Nope, not the bloke off the credit checker adverts on TV, rather the yo-yo dieting villain hidden in your fitness tracker.
Pulling off some info for the last 5 years and also the past 12 months shows a pretty definite trend;
- Realise things need to change
- Get motivated
- Lose some weight
- Get distracted or conclude job done
- Pile weight back on
- Wallow in self pity
- Return to step 1
So what am I going to do differently this time? Well first of all, I’m a little older and dare I say it, wiser. I’m not going to lie, I’m far from having it all figured out, but here what I know…
What is needed here is a lifestyle change, not a diet phase. Plain and simply, I need to stop treating my body’s nutrition needs with complete contempt. You can’t act surprised that your weight balloons when at least twice a week you sit and down 4 cans of cider whilst watching TV on the couch. You can’t act surprised that your body harvests fat when you are eating more calories than you need every single day and most of the excess comes from simple carbs.
With that in mind, the first things to really focus on are macros and calories. The percentages of carbs, protein and fat that I am taking in daily and the total number of calories vs. what I actually needs as defined by my BMR. Whilst the total calories at the moment is restricted to drive weight loss, the macros will drive the eating habbits that I will need to maintain going forwards.
Here’s an example of a good effort, followed by a bit of a facepalm and finally a downright howler:
On the subject of going forwards, there will be no fashion / fad dieting here. Every day there’s a new diet bible appearing online; 5-2, Atkins, Keto, low/zero carb, juice/soup, shakes etc etc. None of these are sustainable diets for the rest of your days and like I said, this needs to be a lifestyle change.