"To eat is a necessity. But to eat intelligently is an art".
Most people assume that I'm someone who's always dieting, eating extremely healthy and constantly working out. However, anyone that's close to me knows that I'm quite the opposite. It baffles people how I manage to stay lean while eating so much junk food.
A lot of my friends attribute it to the apparent fact that I work out. Sure, that helps. But not all that much. If you spend an hour running on the treadmill at a decent pace, you'll burn approximately 400-500 calories. That's like one slice of cake, which isn't all that much for all the effort you're putting in. You can very easily gain more and more fat despite working out if you don't watch what you're eating. Just because you go for a demotivating jog every morning doesn't mean whatever you stuffed yourself with the night before to will magically turn to dust.
So how exactly do I get away with it? The answer is simple: IIFYM, short for If it fits your macros.
Our body requires a specific number of calories to function. These are known as our maintenance calories. As long as you're eating at maintenance, as the name suggests, you will maintain your body weight. If you eat above or below maintenance, you will gain or lose weight.
Lets say my maintenance is approximately 2500 calories per day. It really doesn't matter where those calories come from. Could be pizza, ice cream, spaghetti, rice, chicken, vegetables. As long as I eat exactly 2500 calories, I'm not going to put on weight. The reason people say junk food makes you fat is because it's generally addictive and very calorie dense. For example, one medium sized regular pizza can easily contain 2200 calories. It isn't very difficult for anyone to pound an entire pizza in one day, now is it? And I'm sure the pizza comes with wings, onion rings, garlic bread and some cola. Take that, plus everything else you ate throughout the day and you've gone 2000-3000 calories above your daily requirement. Next thing you know, you're 20 kilos overweight.
The trick is to incorporate small amounts of your favorite food within your daily diet. Moderation is the key! If I'm craving chocolate, I'll damn well eat it. If I want ice cream, I'll eat that too. BUT, what I won't do is stuff myself with all that junk in one sitting. Not even on the same day. Have one slice of cake, not the entire pound. If you're in the mood for pizza, have two slices, a bit of salad and perhaps a diet coke. You don't have to eat the whole thing! And you definitely don't need to satisfy all your cravings in one day. You have to draw the line somewhere. If you've already had one luxury meal today, perhaps save the other one for tomorrow. The problem with carbohydrates and sugar is that once you get a taste of them, you're going to want more. The energy burst due to the insulin spike is short lived and you soon experience a crash which leaves you feeling hungry again.
You should also learn to prepare for a big meal in advance by eating smaller portions earlier or later in the day. Last week, I went to an "All You Can Eat" buffet. I skipped breakfast that morning and had a light dinner afterwards because I literally ate everything in site at the restaurant. Similarly, I was in the mood for McDonalds after working out. I went for it, but made sure I compensated by eating a lighter dinner that night.
Let me give you an example using my daily diet. Currently, I'm hitting 2000 calories per day. It more or less looks like this everyday:
10:00 AM
1/2 cup cherries & berries muesli cereal - 160 Calories
250 ml skimmed milk - 80 Calories
240 Calories
12:00 PM
Pita Bread - 80 Calories
Turkey Salami - 100 Calories
Slim Cheese - 40 Calories
220 Calories
02:00 PM
1 Cup White Rice - 220 Calories
1 Grilled Chicken Breast - 130 Calories
1 Cup Mixed Vegetables - 30 Calories
1 Lindt Milk Chocolate Square - 20 Calories
400 Calories
04:00 PM
GYM
(300 Calories)
06:00 PM
1 Scoop Chocolate Peanut Butter Whey Protein - 120 Calories
150 ml Chocolate Milk - 120 Calories
1 tsp Peanut Butter - 30 Calories
2 Oreo Cookies without cream - 60 Calories
330 Calories
9:00 PM
2 Slices Dominoes Pizza - 500 Calories
1 Diet Coke - 0 Calories
1 Boiled Vegetables Salad - 30
530 Calories
11:00 PM
1 Scoop Elite Casein Protein Powder - 120 Calories
250 ml Skimmed Milk - 80 Calories
1 Dairy Milk Hazelnut Stick - 60 Calories
1 tsp Peanut Butter - 30 Calories
5 g oats - 10 Calories
300 Calories
This adds up to a grand total of 2020 Calories. Subtracting the 300 calories which I burned during gym, I'm at approximately 1720 calories, just about the right amount for me to lose a healthy amount of fat and retain muscle mass. Boom!
