (i.e. setting boundaries and sticking to them).
I am prioritizing things OUTSIDE of exercise that make me feel good.
I am not ‘making up’ for the fact that I possibly ate my weight in rice crispy treats this weekend.
Keep in mind I shifted gears late last year around the holidays when I found myself engulfed by lifestyle stressors that took a direct hit on my gut. So even though the then/now LOOKS like only 12 weeks, I’ve actually been priming MUCH longer to be able to see these changes.
I took four MONTHS prior to this ‘first’ photo to let my body settle in to a surplus. It was three YEARS in maintenance before that.
So before you run out to find the copy cat training program I’m doing, ask yourself, where I have I been for the past 4-6 months?
Tell me, does that change anything? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
