#centrtryout

[thors-soft-cheeks]

I am quite upset. 

Fair warning: this personal rant about the newest development in Centr (Hemsworth’s fitness app) may be triggering to some of my followers. ED’s are mentioned, calories are mentioned, diets are mentioned. If that triggers you, don’t click the read more.

Some of you may already know that I’ve started the Centr program by Chris Hemsworth this February. I’ve been into weight lifting and fitness for over six years, after a long period of dealing with bad body image, eating disorders (anorexia and orthorexia) and basically not taking the best care of myself.

I still use Centr, mostly for the amazing vegetarian and vegan meal options and being able to work out at home when I am can’t or don’t want to go to the gym due to me being sensory overloaded or not into crowds at the moment. It’s great, it’s holistic approach is still there and suits my needs. The sleep visualisations and meditations are amazing, the workouts are effective and there is just a huge array to choose from. The food is delicious and the plan I chose (build muscle) is excellent. I am happily maintaining and focussing on strength, health and well being. I must admit I initially lost a few kilos on the program but never felt hungry or starved. I just ate a lot of new different things and that is how my body reacted to it. I got stronger and leaner, less sick, learned new things I could do etc. 

I also was under the impression that Centr is body positive, because of the holistic approach and being able to choose your own goal and the freedom it offers in how much of the program you want to follow or not. Pick what you like, leave the rest. Focus on health, not weight. I like that. I think all fitness should be like that: accessible for everyone and focussing on feeling better, taking care of yourself and move around in ways that are fun and good for you. Fitness should be self care, self respect, learning to love yourself by taking care of yourself WITHOUT the focus on changing the looks of your body.

However recently, a new trainer Gunnar Peterson jumped in. He’s only temporarily on the app, offering a four week plan aimed for quick weightloss for women. (After that he buggers off again) I first didn’t think too much of it because it wasn’t my goal to lose weight. But they posted about it a lot and promoted the hell out of it. And thus I learned a lot about it. 

Clearly: I am not happy with Gunnar. His plan focusses on measuring your body, working out DAILY (you need your god damn rest!) and eating as little as 1200 calories. FYI, that is the nutritional need of a TODDLER and way, WAY too little for most grown ass women (unless you are teeny tiny maybe???), definitely the taller kind like I am. I need at least twice as much to maintain. Words like ‘catwalk lean’ were in his introductory text (but removed since I openly pointed it out but I still have a screen shot) and I was just simply like: WHAT THE FUUUCK? This is SO not in line with the rest of the program AT. ALL. It’s like a flea in the dogs fur. It simply shouldn’t be there. 

So I posted about it in the Facebook group, also adding how much that part of the program triggered my dormant ED that I thought I good and well got over by now. I thankfully got a lot of support from fellow members whose eyes were opened about the low caloric intake mostly and they promised to eat more than what was in the plan. After that I took a break from the group, avoiding the subject for the good of my mental health and avoiding the people talking about how hungry they felt, or how little they eat in a place that is supposed to be safe. I am out of there for the next four weeks or so. Maybe even a bit after that because god, I hate it so much.

I LOVE sports. I LOVE fitness, I LOVE good food and I LOVE challenging myself. But I will NEVER. EVER. EVER STARVE for anything. Bodies, whatever their size, need their nutrition, their food to THRIVE. You need proper energy to do your things, to think clearly and to let your body work for you. It’s your forever home and it needs love, care and attention. I love all of Centr EXCEPT the Gunnar X Centr challenge. I hope this blows over real quick.

#centrtryout #cw: ED #tw:ED #just had to get it off my chest

[thors-soft-cheeks]

Centr Q and A part 1

This post is about the available information you can find on the website right now, before the launch on feb 4.

The FAQ on the website is helpful, but I managed to squeeze out a couple of questions that a lot of you probably have, and provided my answers, often including personal experience and/or links. Just in case you’re interested in reading more or wanting to know how stuff works.

Q: Are the exercises safe for my body? I have scoliosis/arthritis/other joint, mobility, injuries or ligament issues. 

