Here's a great interview with Jennifer from Austria, a long time friend of Eat Stop Eat.
Jennifer is living proof that you can look amazing in your 40's with the right attitude, the right workout routine and a little help from Eat Stop Eat.
Jennifer's Interview
BP
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results"
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
My little brother is back in Ontario visiting for the week. To celebrate, my parents hosted an 'open house' where neighbors, friends and family got together and we all had a chance to catch up.
We also ate.
Actually, given the way I was eating, I'm not sure if anyone else even had the chance to eat.
I was a glutton. I'm not sure why, but I think I subconsciously decided to either start training to be a professional eater, or was just trying to see if I could make my stomach explode.
It was THAT bad.
Personally, between you and me, I blame my sister-in-law-to-be's Xmas cookies. They are amazing, and they are what caused me to "break the seal".
To use lingo from my alma mater (the University of Guelph) - I crushed it.
Xmas cookies, walker's chocolates, muffins, some AMAZING meat balls (thanks Mom!), more muffins, more Xmas cookies, pastry, even more cookies....and a stick of celery ;)
It wasn't until my stomach actually started to hurt and BEGGED ME TO STOP that I realized I had gone WAAAAY overboard.
But this is what happens when you hit the holiday season. You over eat and when you do, there is a chance you overeat BIG TIME.
But here's some interesting info for you: At the height of my stomach busting gluttony, about 1 hour after my eating frenzy, I tested by blood sugar.
5.5 mmol/L (about 100 mg/dL)
Average.
Not even postprandial (the amount you would expect from an average person after an average meal).
Thank you 2 years of fasting and weight training.
I ate sugary cookies and pastries until I could barely keep my eyes open and still had a normal blood sugar reading.
Here is another great thing I want to share with you. On the drive home, I obviously knew I had overate, but I also knew it wasn't a big deal.
I knew I wasn't going to wake up 5 pounds heavier on Monday (I checked this morning..just to make sure)
And since I knew I could fast twice this week I still had everything under control.
So here's my point - We all mess up. And chances are if it's gonna happen, it's going to happen during the holidays. Yes I could have been a little better, but (AND HERE IS THE IMPORTANT PART) there is no need to stress out.
Devoting your entire life to losing fat and not taking time off to enjoy the cookies every once in while is a recipe for a very boring life.
Don't let your quest for weight loss get in the way of what truly counts.
Food, family and friends.
BP
PS - Freedom comes from knowing that you CAN eat less. That your metabolism won't slow down and you won't lose muscle just because you decided not to eat for 24 hours.
One of the best things about Eat Stop Eat is that it allows you to really take control of how you eat.
After all, once you have gone without food for 24 hours a couple of times, you really start to get a feel for the real reasons behind why you eat, what you eat and when you eat.
Often times, hunger isn't one of these reasons. Habit and emotional connection are usually the culprit.
If you take this new found wisdom, you can create a big difference in the way you eat by making SMALL changes.
Take coffee for instance.
One of the first things I noticed when I started fasting was how much I loved my coffee with cream and sugar (I put up with black coffee during my fasts, but I DEFINITELY don't like it)
Fasting also made me realize just how often I craved coffee...typically drinking 2-3 cups per day.
I realized very quickly that this was the perfect opportunity to make SMALL CHANGES for BIG RESULTS.
My typical coffee was (at the time) was an extra large with two cream, two sugar - which contains about 280 calories.
I slowly weaned myself down to a large coffee with 1 sugar and 1 cream, which contained about 110 calories.
After about a week of drinking large coffees with 1 sugar and 1 cream I realized I wasn't enjoying my coffee nearly as much as I used to, so I switched to 2 cream, 1 sugar..about 180 calories.
This did the trick.
So, thanks to one small change I reduced my coffee calorie intake by 100 Calories, 2 to 3 times per day, saving myself between 1,400 to 2,100 Calories per week without cutting out any of my favorite foods.
