SUSTAINABILITY + DIET ADHERENCE

Sustainability and dietary adherence are by far the most important factors in losing weight and keeping it off.

The research data is extremely clear; if you cannot sustain the methods you used to lose weight, then the question is not “if” but “how rapidly” you’ll put back on the weight after you lose it. This goes for any method. 

There is no one correct way to get in shape, the best way is the way YOU can sustain.

We’re trying to emphasise that what makes a diet sustainable to you is very individualised. It’s important to try different behaviours and strategies to see what works for you. Diets are not as simple as science. It’s also about psychology and sociology, which are different for each person. 

Diets must also accommodate your social life and provide psychological and emotional well-being, while still progressing you towards your goals.

Losing weight and keeping it off requires discipline, dedication, and willpower. We want to use a dietary strategy and employ behaviours that require a minimal amount of willpower needed.

What makes a way of eating sustainable?

Factors to consider: 

You enjoy the taste

Moves you towards your goals

Easy

Systemised

Flexibility to enjoy life

Scheduled eating connection hunger signals 

Regularly incorporates your favourite foods 

If we can nail these 7 things you will literally be set for life.

Ask yourself questions the following questions this week:

Do I genuinely enjoy the taste of at least 80% of my meals?

Are the foods I'm eating moving me towards my goals?

Do I find this way of eating difficult or niggly?

Do I have some good systems in place to make things easy?

Can I go out with friends for a meal and still be on track with my goals?

Are my meal times helping me avoid being starving?

Do I occasionally get to eat my favourite food?

If you answered YES to all of these questions you’re killing it.

IF you answered NO to any of them then bring them up with your coach, these will be important things to address moving forward.

GOOD VS BAD FOODS

Many people divide food into just two categories:

Good foods: Vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fish, lean meat, and other minimally-processed, nutrient-dense foods.

Bad foods: Sweets, chips, crackers, white bread, fries, and other highly-processed foods that offer little to no nutritional value.

And before we explain why we don’t sort food into “good” and “bad” buckets, we want to be very clear; The nutritional differences between these two categories are quite easy to spot.

Many of the so-called “bad” foods, in high amounts, can raise the risk for a variety of diseases.

They’re also incredibly hard to resist. (The food industry really has created cheap, easily accessible products that our taste buds and brains love.)

But are they bad?

We don’t use that terminology—for four major reasons.

Reason #1: One single food doesn’t define your entire diet.

What truly matters for good health? Balance.

So the question is: Are you in balance?

We experience massive benefits (fat loss, improved health) when we go from poor nutrition to average or above average.

Is most (80 to 90 percent) of what you eat nutrient-dense and minimally processed? (Think veggies, fruit, meat, fish, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, whole grains.) Then there’s likely room for less nutritious foods.

Is most of what you eat highly-processed and nutrient-poor? (Think sweets and chips.) Consider small actions to make your diet just a little bit better. Slowly add more nutrient-dense foods (veggies, fruit, fish, poultry, and so on) to each meal.

Reason #2: Demonising certain foods can make them even more appealing.

Lots of people tell us that 100 percent abstaining from “bad foods” is the only way they can maintain any smidgen of control around their eating.

If they say “okay” to one “bad” food, they worry they’ll open the floodgates to a diet swollen with cookies, brownies, chips, and fries—as well as devoid of veggies and other whole foods.

Here’s the thing:

There’s a subtle difference between demonizing a food and merely abstaining from it because you know you tend to overeat it. 

When we demonize foods, we moralize these foods—thinking of ourselves as bad people for eating them. This paradoxically can increase our desire for the very foods we’re trying not to eat.

Reason #3: Categorizing foods as “good” and “bad” can work—but usually only for a while.

When someone decides to stop eating “bad” foods, usually they try really hard to stay true to their goal. They’re committed, and they even may stick to avoiding a long list of forbidden foods… for a bit.

But then something goes wrong.

Maybe they go to work and find that a coworker left homemade brownies on their desk.

Or every part of their day goes sideways and, in the evening, they find themselves head down in a gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough as they think “This is bad.”

Or they’re driving for hours to visit relatives, pull into a gas station, and all they find to eat: the stuff on their forbidden foods list.

So good or bad, all or nothing—is the enemy of consistency. 

But on the flipside, flexibility helps you stay more consistent. That’s because it allows you to lean into all the solutions available to you.

Flexibility also frees people to use internal guidance—rather than someone else’s external rules—to decide what foods to eat, when to eat them, and why.

Reason #4: It’s really okay—and completely normal—to eat for pleasure.

Food serves many purposes far beyond just flooding someone’s body with nutrients and calories.

Some foods aren’t necessarily loaded with nutrients, but they:

Taste amazing.

Connect us with friends and families.

Create a sense of belonging.

Make celebrations worthwhile.

In other words, food isn’t just fuel. It’s also love and culture and pleasure—and a whole lot more.

Rather than a list of foods you can or can’t eat, you instead have choices. You have foods you choose to eat for energy, for pleasure, for health, and many other important reasons.

DRINKING YOUR CALORIES

When it comes to improving nutrition, drinking your Calories can often be the cause of poor progress.

So what should you be drinking?

Most drinks don’t make us feel full, yet they compose about 20 percent of the average person’s daily calorie intake.

Now this doesn't mean you can never have a sugary drink again, just being aware of your options will help you make decisions that are inline with your goals.

We are sure you aware that water is king and should always be your number one choice over other drinks.

The obvious ones to avoid are the full-sugar fizzy such as Colas and Lemonades. An easy substitution for this is going to the zero sugar or diet versions.

The other less obvious ones are things such as sports drinks with electrolytes, marketed to us as good to drink while exercising. This isn't a lie, hydration is important, but water or once again a sugar-free version will usually do the trick. Unless its an extreme case of exercise such as a long-running event distance event the full sugar sports drinks aren't required.

Fruit juice is one that commonly catches people out. How can fruit juice be bad for you? Its just fruit… Well, most of the time the fruit juice has a lot of added sugar which will make it far more Calorie dense, option here are looking for juices with no added sugar or just minimising your intake to just a glass once in a while.

