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Blog
July 21, 2023
Overcoming Food Tracking Challenges: A Roadmap to Successful Results
- Eyeballing it – that looks to be about a cup → well, who really knows what a cup looks like and my guesses varied greatly so my calories varied greatly too
- Using a measuring cup, ½ cup, teaspoon, etc. → even when I leveled off whatever I was measuring, it varied how much was actually in the measuring cup
- All or nothing thinking – I know I’ll go out to eat & I won’t know exactly the calorie count so why start at all or why track anything today?
- Perfectionism – I can’t stand going on any app and finding MANY options for the same exact brand/food. I want this perfect if I’m going to do it – please don’t show me 5 different nutrition ‘facts’ for the same exact item.
- We love to cook and we don’t repeat many recipes – ugh, I have to enter every thing in new.
- Mom loves to cook and share food with us – what do I do with that?
- With prior calorie deficit attempts, I used a food scale – weighed everything in ounces but then had to convert ounces to pounds… grrrr (I gave my food scale to a friend & when she no longer needed it, she & the universe gave it back to me)
This time, I realized my food scale also has grams – maybe that would be easier? BINGO! It is easier! Why? Because almost all labels have in parenthesis the serving size in grams. Now, instead of ½ cup of grape nuts, I know the serving size is 58g. Grams is something that I can truly measure repeatedly and consistently and know what I am getting. I don’t have to think about 16 ounces in a pound. It’s all in grams and it is so much easier!
- Ah, that leads me to serving sizes. This is a bit embarrassing but, in the past, I thought if I was going to eat something while tracking food, for example grape nuts, I’d look at the box, it says serving size ½ cup (58g) so that is what I should eat. I’d eat it and before my next meal I’d be starving and angry that I wanted to eat more but couldn’t.
NEWS FLASH! Knowing the serving size is data BUT YOU CAN EAT MORE THAN WHAT THE SERVING SIZE IS! The important part is knowing that 58g of grapenuts is 200 calories, 7g of fiber, and 6g of protein so if I eat twice the serving size (116g), that would be 400 calories, 14g fiber, and 12g protein and THAT’S OK as long as it fits in with my calorie range for the day.
- It still seems like some math, and it can be. Luckily, our phones have easy-to-access calculators! If you use a food tracking app, once you get the food entered, then you can change the serving size and the calories, fiber, and protein will automatically change accordingly. That may be enough for you and that’s great. If so, track it there, have fun, and move on! If that hasn’t worked for you, read on…
- Unfortunately, in regards to food tracking apps, many find them helpful but I wasn’t actually learning much with them. I entered the food. The numbers were what they were. I didn’t really get the big picture. Yes, I learned to quickly enter the food. Yes, it was way better than not tracking, simply because it was more of a pain to eat when I had to track it. Yes, I had a total calorie count and could sum it for the week, compare it to my weight change, and know if I was in a calorie deficit or not. But when I wasn’t, other than eat less, I really had no clue what exactly to eat less of.
- When I wrote it in the notebook, I knew exactly what was going into the numbers as the day progressed. I knew the total from breakfast and what went into it. I knew if I went big on a snack how that would decrease my dinner size. I could see it happening on paper!
- I could see when I chose to have a sandwich with two slices of bread at 120 calories each that I was adding 240 calories to my meal. Nothing ‘wrong’ with the bread, knowledge is power and I could then decide if I had 240 calories in my budget or if I would make the same sandwich with one slice of bread to cut the calories in half. I could decide if I wanted the 240 calories with the bread or if that day I wanted it elsewhere.
- I could also easily see and compare one day to the next and compare one food to another. I just couldn’t figure that out in the food tracking apps that I had previously tried.
- For example, kielbasa versus tuna steak. Both protein – fantastic, eat those! However, there’s a big difference in your bang for the buck with kielbasa versus tuna steak. 180 calories of kielbasa weighs approximately 56g and has about 7g protein. 184 calories of tuna steak weighs approximately 142g and has 41g protein. I can eat a much bigger piece of tuna steak (more than 2x as big) for the same calories and get more than 6x the protein! That means more energy, more satisfaction, and more protein to build up those muscles.
- If you are thinking this may be you, give it a try! I did it for three weeks – you can try it for a day, three days, a week, or whatever feels good to you. I’ll put down below a few things to help you if you decide to go the pen & paper route.