In my opinion this is much better than simply trying to stop drinking coffee all together. After all, I enjoy my coffee, so this would have been punishment, and weight loss and eating healthy should NEVER be about self-punishment. Plus, I know that I would have lasted about 3 days without coffee before going back to my old habits, so it would have been futile punishment at that.
Small changes, big results.
BP
PS- the other day I tried a coffee with 2 cream, 2 sugar (for old time's sake)..I can honestly tell you I like my coffee with 2 cream 1 sugar better!
My appearance on the Morning Show with Mike and Juliet has helped rid me of my camera shyness...and as result I am going to start answering the most popular Eat Stop Eat questions with Videos.
You can check out my first two videos here:
Can you drink Juice while following Eat Stop Eat: Juice Fasting
What can you drink while following Eat Stop Eat: Water Fasting
How to schedule your fasts: How to Stop Eating
What I think of the BMI: BMI (body mass index)
More QnA's to come.
BP
There is a very large difference between Eat Stop Eat and some other forms of strict fasting - Namely with Eat Stop Eat you are allowed (and encouraged) to drink fluids during the fasting periods.
This makes Eat Stop Eat a form of water fasting, but you are allowed to drink more than just water. I list of a bunch of different options in the video below.
BP
I’m back home after a whirlwind trip down to New York City to film a spot on the Morning Show with Mike and Juliet.
From my experience this was a win. Not a giant win, but a small significant one.
After all, the point of my appearance on that show wasn’t to win the approval of a dietitian and a medical doctor (It's not like this was a scientific debate), and I fully expected them to be skeptical….(after all, they got to hear a 30 second hyped up montage, me talk for about 1 minute and then were asked to give an opinion.)
Instead, my plan was to expose a large audience of people to a style of eating that can help them lose weight, and to help them understand that this method is incredibly simple and effective.
No supplements, no phases, no stress, no guilt, no unhealthy obsession with 'eating clean', just a simple way to eat less while enjoying the foods you eat.
Given the time I had, I think I did a fairly good job.
OK, so now lets get to the good stuff, here is the behind the scenes info:
First, let’s start with the evil dietitian and the mean medical Doctor – They were actually both super nice, open minded women. I kid you not! Off the air they were both very likable people.
And, Dr. London is no stranger to the weight room, that lady had some muscle!
As for their on-air personalities and their concerns about Eat Stop Eat, well we’ve all heard them before. “Your metabolism will slow down and you will lose muscle.”...nothing new here.
I knew this was what they were going to say, after all, I thought the EXACT SAME THING before I went back to school.
And as I said before, my goal wasn’t to convince these two people that I was right and they were wrong…because you simply can't change a person's way of thinking in only 30 seconds.
But just for the sake of argument and to show that I'm not just cherry picking one random unnamed, unreferenced study... here is a snapshot of just a few of the papers that I review in Eat Stop Eat that show that your metabolism does NOT slow down and that you do NOT lose muscle:
Occasionally I get email from people who have difficulties with there fasts.
Fasting is like every other aspect of your life. You are going to have easy fasts and you are going to have days that are a little tougher.
But here is the beauty of flexible intermittent fasting - you can tailor your fasts to your own individual needs.
For instance, let's say..you tend to get hungry around 16 hours into your fast. In this scenario I would suggest a 11 am to 11 am fast.
This way you are asleep at the 17 hour mark (around 4 AM), and by the time you do get up, you only have a couple of hours left in your fast.
Another example is when people have problems eating too much after their fasts.
In this scenario you could use later start and stop times, such as 9 pm to 9 pm. This way, once your fast is completed you only have 2 or 3 hours before it's time for bed..which means less time for eating.
By tailoring your fasts to your own personal needs you can guarantee weight loss success with as little effort as possible.
BP
===
Hi Brad,
I just wanted to give you some feedback on the fasting suggestions you gave me the other day. The noon to noon fast is perfect for me!
I even did an intense weight training session and had SO much energy that evening and the following day. It's helped to keep my blood sugar levels more stable when I'm not fasting too.