What you also need to notice is that I account for every little thing that I eat. There's no need to get OCD here, but if you constantly shun out all the small snacks that you're eating in between, they could add up to be a really big amount at the end of the day. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, before you know it, all the little snacks could be the size of a whole meal when put together.
It's also important to note that 80% of my diet comes from healthy foods. I could very well meet all my calories eating pizza and ice cream, but the thing is, your body won't thank you for it in the future. Weight isn't the only aspect here. You may not get fat by watching your caloric intake, but you are prone to losing muscle mass and picking up a whole bunch of health complications as you get older.
By keeping just the right amount within your diet, luxury foods remain as luxury foods. Never make them a part of your staple diet. We need to treat ourselves every now and then to stay sane. What's the point in living if you're not enjoying. Just be sure to have earned that freedom.
AFFECT ON BODY COMPOSITION:
Yes, the food you eat does affect your body composition. Proteins, Carbohydrates & Fats are the three macro-nutrients needed by our body. As long your you're meeting your macro-nutrient goals, you're good to go. By meeting your macros, I mean you're getting enough protein for your muscles to recover, repair and resize. Remember, pizza also contains cheese & chicken. Cheese & Chicken are rich in protein, which means you could be hitting your goals eating junk too.
If your goal is to slim down for the purpose of aesthetics, you have to pay attention to your macro-nutrient requirement. Abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym. But if you're someone that's just looking to lose a little weight and not really concerned about getting shredded, you can follow a more casual approach to IIFYM.
If you have any questions or doubts regarding IIFYM, feel free to ask me here: http://ask.fm/TheHealthNazi
Most people assume that I'm someone who's always dieting, eating extremely healthy and constantly working out. However, anyone that's close to me knows that I'm quite the opposite. It baffles people how I manage to stay lean while eating so much junk food.
A lot of my friends attribute it to the apparent fact that I work out. Sure, that helps. But not all that much. If you spend an hour running on the treadmill at a decent pace, you'll burn approximately 400-500 calories. That's like one slice of cake, which isn't all that much for all the effort you're putting in. You can very easily gain more and more fat despite working out if you don't watch what you're eating. Just because you go for a demotivating jog every morning doesn't mean whatever you stuffed yourself with the night before to will magically turn to dust.
So how exactly do I get away with it? The answer is simple: IIFYM, short for If it fits your macros.
Our body requires a specific number of calories to function. These are known as our maintenance calories. As long as you're eating at maintenance, as the name suggests, you will maintain your body weight. If you eat above or below maintenance, you will gain or lose weight.
Lets say my maintenance is approximately 2500 calories per day. It really doesn't matter where those calories come from. Could be pizza, ice cream, spaghetti, rice, chicken, vegetables. As long as I eat exactly 2500 calories, I'm not going to put on weight. The reason people say junk food makes you fat is because it's generally addictive and very calorie dense. For example, one medium sized regular pizza can easily contain 2200 calories. It isn't very difficult for anyone to pound an entire pizza in one day, now is it? And I'm sure the pizza comes with wings, onion rings, garlic bread and some cola. Take that, plus everything else you ate throughout the day and you've gone 2000-3000 calories above your daily requirement. Next thing you know, you're 20 kilos overweight.
