Strong Is The New Skinny

And by new, I mean unless you've been under a rock for the last 10 years, no one in their right mind is aiming for the waif-look anymore. Gone are the days of starving ourselves, counting calories, and wasting hours on the Stairmaster. These are the days of eating big juicy steaks and setting new PRs in the gym. I spent way too many years trying to make myself smaller—no more.

Like many of you, I habitually step on a scale at least once a week to stay apprised of my progress (or lack thereof) toward my goal. Long ago, we upgraded to a "smart scale." This thing will tell you your body fat, belly fat, water, and bone density; heck, it will even tell you the air quality in the room you're standing in! I can configure it to leave out this or that and in what order I want to see it all. But there's one fatal flaw in this new technology. I don't give a rat's @$$ what my weight or BMI is anymore. I want to omit these from my display. But no- there's no way to avoid these numbers.

"Why would I want to do that?" You ask. Well, with a long history of body dysmorphia and disordered eating, those numbers on the scale can spark all kinds of old and unhelpful thinking patterns. What I really want to know is my body fat percentage. About ten years ago, I was almost 10 pounds lighter than I am now. And you know what's funny, I can still wear the same jeans. Why? Well, I've put on a whole bunch of muscle. I love seeing my body fat percentage down and my muscle mass up. Looking in the mirror, I don't think, "Oh, I've gained a few pounds." I think, "Damn! That's great. I wonder if I can get my shoulders a little bigger."

I want this for you, too. Have you become a slave to the scale? Do you adjust your opinion of yourself based on the number of pounds you see light up on the display? Do you find yourself pining to be the same weight you were at ____ age, thinking you'll feel you're best again if you do? I'm here to tell you that you're aiming your efforts in the wrong direction.

Strong is the new skinny!

What if instead of losing 10 pounds, you could aim to lose 3% of body fat? You might find that your pants fit better without the scale even budging. You might find that you have way more energy than you've ever had when you lay down some serious muscle. Did you know muscles are much more dense with mitochondria (energy producers) than fat? That means you'll not only create more energy, but you'll burn more, too. I have to eat way more food than most women my age just because I have muscles to feed! It's not exactly a bad problem to have.

How to "Recomp."

"Recomping" is my new favorite word. It means putting on muscle and losing fat at the same time. And it's not impossible. I promise. But where do you start? Once you reframe your thinking from "losing weight" to losing fat and gaining muscle, you'll need to take a different approach than you might have tried before. Here are my top tips to get started on your recomp plan:

• Eat protein first. If you're up for tracking your meals, you'll want to aim for 1 gram of protein per pound of ideal body weight. If food logging is just not your thing, try this one trick to ensure you're at least getting a good protein hit at each meal: eat all your protein first. Then eat the veggies. Only after that would you eat any starches like rice, etc. Yes, this can be tricky when eating a taco, I know. So it requires some planning, but what happens in general is that you will get plenty full, fast. You won't have enough room in your belly for the empty calories that would thwart your efforts. I'd suggest most women get a minimum of 4 ounces per meal and men a minimum of 6-8 ounces.

  
  

• Lift heavy and progressively. Two to three times per week hit the gym. Focus on your biggest muscle groups: legs, glutes, core, and back. Choose exercises that challenge you but that you can do with good form. Go as heavy as you can safely and correctly for no more than 15 reps. Then do it again. Try going a little heavier when you return next week to do the same exercise. It's that simple. Check out the "Move" chapter in Own Your Wellness for more specifics on organizing and progressing your workouts. I gave you lots of tips and a hidden page on my website with extra workout videos to follow.

• Keep track. Make notes in a journal on your meals and workouts, or use an app like Cronometer. Even if you have a trainer helping you with the workouts, you must know how far you've come. Let me tell you, when you suddenly PR lifting a weight that was once an impossibility, it's the BEST feeling! But you don't know where you are unless you know where you were. Find a way to measure your body fat, too. You can do this using a home scale, like my Withings. If you go to a gym, they may have an InBody machine to step on. You can also check if BodySpec is in your area and pop in for a DEXA scan (the gold standard in body composition testing).

• Supplement strategically. Like it or not, reaching your recomp goals might require a little supplemental boost. This is important if you are vegan or vegetarian, as it's just tough to get enough protein from your diet alone. I encourage most of my clients to consume essential amino acids in the morning and again during or after a workout. These are a great trick to get the equivalent of 25 grams of protein without having a meal or a bunch of calories. I also like to stack this with at least five grams of creatine. See this post for more info. Last, taking a comprehensive digestive enzyme with meals will help you break down all that yummy protein and ensure you're using it to build your new big muscles!

As always, if you want a little help in your journey to recomping, please reach out! I'd love to hear about your progress! I keep some open times every week to chat with my readers, so feel free to book a complimentary discovery call.

Yours in health,

DD

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