On today’s episode we are busting weight loss myths with health coach, Nichole Bates, of E2 Health!

Myth busting: 3 Things to Consider when #shreddingforthewedding

Why you can’t just spot reduce parts of your body or do extra cardio to get your dream wedding body.

Nichole’s Intro:
First thing I want to say is thanks for having me back, Ashley! We had so much fun with the last
episode we had to come back for another.

ï‚· I’m a health coach and the health coaching manager with E Squared Health, and have been in the industry for over 5 years, working 1:1 with clients to reach their specific health goals!

ï‚· Also, have a Bachelors of Science in Health and Human Performance – Exercise Science + Coaching.

ï‚· I am a certified personal trainer, certified health coach (wellcoaches) and nutrition coach.

ï‚· Mom to two fur babies + I am married, Davis Chiropractor student

What E Squared Health does:
We are a health services company that specializes in health coaching on nutrition and fitness.

What that means, in a nutshell, is we help our clients achieve their health goals (whatever they are weight loss, building beautiful muscles, gaining more energy, etc.) by building them a custom plan to achieve that goal. We won’t and don’t force anyone to fit into our plan. We also focus on data driven decisions – we do in-person assessments for those folks in the Twin Cities area and it can be a huge tool for success and achieving our clients goals!

Intro to today’s topic:

Today I want to MYTH BUST for some brides on 3 common myths brides fall for when #shreddingforthewedding so that brides can really feel their best with their bodies, the confidence, and their health going into the big day!

Myth #1: – “Cardio burns the most fat”

I get a lot of questions about which is better: cardio or strength training? How much of which? When is the best time for which? Etc. Now, the correct answer for all of those questions is: IT DEPENDS! You are going to hear this from me a lot today — but customization is key. That’s why one of our big beliefs and a big part of our coaching process is assessing and figuring out what works best for your specific body.

However, there are some “golden rules” to consider to maximize results:

So many people fall victim to believing the best fat burner is cardio. I am not here to talk negatively about ANY FORM of exercise. But let’s first talk about strength training and why that’s so key:

ï‚· First reason: “AFTERBURN” (I may have talked briefly about this last time but it’s worth
repeating) I am going to do my best to not get too science-y on our listeners but this is the rate at which your body is burning calories post-exercise.

While strength training we aren’t actually burning very many calories in the moment. Sometimes we don’t even get that sweaty when we are lifting weights. Therefore, when we have limited time or we don’t really want to think about it too much we lean on cardio equipment right? We throw on a show and crank it out. The afterburn is that moment we get off the elliptical or treadmill and we look at our heart rate monitor or apple watches and go HECK YES! I just burned 600 calories! First, of all – BE SO PROUD OF YOURSELF! That’s awesome.

However, your body is smart and once you stop moving so does the calorie burn. Going back to strength training that initial calorie burn may look more like 200-300 calories in the moment vs. the 600 burned on the elliptical But your body when it’s strength training is rebuilding muscle post exercise and it continues to burn for the next day, day and ½ so your payouts are higher with strength training.

ï‚· The second thing to consider: pick up heavier weights!

If you’re looking for toning and definition in any body part you should actually consider picking up a heavier weight and doing fewer repetitions. WAIT, WHAT? I know — sounds scary right?Afraid of getting bulky? Don’t be. Using light weights and doing a lot of repetitions (a lot means 15 or more) is a great starting place if you’re just starting out with exercise. It’s a great way to build a base and minimize the risk of injury. However, eventually, you will need to lift heavier weights with fewer repetitions to avoid plateauing and continue to tone your muscles and lose fat.

ï‚· The last thing about exercise, Wondering where cardio fits in?

I typically recommend to people is first when you are just started out with exercise anything you do matters and makes a difference. Just focus on getting consistent. After 6-8 weeks of consistent exercise, you’ll want to start to be more strategic with your ratio of strength to cardio and even recovery workouts.

BUT AGAIN REMEMBER IT DEPENDS – on YOU as a person!

That ratio is typically 3:2:1 (3 days strength, 2 days cardio, 1-day recovery – yoga, pilates type of thing) This sounds like a huge time commitment and it is… Not everyone can exercise 6 days a week like that! I can’t even do that. So this ratio can look different for everyone depending on how they respond to exercise and stress.

Also, considering their schedule, goals, and what’s realistic in their life. Therefore, for cardio, I often encourage people to consider ditching the hour-long elliptical workout and try HIIT training (high-intensity-interval training). This will save you time, energy and actually will be more effective for your body because it’s less stressful on the body.

Exercise is stress on the body – positive stress most of the time because it’s focused on burning calories and moving our bodies – but we can overdo it when it comes to exercise too!

Stress leads me to our next myth”¦

Myth #2 – “Exercise is the best way to manage stress”

As good as endorphins feel in the moment with exercise it could be adding to your stress. Quick reminder we talked about stress in our last episode “How to keep stress in check whileplanning a wedding” tune into that episode to hear more! We talked about stress and the areas that cause stress on the body:

ï‚· Nutritional

ï‚· Physical

ï‚· Mental/Emotional

And how stress can prevent you from #shreddingforyourwedding specifically when physical stress + emotional stress is high (which HELLO planning for a wedding – kind of stress right?) and we are not aware of how our bodies are responding to exercise.

