You’re making great progress. Really sticking to the program and seeing great results.
But then…your results start to slow. And a few weeks even go by where you feel like you aren’t making any progress.
You didn’t change anything.
You’re still in a calorie deficit…So why aren’t things working!?
Don’t freak out! Don’t get upset and completely say “SCREW IT!”
First off, there will be periods we don’t “see” results, but changes are still occurring.
And secondly, it may just be time for a little “diet break!”
If your goal is weight loss, you do need to be in a calorie deficit.
BUT our bodies adapt to what we give them – this includes the workouts we do and even our DIET.
But when our body adapts, we can’t just keep cutting calories lower and lower. Instead, it may be time to change up those macro ratios or even BUMP our calories for a bit.
And that is where a diet break comes in handy.
It is simply a change up for our body. It is an increase in calories and often a slight adjustment in macro ratios.
Now a diet break does NOT mean go on a week long binge. And it doesn’t mean you aren’t SATISFIED even with what you’ve been doing.
It is actually a CALCULATED technique used to kickstart progress when results have slowed and help you mentally recharge a bit.
Dieting breaks are a great way to help you intensify your training and break through a weight loss plateau before returning to your calorie deficit.
The change in ratios and bump in calories can help you intensify your training for a bit to build extra muscle and it can help make sure your hormones are at optimal levels, especially if your carbs, or fats, have been at lower levels.
And amazingly, sometime that BUMP in calories and change in ratios can result in WEIGHT LOSS even though it goes against what we think we have to do to lose weight aka be in a calorie deficit.
Not to mention the diet break can mentally recharge us and even kickstart better results as we return to a deficit.
So how can you implement a diet break?
A diet break is not a cheat day or even a carb re-feed. It is actually an EXTENDED period of eating calories more at your maintenance level.
Note too I didn’t say just eat as much as you want. You are just eating more at what your body needs to maintain where you are at – this is still a CALCULATED technique not a free-for-all.
You can do a diet break in a couple of different ways.
You can take a complete diet break, which can be 1-2 weeks of increased calories and even looser tracking.
Or you can take a partial diet break, where you still strictly track but simply increase your calories by 500 or eat more at maintenance level.
How often you include a diet break may also depend on your level of leanness and even how long it may take you to reach your goal.
If you are leaner and looking to maintain that level of leanness, or even drop that last little bit (especially if you are a physique competitor), you may use a diet break every 4-6 weeks.
While if you are just starting out and have more weight to lose, you may implement one every 3 or so months.
However, if you do have more weight to lose, and know your goal may take a year to accomplish, you may find it helpful to include diet breaks at schedule times since you’ll be in a deficit for longer and the mental break will help.
The key is to know that you CAN use a diet break when you mentally feel fatigued, especially if you’ve been dieting for awhile, OR if you’ve even hit a plateau (and don’t want to cut calories lower because your deficit is already larger).
Remember this isn’t just a one day carb re-feed or cheat day.
This is a 7-14 day higher calorie cycle where you are still focused on quality foods and hitting your macros albeit potentially less strictly.
However, if you do a diet break, you do want to up the carbs for this cycle while upping calories if you’ve been on a lower carb ratio.
The increase in carbs is part of why this break works as it helps to regulate hormones so you can potentially drop some extra pounds your body has been holding on to.
Ready to really understand proper nutrition and figure out what will work for YOUR body and YOUR goals, as your body and goals even change over time?
MACROS – You may have heard this word recently when someone mentioned a new diet they were starting. But what the heck are macros and how do you “hit” or “fit” something into them?
I wanted to give you a little “cheat sheet” guide to macros and why paying attention to them may help you get better results FASTER!
So first…
What is a macro?
A macro is a macronutrient or protein, carbs and fats. It is the nutrients your body needs in large quantities.
Almost every popular diet out there manipulates the amount of each macro you consume to get results whether it is promoting low or no carbs, low fat, high protein, or some balance in between!
And all of the foods we consume have a certain amount of each macronutrient.
Animal proteins such as chicken, fish, eggs and beef all have a different amount of protein, and fat. Some are very low in fat, like chicken breast, while some can be higher in fat like say Salmon.
This doesn’t mean one food is BETTER than another.
