This is from an email I sent out a couple of months ago, in the middle of a 3 week ‘body blitz’ fat loss experiment on myself…you might find the content helpful 🙂
Following on from my last email on Sunday, where I had done 6 days of my 3 week weight loss plan and lost 2 and a half pounds.
I sent that update after 6 days rather than 7 days for a reason – Sunday I had a barbecue and a food festival to visit, both with a ton of temptations!
Being on a tight schedule to lose weight, I was very keen not to let these two events get in the way of my progress, but…
I love food
I love food festivals
I love the type of food they sell at food festivals (pulled pork baps, tacos, salted caramel brownies to name a few)
I love barbecues
I love my nan’s cakes, which were at said barbecue
So a lot of temptation to deal with!
Admittedly I could have avoided the food festival completely, but it’s only on once a year and I liked wandering around and admiring what was there.
So, to stay on track on this difficult day, I came up with a plan. Hopefully this is something that might help some of you guys too.
I wasn’t going to acccurately record my calories for this day, because it would have ruined my enjoyment of both the festival and the barbecue, trying to keep track of how much of every little thing I was having.
But I was going to stay very aware of what I was taking in and still try to stay arounf 1750 calories and with sufficient protein.
I knew the tempting foods at both events would be high in fat and carbohydrates/sugar, so in the one meal I could fully control – breakfast – I had a low calorie, low fat, high protein meal or porridge with protein powder.
Normally with my porridge I add in a serving of flaxseed for healthy fats. On this occasion I didn’t cos I knew I’d get enough fat later in the day (unfortunately not as healthy as flaxseed but still seen as fat and calories in the body).
I then headed to the gym and did a full body weights session before going off to the festival.
This meant my metabolism was revved up and ready to burn calories to help repair and replenish the muscles I’d just worked, rather than store them as fat.
I also drank a protein shake before as there were a few hours between breakfast and the workout, and I wanted to make sure I had enough fuel and protein in me to get the most out of that session.
Then I went off to the festival, staying conscious of not going overboard.
We wandered round admiring everything and enjoying the free samples of cheeses, sausage, dips and a falafel bite.
By the time we’d tried all these some of my hunger had been settled, and I wanted to save some calories for the barbecue.
It’s very easy to eat waaay more calories than you think on small samples of things like cheese, sausage, crisps and dips, so I decided to avoid the pulled pork baps and tacos, and try the thing that had really caught my eye – a smallish piece of salted caramel brownie.
Compared to my previous year at the same food festival, this was extremely good going!
After that, we left, and had a couple of hours to get ready for the barbecue.
I snacked on some berries to keep me going until then – low calorie, low fat and good nutrition.
I sent that update after 6 days rather than 7 days for a reason – Sunday I had a barbecue and a food festival to visit, both with a ton of temptations!
Being on a tight schedule to lose weight, I was very keen not to let these two events get in the way of my progress, but…
I love food
I love food festivals
I love the type of food they sell at food festivals (pulled pork baps, tacos, salted caramel brownies to name a few)
I love barbecues
I love my nan’s cakes, which were at said barbecue
So a lot of temptation to deal with!
Admittedly I could have avoided the food festival completely, but it’s only on once a year and I liked wandering around and admiring what was there.
So, to stay on track on this difficult day, I came up with a plan. Hopefully this is something that might help some of you guys too.
I wasn’t going to acccurately record my calories for this day, because it would have ruined my enjoyment of both the festival and the barbecue, trying to keep track of how much of every little thing I was having.
But I was going to stay very aware of what I was taking in and still try to stay arounf 1750 calories and with sufficient protein.
I knew the tempting foods at both events would be high in fat and carbohydrates/sugar, so in the one meal I could fully control – breakfast – I had a low calorie, low fat, high protein meal or porridge with protein powder.
Normally with my porridge I add in a serving of flaxseed for healthy fats. On this occasion I didn’t cos I knew I’d get enough fat later in the day (unfortunately not as healthy as flaxseed but still seen as fat and calories in the body).
I then headed to the gym and did a full body weights session before going off to the festival.
This meant my metabolism was revved up and ready to burn calories to help repair and replenish the muscles I’d just worked, rather than store them as fat.
I also drank a protein shake before as there were a few hours between breakfast and the workout, and I wanted to make sure I had enough fuel and protein in me to get the most out of that session.
Then I went off to the festival, staying conscious of not going overboard.
We wandered round admiring everything and enjoying the free samples of cheeses, sausage, dips and a falafel bite.
By the time we’d tried all these some of my hunger had been settled, and I wanted to save some calories for the barbecue.
It’s very easy to eat waaay more calories than you think on small samples of things like cheese, sausage, crisps and dips, so I decided to avoid the pulled pork baps and tacos, and try the thing that had really caught my eye – a smallish piece of salted caramel brownie.
Compared to my previous year at the same food festival, this was extremely good going!
After that, we left, and had a couple of hours to get ready for the barbecue.
I snacked on some berries to keep me going until then – low calorie, low fat and good nutrition.
At the barbecue, knowing I’d eaten a lot of fat and sugar as predicted, I chose the high protein, lower fat options – meat and salad.
No burger (it was fried rather than grilled) and no buns (refined carbohydrates)
I went for one sausage, one piece of pork, 1 lamb kofta and 2 chicken kebabs (was quite hungry)
And loaded the plate with salad (twice)
The puddings, particularly my nan’s Victoria Sponge, looked amazing.
But thankfully there was the option of fresh strawberries as well, so I had a big bowl of those with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, which was very nice.
Then came the cheese and biscuits!
But by then I was pretty full and able to avoid without too much trouble.
So I finished the day feeling that I’d done alright.
The next day, I jumped on the scales, and was actually another pound down. Result!
This would definitely not have happened without prior thought, planning, and staying aware of two things –
the calories I was taking in
and the balance of fat, carbs and protein I was having
By going for more protein and salad at the barbecue after having fat and sugar earlier on, I was able to balance out the day apparently pretty well, and actually lose weight rather than gain it.
And I still managed to have a bit of what I fancied too 🙂
the calories I was taking in
and the balance of fat, carbs and protein I was having
By going for more protein and salad at the barbecue after having fat and sugar earlier on, I was able to balance out the day apparently pretty well, and actually lose weight rather than gain it.
And I still managed to have a bit of what I fancied too 🙂