Exercise more, eat less….is that what you’ve been told?

Doctors will tell you to lose weight that you have to eat less, exercise more.

You’re a good patient so you dutifully eat a “pack” of oatmeal for breakfast, soup for lunch and a salad and grilled chicken for dinner THEN you hop on the treadmill/bike/elliptical for 30-60 minutes 3-5x/week ….

…..and you still haven’t lost any fat plus you feel like sh*t – no energy/exhausted, no motivation. You are probably also annoyed and mad at this process so you give in and go back to the way you were living – because you can’t live like that any more!

You start to give up hope or you think there is something wrong with you – you’re weak or your body and hormones are messed up and there’s no way to fix them.

I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be like that!

While there is some truth to eat less, exercise more, often times it’s eat MORE, exercise differently and get some sleep!

When you were younger, you could just cut out some calories and the weight dropped off – that was before you had a serious job or any kids and before you were caring for aging parents .

But now, you can’t eat like a bird and expect to lose weight/fat – it doesn’t work any more.

A three year old eats 900 calories a day, not grown women. We need more than 900 calories and we need more than 1200 calories per day (another common number thrown around.)

And the “exercise more” bit? Maybe – if you are completely inactive, you DO need to move your body – but it’s not an hour on the elliptical.

You must include strength training.

As we age (starting at about 30 years old), our muscle atrophy – strength training dramatically slows that process and, as you head toward menopause, can help make up for the lost estrogen that helps keep our bodies lean.

So, yah, maybe you need to eat less and exercise more…but make sure you are first eating enough and second, that you prioritize strength training.