A: This is so personal that I really want you to figure this out with your GP or physiotherapist who knows how your body works. Centr recommends the same and I am behind this 100%. Always check with your doc first!

Q: Will I look like Chris/Thor or his beautiful wife Elsa when I’m ‘done’?

A: No. You will look like you. Likely a you who mostly feels more energetic and ready to take on the world, a you who sleeps well, takes care of themselves and experiences less stress in life. And I generally hope you will always be happy with you. <3 No matter if you hop on the bandwagon or not. 

Compare yourself not to others, even though the term ‘OMG BODYGOALS’ is something that leaves my mouth from time to time as well. Motivation is good, but always remember that you are you, always. And your body has its own unique features and strengths. Embrace them and use the program to improve your self care first of all.

Q: I am non-binary, can I choose a gender neutral option when I apply?

A: Unfortunately you can’t do that yet. But I think I’ll request a feature (if I can!) that at least can make you choose your own pronouns, though they usually just use your name. I signed up using ‘female’ even though I identify as non-binary. 

I’ll explain why: My body is female and I know that can have its pros, despite the fact that I’m not feelin it all the time.

The thing about male and female bodies is that they are biologically and hormonally different so they need different fitness approaches to get optimal results. 

Female bodies have amazing qualities that are squandered when training them like male bodies. 

For instance: the estrogen in womens bodies helps recover FASTER from exercise than men. It’s also anabolic and helps you get stronger. So this means you can take shorter breaks between sets or training sessions. 

There is also the influence of the monthly cycle to take into account where your performance differs from week to week (and maybe you need to take a day or two off on the heavy flow days - I know that I do). 

Also when it comes to nutrition, women thrive on having relatively more fats in their diets compared to men, who thrive on carbs. And these are just a few points. 

As gender neutral as I would like things to be, the reality of our physical form we inhabit is what it is and is difficult to ignore when you work on it. Don’t expect any cute pink small dumbells though, when you work out like a woman. It’s challenging, hard work but if kept up: it can be very rewarding. NOTE: I have little to no information on how this works on trans people who made their steps to transition (HRT and surgery). I think that HRT influence is big enough so you don’t need to choose your assigned gender but your actual gender to begin the program. If there is someone who knows more, feel free to share your knowledge! (Also I have tried to choose my words as carefully as I can, knowing this can be a sensitive subject - please forgive me if I somehow said things in a wrong way)

Q: Is Centr body positive?

A: I don’t know (yet). The hand picked team looks quite diverse but plus sizes sadly aren’t represented. The entire team is relatively lean (sometimes very lean in terms that I’d personally say it becomes hard to maintain!). Please don’t let that discourage you just yet. They do welcome everyone and lets everyone set their own goals. If I know more I will update this!

Q: Is variation ‘switching it up’ in your workout program necessary?

A: This depends on your goal and preference. If your focus is on being active and be versatile in that activity, try new things every now and then. This is similar to how versatile crossfit can be and it may give great results! However: If your focus is on hitting a certain number on your bench for example, keep doing benches and assistance work and add a gradual weight and/or rep increase so you get stronger and closer to that goal number. If you want to get really good at something in particular, do it a lot and keep challenging yourself. See also: microloading and progressive overload. 

Q: Why do they recommend HIIT for weight loss? 

A: I wonder the same thing. Maybe because it is an approachable and quick way to get moving and keep your muscle mass while losing fat. In essence it doesn’t really matter much what type of exercise you do when you want to lose fat. As long as you choose to eat in a moderate (!) caloric deficit (eating slightly less than you burn - DO NOT STARVE) you will lose weight no matter the kind of exercise. So: Do something you like to do, whether its HIIT, walking, strength training, etc. 

About the meal plans:

Q: I track macros, can I do that in this app or does it provide insights into the macros of each meal?

EDIT: They will share nutrition information on the meals! I asked and they will. So there will likely be some info on the macro’s. Which is good! 

Q: Do I really need to keep on track when I’m eating out?

