Tell me what to eat!

  “I really hate food. Especially pizza, ice-cream, and fruit.”  Said no one ever.    

I have yet to hear that statement from any of my clients and hope I never do.  We all love food, and most of us love to eat it.  🙂  In case anyone is wondering; this is a GOOD THING.  We are designed to eat food, every day, from the time we are born till the time we die.  At first we can only drink our food, reliant on our mothers “homemade” nutrition, but as we grow and develop into strong, healthy living creatures, our taste buds develop and change and we eat from a much wider variety.

Time goes on and for whatever reason, many of us forget how to eat.  Social, emotional/psychological, digestion or health issues all come in to play.  We don’t really forget, but we get pushed way off course from what eating is, what it should be, as opposed to what everyone tells us it is.  At some point we gained weight from the most innocent of reasons. . . we naturally enjoyed our food and ate too much. Overeating – even organic fruits and vegetables will add weight if you are eating too much.  Conversely, I watch overweight people under-eat all the time, they drink their calories or do not exercise regularly and their body is not happy with them for it.

Choosing what to eat is really simple if you allow it to be.   What we didn’t know years ago was an education in nutrition would have helped us make better food choices.

So now what?  Now that you have gained weight, you want to lose it.  Best way to fix it is to:  Educate yourself a little, and move forward one day at a time.  This means finding a lifestyle of healthy eating that works for you, not your skinny friends. Throw away your diet books, and instead choose foods with the most dense nutrition available (i.e. not in boxes, cans, bags or other preservative laden monstrosities) and move forward.  You can be a vegan, a die hard Paleo advocate, or a regular joe and still get amazing results…there is no magic secret.

“I don’t know what to eat to lose weight.  Please tell me.”

This is the most common question I get.  The next question is undoubtedly “spot reduction” fat loss questions regarding body parts.  What is most intriguing for me is the statement, “I know what to eat. . .or “I know what to do, but can you help me?”

If you know then why are you asking me?  The truth is you do know what to do (for the most part).  You don’t need me to tell you what to eat.  I decided last year to stop writing diets for people for good reason –  it was not the root of their problem. The issue with asking me what I eat, or following someone’s diet who has a body you like is simple, they are not YOU.  Buyer beware of anyone promising things they cannot offer.  They have NO control whether you lose weight.  YOU DO.

To get down to what you are supposed to eat to lose weight, first let’s start with a simple list of ideas that you can use to reach your goals….you do have those written down right?

1.  Write down your ultimate goal and read it out loud to yourself.  

Make sure this goal is attainable if you have set a time frame on it.  i.e.  Losing 40 lbs permanently in 30 days is not smart, safe (possible) or in any way going to stay off unless you undergo surgery, or start smoking crack.   Example:  “Lose 30 lbs” is not what I am talking about when I say write a goal.  You need to write down the REASONS you want to lose weight.  WHY do you want to lose it?  Get specific, write them down, read them out loud and get started.  Try:  “Feel confident in a swimsuit”.

*Caution:  “Stop hating my body” is an entirely different issue which is a core root of many women’s problems…so if you hate yourself, or hate your body…you need to fix that issue first before any plan will stick.

2.  Create a LIVABLE plan that will work for your current schedule.

Kids, partners, work, school, volunteering schedule; all come into account when thinking about food, meal plans, etc.   Live and function in the right now, and you will achieve positive results.  We all eat about 3 or 4 times a day.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner and usually a snack at some point.  It’s not very hard to eat healthy, so get out of your own way and just do it already.  Involve your kids and make it fun.  Stop the negative self loathing banter in your brain or you won’t succeed with happiness. Husband not into healthy eating?  This does pose an emotional/support issue, but that’s his problem not yours.  Truly.  Good heavens, it’s YOUR body and YOUR health and no one has the right to take those away from you.