I've realised that I actually feel better when I'm fasting, and you can see the changes in my body already! My mum told me last night that my abs were amazing! Always room for improvements though. So given all of that I can't wait for my next fast tomorrow.
Thanks again Brad.
Amy x))
...what would be the joker?
Batman has the Joker
He-man has Skeletor
Superman has Lex Luthor
Every hero has his or her villain, and in comics and make-believe land, the villain is always the exact antithesis of the hero.
So why the sudden hero/villain revelation? Well I finally had the pleasure of finally seeing the latest Batman movie. It was as good as everyone says it is, and Heath Ledger was an amazing Joker. In fact, I would say that he was one of the best villains ever in a
movie.
I'd put him right up there with Darth Vader.
But this post isn't about villains, rather it's about the idea of an antithesis - A direct opposite.
And in this example...Eat Stop Eat is the good guy. After all it is an incredibly easy way to lose weight, this we know. But, what would it's antithesis be?
What would be the Joker to Eat Stop Eat's Batman?
In Eat Stop Eat I recommend a form of flexible intermittent fasting where you eat normally on the days you are eating, and you include a 24 hour fast once or twice a week. This very simple style of eating has helped thousands of people lose weight.
Interestingly, it is the EXACT ANTITHESIS of Eat Stop Eat that probably made many of these people overweight to begin with.
Think about what the antithesis of flexible intermittent fasting would be ==> Eat normally for most of the week but then once or twice a week, over-eat by a fair amount.
As an example, a person would eat normally for almost the whole week, except on Monday during an unexpected lunch meeting there would be an additional 1,500 calories from a soup and sandwich combo maybe a glass of wine or a beer with the meal, and a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant for dessert.
This small overshoot doesn't seem like much...and for the rest of the week this person would eat very well, but then on Saturday there would be an extra 2,500 Calories from 3 slices of pizza, 2 beers and some nachos.
But other than these two dietary indiscretions, eating would be normal.
This is the EXACT OPPOSITE of Eat Stop Eat, and it is how most people who are overweight eat.
Most people who are overweight actually eat very well MOST OF THE TIME. The only difference is a one or two minor slips ups per week.
Overeating once or twice per week can have absolutely devastating weight gain effects. Fasting once or twice per week can have absolutely remarkable weight loss effects.
Eat Stop Eat is the easiest way to make this dramatic transition from weight gain to weight loss, and oddly enough it is the EXACT OPPOSITE of how most people eat.
If you don't like the way you look, perhaps it's time you tried a completely opposite approach.
BP
I had a sudden urge to clean out my desk today, and while going through some of my old notebooks I found a page that had all my measurements from February of 2005.
The awesome things about measurements is that they don't lie.
With pictures, the right light, the right angles and BAM! you are a supermodel or shredded bodybuilder.
With the wrong lights it's a whole different story.
With measurements there is a lot less variability. They are a lot harder to fake, and they typically aren't as affected by happenstance.
The interesting thing is that 2005 is almost 2 full years before I started fasting.
So I can compare my measurements today with my measurements from 2005 and get an idea of what almost 2 years of fasting has done to my body.
in 2005 my right thigh measurements were:
4 inches above the top of the knee = 18 inches
6 inches above the top of the knee = 20.25 inches
10 inches above the top of the knee = 22.5 inches
My right arm (flexed) = 16 inches
My chest = 42.5 inches
My waist = 35 inches
My shoulder circumference = 47.5 inches
These are my current measurements as of September 25th 2008
4 inches above the top of the knee = 18 inches
6 inches above the top of the knee = 22.5 inches
10 inches above the top of the knee = 23.75 inches
My right arm (flexed) = 16 inches
My chest = 42 inches
My waist = 32.5
My shoulder circumference = 49 inches
(****I don't have my weight from back in 2005, however I know my wedding was in 2005 and that I had started to diet for my wedding by February...so I'm guessing I was under 200 pounds...probably about 15-20 pounds heavier than I am now.)
So what has fasting done to me?
My legs are bigger, but my waist is smaller. This is a good sign.