It just means you can include a variety of protein sources based on your specific needs and goals and even “work around” different fat contents by the foods you include at other times!
For instance, if you’re doing a diet that is lower in fat and higher in protein, you may start to realize that eggs, while protein, also increase your fat intake.
So you may still include eggs, but you may eliminate a less healthy source of fat from somewhere else OR include a leaner protein source at another time.
Or if you’re doing Keto, you may start to look at which foods are higher in fat to focus on those while eliminating some foods that are higher in carbs.
Or if you’re a vegetarian looking to increase protein, you may realize that you need to not only combine certain foods for a completely protein, a complete amino acid chain, but that many of your protein sources also contain more carbs too.
The key is understanding what our food is made of so we can eat according to our goals!
To often we start a diet, dial in our diet with whole, natural foods and then wonder WHY we aren’t getting the results we want.
And it may be because while we think we are following the principles of the diet, we aren’t actually hitting the macronutrient ratios the diet suggests because we don’t actually KNOW what the macros are.
That is where this quick cheat sheet can come in handy!
And it is also important for us to realize that while the quality of our food is key for optimal functioning and better health…for some aesthetic goals…well it kind of doesn’t matter!
Quality Doesn’t Matter!?
This isn’t meant as an excuse to just go eat crap.
BUT I think it is an important fact to recognize because it is a frustration I often hear from clients trying to lose weight.
“Well I cut out all of the processed stuff and am eating one ingredient foods, but I’ve stopped losing weight and I have 10 more pounds!”
It’s because the quality of our food doesn’t fully matter to weight loss.
Because calories in vs calories out is at the heart of what matters, and how we dial in your macros CAN affect how we create a deficit, but you can still OVEREAT even eating only healthy foods.
While the quality of our food does help our body function optimally, I think often the fact that we cut out all of the foods we love to eat “cleaner,” ends up backfiring.
Often I even see clients overeating because they have a craving they aren’t satisfying.
So they hold themselves back from getting the results they want instead of striking a balance.
Instead of also including the foods they love while focusing on whole natural foods, they completely cut them out, and, all too often, end up binging on them at some point and falling off the restrictive diet they’ve created.
You CAN indulge in those foods you love while still dialing in the overall quality of your diet for results.
But realize that no matter how “clean” you eat, the bottom line is that if you want to lose or gain weight, the amount and type (aka macros) of calories that you consume matters most.
What’s Right For Me?
The most confusing part of this is where to start. What ratios or diets do you choose?
How do you create a calorie deficit without cutting out too much?
How can you get fast results without restricting yourself so much you end up binging?
Where is the balance that will work for you!?
The one key to figuring out what is right for YOU since one size doesn’t really fit all with dieting?
START TRACKING!
Learn about the different diets, experiment with different ratios and then track what you eat so you can truly see your calories, your macros and even what may be working or NOT working!
If you don’t track, you don’t know.
And tracking, while annoying yes, not only becomes easier and a HABIT, but it also helps you stop feeling like nothing will work!
What’s worse, not knowing what is or isn’t working and therefore constantly struggling to see the results you want OR taking a few minutes each day to weigh and measure and log?
Other than protein powders, BCAAs supplements are actually the supplement I get asked about the most, especially when people come from bodybuilding circles.
We always think MORE IS BETTER…so more amino acids, especially when we are trying to build muscle may be better, right?
So what are BCAAs supplements and do you need them, especially if you’re an average jane or joe?
What Are BCAAs?
BCAAs are branched-chain amino acids. They are made up of 3 essential amino acids – isoleucine, leucine and valine. (And as discussed early, essential amino acids can’t be made by the body but must instead be gotten through the foods we consume.)
These BCAAs make up about 40% of the daily requirement of all 9 essential amino acids, which shows you how important these 3 are.
BCAAs can be found in all sources of protein with the highest concentrations in chicken, beef, salmon, eggs and whey.
In all of these sources though, the BCAAs are peptide-bound to other amino acids.
So in order to raise BCAA levels in your body, they must first be liberated through digestion and then absorbed into the bloodstream.
Even with say a whey protein, which is relatively fast digesting, it can still take hours for the amino acids to be broken down and absorbed.
