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05. Measuring Progress Part 1 - The Scale & Biofeedback
34 Plays1 month ago
Did you know you can lose fat without losing weight? Did you know it's not normal to deal with soreness after every workout or dealing with gas/bloating?
That's why today we're talking about how to measure progress, because if we're only using the scale to tell us how we're doing, we’re definitely missing out on recognizing progress in other progress markers such as losing inches & having our clothes fit differently.
We also don’t want to sacrifice our overall health to reach our physical goals, and learning how to monitor your biofeedback, in addition to physical progress, can help you better gauge how we’re doing and see the big picture.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Two-Part Series
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello, hello friends. Welcome back to another episode of the Basics of Balance. My name is Ariella. I am really excited because this is a two-part topic podcast.
00:00:12
Speaker
And so all of that to say, you gotta subscribe. You gotta to come back for the second part because you can't just get like the first part without getting the second part. That's very incomplete, okay?
Methods to Measure Progress
00:00:23
Speaker
We're talking about measuring progress. And so today I'm talking about how to measure progress, looking at things like the scale, pictures, measurements, but also looking at things like biofeedback, okay, trying to learn what's going on underneath the surface.
00:00:39
Speaker
um And so next week, we're going to be talking about or the next episode, we're going be talking about um what factors affect those progress markers. Okay, so what factors affect this scale?
Understanding Fat Loss vs Weight Loss
00:00:52
Speaker
What factors affect your ability to lose fat? What factors affect digestion, biofeedback, things like that, okay? um And before we get into how to measure or monitor progress, it's obviously important to understand that measuring progress is going to look different depending on what goal we are chasing. okay um But you know that might be obvious to you, but this might not be obvious to you because it's not obvious to a lot of people.
00:01:19
Speaker
There is a difference, for example, between fat loss and weight loss. We chase we we we chase Either of those goals in a very similar way being to reach either of those goals, you have to be in a caloric deficit, right? That means that you have to be eating less food than your body needs to survive, right? To maintain homeostasis in an effort to lose weight, in an effort to lose fat, right?
00:01:46
Speaker
on However, Those are not the same goal because oftentimes when I'm working with somebody, they tell me they have a goal to lose weight. But really what they're after is they are trying to change their ah body composition. They are trying to be toned, right? They are trying to lose weight or I should say, I'm sorry, lose fat in a specific area. So whether that's, you know, hey, I want to tone my arms or I have bat wings or hey, you know, how do i get rid of my my pooch in my stomach, right?
Impact of Strength Training on Progress
00:02:15
Speaker
That is something. fat loss that is not weight loss right and you can lose weight when you're chasing fat loss but the thing is is that oftentimes when we are losing fat the scale is not necessarily going to change um as quickly as if we were just simply chasing fat loss and the reason is when we are chasing something like fat wait i just confused myself the scale is not going to move as fast as if we are only chasing something like weight loss that's what i meant to say
00:02:47
Speaker
um And the reason is when we are chasing fat loss, we are also incorporating strength training. Okay. And strength training inherently requires our body to almost, almost think about it as retaining water. It's, it's storing glycogen in your muscles, but that glycogen is going to show up on the scale. Right.
00:03:07
Speaker
um And so you're not going to see as fast of a change, but also when we are chasing ah fat loss, our Our primary method of measuring progress is not looking at the scale, okay? Because number one, it's affected by things like I just said, your glycogen that's being stored in your muscles.
00:03:25
Speaker
But also number two, we are trying to build muscle in an effort to raise your metabolism in an effort to create a bigger caloric deficit, right? So we're not trying to necessarily drop calories too far.
00:03:42
Speaker
because there is a tipping point when we are trying to build muscle or trying to preserve muscle. Muscle cannot be built or preserved unless we're eating enough food. And if we're in a deficit, well, we got to be really careful with how deep of a deficit we go. You know what i mean?
Physical Metrics for Tracking Progress
00:03:57
Speaker
um Because when our metabolism is higher based on how much muscle we have, um we are in a prime position to lose fat. That might not always translate to this scale.