My arms are the same size which makes sense since I don't train them too often and I'm happy with a 16 inch arm.
My chest is a half inch smaller which also makes sense since I don't train my chest as often or with as much weight as I did back in '05.
I was really happy to see that my shoulder circumference has increased, since over the last two years the majority of my upper body work has been centered around increasing the size of my shoulders.
So, after almost two years of fasting once or twice a week, my waist is smaller, but everything else has either stayed the same or even increased in circumference.
Combine these results with my pictures (you can see them HERE) and I am confident in saying that after two years of following the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle I have lost fat, and gained muscle.
BP
I just read an interesting report from the Sunday Herald Newspaper (an Australian paper) that said that the practice of alternate day fasting is starting to become very popular.
Alternate day fasting (or traditional intermittent fasting) is where you fast every other day.
This a much stricter form of fasting than the flexible intermittent fasting that is used with the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle - where you fast once or twice per week.
I like alternate day fasting, but I still prefer flexible intermittent fasting because it's more flexible (I know, I know..that was obvious).
It's my opinion that flexibility is the key to a diet's longevity. And the longer you can stay on a diet, the better it will work for you.
Either way, it's good to see this eating style finally getting some media exposure.
Interestingly this article states that some Hollywood celebrities have followed versions of intermittent fasting, including Liv Tyler, Ben Affleck and model Christie Turlington.
If you know any Celeb's that are following Eat Stop Eat...please let me know ;)
BP
My congratulations go out to Catherine who lost 5 inches off of her waist and 2.5 inches off of her thighs on her way to winning the 2008 Turbulence Training Transformation contest!
Through hard work, a responsible diet and a little help from Eat Stop Eat, Catherine made a dramatic transformation.
In fact, when I first saw her before and afters, I thought they were pics of a mother and daughter!
Do you every have someone totally surprise you by saying something completely unexpected?
Well this happened to me the other day.
I needed a break from a project I was working on. But since I was under some very tight time constraints, the best I could to was go for a quick change of scenery and take a trip to the Starbuck's down the road.
Now the Baristas at this particular Starbuck's know me pretty well, except for the fact that they all think I'm a college prof, (I guess that beats trying to explain to them what I really do for a living)
Anyways, this particular day, as my barista handed me my tall Americano, she happened to glance down at the paper I was reading then looked up at me and said, "Do you teach math?"
Confused I asked her "why would you ask that?"
She pointed to my paper and said, "your reading about the Pareto principle, the rule of the vital few"
I answer: "uh, yeah, I guess I am...it's for a paper I'm working on"
She just smiled and handed me my coffee.
Either way, it was a response I wasn't expecting, however it was an enjoyable change from the typical small talk you usually get during a customer-employee interaction.
Long story short, this conversation got me to thinking about the Pareto principle.
The Pareto principle basically states that for many things in life, 80% of the your results come from 20% of your actions. And the remaining 80% of your actions only get you're the other 20% of your results.
The Pareto principle teaches us to concentrate on those small actions that get us the biggest results.
So it was in a Starbucks that I realized Eat Stop Eat follows the pareto principle - funny how that works.
If you are fasting once every 5 or so days then you could say that 80% of your fat loss results come from the 20% of the time that you spend fasting.
So 80% of your weight loss results come as a result of your fasting.
The important thing to remember is this: Even though the other 80% of the time (when you are eating normally) only contributes 20%, it still does contributes.
And if you are you trying to get into TOP PHYSICAL condition then that 20% can make a BIG difference.
So while the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle makes weight loss very easy, and allows you A LOT of freedom when it comes to what you can eat on your eating days, for optimal weight loss, you should still try to eat responsibly.
Eat less and enjoy the foods you eat. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, and lots of herbs and spices. And maybe most importantly, spend less time stressing over the types of food you are eating.
Combining this approach with the Eat Stop Eat philosophy of flexible intermittent fasting and weight training and you will be guaranteed impressive weight loss results.
BP
Here's a sneak peak at the content in the Eat Stop Eat Advanced Audio files...