However in supplements, BCAAs are free form and require no digestion, meaning they can bypass the liver and gut tissue and go straight for the bloodstream.
This means they are more rapidly absorbed and may spike blood amino acid levels more quickly and to a greater extent even than the aminos in proteins.
BCAA Benefits:
The two main reasons BCAA supplementation usually comes up are for gaining muscle and improving recovery, both of which they are touted to do.
BCAAs trigger protein synthesis with exercise or even without.
When combined with exercise they can be a great way to help you build muscle while they can help you retain lean muscle mass when you aren’t working out.
Say for instance, if you are injured and taking time off. Supplementing with BCAAs may help you minimize muscle loss.
Not only is that good in and of itself, but the retention of more lean muscle mass can also help keep your metabolism up to prevent you from gaining fat even while you’re inactive.
If you are using intermittent fasting, you may actually choose to supplement with a flavorless BCAA powder in your water during your fasts, and during your workouts for extra energy, to help you gain and retain lean muscle mass.
Because it can help prevent muscle catabolism, it will only benefit you if you fast for longer periods OR even do an endurance cardiovascular sport, say long distance runs or rides that may be more catabolic to muscle tissue.
BCAA supplementation may also benefit us more as we age because it becomes more difficult to create a muscle-building environment and activate protein synthesis as we get older.
And, partly due to the fact that BCAAs can help us build and retain lean muscle, but also due to the fact that isoleucine and leucine help improve glucose tolerance and increase energy expenditure and fat oxidation, they may also help you increase fat burning and fat loss.
BCAAs may also aid in recovery, which can not only help you feel better for your next training session, but can actually help you get in a better training session by decreasing fatigue.
This is actually probably the BIGGEST benefit of BCAA supplementation over just consuming other sources of protein.
BCAAs can be burned as energy. This can help maintain ATP energy levels during glycogen-depleting exercise. Because BCAAs can also enhance the body’s ability to burn fat, they can then increase your energy pool that way.
BCAAs can also help prevent central nervous system fatigue by inhibiting the uptake of tryptophan into the brain (tryptophan is used to make serotonin in the brain, increasing tiredness and fatigue).
Basically what BCAAs do is prevent our brain from telling us “You’re done,” which is most often why our performance suffers. Let’s face it…If you’re brain tells you that you’re tired, your going to feel tired and slow down!
BCAAs can also help reduce muscle soreness, both after a strength OR a cardio endurance workout. Note I said REDUCE, not prevent.
So if you were looking into BCAAs as a recovery aid, they may well be worth the money! (However, it may mean taking them CONSISTENTLY and not just the day of a hard training session.)
BCAA Downsides:
The biggest question is really…Are they worth the extra cost?
The downside is you can easily get plenty of the amino acids you need from whole, natural foods and often without the sweeteners or flavoring added to make BCAAs taste better. (Although yes you can get unflavored options.)
And with proper nutrition and SLEEP, you can also usually help your body recover properly without added supplementation.
Also, B vitamins can become depleted, especially if you megadose BCAAs as they are critical for amino acid metabolism. This can cause serious issues since B vitamins are essential for everything from energy metabolism, preventing cravings to managing anxiety and cognition.
If you do supplement with BCAAs or are taking huge doses in preparation for an event, just make sure to get plenty of vitamin B rich foods (spinach, broccoli, beets, bell peppers, oranges).
Also, as I mentioned, BCAAs can help prevent serotonin from being created which can help during your workout to prevent your brain from telling your body it is fatigued.
HOWEVER, low serotonin levels can lead to depression, poor moods and even affect your sleep.
This is important to note if your diet is already high in protein AND low in carbs. You may not want to add a BCAA supplement to the mix.
This problem can be avoided though even simply by timing more carbs before bed, but it is something to watch for if considering adding BCAAs to your diet.
And just remember BCAAs DO NOT replace protein.
So…Should YOU Use It?
I think if muscle building and maintenance is your main goal, they are worth a shot, especially if you are a hard gainer or training intensely while in a deficit. So when you’re working to lose those last few pounds, this could be the extra push you need, especially if you’ve hit a plateau.
They may also be helpful if you plan to compete in a physique show and are having trouble getting down to very low levels of body fat.
