No, the answer is not quit.
Unfortunately that’s everyone’s go to. When the scale refuses to go down or goes UP. When the clothes fit tighter. When the mirror doesn’t reflect the effort.
But the truth is, even IF those things are happening, you are STILL doing the BEST THING for your body by exercising (weight training) and eating differently.
We HAVE to shift what we view success as and stop attaching it to a lower number on the scale into how well our bodies function on the day to day.
Moving…Forward
As we learned last week, fat cells are complex which require a functioning detox system to empty the reservoirs. Liver, pancreas, digestive tract.
So when the scale disregards your efforts, check in with the functional five
What are the FUNCTIONAL FIVE?
They are your KEY indicators that your body is functioning well and can manage the toxic load of fat cell reservoir emptying
- Poop: you should be pooping DAILY…yes DAILY. You should be making deposits of long, solid/soft, logs every single day. Compacted stool or prolonged bowels means issues
- Sleep: you should be sleeping through the night. Night is when our nervous system rests and our cells heal. If we cannot rest, we cannot heal, we cannot detox
- Menstruation: your cycles should be consistent and relatively symptom free. PMS or symptoms during ovulation indicate some sort of hormonal imbalance which means our organs are out of homeostasis and cannot tolerate the hormonal release from the fat reservoir
- Energy: you should be relatively lively all day, most days. Sure stress and such can wear us down but you shouldn’t feel the NEED to get an afternoon coffee, soda, or nap to get through the day. (Unless you work 12-15 hour days, those are killer fo sho!) This often means there is an issue with adrenals or nutrient absorption or the above 3
- Mood: you should be fairly steady most days. Like energy, things happen, people push your buttons, but irritability and brain fog should not be regular. This also indicates an issue with hormones or nutrient absorption
Now I know what you’re thinking.
“Dang Ashley. What the heck!?! All these are me. This feels more hopeless than it did before reading your stupid emails!!!”
I do remember feeling the same way when my autoimmune disease, Hashimoto’s set in. I gained 10lbs in a month, had to nap to get through the day (and I am NOT a napper), couldn’t think straight, was so irritable, never pooped (IBS), had insomnia like whoa and struggled with infertility…TWICE!
But….giving up would have meant no son, no gym, no life. Not the life I have now. Did it take time? Yup. Did it take persistence? Yup. Did it take trying things that “failed”? Yup.
Do I now know what works for me, sleep well, poop daily, have little to no flares, feel strong, fit and level headed? Yup.
If you’re struggling, please know there is hope but there are no quick fixes. Only band-aids that steal from Peter to pay Paul. Reach out. Lets chat.