This is something i overheard recently and its something i use to say to myself all the time when i struggled with losing weight

How have i gained all this weight!?

The truth is, you know

Deep deep down, you know you just don’t want to admit it because it feels awful

I have been there, i really do understand

However, until you really sit yourself down and have a good old chat with yourself and admit things need to change, you will continue with lying to yourself

I remember it well and in all honesty, i still battle now even with having the nutritional knowledge i have and my PT Qualifications.

Its far easier to lie to ourselves and keep the truth from ourselves and ignore things are even happening than to face upto them

However for me, i couldn’t continue feeling the way i did.

A bad knee injury led me to over eating and not exercising, after all, i couldn’t exercise as i had had major surgery on my knee

Lies lies lies!

I could have done some walking, i could have done some upper body work

Instead, i chose to sit on my back side in my desk job and at night and eat

Not only that

I became so unhappy i would avoid social occasions because friends would pat my stomach and make remarks about how i was putting on weight

But i have a knee injury i would say

I would get home and feel awful day after day

One day i was put in contact with a bootcamp instructor and that all changed

The biggest change for me was writing down what i ate each day

I honestly could not believe it

here it it for you all broken down

Now, the average male should eat 2500 calories and the average female 2000

Please note, these are ball part figures, everyone’s nutrition really is down to their individual needs, how active they are daily, how often they train etc but lets use these figures for arguments sake

So my day use to look something like this

Breakfast – 1 big bowl of Weetos (man  love weetos!) these are supposed to be eaten in 30g servings

I was having around 90g (have you ever seen 30g of cereal, its not a lot!)

Breakfast with semi skimmed milk came in at 500 calories

Mid morning i would visit the work shop, after all it was only down 1 flight of stairs and i could get a lift because of my knee

I would have 1 can of coke, a bag of mini cheddars and a mars bar – Another 531 calories in total

Lunch back then would have been a sandwich from a sandwich shop (usually a boots meal deal)

So bag of crisps, sandwich (triple sandwich to get my moneys worth from the meal deal) and a bottle of coke – A staggering 812 calories!

Now, i use to get an awful slump around 3pm, i literally could have slept it was that bad but i would push on until dinner time to eat again (sometimes i would visit the work shop again!)

Dinner for me would have been something quick and easy i could shove in the oven

Chicken Burger (in a roll with some mayo) and Oven Chips – Another 624 Calories(this does not include the mayo)

Now back then i would always get the munchies whilst watching TV and i was a sucker for Ice Cream!

Its only a little bit of ice cream and i deserved to treat myself – add another 536 calories just from the ice cream!

Now being honest, i use to pick at biscuits whilst eating dinner and sometime dinner would be a takeaway, fish and chips or pizza or something so probably came in higher.

Now let alone the fact there is no fruit, veg or much goodness there and i was not very active

THE CALORIES ALONE ADD UP TO 3007!

Do that every day and by the end of the week you have put on roughly 1-2lbs in weight

For me this went on for about 2 years

I wet form very active to very inactive all down to a knee injury and then not taking responsibility for my actions.

On top of the poor food choices i was tired all the time, grumpy, fed up, had mood swings, bad stomach (will spare you the details) and had very low self esteem because of the way i looked. I was also always hungry! (well i thought i was)

I knew i was putting on weight but kept hiding it behind food

I was in a calorie surplus and this is why i was putting on weight and i was not tracking or planning my food, i was just rolling with it

Now a lot has happened since then and that was around 8 years ago

BUT

It all started with my accepting that things had to change

It took me about 8 different diets, shakes and pills and god knows what awful things i tried to finally invest some money into someone that could help me

I realised that i needed to invest in my future

It was not about the next 6-7 weeks, it was about the next 10.20,30 years!

I had to accept i could not continue the way i was

So come today and here is my planned day of eating

I am currently looking to drop a few lbs since a hard new year and some personal issues

My nutrition knowledge and calculations mean i can eat 2178 calories a day and be in a calorie deficit

You need to be in a calorie deficit in order to lose weight

You have to be tracking way you eat aswell so it takes out the guess work, you can use an app called myfitnesspal for this

Breakfast – 3 Turkey Sausages with 2 scrambled eggs cooked in 1 tsp olive oil – 445 Calories

Mid Morning and Mid Afternoon snack – Cookies and Cream Protein Shake – 232 Calories Total

Lunch – Wholemeal Wrap with 1 tsp of cashew butter spread on and 150g chicken breast – 407 calories

Dinner – Sirloin Steak served with sweet potato chips, carrots, peas and corn on the cob – 689 calories

I have even factored in a kit kat chunky tonight – 247 calories

Now, this is not a perfect day for me as i would normally eat more veg however im on the run a lot so lunch has to be quick and also my snacks hence the protein shakes however

Im full from breakfast, i ate that at 8.30am with a coffee and wont have my protein shake until 12 and then lunch at 3pm, shake again at 6pm and dinner at 8.30pm followed by my treat

Total Calories for the day – 2020 so im under my daily amount

No afternoon blood sugar dips, im full of energy, satisfied as my protein content is high and my carbs are managed (my diet before was way over in carbs) and im happy as im tracking my day, i even have the next 2-3 days planned out.

No guesswork, its all down to the calorific value of my food.

Big difference hey?

So why had i put on all that weight?

I WAS OVEREATING IN A BIG WAY CONSISTENTLY

How did i lose the weight?

I STARTED TO MONITOR MY FOOD INTAKE, INCREASED MY PROTEIN CONTENT TO KEEP ME FULLER, CUT DOWN MY CARBS AND STUCK TO MY CALCULATED DAILY CALORIES FOR WEIGHT LOSS.

Add in the fact i go to the gym 3 times a week, i walk my children to school every morning and im on the go a lot more than i use to be

I HAVE A BETTER LIFESTYLE

IM HAPPIER AND I FEEL IN CONTROL

If i choose to have a day of eating crap, my body pays for it but im fully aware that its down to me and my choices

If you genuinely dont understand why you are putting on weight or are confused by your own nutrition, reach out and contact me on the email address below

Its what we do every day of the week and we can take the guess work out for you

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR CURRENT SITUATION

WRITE DOWN YOUR FOOD INTAKE OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS AND READ IT BACK AND SEE WHERE YOU MIGHT BE GOING WRONG

I hope by seeing my difference in lifestyles you can start to accept yours

Remember, nobody is perfect and nobody is asking you to be but by accepting your situation you are in a position to change it, by not accepting it you will continue to live in denial

Ross
Live Young Fitness and Nutrition
Email – ross@liveyoungbootcamp.co.uk