FAT LOSS BLURBS

  

I am sure I’m annoying many of my regular readers these days with my focus on nutrition, but it’s also most likely obvious by now that my writing tends to come in waves based on whatever it is I’m currently doing at that time, and right now my focus tends to be geared toward fat loss and nutrition rather than training to gain and compete, so here we are.  I wrote a “fat loss secrets from the trenches” post about 5 years ago, and have a few more lessons and ideas I wanted to pass on that I’ve learned from this process.

 
No camp required

--- 

-Broken promises.  This is an interesting bit of psychology that keeps working for me.  I tend to promise myself things in the future that I rarely have to deliver on.  This is especially helpful whenever cravings hit.  Whenever I see something that causes  me to have some sort of nutritional meltdown (a good looking pastry, some delicious new Taco Bell product, box of donuts, Pop Tarts at the grocery store, etc etc) I tell myself that I will eat that: later.  Back when I had a programmed weekly cheat meal (Friday’s dinner), that’s when I would say it would happen: on my Friday cheat meal.  This would satisfy the craving at the time: the idea that I WOULD get to eat that thing, just not right at that moment.  Meanwhile, when Friday rolled around, it was a rare instance that I was still feeling that craving.  If I was, I’d indulge it for sure, but otherwise I’d just have whatever I was in the mood for on Friday and be good to go for the week.  If you have no programmed cheat meal, you can still make promises: say you’ll do it tomorrow, or in an hour, or whatever the case may be, but make that promise to yourself.  If you have to fulfill it, that’s fine, but often you’ll find that your cravings have been memory as it relates to promises.

 
Sometimes this can fail

-Pack extra snacks.  Sounds counter intuitive, but it relates to “broken promises”.  I pack all the food I need for work, and it’s exactly what I need (keeping in mind I don’t count calories or macros, nor do I weight my food, so it’s all based off some nutritional Kentucky windage), but also in my bag is an extra quest bar that is not part of the equation.  I tell myself that is there in case my hunger is all consuming and I NEED to eat something, because it will be a better choice than anything in the snack bar.  This helps alleviate the anxiety of going hungry and having nothing to eat AND the anxiety of making poor choices when faced with such hunger, yet, in truth, I’ve never had to actually eat the quest bar.  It’s just a security blanket, there in my backpack, reassuring me and allowing me to stick with the plan.  Of course, this DOES require the necessary willpower to not eat food just because it’s there, but if your concern is more the anxiety of lack of preparation, it goes a long way.

 

-I chide people for always wanting “quick/easy meals” because of the inherent laziness of the question, but I’ve actually got some for you that I use.  Canned chicken breast is the baseline here for protein.  You can get that at Costco or Sam’s Club, and your local grocery store most likely carries it as well.  It’s already cooked and chunked and tends to pull apart easily.  It’s cheap too.  From there, mixed it with some riced cauliflower (several places sell this in an easy to microwave form) and/or whatever canned veggies you like.  I’m a fan of tomatoes and all the various permutations of them you can get (fire roasted, mixed with green chilis, with garlic, etc).  Salsa also works.  Sauerkraut is a fantastic zero prep vegetable, but the odor can be offensive to those not eating it, so exercise caution if you’re bringing this to a work area.  You can mix in whatever seasoning and low calorie sauces you care to.  This is a stupidly easy meal to make and is basically pure protein and veggies.  It microwaves easy if you want it warm, but you can also eat it cold and run no risk of health issues.  This is what I pack for work when I don’t have any leftovers around the house.

Canned chicken breasts, riced cauliflower and sugar free BBQ sauce

Canned chicken breasts, riced cauliflower, canned tomatoes Frank's red hot

 

-More lazy meals: I haven’t made a real breakfast in decades.  I’ll gladly eat one if someone wants to make it for me, but I don’t go through that kind of effort in the morning.  My go to used to be a quest bar, but I’ve tried to make that less of a staple in my diet and more of a treat, so instead, first thing in the morning, I take a 3/4 cup of fat free greek yogurt and mix it with PBFit powder (a dehydrated peanut butter powder with reduced fat).  It’s simple, has a decent amount of protein, probiotics, and is low on sugar and fat, and I find it very satiating for something fairly low on calories.  If you want more protein, mix it with protein powder instead of PBFit.  It turns into a pudding.

 

-Many times cuts “fail” because the trainee simply didn’t have any muscle to begin with.  I don’t say “enough”: I say “any”.  And that might seem ugly, but we gotta be honest with ourselves here.  Muscle is HARD to grow, it takes a long time and a lot of effort, whereas fat can be gained and lost rather quickly.  Often, trainees “bulk”, chase scale weight, put on some well proportioned fat that they want to REALLY believe is muscle, lose that fat and just look like a smaller version of themselves.  In 20 years of lifting, I’ve cut down to 180lbs 3 times.  The first time, I looked like a smaller version of my fat self: almost the exact same proportions, simply smaller.  The second time, I finally saw some abs and some muscle through the process (which actually dates with the start of this blog).  The most recent time, I looked BIGGER at 180lbs than I did at the starting 210lbs.  This isn’t a call to go on some stupid “forever bulk” and justify getting sloppy, but it IS about expectation management.  If you finished a fat loss phase and end up just looking like a smaller version of how you started, you didn’t screw up the cut: you’re just too junior in your training for the results to be impressive. 

It goes both ways

 

-It’s honestly worth recognizing and appreciating that the majority of diets/dieting tricks are less about managing weight loss and more about managing HUNGER.  That seems to be the biggest variable for people to overcome: they don’t ever want to feel hungry.  Lots of “eat all you want, never feel hungry, still lose weight” promises.  If you’re willing to just let yourself feel hungry, you’ve suddenly made fat loss radically simple and can pretty much eat however you want to achieve your goals.  Although I’d still aim to keep protein on the high side to spare your muscles.