3.  Start some type of Exercise and don’t stop.

I cannot stress this one enough.  Get off your butt and start moving.  Fifteen minutes is great if it gets your heart rate up and blood pumping.  It does not matter too much what you do, but do something.   Strength training, Yoga, Pilates, Zumba, Hiking, Biking….just MOVE it.  Don’t ask me what I do, because I’ve been exercising for years now.  I couldn’t possibly sit down and draw what my artist friend can – I need years of practice first.  So I take a beginner class and get on the train.  Start working out to DVD’s at home, go for a daily walk, join a gym.  All you need to do is sweat a little and do what makes you FEEL good.  It’s trial and error friends.  You have to try something first!  I cannot tell you how many classes I’ve taken, dvd’s I’ve thrown away, or programs/sports I tried.  It’s an ongoing practice.  Woking at your office or running errands all day for the family may keep you busy, but it’s not exercise and there is no way that you actually feel better from NOT exercising.

4.  Eat balanced meals 90% of the time, have dessert once or twice a week & don’t drink too much.

Depending on how much fat you have to lose, how active you are, how much sleep you are getting and how much stress you have will determine how much wiggle room you have when it comes to eating dessert or drinking alcohol.  We all eat roughly 27 meals a week and 7 snacks.  You do the math (I hate numbers when it comes to food!)

WHAT SHOULD YOU EAT?

While I hate telling people what to eat, there are choices that will help you.  Eat real, whole, unprocessed, natural food; meaning it grows on the earth or sea, walks or swims.  Eat a variety of vegetables, a couple of pieces of fruit a day, (fruit is a great dessert or sweet addition to a salad), protein (plant or animal)  a very small amount of starch at one meal (again go for what food as the most nutrition here…meaning vitamins, minerals, amino acids) and some healthy fat.  Coconut oil, butter, olive oil – these three are all you really need in your house when it comes to fat.  No need to get fancy unless you really want to.   Here is a plan I love 

Eating healthy is fun!

Your body will tell you what it needs and likes.

Start listening to it.  If you are overweight, you have not been listening to what your body is telling you.  Your brain or emotions may be ruling the school, so kick them to the curb.  Or you may have been eating so many processed foods that your chemistry is off (craving the addictive sugars and salts is a real problem) so you’ll have to wean yourself off of those so you can actually hear what your body is trying to tell you.

There are so many helpful plans out there many if not most of them are free online that it’s up to you to choose what foods to eat.  Just don’t diet anymore or live in a world of deprivation or self hate.  Life is too short for that.  It’s not okay to be overweight, I won’t lie.  It’s a problem we have in this country but it’s your personal responsibility to fix your own.  Stop blaming anyone or anything for whatever problem you have or had.  Excuses are not going to get you to your goal.  If you have financial issues you can still eat healthy.  Unprocessed whole foods keep people far more full than processed cheap ones.  You can join co-ops, look for coupons, do whatever it takes to make living a healthy, active life a joyful one.  Plant your own little garden (even if you live in an apartment!) it’s all possible.  If it’s a priority to you, you will make it happen.

Lastly, don’t stress about it so much.  Stop comparing yourself to anyone else.  Your favorite bestie may drink like a fish or eat chocolate cake every day….but she is not you.  Every time you compare yourself to anyone else, even your former self, you are defeated, so I urge you to get up, get moving and stop comparing.  Shop for and plan your healthy meals, have dessert once or twice a week that you made at home with real food ingredients. (hint:  you would never eat white flour with a spoon, so don’t make your dessert with it)  Have a glass of wine instead of dessert if you prefer, just be balanced.  If you are still overweight, then something is not balanced.  You know better than me what to do to fix it.

Start out with the goal of changing your attitude and lifestyle one step at a time.  I ask my clients to write their own plans that they could keep up for one year.  Not one week or one month but one year.  When you see that there is no perfect diet or exercise plan that suits everyone, you can start to listen to your heart and body. Your choices will be easier and you will obtain the results you are looking for.

How much fat can I eat and still burn it?

Today I’m going to answer a great question I get asked often. Coach Kendra asks:

“I want to know the max healthy fat we can include in our meals. I hear some holistic gurus say they have 4 or more servings of coconut oil, almond butter, avocado etc in one meal! What’s the threshold for still burning body fat?”