00:04:09
Speaker
Probably way too much of an in-depth explanation than you needed or wanted But I just think that it's important to essentially start out this topic with kind of that Explanation okay so that you understand okay? Hey, of course it makes sense that we have to know what goal we're chasing to know how we're measuring it But like things like that but you know, what I mean things like that It's super common when I'm working with a client and we we reach their goal weight But they are not necessarily as happy as they thought they would be with their appearance um because, you know, we didn't prioritize protein as much as, you know, someone tried to encourage them to do. And we didn't prioritize strength training as much as someone tried to encourage them to do. You know what i mean?
00:04:50
Speaker
So I think it's important, like, what are we chasing and understand how to measure, how to monitor that progress based on what we're chasing. Okay. Um, and so today we're going to talk about, uh, there are three different metrics in how I use to monitor your physical progress, right? I,
00:05:09
Speaker
Every client that I work with, we are virtual.
Importance of Non-Scale Metrics
00:05:11
Speaker
Okay. So I'm not, I don't train people in person um besides a small group of ladies that I train a couple times a week. um um It's like a group training kind of thing.
00:05:21
Speaker
But the majority of people that I train is virtual. And so obviously it's going to be really important for me to still have a pulse on like how they are progressing. And i can't just rely on the scale. It's the scale tells a part of the story, but it doesn't tell the whole story. And of course, the scale is not as important depending on what goal they're chasing. Right.
Role of Biofeedback in Progress
00:05:41
Speaker
um And so i also want to talk about biofeedback. Okay. Biofeedback is essentially your body talking to you. Okay. and when your body is out of whack, it's going to affect your physical progress. Okay.
00:05:57
Speaker
When your let's say, for example, digestion is out of whack. If you are bloated, if you are gassy, well, why do you not think that that bloat and gas is going to show up on the scale? Right. So you can be doing all the right things.
00:06:10
Speaker
um But if the scale is showing fluctuations like spikes that you see, um and if your scale is also you know moving in the wrong direction, or you know things like that, that's a cue to us that it's not necessarily an issue with you and your adherence and your compliance.
00:06:28
Speaker
And we don't necessarily look at the scale if something like that happens and say, oh, drop more calories, right? Instead, we look at the scale to say, why is your scale changing? Moving in the wrong direction. Why is your scale fluctuating right because ideally obviously if we are you know Let's say trying to chase fat loss or weight loss.
00:06:48
Speaker
We are expecting a downward trend Those fluctuations are going to happen regardless There's nothing you can do about that But those fluctuations are what's telling us what your body is saying Okay, and the more that we can try to be in tune with what your body is saying the more that we are chasing and reaching your goals from a healthy place and not necessarily sacrificing your overall health to just simply see what we want to see. Okay. um Oftentimes, the reason I say that is oftentimes female specifically, we have been, don't want to say raised, but we have grown up with diet culture, essentially telling us that your smallest self is your happiest, your healthiest.
00:07:26
Speaker
And so we are constantly in a state of yo-yo dieting and feeling bad for eating carbs and you know prioritizing cardio and just choices that i don't even know if we realize that we make so much because it's so second nature.
00:07:39
Speaker
um And so all of that to say, you know when we are looking at the scale to monitor how we are doing, If we don't understand the variables um such as biofeedback um that affect the scale, hence the need for the second part of this podcast, it's going to be you're going to feel frustrated. going to feel really defeated when you don't need to be. OK, and that biofeedback is actually giving you guidance on what to focus on.
00:08:07
Speaker
If you're doing all the right things and your sleep quality is struggling or maybe you think you're sleeping great and then all of a sudden your your scale starts spiking and you're you're doing all the right things, um it's it's going to be really important for us to not look at the scale as the way to measure progress and instead look at the scale as a way to measure progress, but looking at the scale for the the data that it provides to understand how your body is doing to know what to focus on because the more in tune we can be with our body, the more our body is going to respond the way that we want it to respond. to
00:08:45
Speaker
Because I think we forget oftentimes your body doesn't care about your goals. it It does not care about your goals. Your body has one goal. The goal is to stay alive and to do the best with what it's got. okay Stay alive, maintain homeostasis,
00:09:03
Speaker
adapt with the you know the things that we put it through and whatnot. And if its job is to do the best with what it has, with what we give it, well, if we're not giving it much to run on, we're going kind of expect some some breakdowns along the way.