Milkshakes are one that is tough to get around, very high calorie for the most part, so once again saving it for a treat once in a while or alternatively finding a protein shake that tastes close enough and cures your cravings. 

Booze, well we've already gone into detail about booze so refer back to that email for tips on how we recommend you approach that.

As with everything we don't recommend that you completely cut out the things you love but we recommend that you manage your intake and a conscious about the decisions you make when it comes to drinking your Calories.

Best of all this means more room for the delicious food you love.

FRUIT & VEG

Fruits and vegetables with vibrant colours have superpowers. “phytonutrients,” or plant nutrients, help us fight disease and stay stronger for longer.

Your mother always said, “eat your vegetables” and she was right – maybe in more ways than she knew. While you don’t have to go all veggie and become a strict vegetarian, one of the healthiest eating habits you can foster in your family is to eat more vegetables.

5 reasons why you need to eat more

1. Vegetables are nutrient-dense.

Vegetables pack a lot of nutrition into a minimum of calories. For a measly 35 calories, you can get a half cup of vegetables that contains a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and health-building substances.

2. Veggies are a dieter’s best friend.

When trying to lose weight veggies are excellent as they are very low calorie and will keep you full for long periods of time. You can eat large amounts of them and not push your Calorie intake up much at all.

3. You can fill up for less.

Because of the fibre in vegetables, you get fuller faster; which is another reason why it’s nearly impossible to overeat veggies.

4. Vegetables provide complex carbohydrates.

The energy in vegetables is in the form of complex carbohydrates. These take some time to digest and don’t cause the blood sugar highs and lows that sugars do

5. Vegetables contain cancer-fighting phytos.

On paper, a nutrient analysis of vegetables may not look all that special. Sure, there are lots of nutrients in vegetables, but most of these can also be found in other foods, such as fruits and grains. What you don’t see in the nutrition charts or on the package labels are the hundreds of valuable nutrients, called phytochemicals, found in plants that have as-yet untold health-promoting properties. New research, especially in the field of cancer, is showing that vegetables are nature’s best health foods.

The above should be more than enough motivation for you to get more veggies and colour in your daily intake.

SLEEP

In case you haven’t heard, sleep is absolutely crucial to your health. With a few simple strategies, you can get the high-quality, restful sleep your body and your mind deserves.

Sleep is just as important as nutrition and exercise when it comes to improving your health, performance, and body composition.

Good sleep helps our bodies and minds recover, keeping us lean, happy, mentally focused, and healthy.

But chronically bad sleep:

makes it harder to get and stay lean;

makes it harder to gain and keep muscle and other lean mass;

disrupts hormones;

ages us faster;

increases our risk of chronic illness;

drains our IQ; and

kills our mojo.

Fortunately, research also shows that returning to adequate sleep can quickly reduce these risks.

So how do we go about getting that replenishing shut-eye?

Create a sleep routine

Just like you can’t go from 0 to 100 first thing in the morning, you can’t do the reverse at night — going from “on” to “off” in a few minutes. Your body needs transition time and environmental cues to wind down.

Thus, the first step to getting more and better sleep is to create a nighttime routine that tells your body that you are preparing to go to sleep. Over time, if you’re consistent, your body will start the process of gearing down automatically.

Keep a regular schedule.

Our bodies like regularity. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day and night.  While it might be unrealistic to do this seven days a week — especially if you have young children — try to be as consistent as possible.

If you’re consistent, your body will know when to release calming hormones before bed, and stimulating hormones to help you wake up. You’ll feel sleepy when it’s time for bed and wake up more refreshed, often without needing an alarm.

Keep alcohol and caffeine moderate.

Genuinely restful and restorative sleep comes from deep sleep.

Even though it seems like booze is relaxing, more than 1-2 drinks in the evening can interfere with deep sleep, as can too much caffeine.

So limit alcohol to the suggested amounts, and reduce caffeine after 2 pm.

Otherwise, although you may “sleep” for 7 hours, your sleep won’t be high quality, and you won’t get the recovery benefits.

Eat and drink appropriately.

Having a large meal immediately before bed can disrupt your ability to fall and stay asleep.  Instead, eat a regular-sized (or even smallish) meal a few hours before bedtime.

A nice blend of protein, carbs and fats will help to keep you satiated, and might even improve your ability to fall asleep as your brain converts carbs to serotonin.

In addition, try to limit your fluids 2-3 hours before bedtime. Drinking too much liquid shortly before bed can result in frequent waking for bathroom breaks.

While total sleep time is important, uninterrupted sleep time is even better.

Do a brain dump.

We’ve all done it: Stared at the ceiling, long after lights-out, obsessing about all the things we’re supposed to do tomorrow, tossing and turning and getting more and more stressed by the minute.

Try this instead: In the evening, take a few minutes to write out a list of whatever’s bugging you: Emails you need to send or reply to, calls you have to make, project ideas, creative thoughts.. Whatever is in your brain, get it out and on to paper.

We call this a “brain dump.” It clears your mind for genuine relaxation.

Turn off electronics.

Digital devices stimulate our brains with their light, noise, and mental demands.

Unplug from all screens — TVs, computers, phones, tablets — at least 30 minutes before bed.

(If you must read your tablet, switch the screen to the black or dimmer background. And if you’re going to be on your computer, download a program like f.lux, which decreases your screen’s colour temperature at night.)

Our brain produces melatonin as light levels decrease. Melatonin ensures deep sleep, and may also help regulate our metabolism. If we have too much light at night, we don’t get proper melatonin production.

Stretch / read / de-stress before bed.

What de-stresses you? Do that.

This could include:

Gentle movement — such as stretching or yoga, or even a slow stroll around the block. Even 5-15 minutes can release tension and activate calm-down chemicals.

Reading before bed — but make sure it’s not too engaging — otherwise you’ll be tempted to stay up with that thrilling detective novel until the wee hours.

Meditation, deep breathing, or other simple relaxation exercises

Go to bed before midnight.

