This is a new episode of A Mind For Fitness Podcast. In this episode Ean Carlin talks to Alyx Cave’ from Chisel Outdoors about hiking, biking, and general outdoor fitness. What you need to know to make the most of your outdoor workout and how to stay safe. Enjoy!
PS sorry about the sound quality. Our first mike was not working out so we had to switch just before the show.
If you really want to lose weight, you need to eat 6 small meals a day. And you never want to skip breakfast! Right? Well, that is what I was told my whole life. In fact, fairly recently I did a review (audio) on Chris Powell’s book, Choose to Lose: The Seven Day Carb Cycle Solution. In that book, he advocates six small meals a day. I followed it for a while and I lost weight!
Well the truth is I lost a little weight. And the reason I lost it was not because the diet was so great. Rather it was due to the fact that I was on a plateau and it changed things up enough to get my metabolism working again.
The six meal a day plan can work for some of the people some of the time. For example, if you take someone who is eating a bowl of granola in the morning and/ or a bagel, and switch them to 4 egg whites and half a banana, you will see results. Out of the two, the former is way worse for your blood sugar. So the six meal a day diet can work, but it does not work nearly as well as intermittent fasting (IF).
Why IF Works
There is lots of science regarding IF. I do not have the time to go into all of it here. However, I will quickly mention that the reason it works is that it allows your body to tap into your fat reserves. Your body only runs on two types of fuel–sugar and fat. When you eat 3 or 6 times a day you are fueling your body with sugar and training your body to prefer to run on sugar.
However, when you go without food for a significant period of time, you use up all your sugar. The only fuel left for your body to run on is fat. And in fact, your body runs better on fat than sugar. And the more often you run on fat, the more your body wants to run on fat preferentially.
There are lots of big words I could have used to explain the above paragraphs, but it really is that simple. If you do not have sugar in your body, you will run on fat.
Starvation Mode
But what about starvation mode? If you have been led to believe that 3-6 meals is the way to go, and that you should never skip breakfast, you may have also heard of the dreaded “starvation mode.” This is the belief that if you do not keep feeding your body every 2 hours or so you will store fat instead of burn it. Why? Because (they say) your body thinks it is going though a famine and will want to hang onto fat.
The fact of the matter is that this is simply not true. In order for your body to go into “starvation mode,” you have to go without food for a few days. But even then, you will eventually start losing weight. So do not fear. Going without breakfast, or even going without food for a day, will not not make you gain weight!
IF Programs
There are many IF programs to choose from. In the next article, I will list them and let you know which protocol I chose to lose nearly 20 pounds in about a month!
A new A Mind For Fitness Podcast is now available. This is a good one. I come clean and talk about how I gained weight again but also how I lost it and am now more fit than ever. Enjoy!
In the previous two articles, we talked about why we hit plateaus in the first place. In addition we addressed what not to do when your weight loss stalls out. In this article, we will finally turn our attention to what you actually need to do in order to overcome your plateau.
Change Things Up
If you have stopped burning fat because you are simply not following your diet correctly, then needless to say, you need to follow your workout and eating program more faithfully. However, if you have followed your diet faithfully, and you have stopped losing weight, then the answer to your problem is rather simple: change things up!
Your body has adjusted to what you are doing and as a result you have stopped losing weight. In order to fix this problem, you need to stop your old program and try a different program. There are primarily two arias that you need to change. First is diet and the second is exercise.
Diet
The first thing to change is your diet. This is not difficult to do. For example, if you have been intermittent fasting, then stop. Try eating six small meals a day, or at least switch to three meals a day.
The reverse is true also, if you have been on a diet that requires you to eat all day switch to intermittent fasting for a while.
While I do not recommend a low fat diet for the long run, I do recommend trying it for a short time. Try it for about a week and go back to LCHF. See what happens.
I also feel the same way about veganism. There is no problem in giving up meat for a week. It is another way to shock your system and get you to start burning fat again.
Exercise
It is true that 70% of your weight loss comes from diet. But 30% comes from exercise. For many out there, they have stopped losing weight because they do not exercise. If you want to start losing weight again, start exercising and see what happens.
There is also a segment of the population who are always exercising. I know it is difficult to do, but you may need to give your body a rest. In other words, stop working out for a while. This may be just what you need.
Finally, you can change the kind of workouts you are doing. In other words. If you are doing a lot of cardio, start lifting weights. If you are lifting weights, start doing more cardio.
Closing Thoughts
It can be discouraging to hit a plateau. However, the suggestions listed above proven strategies to help you start losing weight again. I know because I have seen these things work in many other people, but also I know because I have seen them work in my own life. I have hit many plateaus on my weight loss journey and have overcome every one of them. You can to. Don’t give up!