I've had a busy last couple days spending some fairly long hours in my office working on a new Eat Stop Eat project (more on the project later).
You may have noticed I wrote 'office'
For last several months I've been working in a shared office for a couple of days per week.
With Brier now walking, I find my house somewhat distracting. It's not that she's getting into trouble, rather my self-discipline seems to go out the window whenever I hear here laughing (which she's doing about 90% of the time she's awake).
Let's see...analyze more research....or...play with Brier...easy decision ;)
So I am getting a lot more work done these days, but I also feel the pain of working in a shared office.
For instance, today someone brought in a 3 pound bag of trail mix...the kind with raisins, peanuts, cashews, almonds...AND M&M's!
The best part is, there are ONLY 3 OF US IN THE OFFICE!
So I had an open THREE POUND bag of trail mix within my line of vision for an entire day.
Stay strong Brad, stay strong.
Now you know that I'm a big fan of not stressing about what I eat, and I love my treats, but it has to be within reason.
After all, Eat Stop Eat works amazingly well, but I will be the first to admit that the way the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle works is by allowing you to maintain a caloric deficit in a very simple and easy fashion.
If you were to stuff yourself with something like Trail mix on a daily basis, to the point where you are no longer in a caloric deficit... well then, unfortunately it is no more weight loss for you!
Which brings me to the point of my email.
Have you ever wondered how much you should be eating when you are not fasting?
There's an easy way to figure this out.
Take two weeks off from fasting. During these two weeks, try to eat the way you would normally eat. Keep working out exactly the way you usually workout.
3 days after your last fast, weigh yourself. Five days later weigh yourself again. Five days after than weigh your self again. Then finally weigh yourself one last time. If you weight significantly
increased** during these two weeks, then you are eating too much.
**(Significant meaning more than the simply 2-3 pound fluctuation we all see on a daily basis)
If you weight stayed the same, you are eating perfectly.
If your weight continued to go down, then depending on yours goals you may be able to eat more on the days you are not fasting, and still lose weight.
The bottom line is that the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle is a simple and easy way to lose weight and maintain muscle, because it is a great way to eat less.
In my opinion it is this simplicity that makes the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle better than any other diet program.
However, there is no magic to fasting,you CAN undo the effects by eating too much.
Eat less, but enjoy the foods you eat. You don't have to stress about what you are eating, but while you are following the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle eating responsibly will always get you the best results.
BP
I received an email the other day that asked me to comment on a recent article about fasting and toxin removal.
Toxins and toxin removal are a fairly hot topic right now, and they are also something that I admittedly know very little about.
Truth be told, I would never consider myself an expert on the toxin removal side of fasting.
However, this particular article was attempting to use some scientific principles to prove that fasting for only one day is not beneficial, and that you need to fast for long periods of time to get a 'cleansing effect'.
So while I really don't understand the idea of "cleansing", I would like to comment on the scientific rational in this particular article.
Here are the basic arguments of this article:
1. Your body begins to eliminate large quantities of toxins only after it begins to burn your fat reserves at a rapid rate.
It's my birthday today! It’s true, today I turned the big 3 - 1
A lot has changed for me in the last ten years, and I'm not just talking about growing up and starting a family (after all, most people would argue that I've only actually done ONE of these things).
Some of the biggest changes have been in my approach to nutrition, exercise and my definition of health.
I took some time to compare my approach at 21 to my approach now, and I was shocked at the difference. Surprisingly, one of the biggest differences is that I actually feel better now than I did when I was 21!
I’m just as strong as I was over a decade ago, and I may even be a little leaner. And, I definitely have A LOT more energy.
When I was 21, I worked very hard to keep my body fat down around 14-15% while weighing around 185 pounds.
(at 21 working out was my life...it was almost all I ever thought about - I spent months dieting for this photo...and yes, I'm posing like a bodybuilder wannabe)
Nowadays I’m a little lighter (around 176 pounds), and I’m also a little leaner - usually around 10-11% body fat.