Accuracy in Weighing and Measuring
00:09:18
Speaker
You know what i mean?
00:09:19
Speaker
So all of that to say, physical metrics, I consider as looking at our scale, ah taking progress pictures, and also um ah Taking measurements. OK.
00:09:31
Speaker
And so when when we are looking at the scale, I recommend that we weigh ourself, first of all, same time every single day in the morning before going number or I'm sorry, after going number one.
00:09:44
Speaker
OK. Wake up. go to the bathroom, weigh yourself, okay? Because that is your leanest part of the day, and that's gonna give you a more accurate representation of what's really going on, okay?
00:09:55
Speaker
I would also recommend that you weigh yourself more often than not, okay? Oftentimes, people avoid this scale, right? or they only weigh themselves one time a day.
00:10:06
Speaker
First of all, avoiding this scale is preventing your ability from learning what your body is saying to you, okay? Second of all, ignoring the scale is creating a fear of the unknown.
00:10:18
Speaker
And so, ah you know, you you kind of, you avoid the scale because you don't want to see what it says, but you don't actually know how you're doing. What if you're doing better than you think you're doing, but you're avoiding the scale, and so enter,
00:10:29
Speaker
anxiety, right? um So face the music, step on the scale, but let's step on the scale strategically, right? on Weighing yourself at least three times a week is going to give you the ah ability to see fluctuations because like I said, they are normal. They're going to happen regardless of how on it you are.
00:10:48
Speaker
A fluctuation is not a ah ah negative thing, on but it gives you the ability to normalize those fluctuations and So instead of seeing a fluctuation and being surprised, you see those fluctuations more regularly. And instead you're like, it's spiked. I wonder why you're normalizing it. Okay.
00:11:09
Speaker
Um, and when you only weigh yourself one time a week, well, what if that one time a week you weighed yourself and, um, it was during a fluctuation. so it was during a spike and now you're giving yourself a false sense of progress, right?
00:11:23
Speaker
um And, you know, that doesn't feel great, right? Especially when you're really putting forth effort and to reach your goals. So weigh yourself at least three times a week. I recommend Monday, Wednesday, Friday, okay?
00:11:36
Speaker
Monday, you will start to learn that Monday's weigh-in, even if you're on it throughout the weekend, you Monday's weigh in will typically be a little bit higher and that's because weekends are different, right? We typically sleep in a little bit more. Our movement looks different. Our food choices look different. And all of those things, as we will learn, affect the scale. OK, so again, expecting a higher fluctuation so that when it fluctuates, you're not surprised. Right.
00:12:00
Speaker
And then typically we see throughout the week because it's typically easier to stay on track throughout the week. We see that fluctuation kind of regulate. Right. And so we look for a downward trend on the scale. all right It is not realistic to expect, well, no, that's not the right. It is not realistic just to expect just a straight line down. Absolutely not.
00:12:20
Speaker
We will fluctuate. okay um And so ah all of those things are in an effort to kind of help normalize it, expect it, things like that. um And so a lot of things affect the scale, some of which are biofeedback.
00:12:33
Speaker
um which we will get into, but ah you know affecting the scale, I have to remember, we're saving that for the next time. Sorry, I'm still new at this. um And so the second way to measure your progress is going to be taking progress pictures and or taking measurements. okay um Progress pictures and measurements, those tell more of a story on how you are doing as it relates to fat loss.
00:13:01
Speaker
Okay. So we still we still weigh ourselves partially to have a pulse on overall progress, partially to um you know pay attention to what our body is telling us so that we know how to act.
00:13:13
Speaker
But if we only relied on the scale and the goal was fat loss, we would be missing a huge piece of the pie because like I said, when we are chasing fat loss, your scale is not going to move as fast, um period. it's not It is very common.
00:13:28
Speaker
to look completely different and have your scale maybe move a pound, whether that's higher or lower or stay the same. You know what i mean? It's very common.