BCAAs may also be something to look into for your distance runners and cyclists. If you are a runner upping your miles that wants to prevent muscle loss with the increase in steady-state cardio, they could be a good way to prevent muscle catabolism.
They can also aid recovery and help prevent fatigue which may help you improve your training for a specific event.
They can also be great if you are doing fasted weight training, and not first thing in the morning, and want to make sure to protect your lean muscle and even increase your gains. The key with this though is to get UNFLAVORED BCAAs to maybe add to your water or coffee.
If you plan to supplement with BCAAs, you will probably want to consume them right prior to and DURING your training.
If you are just starting your weight loss journey though, they aren’t necessary as you can meet your needs with your protein intake from whole, natural foods and even maybe a protein supplement alone.
(The only caveat to this is if you haven’t been training AT ALL, and are jumping back in, they have been shown to be helpful for reducing muscle soreness and speeding recovery in untrained individuals.)
We always want to first focus on meeting your needs with dialing in our overall diet.
BCAAs may just help us reach that next level if we’ve had everything dialed in for awhile!
Looking For Some Delicious BCAAs to add to your diet?
I believe eating well is a balance…and sometimes that balance even means having no balance aka what I consider “cheat days.”
But for those days you don’t fully feel like indulging but do have a hankering for some of those not so healthy treats, it can be fun to come up with macro-friendly alternatives.
These macro-friendly recipes help keep you on track while still satisfying your cravings so that you don’t want to binge.
They are a great way to find balance with eating well so that you don’t feel deprived and can still stay focused on your goals.
They help you create that oh so elusive LIFESTYLE so many people talk about.
And one of my favorite macro-friendly treats is this Pita Pepperoni Pizza!
No this isn’t the cleanest meal you’ll ever eat, but guess what?! Sometimes you NEED that!
So if you’re craving some pizza but want to stay on track, and potentially trigger worse cravings, try this Macro-Friendly Pizza alternative!
The Pita Pepperoni Pizza
SERVINGS 1-2
INGREDIENTS:
2 pitas (Joseph’s Flax Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Pita Bread)
16 slices Turkey Pepperoni (65% Less Fat)
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese Shredded
1/2 cup Italian Herb Organic Pasta Sauce
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese, Low-Fat
1 tbsp Parmesan & Romano Grated Cheese
Sprinkling of Red Pepper Flakes
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 and place the pita bread on the middle rack for 3-4 minutes just till it starts to get crispy but not brown.
Then remove from the oven and split the ingredients between the two pitas. I like to measure as I put the toppings on, especially if I’m not eating both at that meal.
Top first with tomato sauce. Then the pepperoni. Then sprinkle with the mozzarella before spooning on chunks of the ricotta. You can also spread the ricotta on if you don’t want bigger chunks.
Place in the oven again on a baking sheet and cook till the edges of the pita start to brown and the cheese is melted.
Then remove from the oven and top with parmesan and red pepper. Enjoy!
You can of course place any other toppings on that you like. Others that are good include olives, onions, spinach, mushrooms…The options are endless! Just make sure to adjust the macros below based on the ingredients you use!
MACROS FOR BOTH PITA PIZZAS:
Calories: 475
Protein: 46 grams
Carbs: 34 grams
Fat: 23 grams
FOR A SINGLE PITA PIZZA….just in case you wanted to be lazy and not do the math ;-):
Calories: 237.5
Protein: 23 grams
Carbs: 17 grams
Fat: 11.5 grams
Ready to strike a balance between indulging in the foods you love and eating clean and according to your goals?
Sick of trying to find a “lifestyle” when most diets force you to cut out the foods you love?
It’s time you learned a bit more about Macro Cycling. CLICK HERE!
So one of my male clients told me a few of his female co-workers wanted to start losing some weight. He told them they should eat more protein.
And they said back to him, “But we don’t want to get bulky!”
WHAAAAAAAT!?!
I was a bit stunned when he told me this.
They thought that by eating protein, since they so often saw MEN consuming protein powders and higher protein to gain muscle, that eating too much protein would make them BULKY!
BULKY…It’s a word so many women fear.
It’s a word that holds many women back from even starting to weight train. And now I find out it is a word that holds women back from even eating the protein that they should!
Let me set the record straight…
PROTEIN WILL MAKE YOU BULKY.