- This challenge is all about consistency. Yes, weight loss is a goal but really, this is about taking consistent steps everyday that point me towards that bigger goal of eating healthy. I frequently hear from the coaches that you don’t have to be perfect every week and that’s good, because I’m far from it!
- For my weekly calorie, fiber, and protein goals:
- Not even 10 out of 21? That doesn’t sound all that good. But, guess what? My inbody measurement tells a different story.
- That means, even though I am nowhere near perfect, I am in a calorie deficit and I am seeing results. My weight is decreasing at a healthy pace. I continue to go out to eat and have ice cream with friends. I have not been hungry or angry and I’ve had the energy to push myself even harder in the gym, blowing my previous PRs out of the water! I’ve had more energy than I’ve had for years. I am now under both of the pesky 200lb AND 50% body fat mental/physical lines in the sand and it feels fantastic!
- 3.4 pounds doesn’t sound like much and I agree! Coach Beth recently reminded me though what 3.4 lbs can look like. That’s more than a 3lb bag of onions! That 13.6 sticks of butter! Think about how annoying it would be to have to carry around a 3lb bag of onions ALL day long, how much strain it would put on my knees and joints and how good it would feel to put it down! This month alone, in 3 weeks, hitting only 4 to 8 out of 21 of my targets, I put those onions down and no longer have to carry them! I put down 13.6 STICKS of butter! It’s no wonder I feel fantastic!
- For everything at home, I put a bowl on the scale, turn it on, it should read 0g with the bowl on it. (If not, learn how to clear the scale to 0g.) Make sure you are in grams, not ounces.
- I then pour whatever it is into that bowl. The g on the scale is how many grams of that food you are about to eat. You can either pour in how many grams you want (based on how many calories, fiber, protein you want) OR you can pour in what you want by sight & then see how many grams that is and calculate from there. I do both depending on what food it is I’m pouring in. If you eat the same things each day, this gets easy quickly. Unfortunately, I don’t, but it works anyway. Write the # of grams from the scale in your notebook.
- Check the label. In parenthesis, for almost everything, you’ll find serving size in grams.
- For example, grape nuts: serving size ½ cup (58 g) = 200 calories, 7g fiber, 6g protein
- Calculate how much you are eating. For example, 100g of grape nuts. That’s 100g divided by a serving size of 58g (100/58 = 1.7x the amount of a serving size). I always know I’m dividing in the right direction if it makes sense. 100g is going to be bigger than 58g so the amount will be greater than 1. For comparison, if I had 25 g of grape nuts, 25/58 = .4x, less than one, that makes sense, I had just under half a serving. (one would be a full serving)
- Once you know the serving size that you had, you just multiply that by the # of calories, fiber, and protein per serving size on the label. So, with 100g of grape nuts, that’s 1.7x a serving size. That’s 1.7 x 200 calories = 340 calories; 1.7 x 7g fiber = 11.9g fiber, 1.7 x 6g protein = 10.2g protein.
- For our recipes, I get a grand total of everything I put in, for instance, everything that goes into the crockpot. For example, our famous meat goo with all the ingredients totals 4280g, 6873 calories, 23g fiber, and 410g protein. I know that because I added up all of the nutritional ingredients from the packages as I entered them into the pot. This does take time but once I know it, I have this data all week as we eat this meal. I also don’t have to put it into individual packages in the fridge and hope my husband doesn’t eat the measured ones! When I serve out to myself, I measure it. 402g in a bowl I can calculate to be about .1 of the total crockpot (402g divided by 4280g) so I am eating .1x the total calories, fiber, and protein and that’s what I log. (total calories 6873 multiplied by .1 = 687.3 calories, 23g fiber x .1 = 2.3g fiber, and 410g protein x .1 = 41g protein). I can also easily decide that this meal should be smaller and serve out fewer grams.
- When Mom sends over something to eat, it is also a guess. I google whatever it is and, like with restaurants, just pick one and go with it. Most likely, it is wrong, but I write it down, total it up, and move on.
- When I go out, I can’t weigh anything. I’m being mindful of what I’m ordering, mindful of what I’ve already eaten that day, mindful of how hungry I am (that’s a new one!), and order accordingly. I then google ‘nutrition facts xyz’ for whatever I ordered and write it down in my notebook. It’s wrong, I’m sure of it, but it’s close enough (and I know that because I’m seeing results.) So, I log it and move on.