A: That depends on the frequency, and your own goals. I don’t do it a lot, maybe once a month. (I’m picky too because I’m a fairly good cook so it has to be something I can’t easily recreate at home for a quarter of the cost) If the frequency is that low, do everyone and yourself a favour and order that pizza/burger/whatever you like. One meal outside your plan won’t mess with your progress at all. Please enjoy the happy times and pick up where you left off the next meal. (if you want to follow the meal plan that is)

Q: It says you need to eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. They are really expensive where I live.

A: That is a problem many people deal with and it is difficult or nigh impossible to solve in some cases if you don’t have a fridge or freezer. This is unfortunately a privilege thing. I am well aware of that. 

Because the other solution would be frozen fruits and vegetables, they are not nutritionally different from their fresh counterparts. They are affordable and you reduce food waste because the food you don’t use goes back in the freezer for another time. Canned fruits and veggies are usually fine too, just watch added sugar and salt if that matters to you. Also if you have leftovers of canned stuff, put them in a plastic container in the fridge. Do not leave them in the tin to go bad.

Q: Wait... organic and local EVERYTHING?

A: Relax, you can buy regular food items just fine. Organic fruits and vegetables aren’t necessarily better in nutritional value. They are pretty much the same, the differences are very small.

If you eat meat/fish though, I’d go and try organic or controlled if you care about animal welfare, or choose a meat free option every now and then or try a vegan meal. 

Q: Are the meal plans part of a diet?

A: Yes. I’m not going to sugar coat this. If you want to follow the nutrition program, you’re dieting. The meal plans provide a way to transform your body, as it says on the site. Of course it is flexible in some ways that makes you able to choose your goals but no matter if what... ‘Thou shallt eat clean.’ rings through everywhere. 

I have a problem with that. First off I hate dividing foods into a good or bad category. I also hate restrictions. It makes getting a good relationship with food very difficult. Food is food. 

By all means avoid foods because of your moral or sustainability choices (eg refusing to buy products with palm oil for the urang utans) or if you have allergies, not because its on some nope list. 

However, if you choose to change/transform your body, changing the way you eat is essential. Again: if you CHOOSE to do this. It should always be your own choice. Because the way you ate until now results in the way your body is now. Your food provides the building blocks for your body. But to me that definitely doesn’t mean eating clean all the time. Fuck no.

Most importantly though:

If a meal plan is making you feel bad or triggers you, step out of it. There is so much more to life than having abs. I swear. I know I am not happier or problem free when I have them from time to time. Read more about anti dieting and intuitive eating here.

Q: I’m recommended to avoid sugar and artificial sweeteners, but I can use honey, rice syrup or maple syrup. Is this important?

A: A few facts: (I loove facts) 100 grams of sugar is about 400 calories. 100 grams of rice syrup is 400 calories too. For realsies. 100 grams of honey is about 300 calories and maple syrup 360. The body processes these foods roughly the same: it provides you with direct energy. So I don’t know why people still demonize sugar while promoting those expensive syrups like rice syrup while they are nutritionally the same. Artificial sweetener, however, barely has any caloric value and is 100% safe. I tend to choose for those to spare a couple of cals I can use on other things I like. Worries about blood glucose peaks? Not important for most people who are healthy. If you are diabetic or have another condition that is influenced by spikes, follow your doctors advice. They know more about that than I ever will.

Generally: Choose what you like depending on taste, the amounts you need (like who eats 100 g of sugar?? Its usually far less!) or combine. 

Looong post, I know! Feel free to ask me questions in asks about Centr Fit! 

Also all my posts about Centr are tagged #centrtryout if you want to follow or blacklist.

#centrtryout #centr #centrapp #my take on things #fitness post

[thors-soft-cheeks]

First week with Centr!

All right, here’s an update of my experience with Centr so far! 

I am not following the meal plans and workouts to the letter, because I have always intended it to be complimentary to what I already do. But it has proven itself very useful. I have tried some recipes and workouts though, and made my first babysteps into making meditation a daily habit.

So, without further ado: I will put some of my findings here. I have been a bit skeptic with the information that was provided on the website beforehand, but that has changed a lot within this first week. 

