I have earned this mixed grill and I will burn off these pints tomorrow in the gym…. Read this article if you are adamant that you want to burn body fat and make sure you avoid the most common dieting mistake, I have outlined at the end of the article!
This is the story of the guy that struggles with ‘stubborn fat’ and is a huge contributor to the weekend cheat meal conundrum!
I am a proponent of flexible food consumption, especially over the weekend when you finally have some down time with friends, family and loved ones. I am also a big believer in the mindset of approaching a ‘cheat meal’. In all honesty, it is your intention going into a ‘cheat’ meal that will have the greatest effect on your ability to reduce body fat over a period of time. When you set yourself up to gorge on a mixed grill that had you feeling full after the first two shish kebabs and still wash it down with a few pints, then your ‘goal’ for getting leaner for this summers weddings just got a lot more difficult!
So what can you do to avoid the ‘I deserve it’ excuse for overeating? Well ideally you shouldn’t restrict yourself from your favourite foods too heavily through the week. A particularly good method for this is to try to set aside around 200 calories a day for a food that you particularly enjoy!
Another great way to work around this is to reset your intention going into a meal. How much of the food you consume is there to nourish you and allow you to fulfil your purpose? This is very straight forward, inherently we all know what is good and what is bad for us, but we allow ourselves to become a victim of circumstance if our purpose is not strong enough! Realign yourself with the very reason you started this process, if you haven’t admitted to yourself that it isn’t the abs that you were chasing, it was the confidence and self esteem that goes with looking and feeling great, then you need to dig a little deeper into your purpose.
Finally ask yourself how hungry are you? Most people in the western world don’t know what true hunger looks like, so one incredible way to find out is actually going on a fast! No you will not lose all muscle mass by doing this, you will however have a much greater perception of hunger and therefore understand your bodies hunger signalling!
I love incorporating my favourite foods into my diet through the week, whether this be roti, paneer or my personal favourite, keema! By being clever around setting up your daily food intake, it makes your food a lot more enjoyable if you can practice moderation! For example, my evening meal through the week tends to be two roti with a chicken curry or turkey mince keema (a lean meat with a portion of carbs to help me in my recovery, sleep quality and fuel me for the next days fasted workout).
I also like to choose foods that I digest well. I noticed last week that without supporting digestion of dairy, I was struggling with bloating and going to the toilet more often. Become more in tune with your body and find foods that you can actually digest to reduce the chances of inflammation, poor gut health and the negative effects such as lethargy, impaired sleep and joint pain!
Try new methods to avoid overeating at meals out, such as, ignoring starters and desserts and going for mains only, increasing water intake before and during meals or even reducing total calorie intake through the day to avoid eating above your calorie deficit threshold.
If you have tried all of the above and you do end up going over the top, then avoid this mistake!
Trying to outrun, out HIIT or out train a bad diet is not easy. A large mixed grill is around 1900 calories, if you weight 200lbs thats going to take you 3 hours of jogging to burn off! That is with the potential digestive distress you’ve caused yourself, inflammation from a poorly digested meal and whilst feeling lethargic… GOOD LUCK!
Rather than trying to out do the meal with physical activity, start to consider your week as a whole, reduce calorie intake and create a deficit over a period of 7 days as opposed to one! Then be really creative and add in a little more expenditure, whether it be through increasing the amount you walk each day, or adding in an extra resistance training session through the week. Finally ensure that whatever exercise you decide to do, make sure you are recovering from it correctly, therefore going ultra low in calorie intake may not be the best option if you are already weight training 3-4 times a week!
I sincerely hope this guide has given you food for thought (pun intended)! If this has help you please share the link on your Facebook pages or screenshot the article for your Instagram story!