After two years of contemplation, Royan walked through Hybrid’s doors in 2018. Even though she was battling cancer & a slipped disk, walking through that door to ask for help was the hardest thing she had ever done. The Hybrid team of coaches took it from there and the rest is history! Royan is now a Hybrid member as well as a team member, supporting Hunter and Dusty and all of the coaches as needed.
July 11, 2023
Taking Work on Vacation: Dreaming of Hybrid Members in Spain
Coach Cathy recently went to Spain with her daughter for two weeks of Spanish language lessons, taking Hybrid members along for the ride.
Our Hybrid members were not actually there, but several nights while I was away, I dreamed that Hybrid members were in Spain traveling with my daughter and me. This scenario gives a new meaning to taking your work home. I also dreamed that family members and friends outside of Hybrid were traveling with me, too.
In Barcelona, I dreamed that my daughter and I were walking on the sidewalk with two Hybrid members who are sisters. One of the sisters exclaimed that it was exciting to be in Barcelona, and she couldn’t wait to try the churros dipped in chocolate. The other sister said big cities aren’t really her thing because they are crowded, loud, and busy. Then she abruptly stopped walking when she saw a store window sandwiched between Chanel and Gucci with a gorgeous Lilly Pulitzer dress on a mannequin. Lilly Pulitzer is one of her favorite clothing brands. Her sister started laughing, and we all went into the store. We resurfaced 40 minutes later with beautiful and pricey wardrobe pieces. I woke up disappointed that it was a dream, that the sisters weren’t there in Barcelona with us, and that I didn’t own the ankle-length green eyelet maxi dress I had purchased. However, my wallet and suitcase were extremely grateful that I hadn’t purchased anything.
In the southern coastal city of Marbella, I dreamed that a group of Hybrid members joined my daughter and me for some speed walking on the promenade (Paseo Maritimo) before breakfast. The weather was beautiful, the sun just up and shining. After our sweaty walk, we removed our shoes and waded in the chilly and refreshing Mediterranean. A few did more than wade and walked the block back to our flat with wet clothes laughing all the way.
Another dream I had in Marbella was when one of our Hybrid members and I snuck off while my daughter and a few other Hybrid members were shopping for sundresses and jewelry. We found the best gelato with flavors like salted caramel, strawberry cheesecake, Tiramisú, and my favorites, white chocolate pistachio and stracciatella (fancy chocolate chip). Everyone was envious when they emerged from the shops seeing us sitting on a bench with a view of the Mediterranean savoring two-scoop gelato cones.
I dreamed that when my daughter, Hybrid members, and I arrived in Granada and exited the van, one of the gals said they weren’t interested in seeing the tourist sights. Instead, they pointed to the mountains and said, “I want to hike that! Who’s with me?” A few members agreed, and the next day they hopped in a van arranged by the hotel that took them to a trailhead for a day-long hike while the rest of us toured the Saint Jerome Monastery, the Basilica, and the Royal Chapel.
Also, while in Granada, I dreamed of sharing a hotel room with three great gals from the 9:15 MWF Ultimate Results sessions. I conversed with one of them about how she gets her hair to look that healthy and what kind of conditioner she uses. One of the other members interrupted our chat, saying, “Hurry up, you two. I want to see the palace and the gardens”. Then the fourth gal, memorizing the city map, piped up with, “That’s right. Let’s get a move on, girls!”.
As we traversed the coast of Spain, many more moments reminded me of Hybrid members, their personalities, challenges, optimism, and dedication. I shared the fitness journeys I have witnessed while working at Hybrid Fitness with my daughter throughout the trip. My daughter is not athletically inclined, and I would like to plant that seed for her to tend to help her physically and emotionally. I could see her acknowledging and absorbing the lessons the members taught me session after session.
When our members say that their coach at Hybrid has helped to inspire them to be all they can be, I don’t think they realize how much their presence at the gym has the same effect on the coaches. I am repeatedly in awe of the accomplishments of our members, whether it be hitting a weight loss goal or a personal lifting record or using the confidence they’ve gained at the gym to do something new in their daily life. I am grateful I get to work with our members, and I appreciate how we inspire each other to be our best selves inside and out.
Cathy grew up in NH surrounded by a large, loving family, where she learned generosity and hard work. She now models that for her two children. She was inspired to become a fitness coach when searching for ways to become more healthy herself after a life-threatening illness.
July 7, 2023
Hybrid’s Muddy Princesses 2023!
Coach Cathy is here to say that Hybrid Fitness has some hearty souls who participated in the Muddy Princess in Minot, Maine on Father’s Day.
