Healthy nutrition
Today might be a “fat flush day” (low carbohydrate day).
If you had a higher carb / higher calorie intake over your weekend, then this lower carb / lower calorie day is simply to balance out your week. ** Remember we talked about it in the “planning your week video”
Please include one handful of a protein rich food and as much salad and vegetables as you like at each meal today.
Fat Flush suggestion for today – Tin of tuna + packet salad = easy peasy.
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Happy Exercise
No time to exercise ?
Try the Total Body Tone Up fitness challenge – Just 5 minutes per day. Use all of your muscle groups over the week.
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HOT tip
Give up the Clean Slate Myth
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HOT Lesson
Starvation mode is your body’s natural response to protect itself when you don’t eat enough for extended periods. When you regularly eat too little food to provide your body with the necessary nutrients, it perceives itself to be in danger from starvation. Since your body is wonderfully designed to protect you, it will slow down your metabolism to conserve energy so it can keep vital organs such as the brain and the heart going for as long as possible, it will also start burning lean muscle mass.
Whilst the above is totally true and correct, there is a problem.
Some people have taken this too far in the opposite direction.They have used this as a reason to constantly stuff food into their mouths every few hours or so. The normal person eats plenty of food, just look around at the obesity crisis.
If your “usual” eating pattern is extremely low calories (under 1200 calories) every day for an extended period (up to 3 weeks to suffer any significant metabolic disruption), then yes, your body will probably go into starvation mode and your metabolism will probably suffer.
However, if your “usual” pattern is eating regular healthy meals and enough calories (or more than enough) and on the rare occasion, you skip a meal or are late for a meal, your body does not think it is starving.
I find it useful to look at a weekly calorie limit instead of a daily calorie limit.
If you eat more one day because you had a social function, then had a very light day the next, your calories “even out” over the week and this is not a problem.
If you have a large lunch one day and take in 1000 calories in one sitting (easy to do), then understandably you probably won’t be very hungry for dinner.
It is ok to skip dinner or have a very light dinner.
You will not go into starvation mode. You have hit your calorie limit for the day already. Now I’m not advocating starving yourself, but if you are not hungry please don’t panic and think “Oh no, my metabolism is going to go down” Because it’s just not true.
Wait a bit longer until you are actually hungry and then have your small healthy meal or snack.
Or have a smaller portion of your planned meal, or have a light soup or salad only.
Remember you need to be in deficit 7000 calories to lose 1kg of body fat.
I also urge you to read this fantastic article from Matt O’Neill, One of Australia’s top dieticians.