FALSE!!
Protein absolutely, positively will NOT make you bulky, ladies. NOT AT ALL!
What protein WILL DO is:
Help you look lean and toned like you want
Help you feel energized to power through your workouts
Help you LOSE WEIGHT WITHOUT FEELING HUNGRY
Did I say look strong, sexy and LEAN!?!
Protein is the KEY…Literally the KEY to getting the results you want.
So a bit more about WHY protein so key for us LADIES and WHY it won’t make you bulky….
It’s the building blocks of muscle. Not only will you preserve your lean muscle mass while potentially dieting in a calorie deficit BUT you can also build lean muscle to help you look more toned! AND as we get older, especially us ladies, it can be harder and harder to retain and even GAIN muscle. A diet high in protein helps! Plus, when we are injured, we often think we need less protein, BUT a diet higher in protein can help us prevent muscle loss while we are out and restricted from training.
Keeps you feeling fuller for longer. Protein keeps you satisfied so that you don’t end up feeling like you are starving even if you’re trying to lose weight.
It makes weight loss EASIER! The thermogenic effect of protein makes it EASIER to lose weight and drop body fat on a protein rich diet EVEN if you “overeat.” A study 2014 study showed that even on a hypercaloric diet, people didn’t gain weight due to the high protein. Plus, because it preserves lean muscle mass, you will tend to burn more calories even at rest and your metabolism will stay healthy.
Improves recovery and muscle repair. You will provide your muscles with the building blocks they need to repair. AND the increase in protein can also help your tendons and connective tissues repair. Greater protein synthesis accelerates tissue repair and strengthens connective tissues to reduce your risk for injury.
Can improve bone density and prevent osteoporosis. It is actually a common misconception that high protein is bad for your bones and this “myth” is based on a misunderstanding of bone metabolism. Actually the amino acids in protein are used to build bone AND because protein increases muscles mass, there is an increase in bone strength! (1)
And studies of protein rich diets have even shown to improve brain functioning, quality of sleep AND even lower blood pressure!
And speaking to those ladies going through menopause and post-menopause struggling to keep the weight off…PROTEIN IS KEY TO RETAIN THAT LEAN MUSCLE MASS and keep our skin, hair and nails healthy and strong! It is the building blocks!
During and post-menopause, protein can help keep our hormones in check and help us avoid that dreaded weight gain! It can help improve our body composition as well as our overall body functioning.
In menopause your hormone levels change and even specific hormones decrease, so if you don’t get enough protein, you’re going to have a harder time maintaining hormonal balance, which is what can affect muscle retention and cause weight gain. It can also affect our digestive system, thyroid and bone health!
So really ladies I should be asking, “Why WOULDN’T you eat more protein!?!”
If you’ve been struggling to get the results you want, track your food and you’ll notice that you probably are low on protein!
Protein doesn’t lead to bulk. It leads to that strong, lean muscle that helps us move better, feel better and even LOOK BETTER!
Ready to take control of your diet and get the lean, strong body you’ve always wanted?
We need to instead realize that it is all about balance and finding something we can do consistently.
Dieting doesn’t have to suck; however, just like everything in life, there will be times we have to do things we don’t fully want to do!
AND I think it is important to recognize that there will be periods where we will be more diligent and times we will…well…”fall off.”
Everything goes in cycles. Here are 5 tips though to help you make dieting suck less!
5 Tips To Make Dieting Suck Less:
1. Find meals you love. Plan those in first.
Dieting has come to mean bland, boring foods. Chicken and broccoli. Bland white fish and asparagus.
But A. These things don’t have to be bland and boring. And B. There has to be a balance which includes foods you enjoy.
If you want to stick with a diet and make it something you actually ENJOY doing, you have to be able to make meals you love.
I always tell people starting my Macro Cycling programs that they should plan in meals with their family or meals they really love first. If you really crave salmon or steak, plan it in. And work your other meals around it.
Really crave chocolate or something sweet at the end of the night? Plan it in first. That way you can work everything else around it!
Remember it is 80/20 not perfection that gets results. Perfection might lead to faster results, but it generally also leads to incredibly short-term results!
2. Stop making it about perfection. Give yourself one focus.
We go in with this all or nothing attitude that often leads to us “falling off” before we really even start.
