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Hi friends!

Here is your weekly Tri-Tip Tuesday, sharing our current thoughts on food, fitness, & travel. Please forward this to others if you think they may be inspired.

Food: fat loss vs weight loss

"Losing weight" is a general goal that is high on many people's list. How you approach weight loss could be detrimental.

The primary driver in weight loss is your nutrition. Of course, there are a few supporting lifestyle choices such as working out, sleep, and stress management that also matter. However, nutrition is by far the main role driving this initiative, and dictating your success.

If you approach losing weight by simply slashing calories, and not paying attention to your nutrition, you will lose weight. The dangerous thing about this is that you will also lose valuable muscle in the process.

Muscle is very calorically expensive for the body to maintain. This is one of the many reasons muscle is so valuable for us to prioritize. The more muscle we have, the higher our metabolism is. We burn more calories throughout every 24 hours, even while sleeping.

So when the body is in survival mode and not getting enough calories, muscle is the first thing to go. And this is the LAST thing we want to happen. Healthy muscle is critical for healthy aging physically and mentally. We need to protect it and try to build it back up by all means possible.

If you are in an intentional caloric deficit, prioritizing protein will flip the switch from weight loss to fat loss. Protein will protect the muscle that you have, and your body will instead burn fat during the caloric deficit. Strength training will also help support this as well.

So remember, slashing calories and being sedentary may make the scale drop, but in the long run it will leave your body weak, frail, and susceptible to injury and sickness.

Slashing calories while prioritizing protein and strength training will result in body composition changes, fat loss, and will keep long-term optimal health front and center.

Fitness: bone density

One of my Tri-Tip Tuesday readers replied and asked for me to touch on maintaining bone density as we age. I was happy to get a topic by request, so thank you for replying and sending this in!

The two big lifestyle factors that you can control to naturally protect and build healthy bones are exercise and nutrition.

Exercise slows the loss of bone. Starting exercise before the age of 35 increases peak bone mineral density & bone mass. Having a consistent weight training routine and healthy skeletal muscle will catapult you into healthy aging. Many of us are already past this time, but don't panic...According to new research, it’s possible to increase bone density in your later years, even post-menopause! I am sincere when I say that it's never too late to start, and if you aren't strength training yet, start now!!

The best exercises for improving bone density are strength training exercises and high-impact exercises. While bodyweight exercises are a safe place to start, you will get more benefits from heavier loads. Lifting heavier weights at lower reps is much more effective than lower weights at higher reps. This rule translates to all benefits of weight training and is not limited to the benefits of bone density alone. Strength training should be targeted 2-4 times per week.

For high-impact exercises, think jumping, where you have both feet off the floor at the same time. Jump squats, jump lunges, and other plyometric exercises are fantastic. A gentler place to start is jumping rope, and you may even have fun doing it! Of course, if you have any existing conditions that prevent you from safely performing high-impact exercises, you should not participate in this activity. Examples: people who are injured, pregnant, newly postpartum, sick, have existing heart conditions, or are already suffering from osteopenia or osteoporosis.

Then, there's the nutrition angle. Eating a diet high in protein can help us maintain good bone density. People who eat more protein tend to have better bone health and a much lower risk of osteoporosis and fractures as they get older.

Choosing foods high in calcium is also smart. Milk, cheese, other dairy, and vegetables such as dark leafy greens, and broccoli, are great sources. If consuming calcium through diet isn't easy for you or is limited, you may want to consider asking your doctor about supplementing with Calcium, Vitamin D, and Vitamin K.
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Travel: how active are RVers?

I recently heard a guest on a podcast say that they gave up full-time RVing because the lifestyle "was not active enough" for them.
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It shocked me to hear this and left me saddened.

I do agree that the RV community in general is underactive. RVers tend to do a lot of sitting, and a lot of convenience eating/dining out.

But the way that you choose to RV isn't dictated by anybody else, or the general norm. It can be as active as you want it to be! And if you seek out activity and adventure, you have a GIANT playground to explore through traveling to different landscapes.

It's a lot like the RV budget. The RV budget can be extremely frugal on one end, or extravagantly expensive on the other end! Your budget is unique to your limitations and preferences.

Don't let other people's thoughts on the RV lifestyle dictate how you view it, or how you live it. It's a wonderful lifestyle and it is what you make of it.

Make it a great week!

Christine Irene

NASM-CPT, Senior Fitness Specialist, Precision Nutrition Pn1 + Pn2 Certified, & Avid Traveler

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