Since we all know the simple reality of weight-loss is eating fewer calories than you expend, it stands to reason the less you eat, the more you’ll lose, right?
Wrong.
The fact is, we know at our weight loss boot camp, that if you eat too little not only will your weight-loss slow down and perhaps stall entirely, but you’ll start losing weight from the places you really don’t want to lose it from. Our aim, remember, is to lose fat and gain, or at least preserve, muscle.
But it serves us well to remember our bodies are the result of millions of years of evolution, in which our ancestors were able to survive famine and starvation. You are the descendants of the ones who survived because their bodies had the slight “edge” needed.
And the upshot of that means your body is very efficient at hanging on to calories it needs when the incoming food-supply is cut below a certain level. What it means in practical terms is the weight you do lose will be muscle, not fat. Eventually you’ll start to cannibalise your internal organs – and that can cause permanent damage.
So if you’re tempted to skip meals in the mistaken belief that doing so will somehow accelerate your fat loss, you’re making a big mistake.
Here are just some of the ways you’re storing up trouble for yourself:
1. You’re going to make yourself very very hungry. Unless you’ve got super-human willpower, you’re going to break… and binge. You know as well as I do, that’s a vicious circle, because you’ll promise yourself “next time I’ll be stronger… and stricter to make up for that binge!”. We both know that doesn’t work.
2. You may slow your metabolism down, so instead of burning fat, it’s clinging onto it.
3. You can make yourself physically and psychologically ill. Starve/binge/starve behaviour is not healthy, not in any way.
Here’s my advice: if you’ve been really cutting back on your food and you’re getting frustrated because you think you’ve hit a weight-loss “plateau”, increase your food intake by about 20% for a couple of days before cutting it back by just 10% (meaning you’ll be eating about 10% more than you were before).
This can often get your metabolism back up to speed and burning that unwanted fat again!

One of the things I like to do periodically to keep
myself AND NuBeginings on track is spend some time there
as a Guest myself.

After all, I can’t expect anyone to do something I’m not
prepared to do myself, can I? And that’s where I’ve been
this past week at my own weight loss boot camp.

Good job, too: because something I’d started to lose focus on is Mindful
Eating.

You know how it is at most meal times: we sit down and
start eating, keeping a non-stop train of food going
from our plates to our mouths barely pausing to enjoy
one mouthful before having another one.

It’s an easy habit to get into and a hard one to
break… unless you can give yourself an easy helping
hand.

And that’s one thing we give you when you come to
NuBeginnings to stay: the Five Rules of Eating.

1. Drink water with your meal. Yes, the Nutritionists
might complain and say you’re “diluting your
stomach acids”, blah blah. It’s safe to ignore
them. The benefits far outweigh any negative
effect.

2. Chew your food properly. Don’t be obsessive about
this and count how many times you chew… but make
sure you chew enough so the food is properly
broken down to allow you to swallow it easily and
your stomach to digest it.

3. Put your cutlery down and let go of it between
each and every mouthful. This both slows down your
eating and encourages you to chew your food
properly. Slowing down is important: it gives your
body time to realise it’s being fed before you’ve
gone and over-eaten.

4. Listen to your body. It takes about 20 minutes for
the first few mouthfuls of the meal to start
making themselves known to your body by changes in
your blood chemistry (this is why we make you slow
down!). Be aware this signal is due and recognise
it when it arrives. Too often we just eat for
eating’s sake without really realising we’re not
actually hungry any more. It can help to have no
distractions at the table, too: no TV, magazines
or even interesting conversation!

5. Finally, leave something on your plate. It’s
giving your subconscious the message that it’s OK
to leave some food — most of us have been
conditioned, bullied and cajoled by our parents
into clearing our plates simply because that’s
what you’re “supposed” to do.

These 5 rules alone, even without anything else we do at
NuBeginnings, teach in the Monthly Seminars or in the
Elite Success Programme, will dramatically accelerate
your weight loss.