ï‚· In-person assessments

We work with our clients to determine what is the appropriate level of exercise, and the specifics of that workout plan. Each of our coaches has a background in exercise and have access to our movement specialist.

Andrew, our movement specialist, helps our clients determine where our bodies are holding onto stress that’s limiting our muscle contraction or creating tension and pain in our bodies. During in-person assessment is focused on reducing stress on the body by helping the brain speak to the body and vice versa. If they aren’t communicating, it’s creating more stress.

Here a quick example to understand what I mean:

Most brides and most people want flatter tummies or smaller waistlines – and you do 1,000 crunches in a effort to see change. There maybe be something in your brain or your body that’s not connecting, not allowing for full muscles contraction or preventing you from engaging these muscles correctly! This means you aren’t seeing the results you are looking for and your body is under stress every time you try to do it. Andrew will help you identify what that is and you will have way more results in the gym! CRAZY RIGHT!?

Also, if you are someone who LOVES to workout because it’s your stress management go-to and your body isn’t responding well to high levels of exercise we want to help you, help yourself reduce stress.

ï‚· Work hard, recover harder

We want to help our clients work hard, but recover harder. Since exercise is a source of stress, we as coaches are not afraid to recommend that our clients start setting a recovery based goal to support both mental/emotional stress and physical stress from exercise. This might be something like: Increasing your amount of sleep, adding in yoga, pilates, maybe some meditation or breathing. Could be something like a gratitude journal, taking warm baths, getting massages etc.

Anything we can do increase you bodies ability to be out of a “fight or flight” state is key! It’s even more critical with in the 24-48 hours after exercise. If you aren’t recovering you aren’t seeing the “gains” you want to see.

Alright, last myth:

Myth #3 – “Doing more crunches will get me abs”

I used to tell my clients an expression when it comes to our lovely mid-sections “Abs are made in the kitchen” However, it’s not entirely true. Our lean, sexy muscle, in this case abdominals, are made from our blood, sweat, and tears in the gym doing: crunches and sit-ups, you name it.

However, those pretty muscles might be hidden under a layer of fat if we are not also spending time “in the kitchen”. Aka on our nutrition plan.

ï‚· 80% nutrition 20% exercise

It’s becoming more common knowledge to many people that nutrition is 80% where the change in our body composition comes from and 20% comes from exercise. But gym memberships are up more than 21% this past year. And it’s the first thing people think about “starting” when they decide they want to lose weight. Hmmm”¦ something off here!?

Why would you want to focus on the 20% if where the remaining 80% is what’s actually going to get you to your goals? Not only does nutrition support body composition more but it also helps you recover and fuel your workouts.

Let’s talk about carbs – our favorite food group. YUM!

Carb prioritization is something we need to be considering for everyone exercising or not. I am not going to tell you to eat low carbs, no carbs, only carbs, or even recommend a style of diet or eating but we should be considering our exercise and carbohydrate timing.

ï‚· BURN IT TO EARN IT! Is something that I want to be branded on everyone’s brain.

And here’s the point: If you are not exercising you don’t need carbohydrates coming outside of fruits and vegetables alone. The most appropriate time for carbs is actually post-exercise. And this is commonly the time I hear people say “I just worked out I don’t want to ruin what I just did, I’m going to eat a salad” No-no-no you don’t want to eat junk food after a workout but your body needs to replenish it’s glycogen stores you just used to perform your workout. Not let me be clear – a salad isn’t a bad choice but you are probably going to need more than that to recover and be full.

Enter in grains + starchy vegetables: rice, quinoa, oats, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, etc. These items should be included in the meal following your workout.

Now you may be hearing this for the first time thinking – wait when do I add in carbs then, especially if I am not working out all the time. Well, how and when outside of burn it to eat is it “DEPENDS!” Depends on your schedule, your workouts, your goals, and how your body responds to it all.

I know “It depends” is getting old but the truth with wellness is it science experiment and its done better with an expert supporting you. Also, you know what makes us lean?

ï‚· VEGETABLES!

And like I mentioned before we aren’t going to put you on a specific diet unless we find a style that makes sense for you – and we together (coach and client) decide it makes sense. But, no good diet exists without vegetables. Even if you cringe at just hearing the word – I guarantee we can find different ways to make them work for you! Now, the very last thing I want to talk about today is..

ï‚· Custom plan for your goals

This is the bread and butter of our coaching and we take so much pride in the custom plans we make for our clients. Today the word custom is being used and abused – meaning everyone ends up getting the same “custom plan” therefore, it’s not really customized”¦.

With E Squared Health that’s not the case. We are actually sitting down reviewing all our information you give us and creating what we think will help you achieve your goals. And you get this during your complimentary 30 days – therefore if you never want to coach with us again at the end of your trial you get to take that plan with you and try it on your own. We do this because we believe so strongly in education and empowerment. We want you to be successful with your health and goals long after you are done working with us.

Final thoughts:
If you are interested in learning more the biggest suggestion I have for you is to follow us on social:
@esquaredhealth on Instagram and on Facebook you will search it E Squared Health. And follow me @Coach.Nichole.Bates

There you can learn more about our philosophies, how we coach our clients and get connected in coaching if you are interested!

Ready to get started with coaching? You can email me Nichole@esquaredhealth.com (make sure you include the H in Nichole) And you are welcome to start a free month of coaching!