Interaction with trainers and nutritionists The coolest thing is the interaction with the trainers (like Luke Zocchi, Bobby Holland Hanton and Tiffiny Hall) and nutritionists directly! There’s a closed Facebook community simply called ‘Centr Community’ for members. There are almost 10.000 members on there now. And I am very happy not to have cancelled my Facebook account. I still don’t post anywhere except in the community but it has been a positive, helpful and enriching experience. 

Members are, naturally, from all over the world with different backgrounds, goals and situations and everyone is respectful to each other. That is quite a rarity in such a large group. I have found there are always idiots but I figure they have been moderated out well in time or that everyone is in the right mindset to be respectful and vulnerable.

Because it is a safe space. People are open minded and open hearted on there and help each other without judgment. A big big plus.

The food plan This was my biggest concern, but they took my ass to school.

See I know a thing or two about macronutrients but I have experienced a lot of new ways to eat healthy and delicious at the same time here. The meals gave me a surprising amount of energy that made me hit PR’s at the gym I never thought I could have in me. I rediscovered how awesome (and cheap!!) tofu is and how many ways it can be used. There’s even a lasagna recipe and I am loving it. Most of the portions are a little to small for me though, I’ll explain: 

They calculate your nutrition plan based on only three factors: sex, goal and fitness level (beginner, intermediate, advanced). And as we all probably know that energy expenditure differs greatly from person to person, because body weight, lean mass, age, amount of sleep, daily activity besides workouts (eg a standing job) and so many more things influence your daily needs. So I cannot stress this enough: try stuff, gauge and see what happens. 

I eat mostly 1,5 portion of the meals to get enough but I skip most of the snacks. It’s just how I like to do it. I just get really crabby if I don’t get satisfied from a meal and I give zero fucks about snacks. If people like to graze or snack more, the portions will probably be fine. 

Tracking your progress For many people, this was disappointing. Centr doesn’t track your bodyweight, measurements or other things. And if you think about it, that is exactly their goal. They don’t want you to fuss over how you look, they want to teach you a healthy lifestyle most of all. So focus on how you feel and how your workouts go. It’s actually quite a body positive thing to do. 

The workouts For six years, I have trained my body to pick up heavy stuff from the floor and put it back. I’ve also walked and hiked a lot with my doggo’s but that’s about it. So my body is used to that kind of exercise. The workouts in Centr are something else! Definitely the Raw Functional Training by Da Rulk kicked my ass. It’s an amazing endorphin boost and if you squeeze that half hour torture in before work: you feel like a million bucks. At least, that’s how I felt last friday! I also tried a boxing workout by Jorge Blanco and his charming accent. 

Take home: if you never did anything like the workouts before: do it on a beginner level, get those basic moves in and make them a part of you before you let your ego take the best of you.

The workouts so far aren’t very injury prone because most of the impact lies in repetition and stamina. Take it easy and don’t get to explosive right away and you’ll build a great foundation.

The meditations/sleep visualisations People often recommended me to meditate. I always brushed it off because ‘meh, it’s just not for me.’ ‘I’m autistic, my brain can’t do that shit.’

Turns out: it can. I have to practice some more and get the hang of it, but those sleep visualisations got me right away. The chaos in my head was less severe and I drifted off to sleep quite fast. The reassuring voices of Michael Olajide Jr. and Sergio Perera did their job perfectly.

Conclusion so far: I think Centr can be compared to a new box of Legos.

You can use all the bricks, you can use some of them. Or even combine them with Lego bricks you already own. You can change one brick and use another one that fits, too. 

You can always build your house.

This was another #centrtryout post! Follow the hashtag to see more or blacklist if you don’t want to.

#centrtryout #first week #fun

[thors-soft-cheeks]

Centr Review! - SOON

Okay, I signed my ass up and I’m happily one of the Founding Members of this lifestyle app and program.

Many of you may know that I am not new to the world of fitness, health and good food. I’ve been lifting heavy for over six years and always worked with a no nonsense approach to nutrition as well. I read a lot of articles from evidence based trainers of which Menno Henselmans has the most scientifical approach. In short: I can pretty well separate the good advice from the bullshit. And truth be told, a lot of celebrity training programs (talkin to you Tracy Anderson!) are a lot of bullshit.

