WEEKEND NUTRITION SURVIVAL GUIDE

By: Jen Shaw

The weekend...A.K.A. killer of all diets, is more often than not where people break. What is it about "the weekend" that makes people jump off shit pier and ruin everything? Even if you are absolutely perfect Monday through Friday you will completely blow your goals if you food orgy pizza and beer for two days, or even one full day. 

So, in an effort to help you battle the weekend slip-ups, I want to share the rules that I abide by. They might seem dumb or maybe even minuscule....but you they're the keys to coming out of the weekend on top and in control.

RULES OF THE WEEKEND

1. There are no "cheat days" so stop. 

First, stop using the word "cheat." It's super negative and means you are doing something wrong which you are not, you are living. However, going on a sugar bender all day will absolutely ruin you. Yes, you can recover from it and move on for sure. However if you are involved in anything like "GET RIPPED" that only lasts six weeks you are really stunting your progress. 

2. NEVER ever treat yourself on Sunday night.

Sunday night is usually the night before you are back at the gym and lifting heavy. Treating yourself on Sunday night will sabotage your workout and possibly how you feel when you wake up Monday morning. Only good things Sunday night. 

3. If you MUST have a bad meal, do it at lunch - not dinner. 

It's much harder to recover from a treat if you have it at dinner. Eating bad and then going to sleep leaves you feeling like crap in the morning. So after your treat at lunch drink water, nap, eat a good dinner and have all the good things before you sleep. 

4. NEVER EVER drink after you eat your last meal of the day. 

I cannot stress this enough. Have you ever woken up anywhere between 2-4am sweating and your heart racing and beating out of your chest? That's drinking, and sugar. I suggest you have your cocktails before dinner, then eat, then water. Wine after meals, the worst. All of that sugar just sitting there waiting to crush your sleep at 2am. 

Try it and let me know how it works! 

GET RIPPED 2017

It's that time again! Get Ripped is kicking off on New Year's Day at noon. At the kickoff all terms will be discussed, and all the questions will be answered. 

This year we will take six weeks to dial in and focus on sleeping, eating, and working out. These all seem so simple, but are extremely difficult to tackle alone. We all know how hard it is to break bad habits and replace with good ones.  You will have access to a group food log, weekend conditioning, and support from me and an amazing group of women who are in it with you. 

GR provides accountability, support, and education to reach goals in and outside of the gym. This program is open to anyone here in Austin, or not! You can easily do this program online.

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IMPORTANT DATES:

Registration closes December 31st, midnight.
Kick off- January 1 at NOON. 
First official day- January 2nd
Last official day- February 12th

SIGN UP

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Got Ripped?

It's not just hard work in the gym....These chicks dial it in outside the TCS walls as well.

Every January LIFT Owner and Head Coach, Jen Shaw poses a "GET RIPPED" month of clean eating to her LIFT girls. This year the month was opened up to all the Travis County Strength ladies and the results were amazing!  Jen put this quick recap together detailing the parameters and the results of the Get Ripped month... 

I took the approach of a non-challenge. In fact, the word "challenge" is no longer used in my gym-ictionary. Challenges are meant to get you in better shape, eating better, and working out more. The problem with them is they are usually so strict and different from normal life that it's impossible to stick to them. Usually after the challenge it takes two weeks for everyone to get right back into old habits. There are actually people out there who live challenge-to-challenge at their gym. What a sad existence. Its a complete lack of self control. This has happened to the GET RIPPED month before, so this year I came up with something a little different." 

This year was all about getting through the WHOLE year. How can you learn to eat in one month for the rest of the year? By being realistic, smart about choices, and being REAL about what you want and what you need. Don't set yourself up for failure by going so far outside your normal realm of eating. Small steps and a plan. That is what we did this year. 

98% of the girls' biggest issue was wine and dessert.  Saying that 45 girls will not have that all month because its GET RIPPED is ridiculous and naive. It's called living. You do things you enjoy, you don't go through each day and slap yourself every time you want wine or chocolate. You are put on this earth for a very short period of time. You should enjoy yourself! The hard part is making a plan to keep what you love in your diet and still hit goals.

SO..... I did allow 4oz of wine...every single night. You could not save it up and get shit crazy on one night. You could have it- or not. If you have ever measured out 4oz you know that is not a lot. Usually just enough to cook and have quiet time in the kitchen and then sit down to dinner. However, I did not allow any desserts at all of any kind. The girls were extremely surprised by this rule,  but it went well! They knew it was there if they wanted it, and surprisingly not everyone partook. All the food was back to the basics: protein at every meal, healthy fats, and lots of vegetables. Keeping it simple, eat what you know is good for you. No crap. Be smart. 

The food logs were highly impressive! I am very proud of the knowledge these ladies have and glad to see they at times branched out and tried some new dishes. The most impressive by far was the way they supported each other, and if someone did fall and mess up they got right back on it. Most importantly they did not worry about the cheat- just accept it and get through the rest of the day. 

After a month and all the measuring the TCS women lost 85 total inches!! And I still have five girls to measure. That's incredible! I think the most important breakthroughs were the lessons of self control. I will be posting up some highlighted stories on this blog!! stay tuned.....

As promised, Jen has posted the results of some of the participants on her Lift4women blog, including some amazing before and after photos.  Be sure to check those updates for some potential inspiration for your very own transformation!