I was a little nervous about today’s topic about weight loss. It can bring up frustration, discouragement-the biggest weight loss myths that are keeping women stuck. Have you ever lost some weight only to gain it back? You are not alone. Sometimes we start chasing quick fixes like different diets. Myth numero uno that there is a magic diet. That exercise helps with all the things you can’t see. is progress over perfection.
Hello. Welcome back. This is episode four of the VC fitness podcast. My name is Vanessa Carlson, and I was a little nervous about today’s topic talking about weight loss, because I know that it can be very emotional or an emotional topic. It can bring up some feelings of maybe frustration, discouragement. However, even more of a reason to kind of lean in and press into today’s topic where I wanted to discuss the biggest weight loss myths and or lies that are keeping people, in particular women, stuck.
And so I wanted to share some things that I have experienced working with primarily women. We had our two gyms for about seven years and just things that I have learned also the last 20 years working in the fitness industry, whether as a clinician, as a physical therapist and various settings, or as a gym owner, trainer, performance coach, instructor.
And one of the things that I’ve realized is that the fitness industry can sometimes be full of all these promises that sound good, but rarely lead to lasting success. And this episode, I want to kind of bust through some of the myths and hopefully also break away some of maybe areas of discouragement and bring hope and inspiration and encouragement.
And so with that said, have you ever lost some weight only to gain it back again, or maybe even a little bit more than what you had before? If so, you are not alone. You are not alone. It’s happened to many people that I know, whether family, friends, clients, other trainers, myself. So hope that brings you hope. It’s not just you, it’s happened to many people.
And the problem is, is not that you’re feeling. I believe is that sometimes we start chasing quick fixes that don’t lead to lasting habits, that are going to give you lasting success. And so today, I just want to give you my top 4 or 5 minutes or things that I’ve seen over the years, because I know that people have tried like different diets.
Right. So I remember working with a performance coach, actually, who was a nutritional coach, and it was in a season of my life, I was about 28, 29, and I was deciding to, you know, I’m going to do this physique show. I was working as a physical therapist. I had been, you know, in the past teaching people with Pilates, spin, weight training, performance coaching.
But I really wanted to just challenge myself and change my own body and just take it to the next level. It was a personal goal, and I was doing my workouts, making some gains and just listening to other people who really did have good intentions of the diets or ways they were eating that didn’t necessarily fit my body and my goals.
And I started to get really, really sick. And one of the things that this nutritional coach told me was, what’s in the word diet D I so instead of trying to follow a diet, figuring out what does my body need in this season to give me the energy to give me the fuel and the nutrients from my particular excuse me lifestyle or goal.
So I’ve just, over the years, have a lot of people sharing with me different diets, different detoxes and cleanses. And I’m not saying a detox is bad or a cleanse is bad, but sometimes when you’re just focusing on that one thing as opposed to the picture as a whole. So one of the things I talk to a lot of clients, whether in my gyms or even now when I do one on one zoom personal training or one on one in person personal training is getting that positive feedback loop going.
So not just a detox, right? It’s making sure that we’re getting adequate rest. We’re getting your water. We’re making good changes to your diet. What are your vegetables look like? Are you getting enough protein and your exercise routine and keeping that wheel going where you’re feeling good, you’re making gains. It’s becoming fun. You’re feeling confident, and it’s becoming a habit.
Other things that I’ve heard people try and, you know, not just one person collectively meal replacements. Again, it’s not bad to have a smoothie or a real replacement bar, but when you’re not taking that bar or shake anymore, you start to revert to old habits, as opposed to building new habits that are going to be long lasting and sustainable and keep you on the right track.
You know, reaching your goals. And some other examples. Are people just taking total food groups out, right? And I think there are some outliers. I know people have food sensitivities and things like that. But again, you may take out all of your carbs or whatever it is, but then when you bring it back in, you’re you’re gaining the weight back and or then some.
So the, the goal is to your if you find yourself doing one of these things, one, you’re not alone. It’s okay. Take the pressure off. Forgive yourself, move forward. Do the best with what you know. But when you know more, let’s do better together. You’re not alone in this. It’s good to have someone alongside of you and giving you reminders and accountability.
Okay, with all that said, myth numero uno that there is a magic diet. So I kind of alluded to this before. The problem is, whatever the people that have tried to follow a die diet, they it’s not something that they can live on forever. And so they do it for a few weeks or a few months. They get success, they get some games, they hit their Wacol, and then once they start going back to their old habits, that didn’t suit them well.
They find themselves, you know, where they were before, or maybe even worse. And so looking at food as and I never I wasn’t raised this way. It’s something I learned over time. But is this food item or meal going to give me energy? Is it going to make me feel good or is it going to take energy away?
