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#itsfine if you don’t like that food

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by John Burrows

How many of you have eaten something which you didn’t like, because you believed it would aid fat loss?

THERE IS NO FOOD ON THE PLANET THAT WILL MAKE YOU BURN FAT FASTER.

What I mean by this is, from a biological perspective, you can’t eat anything that will enter your body and burn fat noticeable faster as a calorie than anything else. Top 3 seem to be:

Acai Berries
Green tea
Chillies/Peppers/Spice

There are loads more aren’t there. I get at least half a dozen spam emails a week trying to sell them to me, and I don’t want any of you to waste your money.

So, I am going to pick out peppers to use as an example, because, when you eat them, they do behave slightly differently in the body. With certain peppers, you have large amounts of something called capsaicin. What this can do is temporarily increase blood circulation, which can then have an EFFECT on metabolic rate.

It’s this tiny weeny process that FAD diet culture latches onto and then spins as a miracle fat loss cure. They take the extract, stick it in a tablet and then sell it – and it’s wrong.

The effect on metabolism is so minor that you won’t even feel it or notice it.

I have met so many people drinking green tea whilst holding their nose. Taking a shot of an insanely chemically sweetened acai drink and feeling ill afterwards. Adding heaps of spice to their meals and sweating through each and every bite. ALL BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT IT MADE THEM BURN FAT.

If you like spices, then have them because of that, they also contain loads of essential minerals. Green tea is refreshing and has some great antioxidants in it. Acai Berries….mmm, well I won’t comment on them, lol

#itsfine to bank your calories

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by John Burrows

So, banking calories…. May not be a phrase you have heard before but, chances are, you will have already done this in some form or another.

Whether you have followed a FAD diet, cramming your head full of syns or points, if you have fasted before or even if you followed a strict diet where you only eat one type of food for example, you will more than likely have been banking calories. Saving up those syns for the weekend, eating less in a day so you can eat more without guilt later that week.

Where these diets all do it wrong though is they don’t tell you what you have banked! They just pretend that if you eat this amount of points, regardless of what they are made up of, then you will lose weight.

You guys all know this by now, it only works if you are in a calorie deficit. Even if you save all your points/syns up to use in one go, if you are overeating free foods at other times then you will still be in a calorie surplus at the end of your week and, therefore, putting on weight.

Let’s take this a step further. We would know how many calories are in our meals once we have taken control of our diet using the Fine Diet Plan. For example, you eat 3 meals at 500kcal a day and 2 snacks at 200kcal. This means you need to consume around 13,300kcal in a week to hit your target.

That doesn’t mean you have to eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day though, no way! When you eat your calories in that 7-day period will have no effect on your metabolism, how quickly you lose body fat or any other reason you have been told to eat this way. It’s just habit, but it’s not a habit everyone enjoys.

Let’s skip breakfast Monday to Friday. First up that’s totally fine and any diet that says you can’t do that isn’t your friend. And what does it leave us with? 5 x 500kcal meals that you didn’t eat that week means you are under your target by 2,500kcal. Those calories are still yours, they have just been banked for when you are more likely to want to eat a little more!

Some people just don’t want to snack, who says you have to?! If you take all those 200kcal snacks for the week that you chose not to have, you have now got 2,800kcal banked.

What I am getting at here is you should make your diet work for you, so the meals you eat should fit in with a structure you enjoy, that’s how lifestyle changes can become lifelong habits. And that’s what we wanted to achieve with the Fine Diet Plan, always advocating a varied and balanced diet, but allowing you choose to consume your calories for weight loss whenever you like.

We start you with a structure you know, 3 meals and 2 snacks. But you should only eat the ones you want to eat, so if that means skipping a meal every now and then or following a structure like 3 meals and no snacks, or 2 meals and 2 snacks in the week, then that is totally up to you.

The calories for each meal and snack are set on Day 1 of the week, so you know at the end of the week you will have banked the calories from whatever meals you skipped, ready to enjoy them at a time you feel fits better with your lifestyle.

Not everyone wants to skip meals though as they enjoy the structure of 3 meals and 2 snacks. But at the weekend you still want to be able to go out with friends for a meal, have a few drinks, basically enjoy a normal life. So let’s look at banking calories another way, creating new calories by adding in exercise. 3x 500kcal gym sessions that week gives you 1,500kcal banked and ready to enjoy, whilst still eating your 3 meals and 2 snacks a day.

Basically, the key to a successful weight loss journey is having the flexibility to make it work around your life, not take it over.

So, to get the most out of your journey, set up your days when you know you will consume more calories in advance. Best of all though, if an impromptu event happens and you consume extra calories one day, you can just remove a snack or two during the rest of the week or add in some calories from exercise so that you stay on track. You know what that’s called? Full awareness and control of your diet. No fads, no ‘cheating’ and no punishing or telling yourself off.

Our aim will always be to improve dieting for our clients, so we have used your feedback to make the banking of calories easier. Keeping your meals and snacks stable all through the week, allowing you to prep in advance without any worry and then bank those calories however you like, so they are ready for when normal life happens!

So if you are fed up with using a range of plans, apps, a calculator and pens and paper to keep track of your calorie intake then check out our Fine Diet Plan, it’s the only plan out there designed to educate you on how calories work and how to make them fit around your own needs.

