Our Trainer Lindsey in Foxboro is moving on to a new opportunity, but we wanted to share one last piece of wisdom from her on her last day! 

"Let’s talk weight loss, shall we?

The first thing I hear from clients when they want to lose weight and tone up, is how they believe they need to dramatically cut the amount of calories they are eating and jump onto the cardio machines. It is a common misconception that this is the most effective solution to long term weight loss, and I can not stress the word “misconception” in that statement enough. To burn off that weight/fat, what you really need to do is build lean muscle mass and eat plenty of good, nutritious calories while doing so!

10 lbs of lean muscle burns an extra 500 calories a day (3500 extra calories a week) while at rest, which is the equivalent of running 4-5 miles miles a day. So what should you do ? Let your lean muscle mass do the running for you (pun intended!) By adding resistance training & weight lifting to your routine, on top of eating enough, properly fueling your body with clean, healthy foods, you can add on that 10lbs of lean muscle and ramp up your body’s metabolism, turning it into a fat burning machine.

On paper, this may sound like you would be gaining weight, but trust me here! You need that muscle weight! The scale never tells the full story and you will be dropping inches before you know it. Building lean muscle mass does takes time, so be patient. Remember, you are making a lifestyle change, not a 2 month change. Could you go on a crash diet, dramatically cut your calories, and see temporary results faster? Sure. But let me tell you why that will end up working against you. Eating too few calories puts your body in starvation mode, causing your body to preserve energy by slowing the amount of energy you burn. Eventually this slows down your metabolism, hurting you in the long run once you come out of your caloric deficit and eat as you normally had before the cut. This is why most people tend to gain back all the weight they originally lost, and then some! Eating too little also causes muscle loss, which goes against the previously discussed, as our goal here is to add on the lean muscle to burn off the fat. Why does eating too little cause muscle loss? Because a caloric depletion means you are not getting the proper nutrients your body needs to build and maintain that much desired muscle.

If you are not getting enough nutrients, that means you are not getting enough protein, and protein is one nutrient that plays a role in burning calories!  The body responds to lack of protein by breaking down muscle to use for energy. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so it's crucial to consume enough calories from protein to keep that muscle on. Losing muscle negatively impacts your body composition, in a sense replacing the muscle with fat, meaning that you'll burn fewer calories than when you started cutting calories in the first place and overtime you will not see the results you really want. So In summary - let’s stop with the term “losing weight” and instead let me ask these questions: Want to lose inches? Want to tone up? Want to shed fat? Want to simply make day to day activities easier and less stressful on your body? Pick up those weights, use some resistance, add in some heart healthy cardio, & do not be afraid of the healthy, nutrient dense, clean calories that you need to properly fuel your body and promote that muscle growth!"

Thanks for the Tip Lindsey, we'll miss seeing you around the club!

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