Here’s a shout-out to Hybrid members Tabitha Fillion, Amy Mitchell, Shannon Burns, and Coach Cathy!
Tabitha got the ball rolling by creating a team, Rack Attack. She signed on three of her besties and anyone looking to get muddy. Shannon and I each brought our daughters, and another friend of Amy’s and Cathy’s, also named Amy, jumped on board for some slippery fun in the mud.
What’s the Muddy Princess, you ask? The organization partners with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) for mud courses nationwide. The NBCF aims to fill the gaps in cancer care by ensuring every woman has access to the information she needs. Some of you may not know that I went through breast cancer in 2018. I know this hits home for many people who have experienced it themselves or through the journey of a loved one.
Women of all sizes, ages, and fitness levels from 7 years old and up can enter the Muddy Princess. Participants can run, jog, skip, walk, and sometimes crawl the course. It is not a race, but 100% fun and teamwork.
Participants can skip any obstacle because it’s a completely judgment-free zone. What could be better than that?
Scattered along the course are 18+ obstacles. Some highlights are traversing muddy pools, climbing walls of tires, swinging over mud pits on ropes, sliding slides into muddy water, crawling under or over barriers, and getting soaked in pink bubbles. On average, participants take two hours to cross the finish line. It’s uninhibited child mud pie-making with your favorite gals.
We had a great time and cannot wait to be muddy again next year. Who’s in? 
Cathy grew up in NH surrounded by a large, loving family, where she learned generosity and hard work. She now models that for her two children. She was inspired to become a fitness coach when searching for ways to become more healthy herself after a life-threatening illness.
July 1, 2023
Shedding the weight of self-doubt
The first week of my 6 week Summer Shred Challenge is in the books!
Let me back up, I work for Hybrid and we’re running a six week consistency challenge. As we designed the challenge, we thought it would be best if the Hybrid employees participated in the challenge too. You know, practice what we preach!
My personality wants to be quiet about weight loss and doesn’t want to share. However, I bump into people often that love reading what I write and find it encouraging. I am taking a courageous step out on a limb here. I am going to tell you how the first day of my challenge started. I’ll give you a hint – it wasn’t pretty!
I had a big meltdown! It was Monday morning with all the regular Monday morning stresses, responsibilities, to-do’s PLUS I didn’t know what I needed to do for the challenge, didn’t know what I should have for breakfast, didn’t know what to write down, didn’t know if I could do this.
I’ve begrudgingly logged my food before, pissed off finding varying ingredient numbers for the same product listed within the same fitness app. What’s the point of tracking if you don’t really know?
My negative thoughts kicked in. I thought I don’t want to disappoint my team, my co-workers. I don’t want to be the token fat kid on the team. I’ve got 4th of July and restaurants and ice cream out and vacation coming up. I cannot possibly weigh every single thing I eat for the next six weeks.
I was freaking out. I wanted to do it perfectly. I was over thinking it. I was falling for all the diet hype that this is harder being a woman, being near menopause, are hormones playing a role?
I don’t have fitness or nutrition degrees but I have learned a ton working with Coach Hunter and the coaches as they work with our members. I feel like I have literally heard every reason in the book and I can probably even tell you the coaches response to it. That wasn’t helping! I felt like I couldn’t complain to anybody on my team because I know they’ve heard it all before! I couldn’t complain to my husband because he wonders why I’m doing this challenge anyway. I couldn’t complain to my best friends because they have each lost 100+ lbs. Oh man, this is frustrating!
Let me back up again. I truly believe that we can change. The older I get, the more of a growth mindset I live by. I enjoy reading self-help books every morning. I’m the geek that, even though I’m excited to read it all & get through it, I slow down and do every recommended exercise before reading on. I read the book that feels appropriate at the moment. If I start it and it’s a struggle, I drop it and start another one that flows better with where I currently am with my life.
Monday morning, I started pulling in some tools that I’ve learned from my fantastic coaches and the books I’ve read.
In regards to doing it perfectly, from Coach Beth, Imperfect Action – that’s how I start. Who cares if I screw something up! What does that even mean anyway?
From my current reading ‘Claim Your Purpose’, I am humble in many ways in my life. But, when I honestly thought about humility in regards to weight loss, I thought I was special. I thought I’ve tried this all before, it didn’t work, why am I doing this again? What if I get to the end and it hasn’t worked? I can tell you what the coaches will tell you to do but it won’t work for me. ummmm, that’s not humble – there’s something I can work on.
