Disordered Eating

 Disordered eating and Protein!

To me disordered eating is thinking that something is “bad”.

Nothing is bad to eat, just make sure that it fits into a balanced diet of fresh foods that contain as many micronutrients as you can get- the vitamins and minerals. These are the building blocks to our body.

However....if you’re heavily over weight these little teeny micronutrients are the LEAST of your worries! This post is for those that are out on a weight loss journey and currently under a carriage of promotion of all things FAD!! Weight loss supplements, tea, miracles, wraps... you need to shove that to one side because there really is nothing you can do other than create a negative energy balance to lose excess body fat, this is called being in a 'calorie deficit.

The Basics

As a starting point, if you are out to lose excess body fat you need to work out your daily calorie expendature without gym sessions/runs/classes you attend. This will be based on what you do for work and in your spare time.

A PE teacher will have a higher energy expendature day to day than an office worker... a builder will have a higher energy expendature day to day than a bus driver. The builder and the PE teacher therefore may not need to actually add in many fitness sessions on top of their normal days to reach a calorie deficit!

At the basic level for weight loss I always advise to just worry about being under the calorie limit and not sweating the small stuff such as vitamins, minerals etc. These DO have their place, but basic weight loss...there really is no need to be concerned over it. Once you've got the basics out of the way is when you can start to focus in on those bits.

TRACK your food- that’s even better then you know exactly what you’re eating and if you are ending the day in a big deficit there is room for a sweet treat if you want one. 😀👍 You never need to restrict things you enjoy this way!

What you need to also ensure though is that you hit a good protein target. It is so important that you do if you want to lose excess body fat- this is the bad stuff...! If you don’t hit protein target you’ve a high chance of digging into your muscle mass as it is the protein that helps to maintain this... you don’t want this!

Side note- exercise is NOT important for fat loss- it is the calorie deficit!!! Therefore if you exercise you burn more energy ...simply meaning that you can eat more 🤗🤗🤗 (so it can help in some way of course!)

If you want to build muscle to create the “toned” look though- you need to exercise, fact!

Putting a load on the muscle will make it adapt to the load- it will get stronger 💪 that’s why I exercise 😉

Exercise also makes you feel amazing- so I am in no way telling you not to exercise just letting you know - it’s not essential for fat loss- the stuff you put into your body is!

If you would like to learn more about this is detail jump onto my next 10 Week Challenge where you can set your own calorie and protein goals, create realistic targets and learn how to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle, including all the “stuff” you enjoy but may think are “bad”.