The trick is to incorporate small amounts of your favorite food within your daily diet. Moderation is the key! If I'm craving chocolate, I'll damn well eat it. If I want ice cream, I'll eat that too. BUT, what I won't do is stuff myself with all that junk in one sitting. Not even on the same day. Have one slice of cake, not the entire pound. If you're in the mood for pizza, have two slices, a bit of salad and perhaps a diet coke. You don't have to eat the whole thing! And you definitely don't need to satisfy all your cravings in one day. You have to draw the line somewhere. If you've already had one luxury meal today, perhaps save the other one for tomorrow. The problem with carbohydrates and sugar is that once you get a taste of them, you're going to want more. The energy burst due to the insulin spike is short lived and you soon experience a crash which leaves you feeling hungry again.
 |
| I tend to eat one packet of crisps a day, but not more than that. |
Let me give you an example using my daily diet. Currently, I'm hitting 2000 calories per day. It more or less looks like this everyday:
10:00 AM
1/2 cup cherries & berries muesli cereal - 160 Calories
250 ml skimmed milk - 80 Calories
240 Calories
12:00 PM
Pita Bread - 80 Calories
Turkey Salami - 100 Calories
Slim Cheese - 40 Calories
220 Calories
02:00 PM
1 Cup White Rice - 220 Calories
1 Grilled Chicken Breast - 130 Calories
1 Cup Mixed Vegetables - 30 Calories
1 Lindt Milk Chocolate Square - 20 Calories
400 Calories
04:00 PM
GYM
(300 Calories)
06:00 PM
1 Scoop Chocolate Peanut Butter Whey Protein - 120 Calories
150 ml Chocolate Milk - 120 Calories
1 tsp Peanut Butter - 30 Calories
2 Oreo Cookies without cream - 60 Calories
330 Calories
9:00 PM
2 Slices Dominoes Pizza - 500 Calories
1 Diet Coke - 0 Calories
1 Boiled Vegetables Salad - 30
530 Calories
11:00 PM
1 Scoop Elite Casein Protein Powder - 120 Calories
250 ml Skimmed Milk - 80 Calories
1 Dairy Milk Hazelnut Stick - 60 Calories
1 tsp Peanut Butter - 30 Calories
5 g oats - 10 Calories
300 Calories
This adds up to a grand total of 2020 Calories. Subtracting the 300 calories which I burned during gym, I'm at approximately 1720 calories, just about the right amount for me to lose a healthy amount of fat and retain muscle mass. Boom!
What you also need to notice is that I account for every little thing that I eat. There's no need to get OCD here, but if you constantly shun out all the small snacks that you're eating in between, they could add up to be a really big amount at the end of the day. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, before you know it, all the little snacks could be the size of a whole meal when put together.
It's also important to note that 80% of my diet comes from healthy foods. I could very well meet all my calories eating pizza and ice cream, but the thing is, your body won't thank you for it in the future. Weight isn't the only aspect here. You may not get fat by watching your caloric intake, but you are prone to losing muscle mass and picking up a whole bunch of health complications as you get older.
By keeping just the right amount within your diet, luxury foods remain as luxury foods. Never make them a part of your staple diet. We need to treat ourselves every now and then to stay sane. What's the point in living if you're not enjoying. Just be sure to have earned that freedom.
AFFECT ON BODY COMPOSITION:
Yes, the food you eat does affect your body composition. Proteins, Carbohydrates & Fats are the three macro-nutrients needed by our body. As long your you're meeting your macro-nutrient goals, you're good to go. By meeting your macros, I mean you're getting enough protein for your muscles to recover, repair and resize. Remember, pizza also contains cheese & chicken. Cheese & Chicken are rich in protein, which means you could be hitting your goals eating junk too.
If your goal is to slim down for the purpose of aesthetics, you have to pay attention to your macro-nutrient requirement. Abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym. But if you're someone that's just looking to lose a little weight and not really concerned about getting shredded, you can follow a more casual approach to IIFYM.
If you have any questions or doubts regarding IIFYM, feel free to ask me here: http://ask.fm/TheHealthNazi
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