And if we do get in a routine, at the first sign of life getting in the way, aka work stresses, family pressures, the HOLIDAYS, our goals and diet go completely out the window.
We struggle to stay consistent because we’ve put so much pressure on ourselves to be “perfect.” To only eat whole natural foods. To be within a gram of our goal. To always be under our calories.
Especially during those busy times, don’t worry about the details. Give yourself just ONE THING to focus on to keep you on track.
I always tell clients that if they can do just one thing, make protein your focus. If you make protein your focus, you’ll see results.
Or if they’ve even struggled with that, I’ll tell them to simply start by LOGGING. There is accountability in that AND it can help us then slowly make changes as we feel ready.
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Those small tweaks, that consistency adds up!
3. Stop cutting out foods you love first.
Ok we all know certain foods are bad for us. But we love them anyway.
Those foods that we love are often also the first things we cut out. And then all we can think about is how much we want those foods.
So what happens?
We end up binging and then struggle to get back on track.
But what if we didn’t first cut out those foods we love the most?
What if instead we first focused on adding in other things? Or making tweaks to those foods we love so they fit our macros better?
What if we got rid of the other fluff so we could even still indulge in those foods we love?
A. Consistency is about balance. It isn’t all or nothing and even unhealthy foods can have a place in our lifestyle!
B. When we make those other changes FIRST, often making the bigger changes. aka sometimes reducing or even eliminating those unhealthy foods we feel we “need,” becomes EASIER because we aren’t then cutting out the things we love first. We don’t feel as DEPRIVED because we’ve made other changes that have created new habits.
So when you’re getting started, start with easy and small tweaks. And even consider how you can make meals more macro friendly!
4. Fuel your body instead. Less isn’t always more.
A big reason why we think diets suck is because we are ALWAYS hungry.
There is legitimately a term for this hunger, and the resulting ANGER from it…HANGER.
So of course feeling hungry and low energy all of the time isn’t going to make us want to stick with our eating plan.
Nope! But it may make you reach for the quickest and most unhealthy thing in sight!
And not only can this constant starvation cause us to fall off our diet, but it can also actually cause our results to stall or plateau. LESS ISN’T ALWAYS MORE!
Yes, a calorie deficit is key. But too little and you can’t workout hard and your body starts to try to conserve energy.
Even though you may want to lose weight quickly, don’t starve yourself. Make sure to fuel your activity and it will not only make eating well more pleasant but help you stay consistent long term!
5. Plan for the worst.
It’s easy to eat well and stick to your goals when you aren’t stressed, have full control of your schedule and are 100% motivated and even getting results.
However, that all happens at the same time like maybe 5% of the time if we’re lucky.
Most of the time we are stressed, or tired, or have family obligations…Or heck…we just want to go out and have fun!
But most often we only PLAN for the times that it is easy. We don’t prepare for the times that we are going to have other things going on that may make it seem impossible to prep or stay on track.
That is why it is key that we consider and plan for the “worst.”
How can we provide ourselves with guidance to stay on track even when things aren’t easy? How can we create consistency and balance so we can keep ourselves moving forward or maintaining even when “dieting” isn’t our main focus?
Often I think this means giving ourselves one thing to focus on. One clear and easy goal that we know will keep us on track enough.
I also think it is about remembering it is about CONSISTENCY and not perfection that truly matters in the long run.
And I think it is important that we come up with ways that allow us to diet with balance. Find easy meals out. Plan around the things you love and enjoy.
Find quick snacks that, while maybe not perfect, are way better than the alternative and will keep you feeling fueled and on track.
Dieting may not always be fun but it shouldn’t detract from your life. There will be periods where you will want to be stricter and others you will do the bare minimum. The key is finding a way to make it “not suck” so you can remain consistent and find balance!
And it is also about remembering EVERYTHING goes in cycles. Don’t feel guilty or beat yourself up. Just make small little tweaks to always be getting better and preparing yourself to make the most out of what you can!
With these 5 tips you can get on track and make dieting…well…suck less!
But A. These things don’t have to be bland and boring. And B. There has to be a balance which includes foods you enjoy.
But what if we didn’t first cut out those foods we love the most?
