All of the following information you are about to read comes from "Trim Healthy Mama" by Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison
This blog is not written word for word from their book but is a compilation of multiple chapters based on my own reading and understanding of what they are saying. I think that if you are reading this blog you should take the time to check out their book at AMAZON.COM and seriously consider purchasing it. I did and it's been a great source of information and learning as well as explaining why I have gained weight in the past by eating less or losing weight by eating more - IT'S HOW YOU EAT!
(They also have a facebook page you can join "Trim Healthy Mama")
Some of you wanted to know how to get rid of that stubborn belly fat that won't seem to come off.
Before telling you what to do I have a few questions for you first.
1. Have you lost over 30 pounds in the past few months / Has a large amount of weight come off quickly?
2. Even though the pounds on the scale aren't budging your clothes feel looser or are fitting better (you are working out as well as trying to eat cleaner, healthier).
3. You think you have "plateau d" based on the fact you haven't lost weight in the last week or two or your weight loss has slowed.
In chapter 12 of Trim Healthy Mama they cover different reasons for the pounds that are not melting off of your body. In chapter 28 they tell you how to lose that stubborn belly fat BUT they also go over some reasons why it may be staying on in the first place. It's usually not as simple as your body doesn't want to lose it, trust me, healthy bodies want to let go of belly fat because it's not good for them. The whole book outlines a lifestyle way of eating that will cause your body to burn its own fat as fuel after it's burned the fuel you consumed. They talk about the different diets and fads out there and really explain the good and the bad of each diet and why they don't work for lasting results in the end. In this book they teach how to eat "S - satisfying meals" and "E - energizing meals" to lose weight (with fuel pull meals for extra weight loss) and how to incorporate "crossover meals" to maintain your weight after you've reached your goal.
Their one rule is: NEVER INCLUDE LARGE AMOUNTS OF BOTH FATS AND CARBS IN THE SAME MEAL UNLESS YOU ARE TRYING TO GAIN OR MAINTAIN WEIGHT. DON'T TANDEM FUEL!
"Diets that tout ridiculously fast weight loss tax the adrenal glands and mess with your hormones. The catabolic hormone cortisol which comes from stress will start to pump through your body if you shed weight TOO FAST. After a while this high cortisol state will cause your weight to PLATEAU and your results will halt. You may have lost 40 pounds really fast but the remaining 20 pounds may become stubborn especially around your middle. This is because excessive cortisol, after it eats you up, will put on or keep weight in your mid section." (Right from the THM book)
You are going to want to seek a slow and steady rate of fat loss. Too fast of weight loss does not allow your skin to shrink in harmony with you're decreasing body shape. You may be able to get rid of some excess skin by lifting weights but you also don't want to look like Arnold in order to get rid of your excess skin problems either. If you lose too quickly and you are losing a large amount of weight you are guaranteed to have loose skin. Go slow, incorporate some cardio and weights and you are going to love the body you are creating.
Change ups are what keep your metabolism fired up. Switching between S and E fuel sources and occasionally adding a FUEL PULL keeps your metabolism hot and revved. Constantly consuming the same fuel over and over is a sure way to kill your slim figure.
Okay so here is what you've been slogging through the blog to read. The above information was supposed to get you thinking as to whether you really have plateau d, if you are losing too fast, or ready for this brief metabolism shake up. To find out more about S and E meals (as well as their 'relatives' please check out the Trim Healthy Mama book by either ordering the paper copy or purchasing the E-Book).
The cycle is a seven day process repeated once for a total of two weeks.
DAY 1 - Deep S This is a full day of exclusive S meals.
** The following information for DAY 1, 2 and 3 are applicable to all three days.
Do not use any S helpers.
Do not have any berries, fruit, grains or beans at all.
For the next 3 days do not consume any nuts, seeds, avocados or peanut butter.
You many have unsweetened almond milk or flax milk for smoothies.
Any carbohydrates you consume need to be leafy greens, or a few cooked, buttered, NON-STARCHY vegetables.
Be liberal with fats such as extra virgin coconut oil, and butter.
All meats and eggs are okay.
Use only home made dressings.
No Yogurt, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese or cream cheese can be consumed.
Do not use tomato based products - AT ALL.
Eat very few onions and no sweet peas as these veggies are more middle carb level.
Enjoy cheese in small amounts (raw cheese is best)
Whey Protein is welcome.
Page 433 and 434 have great meal ideas that will keep you full and satisfied during your "temporary tune up" you definitely DO NOT have to go hungry.
On this day you are flushing out excess glucose from your cells and switching to pure fat burning for fuel. Avoid all store-bought low-carb items! Adding lots of coconut oil will provide you with more energy and boost your thermogenic temperature. During these three S Fuel Days keep your focus on healthy meats, fish, eggs, fats, fresh salad and just a few cooked non-starchy veggies.
DAY 2 - Deep S
You may have a little real, unsweetened whip cream in your coffee if you would like.
Extra virgin coconut oil will accelerate weight loss and help keep your brain from fogginess as your glucose dips into a lower state.
DAY 3 - Deep S
You may cook with butter during these 3 days. You need to bathe your body in good fats as they are going to be non existent on the next part of this cycle.
Day 4 - The previous 3 days have depleted your muscle cells of glucose completely. Hopefully your body is now dipping into your adipose tissue and gnawing away at that. It's ok if it's not because we are about to ensure it does!
Starting at the day 4 mark you are going to strip all fat away to ensure that your body has nothing to fuel up on except its own fat. You'll only be eating these Fuel Pull meals for the next 2 days.
No nuts, butters, seeds, seed butters, nut butters etc. MAY USE 1 TSP OF OIL.
Eat a lot of Salad but only use vinegars, lemon juice and very small amounts of extra virgin olive oil (1 tsp max) for dressings.
Fill up on cooked, non starchy veggies. Try making fat free chicken soup or angel hair sliced cabbage with a chicken breast on top.
You may have konjac/glucomannan noodles with low fat sugar free marinara sauce and one TBSP of parmesan cheese on top.
Tomatoes are now welcome back on your menu for the rest of the week.
NO FRUIT for the next 2 days except berries.
NO grains, beans or starchy veggies.
You may have 0% Greek Yogurt for the rest of the week. Greek style yogurt is the only acceptable kind of yogurt for this week.
You may have 1% cottage cheese for the next two days but NO ricotta as it's higher in calories.
No MORE than 3 oz of lean meats per meal during the next 2 days. And no RED MEATS only white is in for the next 2 days. White meat is lower in fat and these 2 days are as close to fat free as possible.
You may also eat white fish and egg whites for the next two days.
Unsweetened almond milk or flax milk is okay and your coffee must be black for the next 2 days or have Unsweetened Almond Milk in it.
DAY 5 - Repeat day 4
If you feel as if you can't do this it's most likely because you don't have the THM book which includes recipes and meal ideas for this week. I don't think its fair for me to include them in this post as I think it's a great book to purchase and read and also a great family to invest in by buying the book. The E-Book version is cheaper than the paper version of the book but remember that it has over 600 pages to it and is also more than a recipe book or diet fad. They explain the why behind the theory and show you scientifically why foods work or don't work together. They have information about all the other BIG diets out there and explain why they seem to work but why they are not the best in the end or for the long term.
DAY 6 - The next two days are E days. You are going to force your body to burn a different type of fuel. NO SUGAR SPIKES OR CARB BINGES ladies!
Have lean protein with every snack and meal. This will ensure that there are no sugar spikes and enable your body to release glucagon along with insulin to temper its effect).
Chana dahl and quinoa are great. They are both good sources of slow burning carbohydrates.
Do NOT use more than 1 tsp of fat with any snack or meal.
Enjoy fruit if you wish but don't overdo it. Your liver only has a small storehouse for fructose.
No egg yolks. No full-fat cream or creamer. No goats milk either as it's high in fat.
Primarily whole foods are being promoted for this week.
Low fat cottage cheese, ricotta, low fat greek yogurt or regular yogurt, egg whites, chicken breast and fish may be utilized on day 6 and 7.
Day 7 - Same as day 6
Repeat the cycle starting at day one only once more. This week awakened your metabolism and if you have really stubborn weight you may need to complete this cycle twice more if you can stand it. HOWEVER, do not stay on this for longer as your body WILL become used to the lower calorie intake and lower your metabolism if you do. This is not a way of living, it's a boost for your metabolism to get it engaged in what it's supposed to be doing. Burning up its fuel sources of fat that need to come off in order for you to be healthy!
After you have done this cycle DO NOT GO BACK to your old way of eating. Free style the girls S and E way of eating and you won't ever go back to your old weight. It's a bit of a thought process at first as you most likely will NEVER have previously thought of eating this way. Once you get your head around it its easy and totally doable. If you adopt this way of eating don't start with this temporary tune up as you may feel discouraged and quit before you start. Begin with by free styling the S and E meals and you may find that your body begins to shed the pounds by itself without the aid of this tune up week.
Let me know how you make out and what you think! Thanks for challenging me to write this ladies, I hope you find it doable and encouraging. I also hope you look into purchasing the book as it's really helped me to clear up a lot of confusion about dieting, eating right and all of the fads out there. It's shown me the how to eat, the why of pairing up certain foods with others and which pairing to avoid. How to lose, gain or maintain weight in a natural and healthy way.