Is it going to fuel me? Like, you know, when I when you get gas, do you put junk in your in your car. No, you put good fuel. Same thing with your body. Is this going to fuel me up to do my workout? Feel me up to have the energy to do my work or my my business, or be with my family?
Or is it going to deplete me so that mind set shift really help me to see food differently? And the other thing I talk with people about when I meet with them is figuring out what season of life they’re in. Some women are going through menopause, some just have a baby in our postpartum, some are working and in school and have limited time or have limited time to cook but don’t want to eat out.
So working within that season. So knowing the season you’re in and figuring out what foods times are going to be most beneficial for me to reach my goal, well it’s simple. I’m saturating my body and I’m enjoying the food and it’s fueling me up as opposed to taking something away and there being lack. And then when I hit my goals, I overdo it and over consume.
And then I’m right back where I started. Okay, numero two lie number two is that you have to starve yourself. And I kind of alluded to this when I was explaining when I was doing my physique show, you know, I was getting some, I guess, advice, some feedback from a colleague, actually, who was also a natural bodybuilder. And she did phenomenal in her career.
But I realized in this particular arena, many women that I was needing was literally, I want to say, starving themselves or barely eating. And then they were having issues like mentally, emotionally, and it was actually starting to happen to me. And thank goodness my husband stepped in and was like, okay, we’re going to hire a nutrition coach. And I’m so glad he did because I remember thinking, okay, my body is really leaning out my muscles.
I’m really seeing results, but I feel awful. And my I was just a hot mess. My emotions were all over the place. I was reading the cabinets at night and I just remember thinking, this isn’t healthy, right? Big picture. Like, yeah, I want to get on stage, but I also want to be healthy. So maybe for you. Yeah, I want to meet this goal, but I wanted to sustain and I want to be healthy about it.
And you don’t have to starve yourself. It’s just figuring out what do I like that’s, you know, going to give me nutrients and fit. I can make the food in such a way and portion control to fit your needs. Okay. So line number three exercise is just about burning calories. So many people just over the years is, oh, I burned 350 calories during this, you know, 30 40 minute workout.
Oh, I only burned 200 during this strength training. That’s not enough. And they become so fixated on this number. And I want to remind you, and even if maybe you’ve never had anyone tell you this, please listen to this. If there’s anything you get from this podcast is that exercise helps with all the things you can’t see. So yes, we talk about muscle building and fat loss and all that, but exercise is helping all the systems in your body that you can’t see.
So it’s helping your lymphatic system, your endocrine system, your digestive system, your nervous system, your cardiac system, respiratory, on and on, musculoskeletal, of course, all the systems that are working. Thank God, without you having to think about exercise helps with that. And like in the other podcast or podcast number three, we’re talking about getting in at least 15 minutes, right, anywhere between 15 to 30 minutes.
And I want to share with you a quick story that I’m just reminded of right now. I was working with one of my clients who is a young professional. She just finished from a school, has her first real job, as she would like to say, and I’ve been working with her, and when she started her real job and got into her stride and the workload, she started to feel discouraged and she couldn’t fit in her workouts.
So I got on the phone, we had a nice chat and I just reminded her and I said, okay, take the pressure off of trying to get in an hour workout and instead let’s see where we can fit in 15 minutes. And after talking, she said, you know what? I can do this on my lunch break. I can head to the gym in my apartment complex.
And she did. And I remember her feedback. One of the things that she really emphasized was how much better she felt in 15 minutes. She felt she had more clarity, more energy, and more focus to do her work day. Boom! Isn’t that amazing? So yes, it’s going to help her build muscle, build her capacity, her course during her balance, but it also helps you to feel better and just a short amount of time.
So don’t get hung up on the how many calories that I built. Bird. Excuse me? Or if you got it in for an hour instead, remember that you know you’re getting a lot of gains. It’s helping your whole entire body breathe better, feel better. Go to the bathroom. Better. Your heart. It’s going to help your bones and your muscles.
Which leads me into my next myth is that people fixate or feel like the scale is going to tell the whole story and the truth and nothing but the truth. No, I know that the scale is a metric that we use, that we can use. But with all of my clients, I always emphasize seeing the big picture. So when we have our consultation or even when we do our reassessments every month or every other month, always looking at the big picture.
So seeing what what is the baseline, right. So can you do a push up. Can you hold the plank. What is your your mobility flexibility look like. Can you walk a mile. What is your time look like? Can you run a mile. What is your time look like along with looking at if you if they wanted their measurements right, seeing where their measurements are, they can jump on the scale if they’d like.
And then I also tell them, take photos because you’re going to be able to see how your muscles sometimes. And I’ll give you another example. I have a client that I’ve been working with for a year. She’s actually getting ready to get married. Beautiful soul. She’s a teacher, works with young, I think kindergarten students and nevertheless so within the year.
