When Is The Best Time To Work Out?
We have the definitive answer.
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by Audie Metcalf
Warning: This article contains discussions of weight loss and calorie restriction.
There is only one answer to this question. Only one.
ONE. ANSWER.
Keep scrolling for drama.
The best time to work out is the time you’ll do it.
If this feels exciting and freeing, YAY. If it feels scary and weird, lean into it. If you say you don’t have time, you do. Scroll 30 minutes less a day on your phone. If you can’t go to a gym, buy these weights* and lift them in your living room watching old episodes of Melrose Place. If you have injuries, there’s 56,893 videos dedicated to your exact injury and how to work around it.
And if you want to just do something, right now, without thinking about splits and bands and progressive overload and scary words like that, just do this exact routine, 3 times a week, to get started.
I thanked her for her support but said I was too busy. And I am busy!! I’m busy running this site for you! I have a husband! A child! A house! A dog! I don’t have time to pick up heavy things on top of that! But I couldn’t stop thinking about her before and after pictures:
I could remind you that lifting weights is one of the best indicators of living a long and healthy life, and in fact that the American College of Sports Medicine just released a new study of 30k participants that essentially says the type of workout you’ll actually do is the best kind for our longevity and strength. But you already know all that. We all know it. And we still don’t do it.
So do it for another reason.
Do it for vanity.
I only just started lifting weights a few months ago, and I can see muscles peaking through my back and arms. It’s exhilarating.
I know your fear. You’re afraid of getting “bulky.” And actually, it’s a normal fear. If you’re very overweight and just lift weights you may develop muscle but it will be covered and you may look bigger. That’s true. So if you are someone who wants to lose weight, try just a 300-400 calorie deficit. That’s it. And walk every day. These are the results of just a 250 calorie deficit for Beatrix (who is very petite at 5’3”), over the course of 18 months, along with weights:
Yes, her real name is Beatrix. Beatrix Whipple. Best name potentially ever? We’ve become friends and she answers all my dumb questions about this stuff so now if you try this you can ask all your dumb little questions of ME on dm, and I will answer them. Or I will ask her and answer you. She’s busy running a wildly successful real estate group so I try not to bug her too much but … she started it. And speaking of Beatrix Whipple, the woman with the best name in the world, I of course got her permission to share these photos with all of you, and she also wanted me to convey that she’s just a normal woman who wanted to lose around 30 lbs, didn’t have a trainer, knew nothing about any of this, and just sort of…figured it out. I literally stare at her before and after photos when I’m getting lazy and would prefer to just plop down on the couch at the end of the day instead of picking up all my heavy things for 30 minutes.
She also wanted me to tell you she also has to track her food to be in an actual calorie deficit, which is what allows anyone to see tone. Tone is just muscle. But it’s muscle you can see because you’ve lost fat. And the only only only way to lose fat is to eat fewer calories than you burn, which, unless you’re a pro athlete, is by being in a calorie deficit. She and I both eat pretty basic meals. We use a scale which seems insane but it’s not insane. It’s the only way you can know how much you’re eating and for most of us, it’s just about eating too many calories. Both of our meals look a lot like this, most days:
But I will tell you I’ve recently had an epiphany that perhaps bowls are the best way to eat something that feels slightly more exciting while still being able to stay in a deficit.
But that’s an article for another day.
So let’s sum everything up here.
1. If you don’t need or want to lose weight but you want to lift heavy things, make sure you are lifting a weight so heavy that by the 6th or 7th rep it’s nearly impossible to finish the rep—this is true whether you are or aren’t losing weight. If you want to see muscle, you have to use heavy weights that you can barely finish your reps with. And use the video above to get started. That’s it. Skip everything below this. Except the walking thing. I use 10/12/20 lb weights* but just go by the guide about reps to figure it out for you. I like these weights and just use your couch and chairs. Don’t let anyone convince you you need to get a bunch of stuff. It’s another distraction. If you commit to that full body workout for a month, come back to us and we’ll talk about what’s next.
2. If you do want or need to lose weight, you need to figure out your maintenance cals (what you need to eat to maintain your weight) and you can do that HERE. Subtract 300 cals from that number, and those are your cals for the day.
3. Use free MyFitnessPal to track ALL cals. Trust me, you cannot eyeball your cals. No one can. No one. When women on the internet say things like “I’ve only eaten 1400 cals every day and I’m not losing weight!” it’s because they’re not eating 1400 cals, they’re probably eating 2000 cals. Why? They’re not tracking.
4. Use these tbsp* and this scale*. Absolutely non negotiable if you’re serious about this. Impossible almost any other way. It’s not “disordered” to do this. It’s precise. I promise you that when I tried to estimate my olive oil and peanut butter, my gluttony quadrupled my estimation. And that alone could determine whether you’re in a deficit or not. Which is the difference of losing one pound a week or not. There just doesn’t have to be any “emotion” associated with this. Be very literal about it. Because weight loss is literal.
5. Walk every day. Try a light weighted vest* and work up to the highest safe weight you can do. Also use ankle weights*. Go outside if you can because it’s exhilarating and life-affirming but we also love THIS* walking pad if that’s not in the cards.
6. Weigh yourself once a day and don’t freak if the scale fluctuates. That’s not some bullshitty thing, it’s the truth. I can weigh 5 lbs more before I poop. Which might be revealing too much about my poop itself. Track your daily weight each week and get an average. If you are doing everything above you WILL see the scale move down 1 lb a week. Period. There is nothing that will prevent this. Nothing about cortisol or hormones. That’s all just noise to keep us confused and stagnant and beholden. Ignore it.
8. Here’s the rub: being in a calorie deficit is not easy. Why? Because hunger is a difficult feeling, and if you’re in a deficit, you’ll be hungry. So that means you need to eat things that are as filling as possible, which is real food. Processed food typically has a lot of key nutrition sucked out—like fiber. All that protein bread and all of that shit is processed. Eat real food. You know what real food is. Potatoes are real food! Eat potatoes! They’re filling. And not scary. Here’s more of what I eat HERE, HERE, and HERE. Get your ideal body weight in protein every day and eat tons of fiber. THIS is what foods have fiber.
And that’s it! Listen I know that’s a big change. It is. I won’t say it’s easy, but it is simple. Calories in calories out is real and scientific, and the extra fun part about lifting weights is that building muscle helps your resting metabolic rate to burn more calories so that eventually you can eat more calories and stay the same weight. Lifting weights also helps to manage your blood sugar, lower bad cholesterol, reduce inflammation, strengthen bone density, prevent type 2 diabetes, limit your risk of stroke, and reduce dementia risk.
But you knew all that. So focus on this: lifting weights will help you wear all the clothes you want to wear, look at yourself in the mirror, in pictures, in your reflection in the window of a store, and think:
Woah. Is that … me? I’m HOT.
That’s my motivator. Maybe it’s yours. Maybe yours is something else. Just choose one. And do it.
And remember to DM me because it’s weird and isolating and hard and exciting, and I know all these feelings, and I continue to have them daily. Ok. Get after it.
This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used in place of professional advice, medical treatment, or professional care in any way. This article is not intended to be and should not be a substitute for professional care, advice or treatment. Please consult with your physician or healthcare provider before changing any health regimen. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent disease of any kind. Read our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Audie Metcalf is the Editor-in-chief of The Candidly, and lives in LA with her family. You can find more of her articles here.
