The Need for a 'Re-Feed'

When you're either trying to lose weight, and most especially when you're trying to KEEP IT OFF, you still have to monitor your calories eaten v. calories burned every day of your life. If you want to manage your weight properly, there is simply no way around this, Folks! That's why I stress that old saying of mine 'Once on a diet, always on a diet.' A diet isn't as harsh as it may sound ... a diet is simply YOUR WAY OF EATING, or WHAT YOU EAT. It's as simple as that, really!

A 'good diet' or a 'bad diet' depends solely upon your food choices and weight management and fitness goals. Do you want to be FAT? Do you want to be THIN? Do you want to look like a body-builder? Do you want the lean body of a runner or gymnast? or the more bulky body of a weight-lifter or wrestler? or the strong, yet more fat-covered body of an Olympic swimmer? Perhaps you prefer the long, lean look of a dancer. Or perhaps, you're like me ... you want something more akin to all of the above ... the body of a strong, yet lean and mean FITNESS TRAINER, something akin to Jillian Michaels!

Whatever body you want to achieve is entirely up to YOU. Yes, you heard that right ... if you want a body type that seems out of reach, you can achieve it! You just might have to work harder to achieve it if the body type you want doesn't fit easily into your genetic pool.

For instance, if your body holds more fat on the hips and thighs, you might have difficulty sculpting your body into the long, lean appearance of a dancer. In order to keep from being emaciated on your upper body in order to lose the weight down at the bottom of your body, you will have to do something you didn't think you'd have to do ... EAT a little more and work out harder.

Eat more and work out harder? Yes. You have to give your body what it needs or it will begin eating itself ... not your fat stores, but your MUSCLE mass will be sacrificed! Muscle, despite popular belief, is what makes and keeps you looking fit and trim and helps your body burn calories more efficiently long-term, so long as you consistently build and challenge them into growth. That doesn't mean you have to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger!

By eating more, I mean reserving one day every couple of weeks (or depending upon your own body's calorie needs) for what I call a 'refeed day' where you eat anywhere between 200 to 500 extra calories ON THAT DAY ONLY. Then after that, you go back to your calorie deficit diet again. This will serve to JUMP START your metabolism and you might be pleasantly surprised at even a slight drop in your body fat!

But the key is NOT to get the idea that, just because this jump started your metabolism that you can simply begin eating that extra 200 to 500 calories every day or even every other day! You must STILL control those calories taken in or they will catch up to you!

If you ever find yourself fainting in the middle of the day between meals, you might have overestimated your calorie intake without realising it, or else your body is telling you that it's time to 're-feed.' In that instance, go out on the town with your friends and have a good, healthy lunch, being mindful of those calories, but allowing yourself an extra 100 at the lunch meal, and then maybe another extra 200 at dinner. Or even indulge in a small slice of that apple pie you've had a craving for, but have been putting off eating.

In this instance, IT'S OKAY TO EAT THAT FOOD! Just remember to go back to your usual way of eating the following day and continue with your normal controlled eating habits for a week or two before allowing another re-feed day.