Why are my jeans tighter??

I thought I'd touch on a subject that has come up several times since starting the boot camps. A handful of women have been concerned about their jeans feeling tighter even though they are working out so hard and trying to lose fat. I will explain what is happening and the steps that are involved in successfully "leaning" out or losing the weight that you want. Don't despair!

1. When starting a program as intense as this one, the average person will GAIN about 4 pounds of muscle before they start seeing inches drop.

2. It takes a minimum of a 3 month commitment to see significant results.

(In the meantime, your body is revving its metabolism higher and higher. The end result will be more calories burned even as you sit on the couch watching the Biggest Loser) :)

3. Your diet must support lean muscle growth while at the same time support shedding fat. Remember that means steering clear of cheap crappy food. Cheap crappy white food drives your insulin levels up....insulin is a FAT STORAGE hormone. That means axing the ritz crackers, chips, cheap bread, candy, twinkies, ding-dongs, spaghetti-o's, doritos and whatever else is corrupting your cupboards.

FOCUS ON PROTEIN, VEGGIES, GOOD FATS. The weight will fall off.

4. Ditch the scale.

Depending on how much muscle you might have on your body, you will need coinciding calories to sustain muscle tissue and keep you at your ideal weight.

For instance, my body type currently needs around 98 grams of protein a day. I probably eat close to 70-80 grams of GOOD FAT per day. My good fat intake is probably a little high (I could lean down if I really wanted to). I could stand to cut out the dark chocolate, but overall I've found that I have enough energy, my weight stays stable and I don't feel deprived.

Below is a general layout of calories according to eating by The Zone. Remember that it is tweeked based on the amount of muscle you have and your activity level. You might find that you need more or less calories than what is listed. If you feel "starved", add good fat. This is a trial and error process for everyone to find exactly where you feel comfortable.

Small female: 70g protein, 30-40g fat, 90-100g carbs
Medium female: 77g of protein, 35-45g fat, 100-110g carbs
Large female: 91g of protein, 40-45g fat, 120 - 120g of carbs
Athletic well muscled female: 98g of protein, 45-55g fat, 125 - 135g carbs

Small male: 112g protein, 50g fat, 145g carbs
Medium male: 120g protein, 55 g fat, 155g carbs
Large male: 133g protein, 60g fat, 170g carbs
Athletic well-muscled male: 175g protein, 75g fat, 225g carbs

Hope this helps out and gives you a guideline to go by!

Keep movin' !
Kate