1) Is eating whatever I like – whatever the time of evening…..

2) Is Deciding not to eat anything after 7.30-8pm…

I used to think that one was absolutely right and the other was totally wrong.   The right one I assumed at one time in my life was to stop after 7.30 and not touch a thing.  I used to stick to this after my heavy traveling years once I ‘settled down’.  But then it all changed…

what time of day do you stop eating?

You probably hear people tell you that you have to stop eating after 8pm.  And hear a lot that to eat later than this time is to add pounds direct to your frame – or fat direct to your ‘stubborn areas’.

It makes sense I suppose when you consider the fact that 95% of us don’t do anything close to ‘energetic’ after this time – well almost nothing!

Seriously, a majority of people don’t work out late in the evening – even though the rise in 24hour health clubs has exploded and the opportunity to train into the small hours is right there for all of us.  Hey, and even if people do train late, in an ideal world the majority who want to lose fat will stick to a lighter protein or meal replacement option instead of say a large plate of pasta at 11pm.

But in looking at both growing research, my own ideas and theories and the habits of many top pro fitness trainer friends I have, I’ve decided to sum it up and sit somewhere in the middle – to give us all options and less guilt or panic over late night feeding – and therefore not stick to one theory or the other anymore.

So for a good while now I’ve told my clients and a lot of you too, my ‘diet solution’ of a ‘slide diet for fat loss’ – meaning I tend to consume and recommend people consume there most heavy carbs, and bigger meals at breakfast, then taper off during the day.  This to me is a good way to structure your diet as of course you are moving during the day which in turn allows you to burn those calories.  As we get to 2-3pm I tend to NORMALLY stop complex carb intake, like potatoes, pastas and such foods – instead replacing them with fibrous vegetables and fruits.

This way I don’t feel bloated in the evening.

However, here I’ll add that I do in fact eat after 8pm as well! – What? You ask….

No worries, I’ll explain: – it’s light snack type meals – nuts, oranges, seeds etc. (even snacks of raw vegetables up to 10pm)  but my portions are small handfuls.

NOW – there are also occasions when I do train late in the day.  On these occasions I actually change my ‘mantra’ – I allow myself to consume some pastas later in the evening (BUT it has to be whole grain or high fiber pastas – not general pasta)  Also my portions are smaller.

Now in saying this I’m saying that its ok to have an evening meal later at night but the secret is the type of meal and the frequency.   I personally don’t do this every night, I switch out, simply because I enjoy the feeling of having less of a bloated stomach in the evenings.  (I like to consume a lot more water to diminish my ‘cravings’ and maybe a handful of nuts on typical days.)  I just don’t want you to worry if sometimes you do go carb heavy in the PM!

Again – don’t think this is a case of approving people to go out each evening, eat at any restaurant then wonder why all the workouts in the world don’t make them drop the weight or tone up; will power will always be a major component in many peoples lives, especially when it comes to fitness and the way to eat if this is a major goal in your life.   You see people are beginning to understand that the primary component to fat loss and weight control is 70% diet and 30% workouts/rest and recuperation.

Essentially its great to have a solid workout protocol – but at the same time people need to know that a solid part of that workout is equally strict diet control / or sensible eating.  Of course I recommend cheat days (a day once per week to eat anything you like! – I mean almost anything!) – but the whole point of dedicating to a fit lifestyle to get your new fit body and low body fat is to understand the commitment is both in the gym AND in the kitchen.

The points I’m making above are to say, “hey – its ok to eat some nights after a workout with high quality carbs and sensible portions control, don’t kick yourself.  But try to treat your body like a fine-tuned machine.  You wouldn’t over fill a ferrari with gas, you want it to run consistently and its the same with your body.  You can have the cheat days, the evening carb sessions – but make 85% of your eating structure one that allows carbs to taper off during the day, eat more fruit and vegetables later into the day.  Eat smaller meals and in a lot of cases maybe even 5-6 throughout the day (not 5-6 BIG meals) – also drink copious amounts of water as it will make you feel fuller and add a good protein supplement source if you like once a day in the form of a smoothie with protein powder and fruits etc.

So no big deal – if you do have a few nights of more carbs than typical – no problem – just stay in control, eat good carbs and whole grain /whole wheat sources and steer well clear of refined, fried or other ‘heart attack’ foods…

In a ‘nutshell’ eat whole foods whose ingredients you can both spell and pronounce – add more water, fruit and vegetables  – add a cheat day to let your hair down – workout hard with correct training principles…..And enjoy life!