Interesting factoid: According to some sleep experts, because of the way our natural circadian rhythms work, every hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours after.(Whether that’s true or not, or whether it’s even measurable, I’m not sure. But I’ve heard it repeated so often by sleep experts it’s probably worth consideration.)

According to these experts, we’re meant to go to sleep when it gets dark and to wake when it gets light.  That old saying about early to bed and early to rise still stands the test of time.

Sleep at least seven hours.

Most people need 7-9 hours of sleep per night. 7 should be your baseline.

If you know you have to wake at 5:15 to get ready for work, then you should be in bed by 9:30 and asleep by 10. Getting in bed at 10:15 doesn’t count.

Also factor in transition time. Don’t stop what you’re doing at 9:29 and expect to be snoring by 9:30. Start moving in the direction of bed by 9:00.

Yes, we know. There’s this whole movement, started by time-starved Silicon Valley executives, where folks try to “hack” their sleep and get away with much less.

And, sure, it can work for a while. But every piece of credible research demonstrates that you pay a big health (and productivity) price for consistently getting less than 7-9 hours.

Exercise regularly.

Exercising regularly helps normalise circadian rhythms, tone down the sympathetic nervous system, and regulate endocrine function.

However, save the intense exercise for during the day if possible — a weights or interval workout in the evening can rev us up and make it tougher to get to sleep.

Take a bath or shower.

While not everyone likes to shower or bathe at night, warm water before bed can help us relax and de-stress, which is key for falling asleep. If you go the warm water route, throw in some magnesium-based epsom salts as magnesium is known to help with sleep.

Using the above tactics you have a recipe for an amazing sleep routine, This will provide you with consistent results

EMOTIONAL EATING

Ok, we have all heard the term, but what does it mean?

In short: Emotions lead your food choices and quantity.

Now we are not talking in the context of happy celebration eating, or feeling like how you feel determines whether you allow yourself a little treat or not, today I want to dive into this being a PATTERN, something that almost feels uncontrollable, detrimental to your progress and for some.. ‘disordered eating’

We can start to recover from emotional eating by understanding it first. 

If you think this is something you can relate to, ask yourself these questions and perhaps write the answers down:

Do I eat differently, excessively, uncontrollably when I am emotional?

What Emotions am I experiencing when this usually happens? I.e stress, sadness, depression, loneliness, etc

By eating the way I do in these times, what is it I am not getting this time, that I am trying to fill by eating food?

Now that there is some understanding ask yourself this question:

If I was to give this to MYSELF in a different form, not with food, what would that be?

The food you choose to eat and the quantities you eat them in are generally attached to a feeling, maybe its comfort, a dopamine hit, joy, love.. Whatever it is, it is ok, the key learning here is to acknowledge it, understand it, and look for ways to break this cycle which has likely been happening for a long while. 

Breaking the cycle to stay on the path of progress:

What are some things that will give you this feeling you are looking for in food? For some, this may be human connection with a friend or loved one, meditation for a sense of calm, peace, and lower stress. Perhaps distraction for long enough to break the chain is ENOUGH to move past this emotionally charged eating.

One thing we know in food psychology however is that if we don’t address the reason behind disordered eating it may always come back. So continuing asking yourself the above questions and troubleshooting ways to give yourself what you NEED in the times of emotional eating rather than what you WANT you will find a path back to healthy relationships with food and a long-term sustainable process to your happiest healthiest most in-shape version of you!

STAYING MOTIVATED

Getting fit and staying healthy requires consistency, consistency requires you to stay motivated, staying motivated requires you to have a WHY and reason for working through the days you don’t want to.

So let's talk about protocols for that.

In your goal setting process you dived into WHY you are starting your journey, remember to continuously circle back to that whenever you are not feeling motivated to keep going. Every time you complete an action that INCREASES your chances of reaching your goal ESPECIALLY when you don't want to, you build confidence and empower yourself. This is a WINNING cycle for success and staying the path.

Motivation will come and go, but the reason you started will remain.

So here are a couple of things to do that may help you sustain the motivation needed to see this through, to stay confident in your journey and to train positive mindset habits.

Recognise and note/affirm POSITIVE actions

It is so easy to recognise all the things that are going wrong, feeding negative thoughts into your journey. This is a sure fire way to only hear negativity and therefore feed into negative actions unnecessarily.

For example:

\Weight hasn’t moved on the scale today, must have been because I ate that extra serving at dinner when I was already full, I just don’t know how to stop eating so much, It’s probably because I have done it for so long, it’s going to be so hard to change, that’s just how it is for me I guess, may as well have just had the dessert if I was going to wake up just as heavy..

**Cue eating of dessert following this thought process.

In this SAME scenario we have the CHOICE to feed the winning mindset that is going to see us achieving our goals, positive reinforcement that the consistency will pay off.

For example:

Weight hasn’t moved on the scale today, must have been because I ate that extra serving at dinner when I was already full, at least I know what it probably was, I already know that weight goes up and down every day so this probably isn’t a big deal, proud of myself for not having dessert though! That was such a huge win Tonight I will aim to be more aware of overeating and just see what tomorrow brings after more consistency *cue consistency > cue results > cue motivation.

The smallest shifts in your language, how you’re approaching a situation, and whether you are reacting (letting quick negative reactions take over your actions) or responding (looking at the positive logical approach then acting) can have a huge impact on your motivation and also your progress.

BOOZE

A question we get a lot is: "What alcohol should I drink while I'm trying to lose weight?"

The answer...? We will get to that.

But let's start with an old NZ anti-drinking ad: "It's not what we are drinking, it’s how we are drinking."

If we went out and just had one pint of Heineken (about 225 cals) or a 150ml glass of wine (that's about 125 cals), then that wouldn't be too bad. But that is very rarely ever the case.

The problem occurs when we start having 2-3 or 4 plus pints or glasses of wine.

By the time you have gone through 4 pints or a bottle of wine, you're nearly at 900-1000 cals, and that's nearly 50% of some people's daily calorie expenditure. Just from a few drinks. That doesn't take into account any food.

This is then going to cause you to be in a calorie surplus, and you guessed it - gain weight.

The problem with alcohol calories is that they are what we call empty calories. They provide us with no nutrients or benefits. 

