We all have bad days and moments of weakness. Unfortunately, it’s part of the human condition. But we can minimize damage (and guilt) the day after bad food choices by following some simple steps.

Here are the top 10 things you can do the day post-indulgence to minimize the damage:

1) Plan ahead!

First things first… before you even take one bite, make a plan for the next day. Write down the healthy meals and snacks you’re going to eat, along with the workouts you are going to get done. If you have it down on paper it’s like a contract with yourself. It’s harder to not workout or eat healthy if you have it on paper in front of you. And you’ll be less likely to carry over bad eating to the next day. Trust me…. this works!

2) Tell your plan to a buddy.

This may sound silly, but if you are too easy to dismiss yourself, maybe informing someone else of your next-day plan will help you stay on track. Or maybe this buddy of yours will also be indulging and need a little assistance of their own. Tell your friend what your plan is for tomorrow (see #1) and have him/her make sure you get it done. Everyone loves a nag!

3) Lift weights before you eat badly.

Lifting weights increases your metabolism longer than just doing cardio. Cardio activities increase your metabolism slightly during the training session, but weight lifting will increase it for 24 to 48 hours. This means that you’ll burn more fat after lifting weights than after doing just cardio. Consider this a preemptive strike on that fat!

4) Go for a walk after your meal.

If possible, take a little walk after your meal. This will keep your blood flowing, heart pumping, and may just keep you from feeling badly about what you ate. Plus, it will help you feel less full. Honestly, this may be more beneficial mentally than physically, but it can’t hurt.

5) Don’t carry bad eating over to the next day.

This goes with #1 and #2…. if you have a plan, and perhaps a friend to hold you accountable, you’ll be less likely to eat badly the next day. Sugary and salty foods are addicting. That’s the bottom line. But if you limit yourself to eating these things sparingly they can’t get control of you. Get the junk out of the house and you won’t even be tempted. Having your cheat meals at a restaurant or someone else’s house will limit the chances of overindulging the next day since you won’t have it immediately available to you. Bonus: Follow tip #6 as well. Working out first thing in the morning helps you feel healthy and energized… why would you want to ruin that with bad food?!

6) Do your cardio on an empty stomach.

I recommend getting up first thing the morning after your cheat to do your low- to moderate-intensity cardio on an empty stomach. When you perform cardio, the body uses carbohydrates for energy first, then moves to fat stores for energy once the carbohydrates have all been used. If you do your cardio on an empty stomach the body will have fewer carbohydrate stores to burn, and will be forced to tap into your fat stores. This is a good rule of thumb for anyone trying to take off some fat (whether you ate well or not). I recommend about 30-45 minutes of cardio at this time. Be careful not do do cardio for too long, however, because too much at once can cause your hard-earned muscle to be burned for energy!

7) Limit your morning carbohydrates.

Since your body probably has some extra carbohydrates and fat to use for energy (since you ate some extras the day before) you probably don’t need as many the next morning. Try to stick to mainly lean protein sources until at least 10:00am. Try some whey protein or cottage cheese.

8 ) Limit your Calorie intake.

Cut back on your Calories to make-up for the excess intake of Calories the day prior. Don’t restrict yourself completely or starve yourself. You still want to eat 5-6 small meals during the day, but cut back 100-200 Calories at every meal. This will leave you with a Calorie deficit for the day, especially if you workout as well. In your overall week, if you’re performing your workouts and eating the right amount, you will most likely still have a Calorie deficit that will lead to weight loss… even if you do have one bad day.

9) Drink lots of water.

This is a good practice every day. However, the importance of doing this the day after eating poorly is to flush your system of any water you may be retaining. After eating excess salt and sugar, the body retains water to balance the electrolyte levels in the cells. You may get a puffy feeling, or may not feel quite like yourself. Your rings may feel tight, pants more snug, and even shoes may not fit. Some people feel this way and worry they’ve already gained 10 lbs from what they ate the day before. Fear not! Chances are you’re just retaining water and you’ll feel back to normal in the next day or so.

10) Do not weigh or measure yourself.

On top of not completely digesting and eliminating what you ate the day before, you are probably retaining water (see #9). After eating excess salt or sugar, the body can retain up to 5-10 lbs of water weight! Weighing or measuring yourself will only cause you to get frustrated, feel guilty, and perhaps binge on bad foods again, thinking, “I’ve ruined all of my progress. I might as well eat whatever I want. Who cares?” And the cycle will continue. But if you simply follow the previous 9 tips you’ll be back to your normal weight in a day or two!

Now, I want to be clear about something so I don’t get slammed: I’m not saying you can go eat whatever you want everyday, follow this plan the next day, and you won’t gain weight. The truth is, if you want to lose fat you need to be eating consistently healthy, along with performing all of your workouts. These recommendations are only for those that keep a consistently healthy lifestyle of eating well and working out, and sometimes slip-up. Those individuals shouldn’t have to feel bad about a minor indiscretion. Besides, yo-yo dieters are proven to be 10 lbs heavier on average than those who eat healthy all the time.

Also, if you have a very specific goal you are working towards (e.g., bodybuilding competition, race, etc.) you may want to steer very clear of any type of ‘garbage’ day. I recommend doing your research and speaking with your personal trainer, coach, or nutritionist before you even veer from your current nutrition recommendations.

Follow these 10 tips and you’ll be feeling back to normal in a matter of hours!

