This is a blog post written by Rowville Personal Trainer, Grant Lofthouse
I was in the Coles at Rowville Stud Park yesterday, and I overheard a conversation between a mother and daughter in the fruit section talking about how they shouldn’t eat bananas because they prevent weight loss.
Yup, bananas 🙁
I don’t know about you, but I have never heard anyone state bananas being the culprit for weight gain.
It got me thinking about my own food, and how I rarely share what I eat to stay in shape.
So here’s my personal 5 Foods/Drinks that I keep in my diet year round.
By the way, in order for them to make the list, they need to…
A) Support my goals (obviously)
B) Make me NOT feel like I’m on some crazy restrictive diet that is slowly ruining my life and making you a miserable person to be around.
If I keep these as priorities and acceptable options then weight loss and weight maintenance are much easier for me.
If I don’t keep these in check, then weight loss becomes difficult and I’m miserable, making me feel ‘restricted’ which usually ends with me breaking down after a week or two, since I miss eating the foods and having the drinks I like the most.
I’d like you to take some time and identify your 5 foods.
They can be any combination of foods you feel you ‘need’ while losing weight, and foods you ‘want’ in order to feel human (everything else on my list).
Once you have your list of 5 foods, here’s what you do next:
Tally up the calories that come from your 5 foods. Feel free to round up.
Next subtract these calories from your daily calorie goal.
So my ‘must haves’ come to around 1,000 calories. This means I have anywhere from 800 to 1,400 calories every day for other food. And remember, it’s not like I have pizza and chocolate every day, so sometimes this number is lower.
The bottom line is now I only have to worry about the ‘other foods’ I eat in a day. And it’s much easier to be good knowing that the foods I really want to have, I’m allowed to have. No feeling deprived.
Identifying your ‘must haves’ helps keep everything in perspective as you try to manage your weight. This is the process I also recommend to my Rowville personal training clients.
Try it out.
My personal 5 Foods/Drinks that I have to keep in my diet to remain sane…
1. Eggs.
– Inexpensive, quick and loaded in protein. Love em all kinds of ways for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
2. Beef.
– Specifically Oyster Blade Steak. Cooks great, and the best thing is it’s already cut up into great portion sizes.
3a. During winter
– Jarrah Classic Hot Chocolate. Only 47 calories and 2 grams of sugar per serve.
3b. During summer
– Diet coke. Yup.
4. Fruit.
– All kinds (even Bananas). Great portion sizes, easy to take anywhere, great source of carbohydrate and vitamins. Eat your damn fruit!
5. Dark Chocolate.
– I usually have a square of 85%+ dark chocolate after dinner. Besides the satisfaction, it queues me that dinner and eating is done for the evening. Tip: Aldi sell these great portion sizes ones that are individually wrapped.
Hope this gave you some clarity that you can still enjoy your favourite foods, and drinks in moderation as long as they keep you under a general daily calorie range for your optimal body weight and shape.
Add some good efficient exercise like we do at Strength Squad and you have the perfect recipe for slim down success.
Talk soon,
Grant
P.S: Whenever you’re ready… here are 3 ways I can help you with your weight loss and fitness goals:
1. Grab a free copy of my new book, The Fat Loss Cheat Sheet
It’s a easy to read book revealing the 5 systems you need to turn your body into a fat burning machine. – Click Here
2. Watch this for instant motivation
It’s an interview with one of my clients, Emma, who spills the beans on how she lost 8 kilos in 6 weeks from following our formula. If you want some fitness motivation – Click Here
3. Claim Your 2 Week Try Out
Come train at our private personal training facility, Strength Squad, on the house for the next 2 weeks and see what the fuss is all about. – Click Here