There is a new episode of A Mind For Fitness Podcast. In this episode, Ean Talks about why it is more important to count carbs rather than calories. Also, what is a calorie and how you can avoid overeating. Enjoy!
I recently did a podcast where I addressed the issue of hitting plateaus in weight loss. I talked about why we hit them and what we can do to get past them. This blog post will address the first half of the issue. Namely, why we hit them. In the next post, I will talk about what not to do and why. After that, I will talk about the active things you can do to get past them and get back on the road to burning fat.
Two Main Causes
The truth is there is only two reasons why your weight loss progress stops. The first is you are just not sticking to your diet correctly. The second is your body has simply adjusted to your dietary and/or workout regiment.
Not Sticking To Your Diet
Sometimes your not sticking to your diet simply because you are cheating too often. If this is the case, the truth is you need to do the diet correctly.
However, there are times when you really think you are sticking to your diet, but in reality you are unknowingly are consuming too many carbs and too many processed foods. For example that salad you had for lunch may have had many more carbs than you thought.
On one occasion I was happily eating a salad when I noticed that it was slightly sweeter than I thought it should be. The reason for this is that there were craisins in the salad. When I finally looked up the carb count in craisins, I realized that my salad contained my daily allotment of carbs. I was shocked.
If this kind of thing happens too often, you will certainly stop losing weight.
Body Adjustment
However, for many, you are sticking to your diet and you have still hit a plateau. The reason for this is that your body has adjusted to your diet and/or workout plan. One thing to keep in mind is that your body is always looking to establish an equal balance within itself. Losing wight is an imbalance within the body. And an imbalance is a shock and perceived as a treat to survival. Even though there are great benefits to losing excess fat, your body is still seeking to establish equilibrium as a survival tool.
Next Post
So there are your two reasons why you will stop losing weight. The next post will deal with what not to do about it.
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A new episode of A Mind For Fitness Podcast is now available. In this episode, Ean talks about why we hit plateaus. And what we should and should not do about it. Enjoy!
In this episode of A Mind For Fitness Podcast, Ean Carlin talks about how to deal with those new years resolutioners who are at your gym.
Yes it is that time of year again. It is that time when everyone is trying to get into shape and make all kinds of goals regarding health and weight loss. For many, one of those goals is to hit the gym and hit it hard! What this means is that the gym will be swarming with new people. For us long times, us people who already go to the gym on a consistent basis we, we call these new people “resolutionars”! And they can be annoying at the least and completely your workout at worst.
Don’t Be A Hater
Dealing with resolutionars can be bothersome. Often they are in the way and many of them don’t seem to understand proper gym etiquette.
That said, don’t be a hater. Keep in mind the fact that these people are just trying to better themselves by improving their health. This type of behavior should be encouraged.
In practical terms, smile at the new people instead of glaring at them hatefully. Introduce your self. Let them know that you have been coming to this gym for a long time and tell them everything you like about the place. Just think: it may be your kind words that makes a resolutionar a regular.
Don’t Worry
Next thing to do is not worry about all the new people. Statistics show that 95% of people who make resolutions for the new year will break those commitments by January 15th. Just wait it out a week or two and those who are not serious will be gone and out of your way. And if you followed the above recommendation, those who decided to really make a commitment, will now be your friends.
Take Time Off
If you really just cannot handle being around resolutionars, then one of the best things you can do is to take some time off. I know for us regulars, taking time off is difficult. We love working out and we love going to the gym. However, most workout regiments require taking time off. And if you are anything like me, you workout hard during the holidays and could use a break. Remember, for optimal health, recovery is just as important as working out.
Home Gym
So maybe you did take the holidays off and you need to workout. The home gym is always an option. You may not have every piece of equipment they have at a traditional gym, but you can do push ups, squats, lunges, and all sorts of things that will keep you in good health.
Go in The Morning
If you just cannot stay away from the gym, then your best bet is to go in the morning. This will not keep you from resolutionars altogether, but it will minimize your encounters with them. Generally speaking, most of them are not dedicated enough to go in the morning. And those who are willing to make the commitment to go in the morning are more likely to become regulars.
Switch Your Routine
The last thing you can do is to change your routine. Instead of doing chest on Monday, do biceps. Or simply do what is available. Make the best of what you have and do what you can do. This will always make a great workout.
P. S.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this article. I hope it helped you. If it did, please do me the favor of sharing it on your favorite social media. Have a great new year!
A new episode of A Mind For Fitness Podcast is now available! In this episode, Ean talks about five ways to lose weight for the new year and the new you!
Advanced Weight Loss Resources 