Have you ever thought, I’ve been walking every day, so why am I not losing any weight? The scale just doesn’t seem to be moving. Does that mean that walking doesn’t work? Walking alone may not always be enough. Walking became their entire fitness plan. If your goal is to build muscle, changing your body composition, that’s where strength training comes. Don’t measure the value of your walk only by what the scale says. The biggest victories are the ones you can’t measure with a number.
Hey, everyone. Bienvenidos. Welcome back to the Vanessa Carlton fitness podcast. This is episode nine. I’m Doctor Vanessa Carlton, physical therapist and founder of Vanessa Carlton Fitness, where we help busy women become healthier and more confidence without spending hours in the gym. Because guys, who has time for that? Right. All right. So for today. Have you ever thought, man, I’ve been walking every day, so why am I not losing any weight?
Maybe you’re getting your steps in. You’re taking that time to get in that walk after dinner or on your lunch break. You’re walking in your neighborhood, even walking on the treadmill, but the scale just doesn’t seem to be moving. The scale isn’t moving. Does that mean that walking doesn’t work? Or is there something else missing? Right. So let’s talk about it.
So I just want to clarify really quickly. Walking is not bad. I’m not saying don’t walk or anything like that. I have earlier in my career we had our women’s gyms. That was the one thing I was young. I was maybe in my early 30s, and so many women were telling me, I love to walk. I love to walk.
I love to walk. I love to walk. You know, I lost x amount of pounds walking. I’m working with a client right now who, before starting to work with me, started her journey by walking. Then after a few months, almost into a year, started going to the gym here and there and just on her own lost 80 pounds, right?
And there’s so many benefits. Even even my mother in law. Years ago, I was just joking with her and kind of poking the bear, so to speak. I kept asking her how, well, how many steps are you really getting in? And that’s what kind of started her journey, you know, doing her water exercises in the pool, but then also now getting her 10,000 steps in has made a huge change in her life.
Right. But maybe, you know, somewhere along the line, maybe it’s you, or maybe you know of someone where the results or they kind of plateaued a little bit. So here’s the short answer.
Walking is one of the best things you can do for your health. But here we go. Walking alone may not always be enough to create the changes that you’re hoping for. That doesn’t mean that walking is the problem. It simply means we need to understand what walking actually does and what it doesn’t do. And also keep in mind every time I meet with someone, whether it was back in the day, in our gyms, or even now when I have my one on one zoom sessions with women all over the world understanding what season of life you’re in, right?
Okay, so let’s talk about understanding what walking actually does and what it doesn’t do. I’ve worked with women who tell me I walk every single day and that’s wonderful. And then I ask, okay, well, what else are you doing? Usually the answer is not much. Walking became their entire fitness plan. And again, like I mentioned before, walking is fantastic.
But our bodies benefit from variety. It’s amazing how fearfully and wonderfully we are made right. I remember doing dissections in grad school and all the muscles and nerves and arteries and veins and fascia bones. I mean, we’re so complex. So again, our bodies benefit from variety, especially as we get older. Walking is amazing because it’s going to improve your heart health.
I can tell in this season of my life, especially at the end of the week, it helps to reduce stress, helps me to just catch my breath. Is supports mental health right? It improves circulation. So again it improves your heart health. It reduces your stress, supports mental health, improves circulation. It helps you to stay active. It’s something you’re naturally supposed to do.
It’s gentle on your joints. It helps your low back. I remember working with patients who have had back surgery, and that’s one of the first things we do is get them up and start walking. And that’s a pretty impressive list. So please, please, please, please don’t hear me say stop walking. That’s not what I’m saying. I’m actually going to tell you the opposite.
Keep walking. But here’s that. But again, if your goal is to build muscle, increase your strength, build lean muscle, improve improving your bone density, or changing your body composition. Walking may need some help, and that’s where strength training comes in. Here’s something that many women, for whatever reason, don’t realize. Every decade our body is going to change after 40.
We naturally begin to lose muscle. If. Here’s the big if if if if we don’t actively maintain it right, you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. Muscle isn’t just about looking toned. Muscle helps us stay strong, move better, support our joints, and it plays an important role in maintaining a healthy metabolism. Your metabolism is that fire, that fuego in your body that you want to keep burning, right?
You want to keep it alive. You don’t want it to just fizzle out. That’s one reason I encourage women to include resistive training alongside of the walking that they’re already doing. Just to give an example, I remember one client who faithfully walked every morning, even whether it was rain or shine. She rarely missed, and she was frustrated because nothing seemed to be changing.
She was just at this point where she wanted to see different changes in her body, in her strength, and instead of asking her to walk more, we added two strength training sessions each week. Now, it wasn’t the we didn’t do the same thing day in and day out. We changed it over time, but it was nothing extreme. It was simple.
It was doable for her. It was safe and it didn’t interfere with her routine. And they were progressive exercises. A few months into this, she wasn’t just walking. She was carrying heavy things like her groceries, her her heavy grandchildren. Right. She was getting up from the floor with more confidence, you know, when it came to, like, purging her home or putting up decorations and things like that, she could do it without needing help or much more help from her husband.
And that made her feel really confident. She was feeling stronger. She was having more energy. And yes, her body composition began to change to where she stored fat, where she started to lean. So can I encourage you don’t measure the value of your walk only by what the scale says. Remember, the scale cannot tell you everything that’s changing in your body.