About a week a go I received an email from someone who had just bought Eat Stop Eat and was a little unimpressed by the 29.95 dollar price tag.
I knew that once this person had read Eat Stop Eat they would see the value in the book.
Judging by the last email I received, I think I was right...
I tip my hat to you and apologize big time for griping about the price of your book in eBook form.
So as I'm prying egg off my face, and frying up a bit of crow, let me say THANK YOU. Finally, somebody that tells the truth logically, without gimmicks and additional monthly charges or add-ons.
I'm a Registered Nurse and I didn't know this stuff! But I do know how the money-making eat-more marketing machine works and you've just pulled the plug on them! Congratulations!
Eat Stop Eat has worked quickly for me and I feel great. Your book is well worth the price...plus.
I'll keep you posted on my weight loss and health improvement. I've got about 30 pounds to go!
Frances
P.S. Also, just to give you an idea of some of the current trends, as I was searching "lose belly fat" I found a tea that cost over $59 a month; Weight Watchers, for the full-blown online service is $60 a month; and any number of "pills" cost $60 to $80 a month.
With that in mind and the baloney they sell, I hope you blow them out of the water and become a multi-millionaire...if you're not already one.
I thought today I would share some of the latest emails I have received about Eat Stop Eat. I typically end up answering about 20-30 per day, so these are just a random 'sampling'
____________________________________________________________________
Brad -
Eat Stop Eat is expensive. I am having to buy smaller clothes every 4 weeks. :)
I am down 15lbs since February. My weight loss and being healthier rules are simple.
Follow Eat Stop Eat.
Eat healthier.
Workout full body 15 to 30 minutes per day.
The weight Just seems to be melting off. Thirty more pounds and I will be lighter
than I have been in 10 years. That is my goal for end of year!
Thanks!
David
Hi David,____________________________________________________________
Thanks for the great email! And, congratulations on the great success to date.
I love that you've got the Eat Stop Eat philosophy nailed down so perfectly.
I can't wait for you to hit your goal!
Brad
____________________________________________________________________
Hi Claudia,
It is nice to meet you and thank you for the email.
If you stop fasting all together and go right back to your old way of eating, you will eventually gain weight, until you hit the weight that your old amount of eating supports.
I know it is depressing, but each an everyone of us has our own internal balance, where a certain amount of food will make us weigh a certain amount. If you increase or decrease the amount of food you eat, then you will either gain or lose weight.
This is why most people use eat stop eat twice per week to lose weight, then once per week to maintain their new weight, while still being able to enjoy great tasting foods.
Both my wife and I have been following this lifestyle for almost 2 years now, and I can tell you there is a great sense of relief knowing that I can have cake for father's day, and not worry about putting on weight, because I know that when I fast on Tuesday it will all "even out".
I hope this answer helps,
Brad
Hi Cami,____________________________________________________________________
I hope your first fast went well!
Great timing with your question. I just finished reading a paper titled "Effect of fasting on young adults who have symptoms of hypoglycemia in the absence of frequent meals".
In this paper the researchers found that in a group of healthy young subjects a 24 hour fast did not cause blood sugar to dip below 3.5 mmol/L. Meaning that during the entire fast, blood sugar slowly lowered itself, but remained at normal non-hypolgycemic levels.
Here are some examples of a similar experiment that I conducted on myself..
http://nutritionhelp.blogspot.com/2008/01/fasting-and-exercise.html
http://nutritionhelp.blogspot.com/2008/01/fasting-for-weight-loss-and.html
I also just recently reviewed a paper on glucose metabolism that was examining subjects who had a history of what they considered to be hypoglycemic episodes. During the study these subjects never had any periods of documented hypoglycemia, even when the supposed symptoms of hypoglycemia were present. The researchers concluded that they felt the symptoms were related to anxiety over not eating, as opposed to hypoglycemia.
I hope this answer helps.
Brad
____________________________________________________________________
Hi Jennifer,
Its great to hear from you again. Your pictures blew me away! you've done such an amazing job. I don't think you are 'getting' visible abs, you definitely HAVE visible abs.