Without writing yet another book on fat loss here, there are far too many variables to the above question for me to to just say, “3 tablespoons per meal”.  There is however some great info to point you in the right direction and to explain why.

First of all how much fat you eat in any given meal (and still burn body fat) depends on quite a few things:

• What other macros are you eating at that meal.  i.e. Protein, and carbs specifically
• Your overall calories for that day, week, month etc.
• How much muscle you have on your body (muscle is metabolic)  
• How much body fat you currently have on your body.  (the leaner you are, generally speaking the more fat you can handle – assuming you are lean due to your training and nutrition program)
• Is your body adjusted to burning fat as it’s main fuel source or is it running on mostly carbohydrates (all foods are generally broken down into “sugar” to be used, ketosis is the only proven way to actually get into burning body-fat with a few exceptions of course)
• Your personal genetic code which is unique to YOU – meaning some people can eat far more fat and still remain relatively lean….My understanding of “far more” and yours are probably two different things – so proceed with caution.

Next:

• Are any of these gurus men?  Men will *always be able to eat more than women since they carry more muscle mass, have less estrogen & more testosterone as a gender.  Do NOT compare yourself to a man.  EVER.    *as a rule of thumb…not god.
• We have no idea what these “gurus” do for their workouts or really anything else they do since what’s said on-line is not always what is happening in real life.  🙂

With the above out in the open let’s break this down a little bit more so you can have a clearer idea of how to move forward in your efforts to understand your fat threshold better.

My diet is balanced…now what?

If you are eating a pretty balanced diet of protein, fat, and carbs at each meal, the first place I’d look to is CARBS.  Even eating the smallest amount compared to what we may be used to could still be too much for our bodies to dig into fat stores for fuel.  So to start adding fat ad-lib because other gurus say to do it..or because your super fit best friend does it, may not be a great idea.  Remember fat is the most calorically dense of all 3 macronutrients – and a teaspoon or tablespoon can go a LONG way for many of us.

Experiment 1.  If you want to increase your daily fat but not gain the dreaded stuff, try cutting back deeply on your carbohydrate count in that meal.  Please remember – fruit, any sugar alcohol and even vegetables still count very much on the carb scale.  Count each gram of carbs and let your fat replace them by half.   You also may want to cut back on your overall carb count for the whole day to be safe.  (I would)                                                                                                      *If you don’t know what sugar alcohols are – Google them.

Next I would increase my meals with lean protein  (say .5 gram per lb of bodyweight)  OR I would increase my fiber count from non-starchy vegetables.  These are both great ways that a paleo or vegan person can lose fat while still eating whole foods that they “approve” of.

NOTE:  Many people think that by eye-balling their plates or going by “hand measurements” they are right on point.  While this is a GREAT place to start, if you have been doing this for a while and not getting the results you want, it’s probably time to start counting.  I like the App “My Fitness Pal” for it’s ease of use AND because you can program your own macro goals for the day.  A great one to practice is 40-30-30 or the “Zone”.

Kate Hudson watches her calories. (and exercises) She was eating too many cashews & couldn’t lose the last few lbs until she started counting her macros.

Calories: Are you Overeating or Under eating?        

Going slightly off course here….While I agree wholeheartedly that most Americans are NOT under eating, once in a while women will not eat enough for fear of gaining weight.  This is the bane of many honest hearted people trying to get results.  While overeating will keep you from burning fat at a meal not to mention keep you from your body fat goal, not eating enough of the good stuff (usually protein or fiber) can also be a reason you aren’t reaching your goal.  This is usually the issue with people who are exercising 5-6 days a week – pretty intense and NOT fueling properly.  

A PERFECT example of this are clients who take 3 spin classes a week, go on power walks or jogs 3 x a week, but never venture over to the weights or take a BodyPump class at the gym.  They have been doing this for YEARS on top of dieting yet they want results IMMEDIATELY when they cut out carbs.  Big mistake.  Remember: Dieting or restricting calories too much creates stress in your body.  Don’t do either one to extreme.  Push hard, but REST hard too.