So from what you can see, binge drinking is the problem as those empty calories add up very quickly!

Now on the other end of the spectrum - what if you like to have a glass of wine after work every night. This would be what would be considered a healthy way to drink - moderation. You would only be looking at a few hundred more calories per day.

But keep in mind that these then become a treat. It's unlikely that you're going to be able to have a couple of glasses of wine every night and still have those few bits of chocolate or dessert and be under your calorie expenditure. 

All in all, if you're serious about losing weight, we would seriously consider restricting your booze intake for a while to try to get some momentum.

BUT. Let's be honest, some of you are still going to have occasions where you want to drink. 

If you're going to do it, we will help you do it in the best way that's going to cause the least amount of damage to your weight loss journey.

So our recommendations are: 

The classic hard spirits: Gin, Whisky, Vodka, Rum either on the rocks or mixed with a sugar-free mixer.

So one standard drink (50ml of sprints) is around 100 cals. Mixed with a coke zero would be a good option. Keep in mind if you finish a 700ml bottle you’re at 22 standard drinks and that would equate to 2200 cals.

Low cal beers - Export 33, Pure Blond etc. They come in at the 100 cal mark.

Wine - Is not a terrible choice either.

Lower Cal RTDs Drinks such as Pals & the Park Ranger collection are spirits mixed with soda water and therefore you are only getting the cals from the alcohol not the mixer. But remember it’s a quantity game - once you've had 6 of these you’re at the 600 cal mark and from my experience, once you pass six you usually want to finish the box..

Now let's talk about what happens when you're tipsy or drunk. The effect of alcohol kicks in and your decision-making ability starts to blur. Your willpower lowers, and all that snack food that you've been avoiding is on the party table right in front of you. You start picking at the chips and before you know it you've eaten another 200-400 cals.

Another aspect to look at is the end of the night or the next day - "Uber driver - take me to McDonalds". Let's say you're good and you only have one Big Mac - that’s 300 more calories,  not including any chips and the chicken nuggets you most likely also ordered as well. Those shitty cals are adding up.

Alright let’s say you had really good self control and you didn't pick any of the shitty snack food or stop off for a Big Mac but you did have 8-10 drinks over the night. You're hungover now and craving something greasy or can’t be bothered cooking. Off to get a burger or something else easy - another few hundred empty calories.

I think you get the point. It's not only the drinking but it's the other aspects which cause us to gain weight that comes along with drinking.

So what is the best action plan for drinking while trying to lose weight?

Moderation - have a couple, but maybe try alternating between a drink and then water.

2nd best option - go out have a good night drinking low carb beer or spirits with zero cal mixers.

Stay away from the snack table, don't stop and get McDonald's, and the next day straight back into some clean eating.

Maybe even chuck in a little bit of exercise the day after. 

Drinking for a lot of people is part of life. I personally love having a few beers with friends, it's very social, but we can do it sensibly, and we can do it in a way that we don't blow out by 5000 cals. 

EATING HEALTHY WHEN OUT

When trying to “eat well” when you eat out, you need to first identify where you are with your goals and to what extent you need to go to.

If you only eat once in a while and you’re looking for a balanced lifestyle, as well as, make some progress with fat loss plus get a bit healthier along the way, then you don’t need to get too uptight about your meal out decisions. 

Treat eating out as a special occasion while still focusing on the skills you developed such as eating slowly and listening to your hunger skills.  

Why is eating healthy more difficult when you eat out?

We put it down to temptation just like when you have yum, less than ideal choices in the house you’re tempted to eat them, the same thing is likely to occur when you are at a restaurant or cafe.

Secondly, you don't get much control over the quantities of each part of the dish or the quality of how it's cooked.

So try to implement the following tactics:

 1. Plan Ahead

Decide what to eat before you arrive at the restaurant. The more decisions you make ahead of time, the fewer choices will confront you when the waiter hands you the menu. Most restaurants have their menus available online, so this is easier than ever.

If the menu is not available online, make choices based on the type of cuisine and choose meals that fit into your overall eating plan.

 2. Choose Location Wisely

Visit a restaurant that is likely to have menu selections consistent with your food plan. For example you might want to avoid a pasta restaurant if you're trying to manage your carb intake.

Of course, it is possible to make healthy choices at almost any restaurant, but it may be difficult at first. So make your life easy and choose a location that won't be too tempting.

3. Order With Confidence

Don't be shy about asking the waitstaff for what you need. Either ask for recommendations or request special preparation methods if needed. For example, fish without batter or a gluten or dairy free alternative. 

Remember that restaurants are accustomed to special orders. If your request can't be accommodated exactly as you requested, it is likely that the chef or wait staff can help you to find something that works.

 4. Starter or entrees 

In the best case scenario, ask to hold the bread basket. It is nearly impossible to avoid these foods when they are placed right in front of you (especially when hungry). But there may be times when your dining mates would like to partake. In that situation, keep the food as far from your seat as possible.

Next, consider skipping them altogether, as many are high in both starch and fat. If you see something on the menu that looks healthy and delicious, think about ordering it as a main. Many times starter portions are more in line with recommended guidelines than oversized main meals.

5. Salads

Meal salads can be very tasty, satisfying, and are also likely to be low-carb friendly if you’re that way inclined. Just be sure to clarify what the salad includes. Stay away from croutons and other starchy or fried toppings like wontons or tortilla strips.

Next, ask about fruit in the salad. Many creative chefs combine sweet and savoury flavours to make the salad tasty. But dried fruits (like raisins or cranberries) can be very high in carbs.

Lastly, ask about the salad dressing. Some are made with sweeteners like honey or fruit juice. If you are unsure, simply ask for olive oil or oil and vinegar.

Often a salad can be just as calorie dense as a standard meal.

6. Mains

When scanning your main meal options, look for fairly plain meat with vegetables if you want to be super on point.

If you choose a burger, steak, or seafood sandwich, order it without the bun. Some people prefer for their burger to be wrapped in lettuce while others simply eat the sandwich with a knife and fork.

