Calories (Kcal): These are units of energy given to food that our body needs in order to function. Your daily calorie need is dictated by your individual body type, genetics and daily energy expenditure. To lose weight a calorie deficit is needed.
Macronutrients: There are 3 macronutrients required for energy, growth, repair and bodily functions and these are protein, carbohydrates and fat. The suggested amounts of how much of each macronutrient you should eat each meal will be given to you on your Nutrition Plan.
Protein: Protein is made up of amino acids which are the building blocks of tissue within the body and are crucial if you want to build or retain muscle and lose fat. Typically the more muscle you have the higher your metabolic rate will be, so it is essential to eat sufficient protein from a variety of foods (e.g. quality meats, fish, eggs, whey).
Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates provide fuel for our bodies to function and train at higher intensities. In this plan we recommend eating complex carbohydrates (e.g. potatoes, rice, oats) that will keep your blood sugar and energy levels more stable throughout the day rather than eating simple carbohydrates (e.g sugary or proceessed food).
Fats: Fats are essential for health. They help absorb fat soluble vitamins, protect cell membranes, protect our organs, reduce inflammation and help produce hormones. We recommend consuming monounsaturated & polyunsaturated fats, which are high in omega 3 and 6 (e.g. nut/seed/olive oils, nuts, avocados, oily fish), and a small amount of saturated fat (e.g. eggs, lamb, chicken with skin, butter). Avoid trans-fats as much as much as possible, as these provide no benefits to your transformation or health (e.g. cakes, biscuits, fried food, margarine).
Alcohol in any form can be fabulous fun and tastes pretty good (except tequila – who likes tequila?!) but alcohol can be a huge stressor on the body and is quite calorie dense.
So when looking at making a body transformation consider what an impact drinking can have. I think we all assume that a few drinks here or there won’t make a difference. But what we underestimate is the calories in the drink itself and then what we eat after as result of being a bit merry.
Alcohol contains more than 7 cals per gram and also in the case of cocktails and some wines contains a vast amount of sugar. When looking to lose body fat a caloric deficit is required, not only will alcohol cause calories to add up quickly it also increases appetite and loosens inhibitions meaning you’re far more likely to eat a non-optimal food choice increasing your calories further.
Also, although alcohol has a similar effect on your body as carbohydrate unfortunately it doesn’t store as glycogen and instead has to be used as the fuel source before the body can return to fat burning therefore further delaying the fat loss process.
In addition, alcohol does put stress on the liver, kidneys and stomach causing other issues such as dehydration and longer term have impact on the gut flora and the liver’s ability to process toxins.
Alcohol is one of life’s pleasures to be enjoyed so our top tip as we head into the festive season is to try to choose lower calorie and lower sugar drinks such as pure spirit with a low sugar mixer or opt to stick to deep reds and dry whites over cocktails to reduce the load!
How to get motivated on a new diet or fitness regime
When we do anything in life we do it for a reason. From brushing your teeth to driving to work there is a reason. That reason varies, in the instance of these examples you don’t want bad breath and you gotta pay the bills …
But when we want to make changes or take actions everyday towards something bigger, better or new something that is not ‘necessary’ to our survival physically or financially it can be hard to motivate and mobilise ourselves for a number of reasons:
- Patterns and Habits – we are creatures of habit. Our sub-conscious minds store repeat patterns to make our day to day actions easier. Our mind remembers what actions follow another, we call these triggers e.g ‘I feel tired must have coffee’ ‘ I feel stressed, I’ll have a biscuit’. These triggers are the hardest battles we face when starting any new regime. Much like an old video tape, we can’t erase the patterns and triggers we already have, we can only overwrite them. Creating new patterns and habits can take anywhere from 21 to 60 days which is why fat loss diets and challenges are usually created in these timeframes. During this timeframe having support is so crucial to making sure you stay on track in order to install these new habits!
- Emotionally we seek comfort. The human brains want to keep us in a place of happy! We are taught sometimes from children that to soothe feelings of discomfort we turn to external support in the form of food, and as we grow older alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs can also play a part in buffering these bad feelings. Unless we learn to deal with our emotions head on we will always turn to comfort food, drink etc SO when we start any kind of new bigger goal we are going to face adversity and this is where a support network can be AMAZING as well as opening up to personal growth and dealing with the issues themselves.
- Your why isn’t strong enough. Making a big lifestyle change is a decision with a huge impact on all areas and often ripples into all areas of your life. You have to be ready for this. To be ready you need to know WHY you are doing it and know that your why is bigger than other people’s comments, bigger than your own excuses and has a bigger impact in your life by achieving it than not! Examples include finally losing 12st because the doctor gave you a death date is a bigger why than needing to lose a few lbs to be a size 10 ..
So in conclusion, it’s no wonder why committing to a new plan can be super challenging! This is why in our experience surrounding yourself with the right people, having the support of a coach or mentor and really opening up to WHY you are making the change.
For support, guidance and direction drop us an email to info@chaseperfection.com
