summer bodies are made in the winter - nutrition series 1

This is a tough time of year for Nutrition & Training, with the darker nights, colder weather, less daylight hours and the run up to Christmas starting to become real, its very easy to fall into the trap of winter hibernation, comfort foods, and big jumpers to cover a multitude of sins. Convincing yourself that you'll "start again in January' or 'there's little point in joining a gym or embarking on better nutrition plan now with Christmas approaching' is totally the WRONG mentality. There is EVERY reason to pay attention to what you eat & drink and how much you move over the next few weeks, summer bodies are built in the winter and with the wrong mindset you could easily gain a whole bunch of weight over winter that will be tough to shift come Spring when you finally strip off the winter coats and the shock reality of how little time you have before the summer holiday dawns!

We have such an all or nothing mentality when it comes to our health & fitness, its a repetitive annual cycle - spend the spring and early summer panic dieting and then eat your body weight in stodge over the winter. I'm here to help you break the cycle.

In the first of a series of mini nutrition workshops taking place on Saturday mornings for G5 members, we talked about (1) the cycle of the Extreme Dieter and the damage that this can cause to both your physical wellbeing and mental health, (2) identifying the difference between the progress, maintenance and regression modes and (3) the different body compositions depending on the ratio of lean muscle to body fat.

The 7 day cycle of an Extreme Dieter:

Saturday - Clothes shopping, nothing fits. Fuck this, I'm fat. Time to make a change.
Sunday - Tomorrow I'm back ON IT. Strict diet & training five days a week. No cheats. 
Monday - Eats healthy breakfast. Manages a whole day without chocolate. Goes to the gym. Yes! Im all over this. I can do this.
Wednesday - PMT, feeling rubbish. I need chocolate/wine/cake/pizza*. I deserve it after the day Ive had at work. 
Thursday - I fucked it. I shouldn't have eaten all that crap yesterday. Ive really screwed up. Feel rubbish.
Friday - I quit. I've already failed this week, might as well give up until next week and start again then. Orders takeout. Drinks the wine.
Saturday - Clothes shopping, nothing fits. Fuck this, I'm fat. Time to make a change.

​Okay, so it might be a little tongue in cheek but this is EXACTLY why I'm dead against an 'all out' mindset when it comes to diet and training. Extreme diets always start strong and with the best intentions. They begin with a surge of motivation to change, a strict diet thats difficult to maintain and relentless visits to the gym. Initially, results usually happen quite quickly. But this kind of cycle also creates an issue. Instead of creating a positive adaption, it creates a mindset that extreme is the only way you can achieve the results you want and then, when you want to indulge or go off plan, you are overcome with a sense of failure. Plus because you've been overly rigid & strict with your diet, you can't stop eating, you can't stop and have an all out binge. You reinforce the 'I'm a failure' mindset because you're out of control, you feel like a lost cause so you end up 'fuck it, I quit'.

For some people, this is an all too familiar pattern, I know Ive been there, the same old cycle every time you try to make a change. But I want to tell you that it doesn't need to be like this. Nutrition isn't all-in or all-out. It's not a 7 day challenge or you fail or a short term quick fix.
The key to breaking this cycle is C O N S I S T E N C Y not rigidity.
You don't need to be perfect. In fact in my 20+ years working with fat loss clients, the more you try to be 100%, the less likely you are to succeed in the long term, the more likely you are to become a yo-yo dieter. .  Think 80/20. For good. Not Mon to Thu healthy, Fri to Sun binge.

You do need to be patient.
Long term results take time & effort.
You will need to work hard.
It won't always be easy.
Never give up. Commit yourself to your goal.
Don't think you've failed if you eat a donut. No-one got fat eating a donut and no one got skinny eating a salad. You are only ever one bite away from being back on track.
​    

PROGRESS  - MAINTENANCE - REGRESSING : Which MODE are you?

Are you in PROGRESS mode (you are unhappy with how you feel and/or look, you're probably overweight and want to feel fitter, leaner & healthier)  or MAINTENANCE mode (you're not looking to lose weight, or get specifically leaner right now, nor looking to maximise performance goals or strength) Or are you REGRESSING (you're gaining weight, you feel like you're going backwards not forwards and you're unhappy with how you feel & your health). Its important that you take some time to self reflect and identify where you are right now, without this is hards to make a plan.

If you're in PROGRESS mode, you need to understand that your health, your body & your goals are ultimately YOUR number 1 responsibility. You follow carefully MEASURED STRATEGIES. This is your check list: 
1. You've done a self evaluation of where you are now.
2. You know where you want to be or have a specific training /performance goal in mind. 
3. You have a plan/path to follow to get there.
4, You are accountable, to both yourself and your coach, you track or monitor your journey, regularly assess your progress, remain flexible & make adjustments where you need to.

My definition of MAINTENANCE is being in a place where you're pretty comfortable with how you look and feel, you're not actively looking to drop weight, get leaner or build muscle, nor do you have a specific performance goal that youre working towards. Your nutrition is habit based and a conscious lifestyle that you can maintain with little effort. That said its important to understand that being in maintenance is NOT A BAD THING, just because you're not looking to maximise results, doesn't mean you're not making progress, a lot of my own progress has happened whilst in maintenance (as opposed to when following a specific diet or performance plan) and you can still make progress whilst in this mode. Discipline is still invaluable in maintenance though, even though you can be a little more relaxed from time to time. Your strategies are HABIT & MINDFULNESS based. Here is your check list:
1. You follow a plan for both your training & nutrition.
2. You are accountable to yourself and you coach but you can be more relaxed, you know your body & what you need to do.
3.You regularly check your own progress based on how you feel, look, measurements and perform in training. 4.You avoid regressing. 

Believe it or not, many people struggle or fail; when it comes to MAINTENANCE as opposed to when working towards progress with a specific nutrition or training plan. Both phases are imprint. You can't always be in PROGRESS mode, but equally you need to ensure you don't regress in maintenance.

Take home point here... know where you are and stick to the plan.

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