I’m a pretty nice guy and can get along with just about everyone. But I am not very fun to be around when I am cranky. And nothing makes me more cranky than being told I can or can’t eat something.
I love food. Most of the time I don’t even care if it is good food or not. I’ll eat just about anything if you put it in front of me. My biggest weakness? Chocolate peanut butter ice cream. If you put a gallon of the evil stuff in front of me I could eat it all from start to finish if you let me.
No, this is not the healthiest relationship to have with food. And I have had to learn to control my appetite. But the truth is, diets just don’t work for me. Because at the end of the day or week. I’m going to want a sugary beverage, a mouthwatering nutter butter, and of course, chocolate ice cream. It just makes me happy.
But there have been times when I start to feel the body weight percentage creep higher and higher and I know it’s time to slim up again. Here are my 3 tricks to keep me off a “diet” and still slim up.”
Have you ever noticed that you can pour yourself a bowl of cereal and immediately after eating it you are ready to pour another bowl? This is partly due to the fact that cereal is delicious (I love you dyno bites), but another reason is this is a meal that is extremely high in carbs and very low in protein. Carbs have a tendency to not be satiating. Satiating is the feeling of being full. It is why it is so easy for me to eat a thousand calories of nutter butters and still be hungry. On the flip side, protein, and I should emphasise protein form WHOLE FOODS, are very satiating. I love eggs. But I can only eat about 4 of them before I feel like I can’t go anymore. Not all eggs are created equal. But let’s say for easy numbers that a large egg has 70 calories and 7 grams of protein. Because I am feeling more satiated from the protein I have now consumed 280 calories and achieved 28 grams of protein. My calorie intake remains low and helps keep my protein high (Which is imperative from a muscle building and fat burning standpoint). I will typically couple this with a glass of whole milk adding 150 calories and 8 additional grams of protein. Now my insulin levels stay lower and I feel more satiated. Helping more time elapse before I am feeling the need for more food. This is a great alternative to eating 8 pancakes with syrup for breakfast and being ready for another snack an hour after.
There are many health related benefits that come from eating breakfast in the morning. But I am going to focus on the biggest benefit that I found.
I am on the road a lot. And like I said before, if you put food in front of me I am going to eat it. I had a bad tendency to skip breakfast in the morning in order to start my work day earlier (or because I slept in..) But regardless this led to a terrible habit. I would skip my breakfast and then by the time 9 or 10 would roll around I felt like I was starving. That is when the fast food signs felt like they were speaking to me. I would pull into a Taco Bell or McDonalds and order more food than I needed and of course eat it all because it is what I ordered. As you may imagine these were typically very high in calories and low in protein. So by the time it was 12 again I was ready for “lunch”. The problem was this grew into a habit and I began to even crave these high caloric meals that did not provide me with great nutrition. I was consuming way more food than I needed and was not feeling satiated. Here is how I fixed it.
I would wake up a little earlier and make myself a “good” breakfast. Things like eggs, bacon, milk, and protein pancakes with natural peanut butter. This would send me out the door feeling full and energized and also just plain good about myself. It made it more motivating to make smarter choices for lunch or even pack my own healthier lunches. After a while my cravings for these fast food restaurants went away and I actually began to crave the better options I was eating. It is crazy how our bodies are able to adapt in this way. After a few weeks, I noticed my energy was better and began to slim up. This is only one of the reasons to not skip breakfast. There are countless others and it is important to start your day off with a win in the kitchen.
Listen, it is okay to like something that is not “healthy for you”. Remember, at the end of the day, losing weight is about energy consumption and energy expenditure. This is the most tried and true and scientifically backed method. It is not fast or flashy, but it is very effective. So listen, it’s Friday night. You ate like a champ the entire week and have made sure to keep your body active. You’re finally settling down to watch a movie or do homework or whatever it is you do. And that feeling comes. The way I see it you have two options. You can ignore it and hope it goes away, (it won’t). Or you can recognize that throughout the week you have expended more energy than you consumed and are on the right track. Most people I know who suffer their way through a diet will, if they cave, overindulge, then beat themselves up. Leading them to overindulge more, eventually giving up. So, you know your limits and your control. If it will help, reward yourself a little here and there and enjoy life.
These are just a few tricks I have up my sleeve to avoid the extreme, anger inducing diets. Remember, try to keep the protein high, eat your breakfast, and let yourself enjoy the unhealthy foods from time to time. As long as you’re winning 80% of the time, you will see yourself lose weight.
To see my 3 hated but effective ways to lose weight and build muscle visit Pillrfitness.com.
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