00:13:39
Speaker
And that's because two different goals. All right. But if we only measure it by one way, we're missing out on seeing all of that progress. Right. You could be 10 inches down, but weigh the same. Very different.
00:13:51
Speaker
And so as it relates to pictures and measurements, we want to take those every 30 days, every month. OK, some coaches might take them more frequently. I personally think it takes a little bit more time to see progress ah when you're taking pictures and and measurements. And so we take them every 30 days.
00:14:08
Speaker
Same, same as it relates to weighing yourself in the morning after going number one, because it's the leanest part of your day. um When you are taking measurements, um I get questions sometimes like, oh, you know,
00:14:20
Speaker
do i need to use like a measuring tape? I mean, that's going to be the most accurate. I have had people use an actual construction tape before, and I would say whatever you're using the first time, stick with it because whatever that method is that we are ah measuring, as long as it's consistent, we're good to go. Okay.
00:14:36
Speaker
um There are many different ways to take measurements. I specifically focus on three for the majority of people. um If our goal is to build muscle, specifically build muscle in a specific area, right, like if it females, if we're trying to build our lower body, we're going to take more measurements on lower body.
00:14:53
Speaker
ah Males, if we are you know trying to build our upper body, we're going to take more measurements on our upper body, right? But typically speaking, we are going to take it around our chest, around our waist, and then you can't see it, but around our hips, okay?
00:15:06
Speaker
um And so when we are taking measurements, it's around the largest part of your chest. ah And your waist, it's around the smallest part of your waist, usually like around the umbilical area.
00:15:18
Speaker
And then around your hips, it's usually around the largest part, right? So usually around your glutes, ah kind of right in alignment with like your pubic bone, if you will, okay? um And so taking those every 30 days, similarly with your progress pictures, all right Your progress pictures, um we take them with the same outfit because different outfits, like if if you are wearing leggings and you have high-waisted versus low-waisted, that's going to matter, right?
00:15:45
Speaker
Um, and progress pictures are also something that is, you have to feel comfortable in what you're wearing. You know what i mean? ah You don't have to be in a bikini if that's not comfortable to you, wear whatever's comfortable to you, but let's make sure that we can see some progress. You know what I mean?
00:16:00
Speaker
If we're trying to, um, you know, see those changes. So progress pictures, Same outfit and also the same backdrop. um If the backdrop it changes from time to time, that can sometimes affect things um or affect our ability to see things. That's what I meant.
00:16:16
Speaker
And also, we want to make sure that the backdrop, um not the backdrop, but we don't want to be taking selfies as like in the mirror, okay because that's going to change lighting, angles. There's a lot of variables.
00:16:28
Speaker
And so we want to take them, um you know, with the same backdrop, with the same outfit. And oftentimes we can take progress pictures by just recording ourselves like on the selfie screen of our phone. Just record yourself and then take screenshots.
00:16:41
Speaker
You know what I mean? And those are your progress pictures. That's the easiest way to do it. And if it's on selfie, you can kind of see what you're doing. And we want to take kind of a 360 with the progress pictures. OK, so first of all is we're going face the the camera.
00:16:55
Speaker
Making sure that the camera is not coming from above, not coming from below. These things really do matter. Okay. So taking the camera from straight on, looking at it straight on, then you're going to go ahead and you're going to turn to your left and your arms come out like a zombie. Okay. Like that arms come out like a zombie.
00:17:10
Speaker
Then you're going to turn around to your back and then you're going to do the same thing on the next side. Okay. And so we want to kind of get a full 360 on what all of that looks like. And so those are essentially your um physical metrics for the most part. There are obviously many ways to measure your physical progress, but those specifically are um what I have found really show you the most change and the most bang for your time and things like that, right?
00:17:37
Speaker
um But again, like I said, depending on the goal, um I know I've been talking a lot about fat loss and weight loss, and i I don't like that it's kind of steered to that, but in the effort of just this conversation, um you know, it is very common that, you know, when we are chasing a ah fat loss goal,
00:17:56
Speaker
Your scale might stay the same, but like I said, you lose 10 inches. Hey, that's progress. But if you never took those measurements, if you never took those pictures to see that, hey, my back looks different.