If you’ve committed to this type of lifestyle these tips above will not send a bolt of fear through you but in fact have most people asking ‘Why more don’t do it if its so easy…’

I know, sometimes people think self control in the world of healthy diets is akin to torture.  Truth is its an easy part of your dedication to change your body.  For good.

Trust me, a few weeks in you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner!  (If in fact you are not already:)

Cheers all:)

Tris

Don't fall for the fad diets!

Ok, we all know – or do now – that all the workouts in the world will not burn the optimal amounts of calories / fat if a person does not follow sensible eating habits and has willpower to eat smart – particularly over the holidays.

Well to keep things very simple I’m showing here FIVE tips I recommend to clients to alter their eating habits and give themselves and their bodies’ a firm platform to transform their physiques an burn the most amount of fat to reveal the lean midsection or ripped abs and fit nicely into that little black dress for the holiday parties…

Simply put we need to create an ‘Energy Imbalance’ – basically burning off more caloreis than you consume.

Alongside the workouts I offer with clients and bootcamp attendees, these five tips will allow you to re-structure your eating over the holidays and beyond.  And help create that ‘energy imbalance’:

1) Use what I call the ‘Carb Slide Theory’ - simply put, consume your main amount of complex carbs from early morning (breakfast) onwards – dropping the amount until around 2-3pm you cut complex carbs all together (like pastas, heavy starches – potatoes etc  and rice) and replace from this time of day onwards with high fiber sources for your ‘carb needs’ like vegetables and fruit.  Still consume protein of course, but drop the carbs from 2pm onwards.

This will stop you feeling bloated and uncomfortable as well as allow you to begin feeling more consistently comfortable.

2) Portion Control – being from England I recall vividly moving to America and being blown away with how much food I couldget at a restaurant. The starter (appetizer) salad was as big as a main course salad back home.  Honestly I loved it at first but soon realized will power was going to be very important – especially as we get older and metabolism ineviatably slows down.  I typically use the analogy that a sensible portion is a fist sized amount of food.  Protein / Carbs (before 2pm) /Fibrous vegetables.

I don’t ever do desert.  But its the holidays so I’ll show you a little trick in a moment for that…

3) Eat More – Lose Weight. Ok, by this I mean the very important aspect of eating at least 5-6 times aday.  Gone will be the typical three meal standard and in its place will be a pattern of eating or grazing that will allow the three meals a day but with sensible portion control as well as implementing a grazing apprach.  i.e.

Breakfast AM

Mid morning snack (10am) yoghurt/nuts/veggie sticks etc etc

Lunch (noon)

Mid Afternoon snack (2pm) – fruit / raw vegetables

Dinner (5-6pm) (dropped the carbs totally now) portion control again!

PM snack (8-10pm) Yes its ok, but go with high protein snacks like almonds and lots of water…

This will allow a more controlled eating protocol that in turn will level out your metabolic system and not create yo-yo eating, will eliminate binge eating and keep you from feeling discomfort and bloated.

4)  People do not drink enough water – period. I see clients in the gym drinking water from the fountains and thats all good, but throughout the day we need to consume a lot more than we do.  Not only does copious amounts of water eliminate toxins in our body and keep our body temps normal, it als ocreates satiety – a feeling of being full.  Hence we do not binge.  I tell all clients to drink at least 8 of the 8 oz glasses a day, this is a typical recomendation.  Ideally it would be more and I do try for more.

But its one thing saying you’ll do it and another doing it!  Either way, your urine should be almost colorless and stats show you ideally will produce 1.5 liters of urine a day… DON’T MEASURE IT! but you get my jist…

Essentially you’ll know if your feeling dehydrated and should take the same approach with water that I discussed with your eating approach…often and frequent.  Have water with all meals.

Oh, it also helps burn fat! GULP GULP GULP….

5) The Biggy For The Holidays And Beyond! - CHEAT DAYS.  There is growing data supporting the theory of a cheat day for your diet.  Meaninng for one day eat what you want and how you want.  That is a very general summary but if you are following these other five then I recommend you allow every 5 days for your diet to slip, eat the pizza, the ice cream and all that good stuff.  You’ll kick your body into an elevated fat burning mode and once back on the sensible diet appraoch for the next four/five days you’ll burn a nice amount of fat as long as you are not doing cheat ‘weeks’ and are following my intense workouts and programs…

There will be more on this later.

for now I hope you got some good ideas.  These 5 tips will help you completely re-model your eating habits and allow those with sufficient willpower to structure their lifestyle easily so that along with regular correct exercise body fat will fall off.

Hooray!

Balance Your Cheat Days With Sensible Eating Habits For Real Fat Loss...

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