THE MANUAL .....or How to eat to get lean

The question I have been asked the most for last couple of years is how one should eat when trying to lose weight. As for everything else in life, there are different opinions and beliefs out there. I’m going to give you mine.

I’m not a dietician nor am I a fan of any particular “diet”. What am I about to write here is based on years of my own experience and my experience with other people. It works for me and it worked for everyone else who followed my advice so far. Obviously, I did not come up with this myself, I have learned it from other people who I respect deeply and who are from the industry. It is based only on understanding how the human body works and on common sense. This is not a diet; it is a lifestyle. So when I write or say the word “diet” I don’t mean any actual diet but the food one eats in general. Just to be clear :)

The first thing that needs to be mentioned is that you have to look at the whole nutrition thing from two points of view. The first is obvious – calories in/calories out. This is very simple and everyone knows this well. If you are trying to lose weight you have to be in a caloric deficit - that means you have to consume fewer calories than you actually ‘burn’. But be careful here! More does not always mean better. If the deficit is too big for too long your body will slow down the metabolism in order to survive better, so it will be actually harder to lose fat. Or what can happen is that if you don’t consume enough protein and don’t strength train you will be losing your muscles instead of fat. Muscles are bigger energy consumers so if they are not needed (and if you don’t challenge them enough, they are not needed) your body will reduce them so it will save on the energy expenditure. But you don’t want that. Muscles are what shapes your body, what makes your bones healthy; they are good thing to have. So remember, caloric deficit yes – but not drastic. If you are not trying to lose weight your calories in and calories out need to be in balance. So this is the first thing everyone needs to keep in mind.

Now the second part. What I am going to describe here is only simplified biochemistry. Explained in simple words; it is how our body processes different macronutrients in different ways. So we have proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Let’s start with carbs. They are the fuel for everything we do so they are very important. They are being stored in form of glycogen in our muscles (about 300g) and in our liver (about 100g) for the immediate energy. When you eat carbs and don’t burn them with activity they can be relatively easily converted into fat and stored (the muffin tops, the belly, you name it). Therefore the key here is to keep the carbohydrates intake in check. So how to do that? Be clever about when, how much and in what form you eat them. Let’s get little deeper here. When you exercise the glycogen stored in your muscles and liver is being used. So the food you eat right after your workout should include some carbohydrates because the used up glycogen needs to be replenished. If you don’t do this it is very likely the next time you work out you won’t have enough energy. Hence your post workout meal is the best time to eat your carbs. For the rest of the day try to avoid them. As I said before, if not used up they are easily stored as fat (now we don’t want that, do we?).

Let’s talk about fat. Fat is important for you but you have to watch the amount you consume. Some of the vitamins are only fat-soluble, hormones are being transported with fat, fat is important for the proper function of your nervous system. But too much of fat is bad for your waist. Fat is fat so it does not have to be converted into fat for storage, because it is already fat :). So if not used up, the simplest thing your body can do is store it......and we are back to the muffin tops here :).

Protein on the other hand is very difficult and energy demanding to transform into fat and store. The body will do that only in extreme situations. That almost never happens. So what if you eat more protein than you can use? The unused protein will travel straight through your gut, and go down the toilet. :) Protein is the building block of your body. It is extremely important for your muscles- for build up and repair. You should eat protein every day. The other great thing about protein is that unlike the carbohydrates it provides very good satiety. That means it will keep you full for longer. And you will not get fat from protein.

So these are the basics. Now, let’s put it all together. You need to eat all of the macronutrients, but you have to be smart about the timings and of course the amounts. Your post workout meal should consist of carbs (to replenish the used up glycogen), proteins (to repair the muscles) and fats and of course vegetables. The rest of the day focus on proteins with vegetables. There are plenty of ways how to do that. Eat lean meat, poultry, eggs, cottage cheese and make sure that half of your plate are vegetables. After meal like this you will not be hungry. If you are increase your protein intake. This post workout meal should make about 70% of your daily calorie intake. On your rest days this should be your first meal that day. For the rest of the day eat proteins with vegetables and skip the carbs.

Now let’s talk the treats. I know everyone needs a treat every now and then. It is not so bad if it is occasional and the portions are limited. And by occasional I don’t mean every other day. :) The rule is 80:20. Eat clean 80% of the time. The 20% are your treats (or less if you wish). For the treat have whatever you fancy but watch the portion. Anyway, you are doing this for yourself so you don’t want to cheat yourself. The occasional cheat meal will restart your motivation and reset your will. My best advice is to have your cheat meal after your workout, not on your rest day. This limits the damage. But I cannot stress the word OCCASIONAL enough.

What to do if you have cravings? Nothing. They will subside. If you were used do eat sweets every day, most likely you will crave sweets. It’s a habit. We are creatures of habits. Wait one week, you will see the cravings disappear. Meanwhile, try to occupy your mind with something. Call a friend, go for a walk or to gym. Brush your teeth. Anything. Just get busy. The pleasure of eating let’s say a chocolate bar lasts for minutes, but the body you have you have all year long, all day every day. Is the few minutes’ pleasure worth it?

What if you are hungry between the meals? Have few almonds (10-15 pieces) and drink large glass of water. Wait few minutes and you will see the hunger gone. Or have some cheese or some other protein.

Fruit needs to be discussed too. Yes, it is healthy and full of vitamins but it is also fructose. Fructose is very simple form of sugar that can be digested very fast, makes your blood sugar spike high fast, your insulin go high and that is easily stored as fat if not used up. Not every kind fruit is the same of course but in general be careful with fruits. Eat them after your workout only.

The last thing to talk about is the simple refined sugar. Avoid it all together if you can. (Ok, I remember, the treats, that 20%. :) But other than that don’t eat it at all.) Sugar will make you fat. That’s a fact. You don’t need simple sugar in your diet. You get enough of carbohydrates, way better and more valuable carbohydrates, from potatoes, rice, legumes. Table sugar is highly processed and, other than making you fat, it will make your skin look old too.

So here it is. It is not a diet, it is a lifestyle. It is very easy to follow, as I said before, we are creatures of habits. You will not lose 10 kgs in a month but you will lose fat. As I always say – diet is 70% of the success. So combine this with exercise and you will get the body you have always wanted. Because this is how the body works.

I have been diagnosed with insulin resistance few years back. Insulin resistance is a metabolic disorder. Except of other symptoms I have gained a lot of weight in a very short time. My body was not functioning properly and I was not able to lose weight at all. I had terrible cravings too. This way of eating helped me (together with intermittent fasting) to get my body back in order. It is sustainable lifestyle without yoyo effects that leaves you energised. I’m not a dietician, I’m not giving you diet plan. I’m only a girl that has tried it all. On herself. :)