If it’s a “breakfast all day” type of place, order an omelet for lunch or dinner with veggies such as spinach, peppers, and mushrooms. Have fruit on the side instead of the toast or fries.

 7. Desserts

Most dessert choices will be very high in sugar, but if everyone else at your table is ordering one, you might feel left out when you sit empty-handed.

If you're feeling dessert-deprived, taste your table-mate's selection. A small spoonful could be all you need to satisfy your curiosity.

You might also ask for tea or coffee and enjoy a warm cup while your dining companions eat dessert.

CRAVINGS

A food craving is an intense desire for a specific food. This desire can sometimes seem uncontrollable, and you may feel as though you cannot satisfy your hunger until they get that particular food

There are many things that can trigger cravings such as:

Extreme hunger

A certain food has become routine and it’s now habit to eat that food

Stress

Tiredness

Certain environments

Not all cravings are negative.. For those lucky ones who crave vegetables, listen to those cravings and feed yourself those vegetables! Today we are referring to cravings that MAY slow your progress. We want to understand them, recognise them, what triggers them, and then curb them.

Let’s look at one of the most common craving most people experience…SUGAR.

Sugar is not the devil, as you learnt in your previous lesson, food in balance is our ticket to long term sustainable results. The same applies to sugar, in balance this is not going to end all hard work, excessive sugar might but that's why we are going to learn to curb and control those types of cravings.

Take a look at the below and see if any of these statements resonate with you, THEN have a read at the reason why you might be experiencing this, THEN write down a solution on paper YOU THINK will be a step towards avoiding giving in to this next time.

“I turn to sugar when I am stressed, anxious, sad or feeling down."

Chocolate, lollies or anything with sugar that you really enjoy give you a dopamine hit! Dopamine is a neurotransmitter made in the brain, it is a chemical released when it is expecting a reward, when you are feeling stressed, sugar is that reward. You are experiencing a form of pleasure by feeding yourself this treat. NOW you can understand why anytime you are stressed, or not feeling great your body is searching for this same hit of pleasure… those tasty sugary treats. Your craving is messaging from your brain that it’s time for that hit to bring you up. The problem is that it will keep happening until you lower your stress OR you have a different way of releasing that dopamine SUCH AS deep breaths that bring you calm, fresh air, exercise, you might even just find a healthier option of food that brings you that same feeling. Write down a way you think you can lower your stress and curb these cravings. 

“I always give in to eating lots of sugar when I am tired, at night time or when I feel like I have low energy.” 

There is a high chance your cravings during this time are stemming from the same reasoning as above, but also! Similar to why females experience sugar cravings during their period, (at a time their body is burning more calories due to hormones) your body is working hard for energy sources. You could be burning extra calories trying to do simple tasks due to your low energy availability, hence the tiredness. If this is the case then we will naturally crave the QUICKEST source of energy..carbs. Carbohydrates are the most efficient foods to give us a burst of energy, and sugar is a carbohydrate and naturally as it’s so tasty our taste buds will send messaging for that first. Unfortunately, as quickly as the energy comes with sugar, it goes and we will start receiving that same messaging (cravings) we are now in the cycle of craving sugar every time we are tired. It is likely that if you eat nutrient dense foods rich in vitamins and minerals, a balance of macros that allows you to SUSTAIN energy + suffice sleep you will stop craving these quick hits! Write down 2 actions you can add into your day to reduce the chance of reaching these points. 

“If I miss meals or am just really hungry I always want to eat sugar first.”

Similar to above, our body is DESIGNED to help us survive. If we are in an extreme energy deficit, perhaps missed meals, haven’t balanced our macros as well as we could, haven’t fuelled with whole foods leaving us HUNGRY then we will be craving a quick hit of energy.. Sugar/carbs. Missing meals and leaving yourself starving is a sure fire way to hinder your progress as you WILL get to a point of extreme hunger. During extreme hunger decision making becomes tougher and discipline here will only get you so far.. Your body is looking for fuel (survival) so it will heighten the need for a quick fix until you give it to it. Write down 2 things you can do to ensure you don’t reach this point/miss meals and watch your cravings subside.

SUPPLEMENTS

What is a supplement in the context of nutrition?

It is a form of nutrients that comes in a drink, powder, capsule or pill form to assist with giving your body recovery, energy, replenishing nutrient deficiencies and just generally supplementing something to help your body to perform whether that be in day to day life or sport.

There are so many different supplements on the market; all of which are marketed very well. They are often made to look literally like a magic pill which is going to take your training to the next level, whilst magically adding 10 kg of lean muscle to your body and dropping 5kg of fat - all in only 2 short weeks.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news... but they won't. However, what good supplements will do is supplement good nutrition, to help you recover so you can continue to reap the most rewards possible from your exercise and good food choices. 

First of all, if you're lacking energy for training, then we will need to take a deeper look at your food first - are you eating enough veggies on a daily basis? are you getting the right dose of vitamins and minerals from real food? Try to determine this before you try to add various different stimulants to your diet for energy.

Secondly, nothing beats sleep for recovery. Before you start spending hundreds of dollars on recovery supplements, do an audit of your sleep patterns - are you getting a good 7-8 + hours per night? Sleep is where all the magic happens as this is when your body really makes all the gains. If you're getting enough sleep, you will be jumping out of bed ready to go each day with far more sustainable energy than an over the counter magic pill. 

Once you have those two points dialled in, you can definitely start looking at supplementing your lifestyle. We recommend you start with the following;

1. Omega 3 fatty acids - Fish oil 

In a perfect world, you could get enough fish oil naturally from the foods you eat, but unfortunately, this isn't always available in our day to day lives.

Fish oil has a huge range of benefits as a result of its powerful anti-inflammatory properties, capacity for improving brain function for mental clarity and its proven positive effect on cardiovascular health.

The amount that you should be taking is hard to pinpoint exactly, but for an athlete who is training 5 times per week, we would recommend around starting with 5-7g per day.

2. Whey or Plant-based Protein

A quality protein, that is not jam-packed with fillers, is great for people to get adequate amounts of protein in their diet provided you're not intolerant to milk products. The maintenance, repair and growth of lean muscle mass is dependent on protein. 