Okay. Her weight hasn’t changed, but we. I showed her before and after just her back alone from when we started to now. And you can see the symmetry, the definition, the muscles. And within a year the scale says she’s only lost 5 pounds. But you can see the difference in her body, the leanness. And not only that, she feels better, has more confident and knows exactly what to do in the gym so she’s not wasting time, and also so she can feel great on her wedding day in her life, you know, as a whole.
So I say all that because don’t just focus on the scale. The scale is a myth is alive. And the other myth that people get hung up on when it comes to losing weights in their health and fitness journey, is that it has to be perfect. Perfection is overrated. Just like how I mentioned motivation is overrated, so is perfection.
We I have a coach and one of the things he he says often or frequently is getting 1% better. And one of the things I’m always telling people is progress over perfection. So and it’s actually good to make mistakes, right? Like making mistakes means that you’re trying you’re you’re attempting give yourself the grace to learn and to grow from that.
Because if you’re doing everything perfect, how can you help or inspire someone else coming up in the ranks, whether a friend or family member, student, whatever, there’s grace in that. And give yourself, like I mentioned before, do the best with what you know. And when you learn more, you do better. And each workout or each meal, you’ll get a little bit better each time.
You know, people, I remember being in the gyms and just like, oh, I had pizza over the weekend. I ate too much or I had a cookie for lunch. It’s one of those like, bless me, trainer, for I have sinned. Here’s my confession. It’s okay. But let’s keep going, right? Don’t get hung up. That or even like, oh, I didn’t have an hour today.
I only got 40 minutes. That’s amazing. It’s great that you got your 40 minutes. The next time you come in, maybe you’ll get a little bit more, but you’re still carving out time for yourself. Remember, your body doesn’t remember that you only did 40 verses an hour. It remembers the actual intentional work and time you’re putting in, and you’re going to yield results on that compound effect.
So just keep going. Don’t. It doesn’t have to be perfect. We just want a little bit more progress and 1% better each time. So your workouts are not going to be ruined if you know you don’t get that full hour or your goals are aren’t going to be ruined. If maybe you over eight or had, you know, a cup of a glass of wine with your your boo over the weekend.
It’s all right. We just keep going. Washrooms repeat. Let it go and keep moving forward. And so I hope that encourages you. If you found yourself maybe kind of wallowing or thinking, one of those myths were reality because it’s not true. Consistency and habit training is much more important, right? Getting in 15 minutes, at least 15 minutes, you know, 4 to 5 times a week versus, you know, an hour once every couple of weeks.
And building in those habits of getting in that 15 minutes, or maybe for you, it’s I’m not even drinking, you know, two glasses of water. So, you know, maybe it’s like, okay, if I’m only getting 16oz, my next goal is 32oz. So I encourage you, I encourage you, encourage you, encourage you to make two goals starting today, this week that you can do, that you can implement.
Again, it doesn’t have to be perfect, but maybe it’s getting in more water. Maybe it’s scheduling a 15 minute strength session. Maybe it’s reaching out to me where you can have, you know, a nice consultation for only a dollar. The first assessments, only a dollar where we can talk chat. I can do an assessment and give you some feedback, and you can do so at (207) 467-5509, or just reach out to VC fitness.
And so I want to share one other story. I had a client she was probably, at this time maybe her late 50s, early 60s, and she was diabetic. And at this time, when we first started working out, she had her diabetes medication, blood pressure medication, cholesterol medication, and those were time within a year she was able to come up, blood pressure able to come off cholesterol and one of her diabetes medication.
And I think she was still on, I want to say metformin, but don’t hold me to that. But my point is, within a year she did lose some weight and definitely some inches. And she I mean, her energy was through the roof, her endurance, her ability to live. I mean, she could run circles and do more than some of the 20 year olds coming into the gym.
At the time, she was enjoying life. She her mobility, getting up off the floor, her balance. She was doing hit, she was lifting. And so I would meet with her once a month to kind of reassess and see where we’re at. And it was about that year marker, where she was just feeling so discouraged because she didn’t break 200 pounds yet and was just like, besides herself.
And I mentioned to her because she, you know, she would let me know what her doctor was saying, give me the reports. And I mean lots of victories to get off blood pressure medication, especially when you’ve been on it for a long time, and cholesterol and one of the diabetes, that’s huge. All her level to her. A1 was doing great.
I mean, she she was sleeping better all the things. Right. But she was just really fixated on her weight which is okay. Like we want to figure it out. But she was kind of on that brink of wanting to give up. And I remember like, hearing her heart, letting her speak, because that’s important. But just reminding her, if you give up and you stop all of the gains of like, your mobility, your strength, your energy, that’s going to go away, right?
If you don’t, if you don’t continue to take care of yourself, if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. Don’t give up. Like, we’ll we’ll figure this out. Like between me, your support at home, your your doctor, we’ll figure this out. And so I mentioned some ideas to her because we had been tracking her food, her vegetables, her macros, all the things.