WOW!
It is emails like this that make all the work worth while..thank you so much.
Brad
(I wish I could share the pictures with you, but I don’t think that would be fair to Jennifer)
Looking back at last week I can definetley tell you that I got what I deserved.
Instead of taking my own advice, I rationalized my way into doing something very, very foolish.
I spent this week traveling. Not normal 'business-style' travel, but a very rare family trip to visit my little brother (he's two inches taller then me, but I'm older so he's still 'little brother').
This trip included my parents, my wife and my little girl. Since I was traveling with a larger group than I am used to, I somehow concluded that it would be easier for me NOT to fast during my trip.
I can't exactly recall my reasoning, but it was good enough to somehow self-talk myself into dong something I knew I would regret.
I have always been an advocate of planning my fasts around my flight times. By doing this I avoid paying for overpriced junk food while waiting for my flight, then paying for overpriced processed food on the plane.
But for some reason, for this trip I decided to ignore my own advice.
Bad idea.
My 5:30 PM flight was delayed until 7:30 PM. To make matters worse, we arrived at the airport way ahead of schedule, figuring we would need some extra time since we were traveling with an 11 month old baby.
After an hour of sitting around my gate, it began.
I walked down to Starbucks and ordered a tall Americano and a slice of Banana Loaf.
(MISTAKE NUMBER ONE- One slice of banana loaf from Starbucks contains over 420 Calories. Add in the Americano with a little bit of cream and that was a 500 Calories "snack").
After my coffee break I strolled my daughter around the terminal, doing several laps as she pointed with delight at every other baby in the airport.
When I returned to my gate I found that my father and my wife had bought some Twizzlers Licorice.
This really bothered me.
I have had tremendous success maintaining a fairly lean body by using a simple combination of eating sensibly and fasting once or twice a week.
My wife on the other hand, has lost all her baby weight and is now ten pounds lighter then she was before she became pregnant. She accomplished this through a combination of fasting once or twice a week and sensible eating. Only for her sensible eating includes twizzlers, dairy queen Blizzards and chocolate.
To say I am a little envious of her ability to eat anything she wants and still lose weight while fasting would be a gross understatement.
So, after watching my father and my wife split a bag of twizzlers, I tried to ignore sweet tooth by playing "airplane" with my daughter, but after about 15 minutes, I cracked and went to the store and bought a small bag of very over priced cashews.
(MISTAKE NUMBER 2 - While considered 'healthy' nuts are another hidden calorie bomb. The three ounces I ate contained another 500 calories)
At 7 PM, protein guilt started to kick in.
What's 'protein guilt' you ask?
Protein guilt is the term I coined for when you convince yourself you need to eat some food because you have not eaten enough protein that day.
It is an Obsessive Compuslive Eating habit that I should have been able to identify as soon as it happened, but for whatever reason, on this particular day I fell for this little OCE mind game. A large Chocolate Milk was my protein fix.
(MISTAKE NUMBER 3 - Chocolate milk doesn't contain any more protein than normal milk. What it does have is over 200 more Calories. Plus, considering my breakfast, plus the cashews I easily had eaten around 70 grams of protein already that day so I definitely did not need the extra milk)
So, by the end of the day, I let the Airport rob me of 15 dollars, and let some poor nutrition choices add 1300 Calories to my daily intake during a 4 hour stay at the airport.
lesson learned. When you are in high traffic areas where the food choices are limited and the food marketing is severe, pack your own food, avoid protein guilt and foods with high calorie contents, or best case scenario, fast during your trips.
BP
PS- I think the airport is a perfect example of why Eat Stop Eat works so well. The idea of simply flipping the switch to "off" makes resisting temptation a lot easier then lowering the amount of food you eat. It makes the decision making process incredibly simple.
PPS- Craig Ballantyne is starting his second Turbulence Training Transformation Contest very soon, and I'm proud to say his first ever winner used Eat Stop Eat as part of her winning plan. You can read her story HERE
Posts
All Comments
