How to Be Your Own Nutrition Coach
Easily Identify Your Next Step When You Want Better Results
Easily Identify Your Next Step When You Want Better Results
It is inevitable that at some point during your body transformation journey that you will want better results. You may not lose as quickly as you like or worst yet you may be gaining. Experiencing less than satisfactory results can send the most level headed woman running fast in the direction of excessive workouts, an extreme diet or her doctor in hopes to discover the hormonal abnormality that is responsible for the disappointing results often before taking a really honest, hard look at her nutrition habits. Below I will share the most common causes for slow results that I see when coaching women in search of body transformation. Assuming you are already following our Great Shape Nutrition Guidelines for rapid fat loss by eating frequent, protein and produce based meals, here are the top four habits that can be holding you back.
Results Killer #1: You are splurging more than you realize.
Diagnosing the Problem: Get clear on what is allowed on your plan and then track your meals. Be sure to record every non-compliant meal. At the end of the week, tally your total number of meals and your total number of non-compliant meals. If your non-compliance meals were more than 10% of your meals, you have found your problem.
Fixing the Problem: Increasing your compliance- just stop splurging so much. Get recipes from your coach for foods you will enjoy. Prepare them in advance and take them with you. Find out what you can eat on the go. Whatever is causing you to splurge so much, fix it so that you can get results.
Results Killer #2: You are eating too much.
Diagnosing the Problem: Are you seldom hungry? Is it hard for you to accurately describe “how much” of something you ate when you write in your journal? These are signs that you may be overeating. I don’t advocate counting calories to start or even measuring all of your food but you should use some of the easy methods described in the Portion Control article to ensure you are eating appropriate portions at each meal. If you are rarely hungry when it is time to eat, you are probably eating too much. If your meals are already very small and you are still not hungry, you probably require more advanced nutritional coaching to help you get your metabolism on track as being able to eat nearly nothing without hunger is a sure sign of a sluggish metabolism.
Fixing the Problem: Eat a little less than you usually do and start by reducing your portions of starchy carbohydrates. Don’t eliminate them- simply reduce the quantity. Keep your protein and vegetable servings the same. If this doesn’t fix the lack of hunger and results issue, reduce your protein portions by a little. If eating too much was the problem, these fixes should yield noticeable results in just two weeks.
Results Killer #3: You aren’t eating enough.
Diagnosing the Problem: Are you hungry all the time- even within an hour of eating? Do you feel so sluggish that even basic daily activities feel like a chore? Do you feel that the only way to get the weight off is to eat less? If you are experiencing extreme hunger and lethargy or believe that the only way to your goal is to starve off the weight, you are probably sabotaging your progress by eating to little. If you don’t eat enough, your body will store every morsel you eat in order to survive. Although we want to look great, our body is concerned primarily with surviving and will fight to do that if you are underfeeding yourself.
Fixing the Problem: Eat a little more than you normally do. Increase the portion of your protein at each meal. If this doesn’t fix the hunger and lethargy problem, increase your starchy carbohydrate portions next. Finally, increase your intake of vegetables if needed.
Results Killer #4: Your nutrition habits vary wildly from day to day.
Diagnosing the Problem: Write down what you eat and how much for three days and then compare. Are your meal types, times, and amounts all over the map? If so, your body is staying the same because you are not giving it clear, consistent instructions on what you want it to do. The way you eat (how much, when, which nutrients) are simply instructions and you are confusing your body into homeostasis.
Fixing the Problem: Develop a routine that fits your lifestyle and then follow it consistently. This doesn’t mean you have to eat the same exact meals daily but you do want to be fairly consistent with your habits so that your body can respond to your instructions.
Results Killer #1: You are splurging more than you realize.
Diagnosing the Problem: Get clear on what is allowed on your plan and then track your meals. Be sure to record every non-compliant meal. At the end of the week, tally your total number of meals and your total number of non-compliant meals. If your non-compliance meals were more than 10% of your meals, you have found your problem.
Fixing the Problem: Increasing your compliance- just stop splurging so much. Get recipes from your coach for foods you will enjoy. Prepare them in advance and take them with you. Find out what you can eat on the go. Whatever is causing you to splurge so much, fix it so that you can get results.
Results Killer #2: You are eating too much.
Diagnosing the Problem: Are you seldom hungry? Is it hard for you to accurately describe “how much” of something you ate when you write in your journal? These are signs that you may be overeating. I don’t advocate counting calories to start or even measuring all of your food but you should use some of the easy methods described in the Portion Control article to ensure you are eating appropriate portions at each meal. If you are rarely hungry when it is time to eat, you are probably eating too much. If your meals are already very small and you are still not hungry, you probably require more advanced nutritional coaching to help you get your metabolism on track as being able to eat nearly nothing without hunger is a sure sign of a sluggish metabolism.
Fixing the Problem: Eat a little less than you usually do and start by reducing your portions of starchy carbohydrates. Don’t eliminate them- simply reduce the quantity. Keep your protein and vegetable servings the same. If this doesn’t fix the lack of hunger and results issue, reduce your protein portions by a little. If eating too much was the problem, these fixes should yield noticeable results in just two weeks.
Results Killer #3: You aren’t eating enough.
Diagnosing the Problem: Are you hungry all the time- even within an hour of eating? Do you feel so sluggish that even basic daily activities feel like a chore? Do you feel that the only way to get the weight off is to eat less? If you are experiencing extreme hunger and lethargy or believe that the only way to your goal is to starve off the weight, you are probably sabotaging your progress by eating to little. If you don’t eat enough, your body will store every morsel you eat in order to survive. Although we want to look great, our body is concerned primarily with surviving and will fight to do that if you are underfeeding yourself.
Fixing the Problem: Eat a little more than you normally do. Increase the portion of your protein at each meal. If this doesn’t fix the hunger and lethargy problem, increase your starchy carbohydrate portions next. Finally, increase your intake of vegetables if needed.
Results Killer #4: Your nutrition habits vary wildly from day to day.
Diagnosing the Problem: Write down what you eat and how much for three days and then compare. Are your meal types, times, and amounts all over the map? If so, your body is staying the same because you are not giving it clear, consistent instructions on what you want it to do. The way you eat (how much, when, which nutrients) are simply instructions and you are confusing your body into homeostasis.
Fixing the Problem: Develop a routine that fits your lifestyle and then follow it consistently. This doesn’t mean you have to eat the same exact meals daily but you do want to be fairly consistent with your habits so that your body can respond to your instructions.
If you have attacked the apparent root issue of your slow results and are still dissatisfied, it may be time to get granular with your approach. Consult your fitness professional for help with estimating your daily caloric needs and your portions of meat, starch, and vegetables at each meal. Measure your food in advance and stick to your plan. If you follow this approach for more than 2-4 weeks with little to no results then it is indeed time to head to the doctor and find out if there is an underlying medical issue preventing you from having the body transformation you are working so hard to achieve.
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