Things people ask me #1

Q - I've been doing CrossFit for a while now, why haven't I lost any weight?

Possible answers:

1 - You are overcompensating.  You think that by doing extra activity and high intensity training you can get away with eating whatever you like.  You can't.  If you are looking to lose a few pounds, you need to address your nutrition.  Cut the crap.  Eat clean.  Cut sugar.  Cut processed foods.  Stop drinking anything that isn't tea, coffee or water.

2 - You are eating clean but in the wrong quantities.  Eat 5 times as much veg as you think you should be eating.  Eat less fruit than you are.  Eat more fat.  Don't snack on nuts.  Eat bigger meals so you feel the need to snack less.  Eat more fat so you stay fuller for longer.

3 - You are kidding yourself.  You talk the talk but you don't walk the walk.  Keep an honest food diary for a week - photographing everything as you consume it is easier than writing it down.  But be honest  don't miss things off the list because you are ashamed!  Analyse the diary.  Look for sugar, processed food, drinks, anything that isn't clean and nutritious can go.

4 - You can't control the special occasions.  Everyday is wedding day, birthday, funeral day, girls' night out day, had a shit day, treat day...the 'normal' days are the ones that are few and far between. The days when you are up early, fully shopped and stocked, not too busy and ready to plan and prep are very rare.  You need to learn to manage the special occasions.  Saying no to alcohol, cakes etc is hard.  people make you feel bad.  They don't want to feel like they are being judged for their choices so they want you to be complicit in their alcohol fuelled cake binges.  Find clever ways to avoid these situations - eat before you go out, make clever choices in restaurants - replace chips with extra veg , choose the fish etc.

5 - You are still fooled by the low fat message.  If you avoid fat, you will be hungry.  You will make up for that by eating more calories.  Fact.  Eat a high fat breakfast - bullet proof coffee (black coffee with grassfed butter) eat whole eggs (at least 3) almond butter, coconut cream....prime your body to burn fat by consuming fat,  it tastes good, it keeps you full and it delays wrinkles!  people on low fat diets have more wrinkles!  What more incentive do you need?

6 - You need too many treats.  Treats are not a daily or even weekly thing.  They are a monthly thing. Stop baking paleo treats! Start enjoying food in its natural state and make a wonderful fruit salad or a gorgeous piece of steak your treats.  Make the people you spend meal times with the treat.  Make the not having to plan prepare, cook or wash up when you eat out the treat rather than a massive chocolate pudding!  Treat yourself by nourishing your body.  Food is neither reward nor punishment. See it as fuel and create treats that involve people or activities.

7 - You have built muscle.  Muscle weighs 3 times as much as fat.  However - you need to have tipped the balance of fat to muscle considerably for this to make a massive difference but it does make a difference.  Scrap your scales.  Looking for an arbitrary number on a scale is meaningless, especially if yo train regularly.  You're never going to see the magical number you think you want to see because it's nonsense.  Value your body for what it can do, not what it looks like and you will learn to love it, regardless of what it looks like.

Do as Maggie says and worry less about the kilos on you and more about the kilos on the bar!