And we talked about intermittent fasting. And she talked to her doctor. And it was great to have that communication through her with her doctor to give her like, the best support and care in the gym. And she that was like the key we needed. And when she started intermittent fasting, her doctor gave her the a. Okay, I mean boom, that exactly what we needed to lose weight.
Now, I’m not saying don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying for you to start intermittent fasting. It does work long term for people and it’s a great habit. My point, the message here is that she was ready to give up, even though she had gains and victories in so many other areas. She was just like all this weight and I can totally understand.
It can be super, super frustrating. But we kept on 1%, 1%, 1% habit training, habit training and boom, she is better than ever. She was the last time I saw her. She was around one 70s and just feeling great. And that’s that’s where she wanted to be. And so I hope that encourages you. I hope that motivates you to take the next step to start building habits that will help you change your life.
Because when you feel good, you do good and it’s good for everyone around you. So make sure you stay tuned for our next episode where we’re going to talk about pain versus discomfort, what you should and should not be feeling with exercise. God bless Chopra now, thanks for tuning in.
Vanessa Carlson, and I am the owner of Vanessa Carlson Fitness. I am Raider Carlson and I am the general manager. At VC fitness our first goal is our fun first approach with all of our clients. Working out should not feel like a punishment at all, and we strive to make it the highlight of their day. The workouts are tailored.
I love using my background as a doctor, physical therapy to make sure that we’re meeting our clients where they’re at, to help them to get to where they want to be. And I think the third thing is the accountability and communication. So not only do we have one on one sessions with our clients in person and via zoom, but with the app, we are communicating with our clients almost on a daily basis so that they feel confident.
Those companies don’t have a doctor of physical therapy on staff. And so obviously Vanessa is a doctor of physical therapy and highly sought out around the country. And that brings me to my next point that we are the highest rated, the most reviewed personal training company in Portland, Maine, where our headquarters are located. However, we train virtually nationwide through zoom, through live zoom sessions, and so it doesn’t matter where you live.
You can work with Vanessa. And then the third thing is our very first session with Vanessa is only a dollar. We call it the region rise assessments, where basically it’s a meet and greet where she looks at your body using her Doctor of physical therapy skills to make sure that you’re getting the most out of your session and make sure that it’s a good fit for you.
I mean, obviously, we know that we can work with anybody, but obviously it’s got to be a good fit for you. So when I was a child, my grandmother had breast cancer and I was very close with her and was with her for a lot of her appointments with chemo, radiation, all the things and kind of seeing how that affected her.
And I just knew early on I wanted to do something to help people with their health. I didn’t really know what that was going to look like. Fast forward as a child, I remember getting my first Barbie workout video working out with Dance Barbie, and that just was a core memory for me. It closed the door, worked out, felt great, and then fast forward some more.
I knew that I wanted to do something in the health and medical field, and had really great mentors and teachers that helped direct me where I knew I wanted to have a gym one day. I didn’t know how I was going to look, and we had our opportunity. As I was a physical therapist to open our first gym, I just went for it and just really wanted to help people learn how to take care of their bodies.
I just knew that fitness was my passion. And just over the years, it just all worked out together. And here we are. The rest is history. So here’s the thing you don’t have to figure this on your own. And I totally understand how exercise can be overwhelming. We all know that we need to eat healthy and exercise and work out on carve time for it, and don’t feel like you have to know it all.
Do it all by yourself. And even if you’re feeling unmotivated, know that you’re not alone. So my my message to you is surround yourself with someone who is motivated. For someone that is passionate about exercise and eating well and building a positive habits, good healthy habits. I don’t know how to paint, but if I want to make a canvas painting, I’m going to go to a place that the person is a great teacher and passionate about it.
And I’m going to come out with a beautiful painting. Same thing with this. Take the shame. Take the pressure off of your shoulders. You’re not alone in this. Many people I work with all the time don’t know where to start, and I am honored to come alongside and help you figure it out. And just start building that momentum and get in your stride.
And I promise you, you won’t regret it. So anything that we’re saying resonates with you. Don’t wait. Just call the number. Or you can put your information on our website and someone will get. Get back in touch with you very, very quickly. I mean, you got to do it so fast and you don’t know what you’re doing because your mind, which I get in the.
So don’t let them get in the way. Only it’s only $1 to try, Vanessa. And it might be the most impactful hour in 15 minutes of your life. Here at VC fitness for your first consultation, it’s only $1. The assessment is going to just go over some things that are on your heart. Give me a good idea of your body awareness, your mechanics and see if we are a good fit and it only costs $1.
So you can find us at BC fitness. Or you can call the number (207) 467-5509. Again, that is (207) 467-5509. And you can look at us and VC Fitness dot live. And one more time you can call (207) 467-5509. And we are waiting for your call.