Athletes need more protein than sedentary people. We have our athletes intake around 1.8g to 2g of protein, per kg of body weight, per day - but this varies depending on the athlete's goals and training volume.

Getting all your protein solely from natural food sources can be very inconvenient - this is when a supplement comes to the rescue.

3. Magnesium 

Magnesium is great for people when they workout. Magnesium allows muscles to relax properly and help you recover faster, allowing you to sleep better and as I mentioned earlier, this is essential to our body's development.  Low magnesium levels decrease insulin sensitivity, which makes it harder for you to lose fat and get lean. Good magnesium levels are essential for the metabolism of cortisol, which allows you to return to a more relaxed state after an intense workout significantly faster than if you had low levels. Athletes that are training high volume could take anywhere from 1000 - 2000 mg per day.

Once again we should never be reliant on supplements; As I said earlier, nothing beats a lot of hard work, a well-balanced diet full of real food, and plenty of sleep, but the above supplements can definitely help improve performance where necessary. 

MINDFUL EATING

It's very common to focus on 2 things when we are trying to improve and change our body shape:

1. What you are eating 

2. How much we are eating

This is what we have been primarily focusing on thus far. Obviously, these are important topics, but HOW you eat is just as crucial.

If you are managing to demolish a meal in under 3 mins or driving to work eating one-handed and distracted, it doesn't matter how much organic kale you are eating. HOW you are eating is going to effect on your progress.

The benefits of mindful eating include building a better relationship with food, giving clearer messages from the brain to the stomach that you are eating and you are full, avoiding being OVER full and feeling bloated after a meal.

If you mindlessly rush meals while distracted, your digestion suffers, messaging is blocked by whatever is distracting you so you can easily overeat, food is now associated with stress instead of a positive healthy action you are taking for your body and you don’t get to enjoy your food.

FACT:

Did you know that TASTING and enjoying your food is part of your digestion process? In order for our taste buds to talk to our stomach and let it know ‘food is coming, be prepared’ we need to be chewing and tasting our food properly, by doing this all our messaging to tell us that we are full is fluent. By scoffing food fast, we miss messages which can be a big contributor to overeating.

To put it simply: Slow down your eating and enjoy improved health and well-being.

We have so many distractions around us, like phones at the dinner table, the TV on, kids playing, trying to knock out work before a deadline. For the most part, I would put our mindless eating down to multitasking.

So how do we combat this? There are quite a few tools you can use to be more mindful while eating but we are going to start with a simple one. 

The first thing we are going to do is get rid of the distractions:

Put phones away while eating

Turn the TV off while eating

Sit down while eating

No reading while eating

As always, we want to introduce a new skill slowly so this could be one that you could implement with just one meal a day. I like to start new habits with dinner as we usually have a little bit more time around here.

Use it as an opportunity to talk with the people you live with. This could be considered a distraction, but I wouldn't class it as one as you shouldn't be eating while you talk or with your mouth open anyway!

GETTING PROTEIN IN

Getting enough protein in your diet is vital for your health. Over the next couple of weeks we are going to be focusing on different tactics to get more protein in.

We recommend an absolute minimum of 1 gram for every kg of body weight, but ideally aiming to get closer to 2g per kg of body weight per day, especially if you exercise.

We have gone over the benefits of protein but as a reminder, high protein intake helps with weight loss, helps build lean muscle mass, keeps you full, and improves general health and wellbeing.

Here are five ways to help increase your protein intake:

 1. Eat your protein first 

 If you notice that you are getting full before you get to the end of your mal, eat your protein first, this will ensure that you are getting the most important macronutrient in.

Getting your protein in early also helps you feel full so will help prevent you from overeating.

 2. Replace cereals with eggs 

Most breakfast foods are low in protein, your typical toast, bagel or cereal has very little. Oatmeal has more than most cereals but is still only around the 6g mark per on cup serving.

But 3 eggs provide around 19 grams of high quality protein as well as other nutrients.

Several studies have shown that eating eggs reduces hunger for the rest of the day and keeps you full.

A quick scrambled eggs or omelet can be a great and tasty start to the day.

 3. Choose Greek Yogurt 

Greek yogurt is a versatile, high-protein food.

A 240-gram serving provides 17–20 grams of protein, depending on the brand. This is about twice the amount in traditional yogurt 

Greek yogurt is made by removing whey and other liquids to produce a richer, creamier yogurt.

Research shows Greek yogurt increases the release of the gut hormones GLP-1 and PYY, which reduce hunger and make you feel full

4. Have a Protein Shake as a snack or at breakfast

A shake/smoothie can be a great breakfast.

Protein powders make it easy to create a high-protein shake. There are several types on the market, including whey, soy, egg, and pea protein.

Whey protein powder has been studied the most and seems to have an edge over the others when it comes to helping you feel full. When choosing a type of protein always take in to account your dietary preferences, e.g if your dairy-free avoid whey.

 5. Increase your portions

A Lot of the time you don't actually need to add different foods to your diet, you just need to increase the quantities of the foods you are already eating.

For example, If you are already eating 100g of chicken with dinner, increasing that by 50 grams will increase your protein intake.

If you do that at lunch too and then maybe add an extra egg at breakfast you are well on your way to increasing your protein intake and achieving the target of 2 grams for every kg of body weight.

QUICK COOKING/MEAL PREPPING

As a whole, most of us are time-poor. Lack of time is often the reason we opt for takeaways or nutrient poor meals.

Most of the time takeaways, no matter how good our intentions, will be of poorer quality than if we cook ourselves. 

So today I want to talk you through a few strategies that will speed up the cooking process. 

Some of these strategies may seem like common sense but when we are busy we forget.

1. Have a full pantry & fridge 

If you have the food in the house and you don't have to go to the supermarket this is the most important step. If you have to go pick up more food it's an extra obstacle  

2. Get your timing right

Always start by prepping the food that is going to take the longest to cook, for example if you are cooking chicken and vegetables, You could get the chicken in the pan cooking before you start to chop up your veggies.