A bit more info on your test subject:

I am also an ex ED, demiwoman (non-binary) and body positive ally. I find these things important to include into the test because everyone should feel comfortable. I also have a slight scoliosis, Aspergers syndrome and I have a part time job with quite the commute to and fro. My money doesn’t grow on my back either, so I need to watch my budget regularly and plan ahead a lot. I know how to work around a variety of struggles, deal with the mental part of it and the sometimes crippling insecurity that probably haunts many of us. I also have trouble calming my mind, I never meditate or do any mindfulness. 

As fellow Chris Hemsworth fans I’m fairly sure Centr has caught many of your interests and attention. It looks really good (hee), approachable and positive, too. It may also look daunting for some because those physiques on display are, shall we say, some next level stuff. 

The interesting part, to me, is mainly how versatile it is. It’s not about nutrition and training only, it’s also about mindset, sleep and calming a troubled mind. 

It also looks adaptive and flexible, suiting to your needs and goals, and I need to know how much is appliable to us all and if it is as legit as it seems. The blog posts that are free for everyone to read, definitely have some solid information.

SO! Here’s the thing.

I’m willing to put it to the test next month (it launches feb 4!), also working around my birthday and other social real life things like that.

If you have any questions for me or things you’d like to know, feel free to ask them! I will tag everything about this Centr tryout with #centrtryout so you can find everything, including this masterpost. (or blacklist it, if you don’t like this sorta thing) 

#centrtryout #centrfit #centrapp #fitness post

[thors-soft-cheeks]

Centr update:

They have appeared to postpone the actual launch from the initial february 4 date (which is today) to ‘somewhere later this month’. 

On one hand I’m like ‘oops, you guys, this is not a good sign.’ and on the other hand I’m like ‘Phew! Thats totes fine because I’m down with another sinus infection right now that keeps me from Doing Things.’ But I really wanted to use my sick day to check the app out a little bit and see what was all in there.

Guess we all need to wait a little longer.

#centrtryout #centr

[thors-soft-cheeks]

Centr is live!

Earlier than they planned and happy about that! I love how adaptable it is so far and how you can either choose the program laid out for you on the calendar, or explore all the possibilities in training, nutrition and mindfulness by yourself. 

For beginners it may be a little daunting, I hope people will not get discouraged and scale things for themselves first until they are able to do what the trainers actually do on the videos. 

My body is used to a certain type of training and I’m now putting it through different things as well, and I’m going to take the time to learn all the new moves and training styles. 

The meals look delicious! I’ve also tried a couple and I loved them so far. I cant post screen shots of recipes because that is not allowed (I understand that for copyright reasons!) but there is something in it for everyone. 

Most of the three meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) add up to around 1300 calories a day on standard portions but you are allowed a couple of snacks in between so you’ll end up at an estimate of 1700-2000 or if you are a dude you get extra smoothies (only unlocked if you signed in as male but hee you can change that anytime) you can end up higher. 

The good thing is: those portion sizes are adaptable too so just take what you need and gauge what works best for you. It may require some creativity to get the hang of the portioning. Mostly it’s probably a case of add an extra egg, an extra slab of tofu etc and you’re good to go if you have a higher protein need for example. If you need more volume but not too much extra cals, add more vegetables. They won’t boost the calories but you will feel satiated. I am very happy that the nutrition info on all the meals is shared! 

The Mindfulness part looks calming and I’ll try that later today when I need to unwind.  

YEOW!

Are you interested in more information of do you have questions about me trying Centr? Feel free to throw me an ask!

All my Centr related posts are tagged #centrtryout if you want to follow or blacklist.

#centrtryout #centr fit #centr post

[thors-soft-cheeks]

#centrtryout #solid smoothie #though LOW on protein for my taste #I'd add a scoop and be good to go #maybe he is one of those kind of guys that eats like 9 meals a day? #as I prefer to eat 3 or 4 #because I have other stuff to do #chris hemsworth #centr

[thors-soft-cheeks]

Gah! I had a whole big ass Centr update for you guys but Tumblr suddenly reloaded and now all my text is gone! God dammit.

Stick with me because it’s a good one!

#centrtryout