Eat well Monday to Friday and fall off the wagon at the weekend?
Does this sound familiar to you? You religiously record your food in MyFitnessPal during the week, but at the weekend you tend to slack off. You try and stick to a good routine on weekdays but at the weekend you eat more junk and the routine goes out the window? Do you allow yourself a 'cheat' which ends up a cheat weekend of poor food choices and often have a few drinks too. Answer: Weekend eating is just as important as Monday to Friday eating. 2 poor days can erase 5 good ones! The truth: weekends can kill your fat loss. Just like snacks and little extras in between meals can also ruin your fat loss. On their own they might not seem like much but little + little + little is no longer little. In the long term, these little nibbles here and there add up and WILL put the brakes on your progress. If it goes in your mouth; it counts. There's nothing special about weekends. If you can eat well from Monday to Friday, you can eat well Saturday and Sunday. Your Monday to Friday success proves it. There's nothing about a weekend that should mandate a lack of structure - particularly when you’re aim is fat loss and you're trying to achieve a personal goal. If you're serious about your goal, and you really want to shed the extra fat your carrying around, then you'll stick to the program. In this sense, there's no such thing as ‘everything in moderation’. That’s like being 'sort of committed'. You’re either IN, or you're not. Remember, it was YOU who didn’t like what you saw in the mirror. And YOU chose to make a change. That comes with a responsibility to yourself to accept what is involved to stay ON IT and be accountable. Of course it's fine if you want to ‘sort of eat CLEAN’, on one condition; that you're also willing to accept the consequences of that choice, which means slow, or NO visible change to your body. So next Monday when you go back to the gym and you wonder why you still feel fat compared to other members, maybe ask yourself how much fun the weekend really was? Is it worth it? It’s not rocket science but it's the one thing we ALL need reminding of when we're talking about successful, long term CHANGE : CONSISTENCY is key. Ultimately when it comes to nutrition, accountability is and always will be, the KEY to long-term, successful fat loss. I don't care how hard you train, or how many group classes you do, or how many extra block runs or calories on the rower you push out, if you can't nail your nutrition week in and week out, you're short changing yourself of the RESULTS you deserve. You're working hard at your training for sub-optimal, or in some cases, no, physical results. If you want great results you need to make good food choices, consistently. Week in and week out. One day at a time. “Extraordinary RESULTS requires extraordinary effort” There is nothing more frustrating as a Coach than someone who moans and complains about belly fat, being over weight, feeling unhappy, and not seeing results and when you look at their MyFitnessPal, there are obvious and simple mistakes. In some cases people tell me that they're bang on with their diet, except for the odd night out and little cheats/odd glass of wine here and there. What? That's not bang on in my book. That's extra. I don't care how small it is, when 'small' is repeated often, it's no longer small. Sometimes people complain that they feel hungry? So what? What do you expect? If you've been on holiday and got used to eating high calorie/high fat foods you're effectively detoxing and eating in a caloric deficit compared to what you have been eating and your mind (not your body) is craving the sugar and fats. Hunger level is not always an indication of the need for more food. Look back at your food diary – if you have fuelled correctly then I promise you’re not going to starve or die. So get over it. Everything counts, and it ALL makes a difference to the results you see in the mirror. Binge drinking nights out, little cheats here and there, additional this or that, it all adds up. If you're needing to lose a few extra pounds you can cope with the odd night out. However if you're carrying 3-4 stone excess body fat then I'm afraid it calls for some serious effort on your part to shift it. Choose the behaviour, choose the consequences. It's fine to fall short of 100% compliance, if you're willing to accept the results of those choices. If not, then don’t cheat. GREAT RESULTS are waiting for you once you're prepared to make the right choices. . Instant gratification is the mindset of a child. The need to satisfy a WANT (not a need) “ I want chocolate” NOW, NOW, NOW. We've ALL been there; no one said it would be easy. But we can't honestly expect to see and feel results if we don't put in the work. So find ways to stay on track and stop giving yourself excuses or permissions to eat the food you want but you know you shouldn't. That food you want now will still be there in 28 days! It's Simple, But It's Not Easy. Clearly it's not that easy, otherwise no one would have body fat issues and we'd all be ripped all-year round. But, fat loss IS simple once you realise how hard it is. When you finally understand and appreciate how much effort, responsibility, planning, creativity, intensity, discipline, thought and control the journey involves, and that RESULTS are not going to happen from a half-hearted ‘average’ or moderate effort - you will succeed. This takes work. YOU have to be willing to put in the hard graft with your nutrition! Some people can work on a 90% rule - meaning that you have to be on plan 90% of the time, allowing you 10% off plan. Sometimes I get asked “what if you're 90% and the results aren't showing?”It might be that 90% simply isn’t going to work for you. I know for me, 90% doesn't really cut it. I’m lean but when I hit 100%, and put in the extra effort, it makes a big difference. I strongly encourage your focus to be on changing your lifestyle to become more conscious of what you eat, i.e. the process and the mindset and not the outcome. Instead of focusing on what weight you want to be, or the size 10 jeans or the number on the scales – aim to make good choices consistently in the way you eat day in and day out, and the outcome will take care of itself! "I will nail my nutrition 100% of the time this week'. If you meet your process goals, your outcome goals (i.e. RESULTS) will take care of themselves. Fat loss is a battle: its you versus your body. The key to winning is NUTRITION compliance. Unless you enter the battlefield with that strategy in place, you might as well wave the white flag before you even start. We work as a Team but your success is ultimately your responsibility.
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