This challenge offers everyone tools and coaching, so I’ll use it! As I progress along, I’ll ask questions, I’ll participate! I can do this!
Then I chatted with Coach Dusty for our regular Monday meeting and had my meltdown. Weight loss is so much more than the physical number on the scale. He didn’t ask me but I had been working through why did I put on the weight in the first place? There were things in my past where food or eating or weighing more helped with my survival because I didn’t have other tools or resources to help me at the time.
Coach Dusty did point out that eating and food is part of my identity. Cooking or going out for delicious meals together is part of my relationship with my husband and friends. All of our friends & people that don’t even know us personally, know about our delicious homemade ice cream. We share restaurant recommendations with so many friends. I am possibly taking a step away from that identity which is a scary thing to do. Will my tribe still support me if I say no to ice cream when my foodie friends are having it?
Mondays are meetings day and my next meeting was with Coach Hunter. I’m his assistant so we talk about whatever we need to at the time to keep things running smoothly, so naturally I told him about my meltdown. I’ve known Hunter for 7 years and he knows me pretty well. His recommendation was that this is something that is scary and uncomfortable to me and THAT is my challenge. It’s not how many pounds I lose and % body fat, my challenge is focusing on the inputs, the to-do’s and letting the outcome be as it may. BINGO, that aligns with my growth mindset! That aligns with my purpose of helping and encouraging others on their health journey because if I do this, I can now assist and empathize even more with others. That is something I CAN control.
I took it all in – what I’ve been doing on my own, what I’ve learned from the coaches, and I started writing down what I ate. I started my previous habit of walking BEFORE work again. Coach Dusty reminded me to front load the hardest stuff as early as possible. I work from home but I now have a one mile walk to work! I go 1/2 mile out (or about 15 mins) and then circle back to home first thing in the morning.
I have a calorie, protein, and fiber goal set out for me at the beginning of the challenge. I’m really leaning in, trusting the process, and doing what I’m told to do. After all, I have literally seen hundreds of people follow the coaches’ recommendations and see amazing progress, while I stay doing the same things and stay exactly where I am.
Since this is a summary of the first week, you are probably wondering how it went. The week went great. For me, I found actually writing in a book is making much more sense than tracking on an app. Before I didn’t actually see the numbers/calculations. Now I’m doing them myself so I am understanding them better.
For the challenge, I am tracking how many days I hit my calorie, fiber, and protein goals. Monday through Friday, I hit my calorie goal 3 out of 5 days, fiber 0 out of 5, and protein 1 out of 5.
The perfectionist in me thinks this sounds horrible but you know what? I’ve learned a lot already really leaning in and doing this. I finally figured out how to track that makes sense for me for now. I can guarantee I wouldn’t have met my calorie or protain goal if I wasn’t tracking it.
Even though I’m not hitting my goals yet, I’m learning why when I’m not. My protein has increased everyday, which was a struggle for me in the past. My fiber has come close to my goal so I’ll get there.
I love being back to walking every day again. We live in such a beautiful location! I’m slowly shedding that perfectionist in me.
These things take time but I did do an inbody just to see what slight changes may have occurred in 7 days since my starting inbody measurements. I am down 2.1 lbs and .9% body fat after week 1!
I don’t know if that will continue and don’t expect it to at that exact rate. This isn’t a linear process. But I do know that I am not hungry or hangry like I’ve been before when I’ve tried this.
I had bread, butter, and peanut butter yesterday for a snack!
I had delicious homemade mac & cheese for breakfast two mornings because that’s what I wanted to spend my calories on!
And, I went with friends for ice cream and, for the first time ever, declined. It took a lot of social courage (is that a thing?) but I did it and didn’t feel deprived at all because I had just eaten a delicious 10oz steak dinner with mashed potatoes and vegetables and I was not at all hungry. I still socialized and enjoyed time with my friends and I’ve survived to tell about it! lol
Hopefully something here rings a bell and helps you in some small way. I don’t know how this challenge will turn out, but I am leaning in and trusting the process and putting all of my focus on what I can do right now.
I’m learning that the only way I can fail at this is if I give up, which isn’t happening!
After two years of contemplation, Royan walked through Hybrid’s doors in 2018. Even though she was battling cancer & a slipped disk, walking through that door to ask for help was the hardest thing she had ever done. The Hybrid team of coaches took it from there and the rest is history! Royan is now a Hybrid member as well as a team member, supporting Hunter and Dusty and all of the coaches as needed.