00:18:07
Speaker
Oh, you're robbing yourself of feeling like so proud of what you worked for. You know what i mean? um Super, super common. So all of that to say, those are physical metrics, but biofeedback.
Digestion and Energy as Biofeedback
00:18:20
Speaker
I really like to connect biofeedback to what your scale is saying. So kind of connecting the two, right? We can't have one without the other. You know what i mean? Your biofeedback is things such as If your digestion is off, you're going to see that on the scale.
00:18:38
Speaker
And not only are you going to see that on the scale because, hey, if you're bloated, why would that not show up on the scale? If you're bloated, your measurements are also going to be affected. Your progress pictures are going to be affected, right? So a biofeedback being bloated, bloat is not normal.
00:18:52
Speaker
Gas is not normal. It is common, but it is not normal. That means something is off. OK, and if we ignore something being off like I used to when I was younger, just thinking it was normal, we are going to dig ourselves into a deeper hole. OK.
00:19:07
Speaker
And so when we experience gas and bloating and digestive issues, that is a negative biofeedback response. We see it on the scale. So even if we're doing all of the right things,
00:19:20
Speaker
if we see the scale spike and a client reaches out to me and they're like oh my gosh what's going on and I ask them about their digestion and they say I haven't gone to the bathroom in a week well now I know why your scale fluctuated hey let's focus on fiber let's focus on steps let's focus on staying hydrated you know what i mean like it it allows us to shift our focus away from What bad did you do? And more into a place of, okay, what can what what does this mean? You know what i mean? Trying to identify the data that the scale is providing, right?
00:19:49
Speaker
So digestion is a biofeedback marker, okay? We want to um not expect gas and bloating, like I said. Oftentimes, gas and bloating are symptoms that we ate something that our body doesn't love, okay? Okay.
00:20:04
Speaker
um A very common example would be protein shakes. How many times does somebody have a protein shake and they let you know they let something out and you're like, oh my goodness gracious, or broccoli, right?
00:20:16
Speaker
um Gas and bloating, like I said, are indicative of you ate something that your body cannot process. And if you have an issue with a protein shake, don't write off all protein powder. and All protein powder is not created equal, first of all, okay?
00:20:33
Speaker
So don't write off all of it, just that specific one your body might not love. all right um It is also very, very, very common that we eat things that are healthy but that are not healthy for us.
00:20:47
Speaker
For example, um ah when I learned about my digestive issues, I was eating a lot of healthy things, but a lot of those healthy things were causing my digestive issues.
00:20:59
Speaker
So things like, and this might sound weird to you, But things like I couldn't have onions. I couldn't have garlic. So imagine going out to a restaurant, guys. Yeah, I couldn't have onions. I couldn't have garlic. Carrots.
00:21:13
Speaker
Absolutely not. Broccoli and cauliflower. Off limits completely. Cabbage. Don't even come close to me. You know what i mean? um Bananas. That's hit or miss for me at this point. um So point being, I'm not going to obviously run down the laundry list, but there are foods that we eat that are healthy, right? That are we know as healthy, but are not necessarily healthy for us.
00:21:33
Speaker
Okay. So understanding, paying attention to, man, when I eat this, I'm really gassy. Bingo. That's a sign. Your body doesn't love it. Let's remove it. Let's find something else. You know what i mean? And that bloating and gas is showing up on this scale. It's showing up in those measurements, very related um to to progress, right?
00:21:50
Speaker
Another thing as it relates to biofeedback is your energy. If your energy is tanking, that is a problem. You should not have to rely on coffee or energy drinks throughout the entire day.
00:22:04
Speaker
When you are dieting, when you are in a deficit, you are not going to feel as energized because we are not eating as much food. Food is our body's way that it gets energy.
00:22:16
Speaker
And carbs specifically are our body's preferred type of energy. Okay. It will use whatever we give it for energy, but carbs are its primary source.
00:22:27
Speaker
ah Fat is another source of energy. um But all of that to say, if you are in a deficit, you should expect to not feel as energized, but you shouldn't be like lethargic. You shouldn't be like fatigued falling asleep.