3. Cut meat into smaller portions

The smaller /thinner the bit of meat, the faster it will cook. 

4. The microwave is your friend

There seems to be a bit of a stigma about Microwaves, but there is no evidence that they cause harm. And they can drastically increase the speed of cooking. I don't like to cook meat in the microwave, but vegetables are a great option.

You can also perform what I like to call a pre-cook.

This is where you chuck in the veg in for a few mins to do the majority of cooking then you can chuck them in the pan or oven to crisp up, saving you a bunch of time.

5. Bulk chop 

One of the biggest time consumers when it comes to cooking is the cutting of the meat and vegetables, you can do this for the week in one go so when it comes to cooking in the eve all you have to do is pop it in the pan to cook!

Using one or all of these tactics combined will drastically increase the speed that you can cook a meal without decreasing the quality and taste of your meals.  

PROCESSED FOODS + OVEREATING

We are big believers that no particular food is BAD for you or the sole reason that you are not in the shape you want to be.

It's the quantity of particular foods which can be problematic.

We are mainly referring to processed foods here. Processed foods are usually very calorie-dense, meaning you can’t eat much before you've used all your daily calories.

Having some chips here and there and a bit of chocolate in moderation is not going to undo all of your progress, but if your food intake is largely made up of processed foods then you will struggle to make progress.

Eating large quantities of processed foods will also leave you feeling like rubbish. 

 Let's look at why:

Processed Food

We live in a time where we don't have to grow our food or cook anything from scratch, and processed and refined food is cheap and convenient.

Processed foods can make life much easier, and some minimally processed foods are okay to be in your diet such as things like frozen vegetables.

Why are processed foods the problem?  

The problem is they don't do us any good, most of them are high in calories and low in nutrients. 

What are nutrients? They are the substance that provides nourishment, essential for the maintenance of life and growth. 

Nutrients affect everything from our immune system, body composition (how much fat we have) our hormones, energy levels even the way our skin looks (+ so much more).

How can you tell if something you are eating is processed?

If it comes in a packet, there is a high chance it is processed. For example, your fresh fruit and veggies aren't prepared. You will find some foods that come in packets that aren't processed but here are a few ways you can tell what foods are.

The ingredients include a bunch you wouldn’t use to cook at home.

If you wouldn’t cook with it in your own kitchen or you have no idea what the ingredient is (e.g. Maltodextrin or high-fructose corn syrup) then consider it highly processed.

 Artificial additives

You’re not going to find additives in any food that is truly “real” and wholesome.

 Any form of refined added sugar

Sugar itself is not the problem; it’s the amount we consume it in.

Sugar consumption is becoming a bigger and bigger issue these days as an insane amount of it is in packaged and processed foods (eg crackers, bread, salad dressings, spreads, sports drinks, etc)

 Refined grains (i.e. “wheat” without the word “whole”)

Refined grains have a longer shelf life, but this comes with a sacrifice. When grains are not whole, it means they’ve been processed which likely means all good nutrients have been stripped away.

Once again processed foods are ok to have occasionally, we just recommend limiting them.

If you eat less of them, you’re likely to feel better, more energised, have better recovery, improved sleep quality & improved mood just to name a few.

Why you can't stop overeating and three strategies to get control.

One biscuit turns into half the pack or a couple of chips and the next thing you know there are none left.

You think to yourself: “What's wrong with me?” 

Actually, it’s normal to feel like you can’t stop overeating certain things.

Most foods on the supermarket shelf are designed to taste amazing and for you to want to eat truckloads of it, (If you haven't guessed that's how they make their money) 

Here's how it works plus three ways to overcome it.

Processed foods are scientifically engineered to be irresistible and easy to gobble up in large quantities. If you can’t stop, the chips are doing their job. If you feel out of control around certain foods, you’re not crazy.

Even healthy eaters feel out of control around food sometimes. Even if we value nutrition and want to take care of ourselves, some foods can make us feel crazy.

Let’s take corn as an example:

Boiled and eaten off the cob it’s pale yellow, kinda fibrous, but chewy and delicious.

Corn that’s a bit processed—ground into a meal and shaped into a flat disk—turns into a soft corn tortilla. A tortilla has a nice corny flavor and a soft, pliable texture that makes it easy to eat and digest.

But what if you ultra-process that corn? You remove all the fiber, isolate the starch, and then use that starch to make little ring-shaped chips, which are fried and dusted with sweet and salty barbecue powder. They’re freaking delicious.

That corn on the cob is yum, but corn chips with some dip.. Well, I know which one I would likely overeat. 

3 strategies to find your way back to a peaceful relationship with food.

It’s one thing to know in theory why certain foods are so easy to over-consume, but it’s even more valuable to discover for yourself how food processing, certain ingredient combinations, marketing, and even easy accessibility affect you and your food choices.

So, it’s time to learn some strategies that will help you improve your relationship with food, get healthier, and just feel saner.

1. Get curious about the foods you eat.

We’ve established that processed foods are designed to be easy to eat.

For a food to be “easy to eat”, it has to be:

Broken down easily (less chewing), and

low volume (doesn’t take up much physical space).

So: Less chewing + Low volume = More eating.

Chewing takes time. The more we have to chew something, the longer it takes us to eat, giving our fullness signals a chance to catch up.

That feeling of “fullness” matters a lot too. When you eat, your stomach expands. It’s partly through that sensation of pressure that your body knows you’ve had enough. Processed foods deliver a lot of calories without taking up much space, meaning you can eat a lot before you realidse you’ve overdone it.

2. Find a new behaviour in response to your trigger(s).

Once you’ve identified your triggers, try associating new behaviours with them. These should support your health goals and feel good. If the new behaviours aren’t rewarding, they won’t be repeated, so they won’t be learned as habits.

In order to find the “right” new behavior, it’s helpful to know that when we eat, we’re trying to meet a “need.”

So when you brainstorm new behaviors, find something that meets that need—be it time in nature, some human connection, a physical release, or just a break from your thoughts.

3. Practice.

Every time a trigger pops up that compels you to eat, replace eating with a healthy feel-good behaviour.

