Journey

Category: Journey

Supplements- Yes or No?

30 Oct
Tati Heidt 0 Comment Journey ,

Supplements make it much easier to get the necessary nutrients to build muscle and can even give you a boost for your training when taken right. Of course, your diet should be on point or at least 70% clean to really see progress. Before you start thinking about buying and taking supplements you should really ask yourself if you need them and if you have the money to buy them. Also consult your doctor before you try any new products.

I’m currently taking:
-Womens Best Whey Protein Powder
-Animal Cut (which is a fat burner/ I only take it for a short while)
-Metamucil Multihealth Fibre Powder (helps with my bloating)
-Womens Best BCAA

Protein is an important part of our diet and key to building and maintaining the muscles we gained or want to gain. It contains amino acids, the building blocks used for muscle growth. You can eat fish, chicken, eggs or avocado but if your undereating on protein like me,  buying protein powder, shakes, bars or even capsules may be a good idea. Really Important though: It shouldn’t be a replacement for a healthy and balanced diet.

Metamucil Fibre Powder is something I can recommend if you have like me problems with bloating. It helps your digestive system and can prevent you from snacking because you are taking in your daily amount of fibre. I love vegetables and fruits but its sometimes just not enough.

BCAA “refer to three of the 20 amino acids – leucine, isoleucine and valine, each of which cannot be synthesised by the body and must therefore be provided in the diet. BCAAs constitute approximately 1/3 of skeletal muscle protein”. It helps you with recovery and promotes muscle maintenance and growth.

For Fat burners, you don’t necessarily need them but If your diet is good and your sticking to your training (including cardio/HIIT since you want to lose fat) they can be useful and additionally help you to reduce your bodyfat faster.

long story short though: You don’t really need supplements. T.H.

Mistakes I made and things I learned

05 May
Tati Heidt 0 Comment Journey

You learn from your mistakes and so did I. I’m not saying that I don’t make mistakes anymore but since fitness is a journey to me I always study and try to learn more about it every day. A lot of people will tell you different things but you should try to find your own way and position in your journey of becoming a healthier version of yourself. Here are 4 mistakes I made when I started to work out and I hope you can prevent-

Undereating:

My biggest mistake was undereating. Food is your friend not your enemy. Your body produces more cortisol when you are undereating and this stress hormone causes the body to hold on to every morsel of fuel. The best place to store them is in your stomach. The less you eat, the more your body thinks it’s starving. Eating less food than your body needs leads to malnutrition. You are not getting enough protein, fat, carbs or vitamins which causes your body to use up muscle tissues. You will lose muscle instead of fat with this strategy. At the beginning I ate less than 1300kcal per day and was also working out. Being hungry and cranky during the day and not losing weight was a great setback for me especially because I just started to workout. Now I am eating 2300 calories when I’m bulking and 1800 when I am cutting and yes, I can still lose fat or maintain my weight although It may seem like a lot of food.

Too much cardio although you want to build muscle:

A lot of people are still saying that you need to do cardio for at least 1h every day when you want to lose fat and become lean. But too much cardio can be counterproductive. Performing too much cardio will put your body in a catabolic state and burn your muscles. The best way is to find a good balance between lifting and doing HIIT or cardio. When you want to get lean you can integrate 3-4 days of HIIT/cardio into your workout but also keep in mind that you need a great diet to either lose fat or build muscle.

Abs are made in the kitchen:

I always thought that I only needed to workout hard enough and do a lot of core exercises to get defined abs or a six-pack but I was wrong. The foods you eat and the diet you follow will be the deciding factor when it comes to a flat, defined stomach. It’s said that 70-80% is diet and only 20-30% fitness. Genetics will determine the shape and insertions of your ab muscles, your muscularity will determine the size of your muscles and your bodyfat percentage will let your abs be seen more clearly or not.

Different body types and shapes:

When you look at all those famous fitness models it is sometimes hard not to compare yourself with them but we all have different body types which largely dependent upon genetics and shapes and its okay to look different. Learn about your body and seek your motivation within yourself and change what you can change. It is possible to slightly change your body shape by toning, gaining or losing weight. Your body shape is determined by the balance of your body together with your features. For your overall look you need to consider your body fat, BMI, muscle tone etc. T.H.

 

From a fatty to a fitty

13 Apr
Tati Heidt 0 Comment Journey

Well I was surprisingly a teenager who was overweight and was fighting against obesity although I was a slim baby and child. Puberty hit me hard and since I stopped doing extra activities from 5th grade onwards I gained more and more weight. I was not bullied at school and I’m glad that my classmates were definitely not the type who were joking around on that matter. But, I was not happy with myself. I hated sport and was always scared to wear tighter cloths. I rarely went to the public pool although I loved swimming because I was too scared of showing off my ugly body. I don’t think I was depressed but I still couldn’t live my life as I wanted. You restrict yourself in a lot of things when your mind tells you that you are not pretty, and that you don’t deserve anything good.
My self-esteem was low, and I didn’t even think about dating until I turned 18 and suddenly lost 35 pounds in 1 year. That gave me a confidence boost and I finally started to enjoy going for walks or a run. I didn’t lose a lot more weight for 4 more years. I was 180lbs at my heaviest with only 5´2 and although I lost 40 pounds I was still too heavy, and my fat percentage was way too high.
Starting HIIT and light lifting happened when I was around 22/23, so 3 years ago. Yes, I did lose weight before but my bodyfat was even at that point 10% above the healthy limit. It was not easy, and I had a lot of days where I wanted to stop and just do nothing, but I pushed through it. After a few weeks it became a habit and after a few months a passion.

I started lifting during the fall of 2016 and It was one of the best choices I have ever made. I needed to get used to it at first and it was hard, but this journey helped me to become a happier person. From 180lbs-121lbs-134lbs and even though I am heavier again I have a healthy bodyfat % and BMI since I exchanged my fat with muscle weight. The scale is not important its about how you feel.

Fitness shouldn’t be a trend. It’s a lifestyle. Don’t start it just because someone told you too or because you want a Kim K butt or whatever. Start that journey because you want to become a healthier version of yourself. T.H.