If only we had a dollar for every time we have heard people say “fruit makes you fat and lifting weights makes you bulky.
TRUE STORY! Carbs don’t make you “fat” by themselves, fruit is good for you and lifting doesn’t make you “bulky”!
CASE STUDY
STATS: Female, mom of 2, 41 years old-works in the home
ACTIVITY: Runs on the treadmill or outside 6 days per per week. Most of these runs are long - 5-8 mile runs - on her “recovery” day runs are 3 miles and all runs are about the same pace
DIET: Has heard carbs and fruit are bad and they “make you fat”. Eats very little throughout the day during the week and nothing before running. Eats yogurt, some cheese sticks, celery and lunch meat. At dinner eats a salad with some protein. On the weekend over consumes unknowingly by eating bigger servings of “healthy” options and snacking more freely on her kids goldfish and little snacks because “it’s the weekend”. She splurges on pizza and drinks one night per weekend.
Does this sound like anyone you know? 🙋🏽♀️
This person came to us not understanding why she wasn’t attaining the body composition goals she was looking for. After-all, she was doing everything right! Running her ass off - eating very little carbs in general and eating so clean during the week!
Long story short…in general she wasn’t getting enough fiber or protein nor enough fuel for her performance during the week. And on the weekends she was getting too much food unknowingly which put her in a high carb high fat calorie surplus.
We added a ton of food into her week day routine. We upped her fiber by adding more fruits, veggies + whole grains, and we upped her protein & fat by having her consume more lean meats and healthy plant based fats like oil and avocado.
She begrudgingly started eating all these foods she thought were “off limits” during the week which caused her to be more satisfied, less hungry and decreased her desire to snack and overeat on the weekends.
In addition we reduced her steady state running days, added in 3 days of weight training + added some varied sprints into her running.
The combination of all these things resulted in an aesthetic appearance of a leaner more muscular body, and her body fat went down significantly. When she runs now her runs are stronger and faster than they were before. She ended up PR’ing and winning a race in her age division that she had run in the past.
Moral of the story…
🔥EAT FRUIT! CARBS/SUGAR FROM FRUIT IS MUCH DIFFERENT THAN CARBS FROM PROCESSED JUNK FOODS THAT CONTAIN NO FIBER OR NUTRIENTS!
➡️ In the United States, one of the # 1 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫s 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞, 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 is not eating enough fruit! On this list is also the underconsumption of whole grains and high intakes of sodium.
➡️A diet rich in vegetables and fruits can lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, prevent some types of cancer, lower risk of eye and digestive problems, and have a positive effect upon blood sugar, which can help keep appetite in check. Fruits are high in fiber, vitamins and plentiful in antioxidants.
🔥LIFT WEIGHTS! LEAN MUSCLE MASS NATURALLY DIMINISHES WITH AGE! LIFT WEIGHTS TO PRESERVE & BUILD MUSCLE MASS!
CHECK OUT JUST A FEW OF THE BENEFITS OF LIFTING WEIGHTS!
➡️ Develop strong bones. By stressing your bones, strength training can increase bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
➡️Manage your weight & change your shape. Strength training can help you manage or lose weight, and it can increase your metabolism by building muscle to help you burn more calories.
➡️Enhance your quality of life. Strength training may enhance your quality of life and improve your ability to do everyday activities. Strength training can also protect your joints from injury. Building muscle also can contribute to better balance and may reduce your risk of falls. This can help you maintain independence as you age.
Bottom line… lifting weights and cardio together are going to give you the best bang for your buck and something is better than nothing! But just know - that adding weight training into your week will provide you with better results than just doing cardio alone. AND if you are worried about getting “bulky” - don’t! One has to work really hard to get bulky!
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Global Burden of Disease - resository.gheli.harvard.edu
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vegetables-and-fruits/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/strength-training/art-20046670
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