Free Tip:  For clients who are not overweight but just want to “tone up” I will suggest adding one protein shake to their current daily diet.  Meaning 3 meals, a snack and a protein shake.  Why?  Because the added protein or possibly fat (if you are wanting more fat and less protein..here is the time) will give your liver the fuel it needs and prevent your body from burning up the protein you have on it…i.e. your muscles.  A low carb protein shake (weather it’s vegan or whey based) will very often do the trick.  Note: this tip is for people who are exercising regularly – REGULARLY!  Not for those who workout once or twice a week or for two weeks on and one month off.  That can get you fat.  (Sorry, been there, done that)

Strength Train to increase fat threshold at meals

To enjoy more fat per meal and still stay in your “fat burning zone” you may want to focus on strength training with heavier weights if you aren’t already.  Our muscles are are like sponges – they retain water, carbs and fat.  The healthier (stronger) our muscle fibers are the faster they will uptake our nutrition.  Practice a few (2 – 3) HIIT or Interval training cardio sessions a week.  Keep these sessions around 15-30 min max.  Notice I said 2 to 3.  Don’t overdo it.  Keep up your other fun activities, walking, hiking, riding bikes for fun as well.  Yes I know “slow walking” is touted as a great way to burn fat and it is.  It’s not your best bet if you are overeating or not working out hard enough in general the rest of the week though.

I highly doubt those are 3 – 5 lb weights. I’m guessing she squats, does push-ups, pull-ups and sprints among other things.

While we are on the topic of training: A common mistake I see in every gym are women not lifting heavy enough weights for fear of getting bulky.  Can you get bulky?  Yes, you can.  Will you if you start lifting heavy?  Not usually, especially if your diet is balanced and you don’t lift to failure.  (This is an entire subject in and of itself that I won’t approach here) But if you want to get a leaner, tighter physique…consider 1-3 heavier weight training sessions per week for 3-4 months minimum.

To sum up:  The “threshold for still burning body fat” while increasing your dietary fat per meal has do to with:

#1 Your overall calorie count for the day, week, month etc.   Increasing your fat is fine if you are not overeating calories in general, specifically carbohydrates.

#2. Your macro balance i.e. ratio of carbohydrates.  Sound like a broken record yet? Since carbs are are main source of fuel for most people, adding fat is tricky if you don’t take away some of those first.  Eating fat and carbs in the same meal is not a great idea for burning fat accept in some very specific situations.  Otherwise keep it low fat- moderate carb OR Low carb, moderate fat.

#3.  How much muscle do you have / how lean are you right NOW.   Most people who have a low body fat percent and who keep it there have been training and “dieting” for years.  Not months.  Three months can get some amazing results, but it’s the year in year out lifestyle that allows for a little more fat, slightly more calories or more treats to be enjoyed while still maintaining a “fat burning zone” chemistry.

#4.  Try more fat!  See for yourself first.  Start adding more fat to your meals and see what happens.  You will either stay fuller longer, maintain your weight or possibly lose weight if your body needs more fat.  Conversely you may gain a little fat and know you have hit your limit.  If you gain it you can lose it, it’s not the end of the world.

As you can see, there is not really a fixed maximum amount of fat per every meal because there are so many variables to look at first.  There are however tools you can use to increase fat per meal and not gain it!  There is no perfect diet.  It doesn’t exist.  Some diets may suit a specific need for a period of time, and be “perfect” for that goal.  But as we change and grow, our diets should follow.

I hope this helps explain fats a little better & moves you onto better health, more fun with food & some new goals to set.  Share this post to any of your friends who you think will benefit from reading it.  Or don’t.  I write cause I like it.  🙂

 

 

Detox and Get Lean!

I’ll soon be teaching these classes online with webinars.  Look out for future posts from me with details on how to get healthy, clean up your diet and live your healthiest life yet!