00:22:44
Speaker
And if you are, Something is off and more than likely you're just simply not eating enough. Okay. Assuming you're sleeping enough. Okay. First of all, I should have started with that. Assuming you are sleeping enough, you should not be feeling like you are tanking. Okay.
00:22:58
Speaker
If you are tanking, we want to look at how much are you eating and of what you're eating? What does that look like? Okay. If you are feeling like ridiculously tired, Um, we want to look at how much are you exercising? Are you overtraining? Are you not giving yourself rest days and your body is just struggling to keep up? You see what I'm saying?
00:23:17
Speaker
So we look at feeling tired, assuming that we are getting good sleep, of course, as a positive or a negative. If we feel good, cool. Life is good. If we don't feel good, something is off.
00:23:28
Speaker
And when our body is struggling, if we don't have energy, if something is off, why would we not expect to see something off on this scale? Okay. on Another biofeedback marker will be um ah hunger.
00:23:45
Speaker
okay Typically speaking, we should feel pretty satisfied. okay um If we are uncomfortably full and we are feeling stuffed,
00:23:56
Speaker
That's not normal. and that That's the exception to the rule, right? Something is off. That would be a negative biofeedback marker. um Feeling satisfied for the majority of the time. um That would be a positive, right?
00:24:07
Speaker
When you are in a deficit, we are intentionally not eating enough so that we can see those physical changes, right? And so we expect hunger to a certain degree. However, we should never cross the threshold of uncomfortable, okay?
00:24:22
Speaker
And I shouldn't say never. There are situations such as when you first start a deficit, right? Your body has not acclimated to the reduction of calories, and so therefore there is an adjustment period.
00:24:33
Speaker
um However, we want to make sure that we are doing as much as we can to overcome that hunger because that hunger is normal. Hunger is our body's natural way of telling us it needs more.
00:24:46
Speaker
And so if you are struggling and dealing with extreme hunger, we want to look at things like how is your sleep, your sleep quality? You're going to notice a lot of themes, by the way.
00:24:57
Speaker
How is your sleep? How is your sleep quality? Because if we're not sleeping enough, If we're not getting good quality sleep, that is going to actually make you hungrier the next day. it Your hunger hormones never have an opportunity to regulate because that's what happens it's one of the things that happens when we sleep.
00:25:14
Speaker
And so if our hunger hormones are off, we're going to be hungrier the next day. Well, first of all, it's going affect your ability to stay in your deficit, right? We can only white knuckle it for so long.
00:25:25
Speaker
But also, second of all, that's a sign something is off. OK, you see what I'm saying? um Another biofeedback marker. Oh, another thing I want to say about hunger. If you are not hungry in the morning.
00:25:38
Speaker
Assuming that you did not binge the night before or overindulge yourself or maybe you ate a little later than usual. um Assuming those, you know, contexts and variables are, you know, taken into consideration.
00:25:53
Speaker
If you are not hungry in the morning, that's not good. That's not a good sign. Not a good sign at all. I talk to some people sometimes or sometimes I, you know, I'm scrolling on social media and I'm reading comments.
00:26:04
Speaker
And it's almost like people look at not feeling hungry as a badge of honor. um And that's not the case. Something is off if you're not hungry. um Your body should be reminding you it needs food. It's, you know, emptied its storage and all of that stuff. And eating is not something that we should be fearing, right? We just need to kind of learn how to eat, um,
00:26:25
Speaker
to help us, of course, feel our best, improve overall health and things like that. Right. And so if you're not hungry in the morning, that's not great. That's not something to be proud of. We want to kind of look into that and see like, what is the reason for that?
00:26:36
Speaker
on And so as it relates to biofeedback, those are some biofeedback markers. um There are some things that affect um your biofeedback and that's something that, you know, we'll get into in part two.
00:26:50
Speaker
So like, Things like I was talking about as far as digestion is concerned, you know, eating healthy foods that you think are healthy but not healthy for you, that's something that's going to affect your digestion. And what affects your digestion is going to affect your scale.