Repeat this loop until the new behaviour becomes a habit that’s just as automatic as reaching for the jar of peanut butter used to be.

ROUTINE

I know how busy life is for everyone.

Many of us miss meals or don't eat enough on some occasions while eating too much at other times.

Life is busy, and sometimes we get distracted, or maybe we have just not planned properly.

You may unwittingly miss meals because of other commitments, or you may purposely skip meals if you're trying to lose weight (we definitely don't recommend this mindset).

You may overeat when you've let yourself get too hungry or stressed or when you've skipped a meal earlier.

Most of the time people do better with routine; our body tends to like a bit of predictability and stability. 

We have found that when people have regularly spaced and relatively predictable meals times that are roughly the same size it yields the best results.

So today your homework is to do some meal scheduling if you haven't been already, just like we recommend that you schedule your exercise, let's do the same for your food.

Planning in advance will help you if you tend to "forget" to pack a healthy meal or if you're someone who is regularly comforted with poor options at certain times. Or if you're the type of person who tends to miss a lot of meals and then lose control.

This planning can be done in a few day blocks, taking into account where you're going to be, what you're going to be doing, and who you're going to be around.

If you find you are someone who misses meals because you get busy and forget then setting “meeting times” with yourself in an E-Calender like google calendar could be a useful way to remind you. Alternatively setting an alarm on your phone could help you remember.

Time to plan for success. It's time to take responsibility for your success. 

CONSISTENCY

When you make a conscious decision to be consistent, no matter how you feel, no matter how motivated you are, this is when you will succeed.

You will succeed far beyond what you ever thought was possible.

You are the master of your destiny. 

Consistency, on its face, takes time. To be consistent, you have to replicate positive behaviour day after day, until it defines you.

Here are a few of our recommended best practices when it comes to being consistent:

1. Isolate one goal for the week

Developing consistency goes against human nature. It’s burdensome, especially at first. It takes a lot of energy, which is a finite resource. Don’t make the process even more challenging by trying to do too much all at once …

The trick is to pick one goal to focus on at a time.

What’s your biggest issue? What’s your most damaging inconsistency? Start there and focus on that for this week.

Work at it. Stabilize. Then move on to your next goal.

2. Focus on incremental improvement.

You’re not going to develop a positive, worthwhile habit overnight. Our brains don’t work that way. In fact, new research declares that it really takes a couple of months to permanently change your behaviour. 

That’s a lot of patience and focus. That’s a lot of work.

Allow yourself to notice and celebrate the small wins, the incremental improvements you achieve along the way. They’ll keep you motivated.

3. Fight your emotions.

The brain is a taxing organ. It uses a lot of energy, which is why we sometimes feel mentally sluggish or lazy, especially when faced with a challenge, like consistency.

Sometimes we really are tired. Sometimes, though, it’s a biological trick... Don’t fall for it. Push forward. Fight your emotions. If you don’t, you’ll stay stuck.

On the days you don't feel like doing something, like your food shop or cooking, those are the days that matter most, fight through the temptation and do what is going to move you closer to your goals.

FOCUS

The lifestyle change we’re trying to achieve needs to be at the forefront of your mind.

Change needs to be something you think about regularly.

It can be easy to lose focus and slip off the track we have chosen. To avoid this, we have to put some strategies in place to keep us on track.

We need something to trigger our minds when we start to waiver or feel lazy.

I like to use something visual, like a picture on your fridge that reminds you of your goal and the benefits of you achieving your goal.

A picture of your kids to remind you that you want to drop weight so you can play with your kids outside effortlessly.

A picture of someone in the shape that you aspire to be in.

A picture of your grandchildren that reminds you that you want to be healthy so you can grow old to watch them grow up.

The picture just needs to be enough to trigger your mind to remember why you are doing what you are doing. Something to keep you on track or to bring you back on track.

Then put pictures wherever you feel like you may slip up. 

Potential options:

The fridge, a reminder every time you go to get food

The cupboard, as above

The car, to remind you that maybe the drive-through isn't the best option

In your wallet, to trigger before you buy junk food

If you don't want to use a picture, it could even be a note with a keyword that triggers you to remember why. Place this note somewhere where you will see it, Maybe even a screensaver on your background on your phone.

Another motivational tool is visualisation;

Setting aside a few minutes per day, when you're alone, somewhere quiet to visualize yourself in your perfect situation that you outlined at the start of this process. Whether that be on the beach with your shirt off feeling proud or playing a sport that you haven't played for years because you've been overweight. Maybe it's achieving an epic physical feat, a new PB in the gym. Whatever it is spend some time daily visualising.

This can have an amazing effect. We really believe in it

WEEKEND NUTRITION

"I eat well all week then when it comes to the weekend I blow out?"

Sound familiar?

This is one of the most common struggles we hear from people.

This is often caused by trying to be too strict on yourself Monday to Friday and then being so hungry and deprived come Thursday or Friday that it leads to a blowout for the next couple of days.

What people forget is that 2 full days of not eating well is about 30% of your week's food intake. That's a big chunk of your week.

So what to do about it?

1. Enjoy your food 

The first strategy I will talk about is one I have touched on before and that is making sure that you are getting enjoyment out of almost every meal you eat. Now that may mean that your meal isn't 100% “perfect” but it means that you will be far less likely to blow out on the weekend.

2. Give your weekends some structure 

My second strategy is giving your weekend structure.

During the week you have structure, you’re likely at work and that means that you have set times for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This helps ensure that you are getting the main meals in.

On weekends you often have less structure so just eat whenever or skip meals, the skipping of meals then leads to overeating at other meals or making poor decisions around food because you're hungry. The simple act of having structure can prevent this from happening.

3. Make sure you have the food in your house

Third; Schedule your grocery shop for Friday night or Saturday morning, by doing this you will ensure that you have healthy balanced options available and will be far less likely to go for take-outs, as you are well aware by now being organised is key!

4. Constantly reflect on the goals you have set and your WHY.

Keeping this at the forefront of your mind when faced with tough decisions will help keep you on track and making the better choice. 

Give one or all these four strategies a go and watch the quality of your food intake improve over the weekend.