Kickbuttmama's Weight-Loss Secret #2

I always say you must first burn through the calories you ate today before you you can access the calories stored from yesterday (aka - fat). For many, they think this means to cut way back on what they are eating so the body is forced to recruit the fat to serve as energy. Sadly this isn't what really happens in the body. In reality, when the 'energy' from our diet is burned up, the body freaks out - it doesn't understand why it's running on empty and you're still putting out such high demands. Again, this is the Desert Island Syndrome. your body becomes quickly convinced you're stuck on a desert island - where food and water are scarce. You might die of starvation at any time. To keep you alive longer, your body will first destroy other tissues - saving the fat for a last resort. Essentially your body shuts down, working at the bare minimum - making you feel tired and like you're coming down with the flu.

When I'm trying to teach clients the necessary tools to achieving and maintaining their goal physique, the first thing I do is tell them to eat more. Eating every 3-4 hours keeps your metabolism churning, your blood sugars level, your hormones more level, and your energy levels high. No more desert island syndrome!! Your body knows food will be coming at a regular interval, so it has no issue with burning off the fat. Furthermore, eating this often helps you to keep your portion sizes under control - since you practically just finished eating, you're really not very hungry.

So, the goal is to have about 4 balanced meals and 2 healthy snacks in an average day - Roughly eating every 3 - 4 hours!

For women: 60% of each meal should be carbohydrates (as these help to keep us energetic, and carbs are our "Happy Foods"), 20% should be fats (this will keep us full and and help maintain our hormone levels, help keep our skin healthy looking) and the other 20$ should be from proteins - which are responsible for building and re-building the tissues in the body. For men: 40% of each meal should be from carbohydrates, 40% from proteins and 20% from fats. This breakdown will make most people the most satisfied with their diet - which will result in sticking to the diet for life!

Of course, food choices make an impression - You are what you eat! - so stocking up on foods that feed your body, that will soak your organs like a day at the spa, will result in your body working as a more efficient machine. This will result in you not having to work as hard to achieve those goals!