Sometimes the biggest victories are the ones you can’t measure with a number. Let me say that again. The biggest victories are the ones you can’t measure with a number. Less stress, a better mood. Feeling like you can take deep breaths, more energy, better sleep. The one number I do appreciate is lower blood pressure, right? These things matter. They matter.
Right? I know we talk about muscle and fat, but exercise resistive training helps with all the things you can’t see that are happening inside of this wonderful body that we live in. Weight loss is really about one habit. It’s good, though, to start building at least one healthy habit, so I don’t want to negate that right? Walking. If you if you haven’t started walking and you’re like, I want to do it, go for it, you’re not going to regret it.
But once you start conquering and mastering that one habit, weight loss is really about just one. It’s usually the result of many healthy habits working together. That’s what I call that positive feedback loop, right? Drinking adequate water. Making good healthy food choices. Resting exercise. Getting in good activity that you enjoy like walking so many, many healthy habits. Working together like the walking, the strength training, adequate protein, good sleep, managing your stress.
Drinking enough water. Being consistent. We’re habit training. Not perfect. Not perfection. Right? Progress over perfection. Consistent. We’re looking to be consistent and a little bit over time yielding that compound effect. Right. That positive feedback loop working together. So if you’re already walking you’re doing something good for your body. Celebrate that. Yes. Now okay. Just ask yourself. What’s the next healthy habit I can build?
Very simple. What’s the next healthy habit I can build that’s doable. That’s going to benefit me. Maybe it’s lifting weights twice a week. Maybe it’s eating more protein. Maybe it’s getting to bed a little bit earlier, right? Maybe it’s 15 minutes early or 30 minutes earlier. You don’t have to change everything all at once. Just keep building. Most times when I meet with people and we do our reach and rise assessment, that’s only a dollar.
It’s the first assessment where we can chat, we can talk, we can go over goals. I can see how their body is moving and really try to understand what season of life they’re in. Most times people want everything. They want what to eat and all the things. And I and I remind them, I can give you everything. But most times, in my experience these last 20 years, if I give you everything all at once, it’s too much.
It’s overwhelming. Even when I work with my patients coming out of surgery. Right? That’s one of the things as a clinician, as a physical therapist, I had to learn, like just giving them what they need right now. And as they healed and repair and rehab, give them a little bit more. Same thing with you in your fitness journey.
My goal is to meet you where you’re at to get you to where you need to be, right? So if you want to take advantage of that $1 reach and rise assessment, definitely go for it. Visit us on Vanessa Carlson. Com and you can reach out. And one of our awesome team members will reach out back to you.
Okay. Going back to what you’re saying, what I was saying, you don’t have to change everything. Just keep building. Right. And you don’t have to feel like you have to do it alone. Let’s help have someone come alongside you to help you. No one comes out of the womb knowing all this stuff, right? I truly believe movement is one of God’s gifts.
We weren’t created to sit all day, and that’s something we’re fighting in this day and age where the most sedentary generation, right on the computers we were created to move, to fight against gravity, to play, to serve, to enjoy life. Walking is one beautiful way to honor the body that God has given us. And when we combine it with other healthy habits, we’re investing in the future version of ourselves, right?
It helps us now, but it also helps us in a year from now, in the next decade, and so on and so forth. So here is a challenge for you this week. If you’re already walking, keep walking. But let’s add one. One Uno one strength workouts one maybe extra serving of protein. Look at your meals right. So we’re going to add one thing.
Maybe it’s one strength workout which that’s my favorite one. One extra serving of protein one earlier bedtime. Maybe it’s one healthier meal. Maybe instead of eating something junky at the end of the week, you eat something healthy, right? Or go to bed. Maybe you’re just tired. You need to go to bed. Maybe it’s one more glass of water.
Maybe you’re hitting 16oz. Let’s make it 32. Don’t replace your walk and just quit, right? Keep walking. But bailed on it. Bailed on it. Small improvement lead to lasting results, I promise. I’ve seen it in so many lives of women. All right, guys, so today’s episode encourage you. Please share it with someone. Maybe that’s someone is someone who’s walking every day, but is feeling frustrated that they’re not seeing the results they hope for.
Encourage them to keep walking. But remember, walking is one of the best gifts you can give to your body. Sometimes your body is just ready for the next step, right? And that next step is adding the missing piece, if you like. How building a fitness plan that’s designed specifically for your goals, your body, this particular season of life you’re in, and your lifestyle.
I would love, love, love, love to help again, visit Vanessa Carlson or you can reach out to us at (207) 467-5509. To learn more about our one on one live coaching, live virtual training, and supportive community. Thank you so much for spending time with me today. These episodes are encouraging you and helping you become healthier. I would love to have you join us.
Please consider subscribing so you don’t miss future conversations. We release new episodes every weekday and I’d love to continue this journey with you. All right. Until next time, keep moving, keep smiling, keep walking, and remember your health. Is it built by one perfect workout? It’s built by faithful choices made consistently one step at a time. One workout at a time, one meal at a time.
We’re getting 1% better every day. God bless you and I’ll see you in the next episode.
Episode ten, where we talk about why motivation actually can hinder you, but what actually works? All right. God bless Ciao for now.
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.