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Wow. Week 3 already!
This week we’re focusing on common mistakes and how to avoid them. We’re also having a deeper dive into rules 4, 5 and 6.
And our recipes this week are focusing on speedy 10 minute (or less) dinners. Next week we’ll cover meals that can take a little longer to cook (although not necessarily more than 10 minutes active time).
common mistakes & how to avoid them
Before we begin, credit where credit is due. Some of these are my own observations but mostly I’m relying on Tim Ferriss notes from his book, The 4-Hour Body.
1. not eating within one hour of waking
Eating protein in the morning has three benefits. It decreases water retention, increases your metabolism by as much as 20% and decreases carb cravings.
Tim’s illustrates the benefits of protein at breakfast with his Dad’s fat loss results. After increasing his protein in the mornings, Tim’s dad went from losing 5lbs (2.5kg) per month to losing 18lbs (9kg) per month.
2. not eating enough protein
See above for benefits of getting enough protein. Also important at your other meals.
3. not eating enough food
If you’re feeling irritable and tired and you aren’t losing weight it’s probably because you aren’t eating enough. This can feel counter-intuitive but try increasing your meal sizes, especially in the morning.
4. not drinking enough water
Your liver needs to be properly hydrated to aid fat-loss. Make sure you’re getting lots of water.
It’s also important on cheat day to stay properly hydrated because the carbohydrates in your digestive tract will pull water from other part of your body. So you need to balance this out.
5. interference from your menstrual cycle
Just before our periods, we tend to retain more water. Best to ignore scale readings in the 10 days before your period starts.
6. eating too fast
It’s not only the level of carbohydrates in our diets that cause spikes in our blood sugar. Eating too quickly can also be problematic. Try the old dieters tricks of chewing each mouthful a set number of times and putting your knife and fork down between bights.
7. not eating enough fat
The more fat you have in a meal, the lower your resultant blood sugar will be. Even if the meal contains carbs. So learn to love your fats.
8. over dosing on your ‘dietary kryptonite’
Tim calls them domino foods, but I like to think of them as our personal dietary weakness or kryptonite. These are things that are fine to eat according to the rules but are easy to over indulge with. We’re talking things like chickpeas (& hummus), peanuts, almonds and macadamias.
My own personal ‘dietary kryptonite’ is red wine. So I’ve started going alcohol-free Monday-Thursday.
If you’re not happy with your weight loss, think about your own ‘kryptonite’ and get a plan to manage it.
9. overdoing sweeteners – artificial or ‘natural’
Even though aspartame has a low effect on insulin, it can interrupt weight loss. Tim mentions that both low-calorie and no-calorie sweetners have been associated with weight gain.
Best to minimise sweeteners where ever possible.
If you’re looking for something for your coffee, try vanilla extract or ground cinnamon.
10. over-exercising
We covered exercise in detail last week. Interstingly Tim mentions that over-training can lead to muscle loss which in turn decreases metabolic rate. It also increases your risk of over eating.
11. relying on weight as the only measurement and giving up
Just like the camera can lie some times, so can the scales. It’s super important to look at your other measurements to keep track of how you’re going.
The other thing is that every one is different. It might take a while to find your groove and figure out the best weight-loss version of the diet for you. If you’re not happy with your results, be honest and review what you’ve been doing. Make adjustments and keep trying. Don’t give up!
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