Chris Powell's Choose More, Lose More for Life (48 page)
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Authors: Chris Powell
Tags: #Health & Fitness / Diet & Nutrition / Weight Loss, #Self-Help / Motivational & Inspirational, #Health & Fitness / Exercise
Preparing your food in bulk,
hours or days ahead
of when you’ll be eating it, helps guarantee your carb-cycling success! To maintain your weight-loss lifestyle, you have to eat the right foods at the right time of day, starting with breakfast within thirty minutes of getting up and then eating every three hours, for a total of five meals a day.
Most of us can’t prepare our food every three hours, so to make sure you eat right, you’ve got to have your meals
ready and waiting
. The best way to do this is to prepare several days’ worth of food a couple times a week. I recommend that you prep in bulk every three to four days—you won’t have to cook for the rest of the week! Right after you prepare it, portion your food into containers and refrigerate it. Prepping your food in bulk preps you for long-term success!
Are Before and After Pictures a Good Idea?
Yes! Pictures are
proof of your progress
and success—they can keep you going when you’re discouraged and they’re a great
reality check
when your body image gets distorted. With all the physical changes and emotional ups and downs you’re experiencing, your eyes will sometimes play tricks on you: What you see in the mirror is
not
reality. Here are five photo pointers:
- Remember that these pics are just for you! Nobody else has to see them unless you want to share.
- Take pictures no more than once a week. You can see your progress on a day-to-day basis, but when you line up your weekly pictures, you will be amazed by your transformation!
- This might be scary at first: Wear clothing that gives you a full view of your body, so you can really see where and how you’re transforming. Shorts (and for women, a sports bra) are a good bet.
- Snap photos from a few different angles—at least a front shot and a side/profile shot. Your body will be changing in a lot of different ways, and you don’t want to miss anything!
- Use your pics for daily motivation. Stick them up in places where your eyes frequently land. Inside your fridge, on your bathroom mirror, next to your bed, or at the bottom of a drawer you use a lot are all good spots. To really kick your butt, use them as your screen saver!
It’s
completely normal
for your weight loss to lag a little now and then. The Slingshot (see the FAQ above) takes care of this on a higher level, but on the daily level you can use some simple techniques to keep your carb cycling in top form:
Drink at least a gallon of water a day.
Make sure to eat breakfast every day, within thirty minutes of waking up.
Make sure to eat every three hours.
Watch your portions. Use the portioning and calorie chart in
Chapter 6
, “Feed Your Fire: The Recipes,” to bring your meals into line with carb-cycling requirements.
Keep an eye on your reward eating so you don’t overdo it. See Appendix C, “Reward Foods,” for sample calorie counts.
We all have cravings, and you’re going to run up against them while you’re transitioning to your new, healthy lifestyle. The key is to manage your cravings. A few tips:
Drink at least one tall glass of water when a craving starts. It’s easy to confuse thirst with hunger, so stay hydrated!
Chew sugar-free mint-flavored gum, eat a sugar-free breath mint, or put a dab of toothpaste on your tongue. The mint flavor suppresses your appetite so you can make it to the next meal without cheating.
Eat high-fiber foods and add volume to your meals with veggies galore! Fiber-rich food stays in your stomach and small intestine longer, keeping you full. This technique is especially effective early in the day: Eating plenty of fiber at breakfast helps suppress your appetite for the rest of the day.
On your low-carb days, when you’re more likely to crave carbs, have a little fat! Eat one tablespoon of your favorite healthy fat (e.g. almond butter), set your timer for fifteen minutes, and bam! Your sweet and salty cravings will disappear.
The fluctuating numbers that you see on your scale from day to day don’t reveal anything about your overall weight loss: Your body weight naturally varies because of water retention and flushing and other factors. As a gauge of your weight change, your scale will give you a meaningful number only every week or two. Weigh in only once a week to see an informative figure (see the chart on
here
for more information). We have a tendency to rely on our weight as a measure of our success, but other changes in your body are actually more accurate. See the next FAQ.
Not surprisingly, the first tool dieters turn to is their bathroom scale. It’s a great tool, but pounds aren’t the only measure of weight loss—and they don’t give you the whole picture. Some other signs that you’re on the right track toward losing weight are:
Clothing: The way your clothes fit is the
best
gauge of your progress.
Inches: Decreasing waist, hip, thigh, and neck dimensions show you
where
you’re slimming down.
Appetite: Your hunger level will fluctuate as you switch between high- and low-carb days because you’re getting more fuel (= less hunger) on high days and less fuel (= more hunger) on low days. Feeling your metabolic tank fill up and empty out is a sign that carb cycling’s doing what it should!
Cravings: On low-carb days, when your body’s getting few carbs, it’s natural to have more food cravings—
of course you want more calories!
Cravings aren’t as much of a problem on high-carb days—though they don’t totally disappear—because your body’s getting plenty of calories. Yes! You’re carb cycling!
Energy level: You’ll feel an energy surge on high-carb days and a drop in your energy level on low-carb days.
Mental clarity: On low-carb days you might be a little slower as your brain gets fewer carbs. This shows that your carb cycle’s in action.
Water retention and flushing: This is another reason
not
to rely only on the scale. Your weight is higher after high-carb days because your body is retaining water; on low-carb days the water will flush out and your weight will drop. Your numbers might go up four pounds one day and drop five pounds the next, rise two pounds then fall three pounds—you get the picture. What those numbers
really
prove is that your carb cycling is going well.
Body temperature: Lots of fuel on high-carb days makes your metabolism burn hot, and your temperature might rise slightly. You may find
yourself stripping the blankets off the bed. The opposite can happen on low-carb, low-fuel days. It’s your carb cycle at work!