TOP

“‘Jo, do you really eat all that?”

Jo, do you really eat all that??!! Why aren’t you…ummm…fat??’

That’s a question I honestly get asked on the daily…I’ve literally started responding with answers like, ‘Well I baked the cake so I created the calories, they don’t count’…oh how I wish. I then spend hours explaining food, macronutrients, micronutrients, calories and basically what our bodies do with them all. I’m not going to do that here though…I’m going to keep this brief and to the point… ‘YES Susan, I do eat all of that. And NO Susan, I’m not fat’.

You just have to spend 15 minutes scrolling through Instagram to learn that this isn’t a new phenomenon. If you know me, you would know that I’m a huge advocate of the flexible dieting approach. At the end of the day- all that matters is calories in, versus calories out. If you want to lose weight- consume less calories than you burn. If you want to gain wait, consume more calories than you burn. If you want to maintain your weight then eat the same amount of calories that you need to function. Pretty simple hey?? Well not quite but I’ll take this topic in stages…

Okay so food is made up of macronutrients and micronutrients, which I have already mentioned. Our bodies are dependent on both but the calories come from the macronutrients found in food. Macronutrients consist of Protein, Fats and Carbs. The part where it gets a bit tricky is here…they are equal to different calories…

1 gram of protein equals 4 calories
1 gram of carbs equals 4 calories and
1 gram of fat equals 9 calories

So if I make myself a mugcake that has 28 grams of protein, 8 grams of carbs and 3 grams of fat, it would look a little something like this: (28 x 4) + (8 x 4) + (3 x 9) = 171 calories… which is probably the equivalent to a small portion of grilled chicken and some steamed broccoli…so which would you chose??

So to answer Susan’s question…if I have a craving for some cake I have learnt that I can try substitute it with all the grilled chicken and broccoli I want…but 9/10 times I’m going to give in and have the cake over and above my healthy substitutions…When phrased like that it seems so simple doesn’t it- Why not find a way to include the cake into my diet…Make it guilt free…I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m not a ‘single square of dark chocolate’ kinda girl…I’m a ‘ice cream and waffles’ kinda girl…so I have ice cream, waffles, chocolate and cookies every single day…Do I still eat grilled chicken and steamed broccoli? OF COURSE!!!! Those foods are important BUT in saying that, so is treating yourself. Since learning all of this I have learnt how to bulk up my meals or as the fitness world know it as…volume eating. There isn’t a single person on earth who enjoys being hungry, especially if there was a way you could eat that would guarantee that you were full, cravings were satisfied and you have optimized your micronutrient intake too. I can’t wait to share some more about how I do this and how you can do this too.

«
»

1 COMMENT

  • Rachel Niemand on January 31, 2018

    This is incredible my friend

what do you think?

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *