Esti was a real exercise fanatic. She would work out between 2-3 hours a night, usually with a trainer, lifting heavy weights. She came to see me because she felt stuck in her weight loss efforts. 

She was gaining muscle and strength but not losing weight. She also found it difficult to avoid overeating every night when she came home from the gym famished. 

I made Esti an appropriate food plan for her height, weight, and lifestyle, and that would support her workout regimen. I mentioned that she may be sabotaging herself by working out TOO MUCH. Esti did not even let me explain this. She said her fitness regimen was non-negotiable and a huge part of her life. I can tell when someone isn’t ready to hear something, so I backed off… for now.

Week 1: Esti lost 5 pounds. 

Week 2: She lost 2 pounds.

Week 3: She stayed the same. 

Week 4: She gained 2 pounds. 

Her food logs were perfect… until nighttime. Every single night when she came home from the gym, she was STARVED! She would start with a healthy dinner, which already had extra protein because of her workout, but nothing was enough. She would then consume loads of extras. 

In the beginning, she lost because her daytime routine had improved, but it wasn’t enough to KEEP losing. Another factor at play here was that she was building a lot of muscle weight. I brought it up on week 4 when she gained weight. I could tell she was more receptive to it then, especially since her recent results weren’t making her too happy.

Esti might have been receptive, but she was not eager to implement these changes. She was so set on thinking and believing that what she’s always done was the way to go, that even when she knew logically and practically otherwise, she was afraid of actually making the change. Then… a crazy thing happened. While working out, she pulled her shoulder very badly. This forced her to take a break from working out for almost a month while her muscles recovered. Esti still went walking and even did some abdominal workouts, but she did not do any of her usual 2-3 hour nightly, heavy workouts. 

Guess what happened? Esti was able to stick to her food plan without crazy hunger every night. She also lost the extra muscle bulk along with weight for a total of 12.5 pounds in one month, which was more than she had lost before. 

Once Esti recovered, she slowly transitioned back to her workouts, but nowhere near the extremes she used to do. In Esti’s own words: “ I wouldn’t have willingly taken this break, but since I was forced to, it’s been an eye-opener for me!”. 

Questions:

I always thought that the more exercise, the better for weight loss, so why did it backfire?

• Esti was building lots of muscle, which was causing bulk and extra weight and also making her very hungry. Also, exercise is a very small part of weight loss results. It is mostly about food and our diet!

How do you handle when your clients don’t listen to you? Isn’t it frustrating? Do you feel that as the expert, they need to just do as you say?

• Great question! I am not a dictator 🙂 I can only make suggestions and explain my reasoning, the rest is up to them. Thankfully, most people do trust me and are willing to take my suggestions. I knew that Esti would come around, I just didn’t know she would be forced to see it for herself.

I want to start working out, but now this scares me! Any suggestions?

• 3 words: Everything in moderation! As long as you don’t overdo it like Esti used to, you’re good! Also, if you notice yourself getting extra hungry after your workouts, try to time your workouts around your meals so that you don’t have long gaps without food.