00:27:03
Speaker
Guys, it's all connected, okay? But the the more that we can learn to pay attention to our biofeedback as more of a way of what our body is um saying to us, the more in tune we're going to be with our body and the more that we are going to be able to continue trying to reach our goals, showing up for ourself in our journey without sacrificing our overall health.
00:27:27
Speaker
um Oftentimes I work with a lot of people who they have a ah history of yo-yo dieting. Okay. Partially because we live in diet culture in America.
00:27:37
Speaker
um Also partially I predominantly work with females. um And as females, we are, um, you know, just really push this narrative of small, right? Small is happy, small as healthy, small you know, accepted all of those things.
00:27:50
Speaker
And so that kind of, you know, pushes us into a headspace of um trying to eat as little as you can. And like I said at the beginning of this episode, your body does not care about your goals. Your body cares about staying alive and doing the best with what it has. And if you don't give it a whole lot,
00:28:11
Speaker
Well, then it's going to have to shut down certain systems. It's going to have to shut down certain processes and it's going to start having a really hard time maintaining homeostasis because we're not giving it enough.
00:28:22
Speaker
Right. um Or we are we are working out too much. Right. We're overtraining. And so we are preventing our body's ability to recover and we see injuries and you know stuff like that. Right.
00:28:33
Speaker
And so I think it's biofeedback is massively important. um And understanding what different biofeedback markers there are can help us pay attention to how our body is doing within that biofeedback or within our goals, right?
Workout Performance and Recovery
00:28:49
Speaker
um Excuse me. Another biofeedback that I forgot to mention that I'll probably regret not ah including into that segment is um your workouts getting stronger. OK, hopefully the goal is that you are working out. Hopefully the goal is that you are getting stronger.
00:29:05
Speaker
If you are not getting stronger, if you cannot increase your weight week after week. um If you are feeling super lethargic, if you are feeling really sore after every single workout, that is a negative biofeedback marker. okay um um We want to be recovered before every single workout. right If we're not recovered, then our body is going to have a hard time getting stronger and we're going to increase our risk of injury.
00:29:29
Speaker
If we are not recovered, we are likely going to feel more sore as a result. And so Soreness is something that I feel like our culture puts on a pedestal. Like, hey, if we if we feel sore after every workout, we did something right. I know I used to feel that way. And arguably, sometimes if I'm not sore after I think I pushed really hard, I'm like, did I really, though?
00:29:49
Speaker
But anyways, soreness is not a positive, contextually speaking, you know what i mean? Um, we don't expect to feel sore after every single workout. If we are feeling sore, that's not great. You're going to feel a little bit more sore if you're in a deficit compared to if you are in maintenance or of course, if you're, you know, trying to build muscle cause you're eating more food, right?
00:30:09
Speaker
Um, but if you are feeling sore, if you're feeling super lethargic, if you are not able to increase your weight, um, you know, over time, that's a negative biofeedback marker as well. Okay. And so all of these things,
00:30:22
Speaker
affect our physical progress, but understanding how to how to use this information to know what to focus on. Right. So like if we are having a positive biofeedback marker or a negative, what do we focus on? You know what i mean? um That's, again, something that we're to the next episode.
00:30:44
Speaker
But it very much is related and you deserve to know because a lot of times we look at things like the scale as the metric, the way to measure our progress. But guys, the scale tells more about like if you are going to the bathroom regularly, then it tells about your progress. And we we put so much.
00:31:04
Speaker
Focus and attention on the scale that if we don't even know how to use this scale, we don't even know what the scale is telling us. We're missing it. We are we are just simply keeping our blinders on focused on our progress without focusing on our overall health. Okay.
00:31:20
Speaker
And I promise you, the more that you can learn to work with your body, the better your body is going to be able to respond to what you want right now, what it wants, what you want. Okay.
00:31:31
Speaker
um And the more that we can look at when we are experiencing a lot of negative biofeedback markers, that might be a sign that we are doing too much.
