It’s that time of year when everyone is talking about their new health and fitness goals.
If you’ve had trouble sticking with your exercise and diet goals in the past, I bet I know why.
Most programs out there are too intense for Type 2 women! They can result in injury, burnout, or adrenal fatigue.
Your approach needs to be gentle and calm—just like your natural energy.
If you are a Type 2 woman who is ready to finally see a lasting change in your fitness and nutrition, we’ve put together this thorough guide to help you get started, and actually stick with it.
Let’s talk about the Type 2 woman and how you can honor your food and fitness tendencies!
Type 2 energy is fluid, flowing, and moves downward.
The more you allow yourself to approach diet and fitness with your natural movement, the more successful you will be.
As a Type 2, it is important for you to be able to ask questions, gather details, and make a plan. When it comes to fitness and diet, it’s the same way! Without a plan, you will not know how to best move forward.
Even with a plan, you’re going to experience challenges along the way, so let’s talk about some helpful solutions.
Challenge #1: Getting overwhelmed determining which food or fitness program is right for you.
Details are important to you, but too many details can also keep you from taking action. You can get so overwhelmed with the many options and programs out there that it seems to stop your flow entirely since you aren’t sure which one is going to work or is the best for you.
Solution: Optimize your love of planning.
First of all, remind yourself how much you enjoy being part of the planning process, so don’t allow anyone or any program to take that away from you!
Start with knowing that there are several different plans out there that can bring you to your goal. In other words, you can’t go wrong! This will give you the reassurance that if you follow your plan, you will see results. Understanding this can also keep you from getting stuck in the research phase and will allow you to move forward with the information you have.
Be flexible with your plan. Take the details from other plans or strategies and incorporate them in a way that you know will be doable for you. Trust that you know what’s best for your body and your lifestyle.
Be consistent and also flexible when needed. If you aren’t seeing any improvements in two weeks (with strength, energy, inch loss, etc), refresh or change part of the plan.
Challenge #2: Going at it too hard with too much intensity.
Many Type 2’s are under the impression exercise always needs to be hard, intense, and uncomfortable. Sometimes it’s good to push your limit, but not every workout needs to be this way. In fact, you could injure yourself or burn out if you don’t honor your Type 2 energy.
I’ve talked to many Type 2’s who experience adrenal fatigue, they’ve all been pushing their bodies to the extreme. There are several health benefits from allowing yourself to workout in a less intense heart rate range.
Solution: You’ll see more success with fluid-movement exercises.
Hiking, walking, yoga, dance cardio, biking, and swimming can all be effective exercises for you. Fluid motion exercises feel better on your body and mind, and they’ll help you continue to exercise even when you find yourself not “feeling like it.”
Type 2’s have a tendency to do what they “feel” at the moment. On days you feel too tired, try doing lighter-intensity exercise and notice how it can improve your energy level. Allow yourself to take a rest day if your body needs it.
If you experience intense soreness, famished energy levels, and your body takes longer than a day to recover, try backing off your intensity a bit. This will help you be able to exercise on a regular basis.
You’ll be surprised at the results you can still experience without exhausting yourself every day!
Challenge #3: A tendency to eat out of fatigue.
Type 2’s have an introverted energy, meaning it moves inward first. It’s understandable that you’ll feel depleted and fatigued more quickly than someone with an extroverted energy. When you get tired, you may turn to food for a little boost. But this can lead to snacking on high-glucose foods which will only sabotage your health!
Solution: Allow yourself to have a short rest instead.
Give yourself permission to rest or lay down anywhere from 5 –25 minutes to recharge. You can do this in a car with the radio off, at your desk with your door shut and head down, on the couch with your eyes closed, in child’s pose (a yoga pose) — any way that allows you a few minutes to shut your brain off and just be still.
You’ll get up feeling more rested, invigorated, and in control so you won’t need to eat in response to your feelings. You’ll be able to function more effectively when you allow your body that time to recover and reenergize.
Challenge #4: Sensitivity to sugar and chemicals.
As a Type 2, remember that one of your gifts is sensitivity. This is a great gift that blesses many people.
This same quality, however, can present itself in your physical experience in having a more sensitive composition. Your Type is the most affected by chemicals and stimulants in foods.
Here are a few suggestions that can help you feel and function your best:
- Watch your amount of sugar and caffeine. Too much will result in negative side effects such as sluggishness, fatigue, wired but tired feeling, hungry even after you just ate, unable to sleep, etc.
- It’s important for you to have both proteins and carbohydrates when you eat meals and snacks. Combine both of these in delicious ways: string cheese and crackers, hard-boiled egg and ½ piece of fruit, chicken with rice, tuna with bread or crackers, etc.
- Go for the cleanest version of the food possible, such as organic and natural.
- Look for processed foods with the least amount of ingredients. Foods with around 5 ingredients are the cleanest.
Now that you’re filled with all this Type 2 knowledge, you’re more than ready to stay consistent with your food and fitness goals this year!
Keep in mind what you do may not be as important as how you approach what you do!
As a Lifestyle member, you get access to our personalized StyleInspire boards, which come out twice a week. Think of it like your personal shopper for all things DYT Style! This week, we just released a brand new “I Am Fit” board – filled with new workout wear and accessories to help you get moving.
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