Good luck!

www.GoalFitnessandNutrition.com

What have YOU got to lose?

It’s inevitable.  At some point during your exercise program your body will fail to respond to the exercise and diet that has guaranteed you results in the past.  This state, know as “the plateau effect,” is your body hitting the proverbial wall.  Strength increases dwindle; fat loss slows; lean muscle gains aren’t as apparent.  Life was good at the beginning of the program when your body responded by shedding massive fat, gaining pounds of muscle, and gaining superhero strength almost over night.  Welcome to reality.

Individuals new to an exercise program typically achieve astounding results in the first 3, 6, or 12 months simply because their bodies are unaccustomed to vigorous activity.  The central nervous system slowly employs additional muscle fibers to maximize performance; the body becomes stronger, more efficient, and capable of greater performance.  The increase in muscle fiber increases exercise performance which, in turn, improves body composition.  However, there is a limit to these “newbie gains” (as often called by the bodybuilding community).

So what can you do to push beyond the inevitable plateau?

1.  Clean up your diet.  As your body fat percentage lowers the body clings to its remaining fat stores making it harder to lose additional body fat.  Your diet must remain very, very clean to drop below 10% for males and 15% for females.

2.  Cheat or refeed.  Ok, this may be counterintuitive and in conflict with number 1 above.  However, if you follow a very clean diet your body may need to be shocked.  This is when eating pizza, nachos, etc. can actually jumpstart your metabolism and help push beyond your plateau.  Many folks don’t believe in a dirty cheat meal (pizza, nachos, french fries, etc.) but believe in a refeed meal or day.  A refeed meal is a clean meal (very little saturated fat) that’s high in complex carbs or good fats.

3.  Zig -zag calorie and/or carb intake.  Keep fats low.  If trying to lose fat, this would entail 2-4 days of sub-BMR calorie intake followed by 1 day of at (or just above)-BMR calorie intake.  If trying to gain lean musle, this would entail 2-4 days of increased calorie intake followed by 1 day of at (or sub)-BMR calorie intake.  This ensures your metabolism never settles and that you don’t lose too much muscle (when trying to lose fat) or gain too much fat (when trying to gain muscle).

4.  Rest.  Vigorous exercise puts a lot of stress on the body.  Consider 7-10 days of forcing yourself to not exercise.  If you’ve worked out hard and consistently for 6+ week you should consider taking a week to let your body recover.  This gives your joints a much needed break as well as a mental refresh to pick up the intensity when you return to training.

5.  Variety.  Consider adding variety to your exercise.  You can try varying the weights and doing more or less reps (always to fatigue though).  Try performing different exercises to work the body in a slightly different manner (e.g. replace concentration curls with preacher curls, replace the elliptical with the treadmill).  Try to adjust timings in your exercise routine (e.g. give yourself 1 min rest between sets instead of 2 minutes).  Try adding things like supersets, dropsets, negatives, etc. to your lifts.  Try to introduce more intensity into your cardio (e.g. do a slow jog 3 days per week and run sprints 1 or 2 days a week).  These are just a few things to prevent your body from adapting to a typical, repetitive routine.

6.  Intensity.  Perhaps your exercise intensity and focus has waned over time.  Could be mental, physical or both.  Exercise is only as effective as it’s intensity.  You must train hard and with consistency.  Consider setting a new goal if your problem is mental.  Consider supplements such as creatine if your problem is physical.  Consider training with a partner if your problem is accountability.  Just remember, you can’t spell “workout” without “work.”  Don’t make the gym experience overly social.

Goal Fitness and Nutrition:  What have YOU got to lose?

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It’s a common expression:  “You are what you eat.”  Is it true?  Is it what we eat?  Or how much we eat?  I’d be lieing if I said food quantity isn’t important (specifically, caloric totals).  After all, quantity is the basis for the most significant baseline number used when determining your body’s nutritional needs – your basal metabolic rate (BMR).

Your BMR, with activity level included, is a quantitative representation of your metabolism.  We’ve all heard someone complaining of a “slow” metabolism.  You’ve likely heard someone express envy at another’s “fast” metabolism by saying something like, “She can eat whatever she wants and not gain a pound.”  This is a reflection of a person’s individual BMR.  To a certain point it’s genetic but is also greatly influenced by lifestyle and body composition.  You can’t argue with BMR.  How much you eat will determine if you gain weight, lose weight, or simply maintain.  However, quantity is, for the most part, no indication of what you gain or lose nor how your BMR will be affected (again, for the most part).  Quantity can only fluctuate body weight.

This is where food quality is essential.  Quality, meaning the macronutrient (protein, carbs, fats) and micronutrient (vitamins, minerals) makeup of your foods, when mixed with quantity control and proper exercise controls body composition.  This can encourage your body to lose fat rather than muscle when dieting.  It can encourage your body to gain muscle rather than fat when bulking.  As detailed in previous posts, muscle is crucial to any weight loss program.  Building muscle through quantity control, quality control, and exercise helps to reach your goals, maintain your results, and look more attractive.

Oftentimes, portion (see quantity) control is the sole means by which an individual attempts to lose weight with only little effort applied to quality and exercise.  It’s in your best interest to always think in terms of quantity, quality, and exercise for all your fitness and health goals.

Need to know your BMR?  Use our free BMR calculator at www.goalfitnessandutrition.com/tools.php.

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Goal Fitness and Nutrition:  What have YOU got to lose?