00:31:41
Speaker
Okay. That we need to, we need to shift our attention to do maybe less. Right. So in a deficit situation, that might be a sign that, hey, we might need to take a break from a deficit. We might need to increase calories, move to maintenance for you know a few weeks, a couple of months, a few months, so that our body can ah get its head above water. right Our body is stressed out. okay We need to learn how to listen to our body to de-stress it and then come back to that deficit. Once our body has kind of like recouped some energy, you know what i mean recouped a little bit of clarity and whatnot, or capacity, I should say,
00:32:16
Speaker
on And so all of that to say, yes okay, let's learn to monitor our physical metrics, right? Because it's obviously important with our physical goals. But I really hope that we're not willing to sacrifice our overall health unless we are willing to accept um challenges in the future, such as hormonal imbalances um and and and things of that nature, okay? Digestive issues, stuff like that.
00:32:41
Speaker
And so learning...
Balancing Metrics and Biofeedback for Health Goals
00:32:43
Speaker
Learning how to monitor biofeedback along with your physical metrics is really going to serve you well. It's going to help guide you and navigate you on what to focus on every single day. And in my opinion, it really gives you a ton of control.
00:32:56
Speaker
It gives you a ton of say on what to focus on. Right. um If you are. If you're not recovering from your workouts, it gives you more permission to take a rest day instead of feeling guilty for taking a rest day, right?
00:33:07
Speaker
um If you are, you know, really struggling with your deficit, it gives you more permission to say, hey I'm going to take a break and just kind of like live my life for a minute, right? Not go off the rails, but you know, live my life for a minute.
00:33:18
Speaker
It gives you more um the ability to say like, hey, I'm not failing. I'm just looking at this from a logistical like analytical, you know, way and spacing my decisions based on that. You know what i mean? um So the more that we can kind of like learn how to measure progress and monitor progress, the more that we're able to kind of just see the big picture, right?
00:33:40
Speaker
And so I hope that that kind of gave you um some guidance and some understanding as far as what things that we kind of look for. um And also in those things that we look for knowing, okay, listen, if this is affecting our physical metrics, red flatten Shift our focus. OK, do not do not pass go. Do not collect $200.
00:34:01
Speaker
We got to focus on this. You know what i mean? So that we can get things moving smooth again. um So the next episode we are talking about things that affect that progress. Right. So things that affect the scale. I've i've kind of already talked about some of that. Right. Some biofeedback affects the scale. Right.
00:34:17
Speaker
Um, but things that also affect our biofeedback. Okay. So understand how to measure, but then let's also have a conversation about variables and choices that we make that affect our body's overall health, that affect our body's biofeedback all in an effort to continue to listen to our body, to be more in tune with our body, to know when to push more or to know
Engaging with the Audience for Personalized Goals
00:34:39
Speaker
when to pump the brakes. You know what I mean? Um, just to grow, right?
00:34:42
Speaker
ah Evolve and grow. So if there's anything that I said in this episode that has maybe sparked a question as far as your journey is concerned that I can help answer, clarify for you, um I would love to hear from you.
00:34:53
Speaker
If you can't tell, I'm i'm also kind of trying i'm trying to find my footing as far as um i don't I don't only work with people that are trying to lose weight and trying to lose fat, but I feel like it's such a common conversation. It's such a common goal um that I feel like sometimes it kind of just always goes back to that. So, um you know, even if it's something as far as like, hey, I'm trying to build muscle. Hey, I'm trying to, you know, just maintain my weight. I'm just trying to improve my overall health.
00:35:21
Speaker
Amazing. Let's talk about it. Right. um Or if there's anything that I have said that you're like, hey, I'd like more information on that. You know, could you do a topic on this? Right. Love to hear it. all right. Fill out the form that's in the caption of this episode and of the show.
00:35:34
Speaker
um And I will absolutely make sure that this is a helpful resource for you. um moving forward. Okay. But thank you so much for spending the last few minutes with me. I hope that this was helpful for you. um Please do me a favor and subscribe if you haven't already, please rate the show. It really, really helps me out.
00:35:49
Speaker
um Which also helps me spread, spread the basics to those who need it the most. The more that we can kind of break these things down from a big macro level to micro level to understand um the the better we're going to be able to show up for ourselves in our journey. Okay.
00:36:03
Speaker
So thank you so much. And until next time, have a good rest of your day, guys.