“I WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT!!!!”
“I’m so over feeling like I’m out of control.”
“Help me get back to where IT’S EASY TO FEEL GOOD about myself again.”
Those are probably the 3 most common cries for help that I get at Sweat, in my inbox, and even out on the street.
So for the next 4 days, I’m opening up DIET REBELLION – my 6 week fat loss program.
One of the major concepts we cover in Diet Rebellion is one that folks are extremely anxious about so I want to help take some of the mystique out of the words re-feed and cheat, and differentiate them from the oh so toxic BINGE…
So first, let’s get’s get out our fat loss dictionaries and define a binge, a cheat, and a re-feed so you understand how each one plays a role in your fat loss goals.
A Binge – is an all out non-stop continuous meal of healthy and/or unhealthy foods. It’s oftentimes provoked by stress or consuming too few calories prior to the binge. While binge eating, there is very little care as to what you’re eating and how much.
Think cookie monster behavior.
Binge eating is oftentimes followed by tremendous amounts of guilt and self loathing.
Cheats – Small daily cheats are actually a really really good thing to incorporate believe it or not! Cheats are a FAT LOSS TOOL! They prevent those all-out cookie monster binges by taking the edge off of cravings, reducing feelings of deprivation, and requiring much less will power than all out elimination of your favorites.
In other words, in Diet Rebellion I want you to PLAN ON having a glass of wine at night or 1-2 square of dark chocolate after lunch, and/or some extra bacon or avocado on your salad.
Cheats can be planned out, maybe ritualistic in nature, or just on the fly b/c you sense you need something a bit extra so you don’t go overboard later.
Cheats fit into your macros or calories beautifully or slightly get you off of them. No worries though. No guilt. Meticulous is for fitness competitors and that’s not what most people are after!
ReFeeds – are amazing, mentally and physically! Once every 7-10 days, you need to step away from your macros, your calories, your goals and just enjoy WHATEVER…. but unlike binge eating re-feeds come with BOUNDARIES …
1. from first bite to end bite your refeed is no more than 2 hours long (and can be less, obviously!)
******This is not an EATING COMPETITION btw. it’s not how much food can I shove in my mouth in 2 hours. It’s an awesome meal w/ your girlfriends or partners w/ appetizers, wine, a decadent satisfying meal, and dessert afterwards.
2. have one hell of a workout/lifting session planned the next day. Kill that workout and move ‘dem doughnuts and pizza slices to those biceps and glutes!!! LOL!!
For the reasons above, you can see why Re-Feeds work well when they are fairly planned out. Your re-feeds keep you mentally and physically “juiced” up!!
Why it’s NOT all about the CALORIES…
The biggest push back I get when it comes to cheats and re-feeds comes from the FEAR of calories.
Yes! Calories matter in fat loss. There’s no way around that and if anyone tells you differently then I’m worried about your source.
HOWEVER… if it were as cut and dry as calories WE WOULDN’T BE SO FRUSTRATED by fat loss. We’d add and subtract calories like our good ‘ol buddy My Fitness Pal wants us to do and be done.
So let me formally introduce you to a few of your fat loss curve balls…
Ghrelin and Leptin and Insulin.
Without getting too “science-y” these 3 hormones can make your process much much much more complicated than meets the eye but what I want you to know is…
* Cheats answer to Ghrelin specifically which is your hour to hour “craving” hormone.
* Re-feeds answer to Leptin specifically which is your “OMG, you’re losing fat and I was made to alert you of that” hormone.
* Cheats and re-feeds (not will power) are your first line of defense against binge eating which take your insulin for one helluva wild roller coaster ride and that’s NOT GOOD for fat loss.
I’m interested in the Diet Rebellion but I get the sense that this is geared toward women, and I’m not. I’m a 50 yo male that is 15-20 lbs overweight (I’m the judge) that has struggled losing weight for the last couple of years; I can get down to an “acceptable” weight and plateau. I stopped weight lifting as my primary mode of exercise 8 years ago and took up running, and I’ve injured myself into a loss of interest.
I’m tired of my physique and being hungry when I “diet” so if this is a program that will except my persuasion, I’m in.