Week One of the PNP March Challenge - What We Learned
This month, my clients are doing a little challenge. Honestly, I read, re-read, and then finally wanted to quit reading their journals last month because so many of them were totally sabotaging their workouts and clean menus. It is frustrating as a trainer, friend, and "queen of PNP" to hand out advice all day long on how to get weight off only to see people totally undo the hardwork with silly bites of junky, mindless food nibbles.
Several people can't get the scale to move despite their exercise journals being completed with clean foods and LOADED with hard workouts and. I dug a little deeper and read through their comments. I quickly realized these people were NOT sticking to their eating plans. They HAD eating plans but were mindlessly stuffing their faces with little bites, licks, and tastes (BLT's) all day long.
See people, when you weigh-in and the scale stands still this is what you remember:
1. Every day going to the gym and busting your butt ridiculously hard.
2. Not being able to walk for two days because you tore your legs up really good.
3. Being slightly hungry before bed each night.
4. Having carrots, salads, chicken, and fruit like you were the poster child for the Eat Clean Diet.
5. Drinking so much water you could float a boat.
Reality is:
1. Every morning when you are packing that clean lunch you eat 2-3 crackers while portioning out the ones you are taking to work.
2. Each afternoon you grab one little piece of chocolate candy from Susie's desk on the way to the bathroom. It's like a ritual.
3. A couple of times you went out to lunch ordering the healthy choice salad but took a snippet or two of the bread on the table.
4. At dinner while clearing the dishes you grabbed a spoonful or two of the leftover beans, casserole, or potatoes you made for your family.
5. While making dinner you tossed a few nuts in your mouth...they are healthy right?
6. After Little Johnnie finishes his macaroni and cheese, you eat the last two small spoonfuls before washing the plate.
7. Before giving Little Johnnie his food, you "taste" it to make sure it's OK because there is no way your two year old will be able to communicate what they like and don't like. LOL.
Uhhhh...hitting home a little bit? It should be. I bet if you are the person who is sitting there wondering why you are on a plateau, repeatedly pouring over your cals burned last week and your food journal, and just not understanding what is going on, you should check yourself on the BLTs.
The average person is taking in 300-500 calories a day in mindless eating if they routinely have BLTs. This translates into maintenance mode for those who are trying to lose weight. Most of you eat around 1400-1700 calories a day when healthfully dieting. You add in the 300-500 calories of mindless eating and you are living large in good ole maintenance world.
Onto the challenge. Week One - we had to do push-ups or pop-squats for every BLT. It's AMAZING how a lot of girls finally saw a drop in the scale, felt their clothes loosen this week, saw the tummy bloat go down, and actually realized how much they truly were eating. Ya'll it's a lot!!! Nibbles are freaking expensive in the diet check-out lane. BLT's are the same as adding in half a splurge meal daily for most people!!!
So, this week I'm upping their challenge. They'll find out tonight what the next step is. What I want my clients to do is drop a comment here about the biggest revelation you had this week in terms of your BLTs. What did you learn?
Tomorrow the topic is going to be: Why do you punish people for having a BLT of a banana?