#itsfine to fall off the wagon

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by John Burrows

First things first. Falling off the wagon (I refuse to call it failing BTW) is totally and completely normal.

So, if you have had a bad day, slipped up or didn’t do what you set out to do, WELL DONE! Well done for motivating yourself to make a start and well done for identifying a problem and wanting to fix it.

There are so many people out there who are open and honest about that fat loss journey. They talk about the journey honestly, they mention the lows and, more importantly, do not describe their achievement as perfection. That’s my kind of person right there.

However, there are those who present themselves as having undergone this wonderful, faultless, perfect fat loss process and give lots of people the wrong impression about embarking on a journey to lose weight. Don’t ‘like’ these people… And the “coaches” (or whatever they are called) who enhance this by using the same story in their marketing campaigns.

Let’s use the perfect analogy of a baby learning to walk. Learning being the operative word.

Now I watched my little lad, day in, day out, get up, fall down for a while, get up again for a little longer and then fall down for a little less time. This is exactly how starting a diet can be.

I am all about expressing my passion about ONLY eating food you enjoy and within a routine that suits you, but that doesn’t mean at times the process isn’t going to be challenging or feel uncomfortable.

Most of the time you are trying to break bad habits. If, like me, you suffered from emotional/binge eating, don’t think for one minute you will nail it on day 1. You might, but you might not, and thats OK.

It is very true, though, that once you get knocked back it does make you stronger. Especially if, like me, you document the emotion/moment and, when you get past it on another occasion, you realise how strong you are getting.

The process to get in the swing of things can take weeks, months even. But try and shake it off the next day, think about what caused the situation and manage it moving forwards.

Perfection isn’t something you should strive for. Just do your best and, in time, your best gets better.

#itsfine to keep “treats” in your house

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by John Burrows

CAUTION, use this post as just an example of what helped me and see perhaps if you think it could do the same for you.

There seems to be a general conscientious that if you start a diet, you then need to clear all your cupboards of the junk… so, by that I mean, sweets, chocolates, crisps etc.

When you are living with an eating disorder and/or are looking to correct the way in which you behave around food, and see food in general, the last thing you want to do is suppress the emotions or situations that have got you in to the position in the first place.

You need to work through them, what ever they are and ensure the way in which you go about it allows for everyday occurrences, situations, events etc. to present themselves to you without causing self-sabotage.

A lot of people do a have trigger foods, foods that if you eat a small amount of cause an episode of binging. For some it’s minor, for others (like I used to be) it caused a massive knock on effect.

These foods will always be in your life. You go to the shops, you go out for a meal, to a party, on holiday – they’re everywhere.

If you create this unrealistic environment in your home that removes all temptation, that’s not real life.

You may achieve an amazing physical change and lose lots of weight, but you will have left your mind behind and it’s that which will ensure long terms success.

For me it was simple. I kept lots of these foods in my house. For the first week I just ignored them, but then week by week I introduced small amounts of them into my life.

I wasn’t led by emotion, I simply ate them when I fancied them, in line with my weekly calories and within a few months the emotional attachment to them had reduced significantly.

A year after, it’s like there was never a problem, so I say, #itsfine to keep treats in the house, based on my positive experience.

This of course will not work for everyone straight away, it may take time, it may cause binging episodes but I do believe, in time, it’s a great way to ensure when you hit your weight loss goals, you’ve done it eating the foods you love, and associate them with something you just fancy

#itsfine if you didn’t do a HIIT workout

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by John Burrows

There is a real obsession with a 20-minute HIIT session, right? Now don’t get me wrong, if you don’t have much time, are physically ready for intense training and enjoy it, then go for it.

With me, I am very busy, as I am sure a lot of people are, and there is nothing better than the felling of pushing my body to the absolute limit in a short session, smashing through a fitness goal and then post workout feeling that sense of achievement.

BUT, you can get all that in other ways and if you only have 20-25 mins a day to exercise, don’t think for one minute if it’s not a HIIT session then what’s the point.

I am going to use myself as an example for this. So, during my 6-month weight loss journey, as I have mentioned a few times, I could barely train how I wanted. Dreams of training at 85-90% of my max would never come true, and still to this day it’s the same.

If you are massively over weight, your mobility and fitness will be compromised. This means that your max effort could very well be achieved through walking for 20 mins, lightly cycling or even stretching. If I gave someone at a healthy weight, 10 stone to stick on their back and walk around for 10 mins, they would soon understand that.

I still to this day do not exercise more than a few times a week and when I do, it’s no more than 20 mins. My injuries cannot withstand any longer and I probably exercise at around 30-40% of my max, and I am doing just fine, and you can to.

Don’t be discouraged by someone fit and healthy with not an ounce of fat on their body, telling you HIIT is the answer.

It’s not. I mean you don’t even need to exercise to lose weight for one, as long as you’re in a calorie deficit. However, if you wish to eat at your maintenance calories each week because you like big portions (that’s me for instance) then regardless of the exercise or the intensity, if you burn 200 calories its still 200 calories and the result will be the same.

Exercise only in a way you enjoy, or, not at all if you don’t fancy it, because, #itsfine.

#itsfine if you fancy going vegan

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by John Burrows

Right, firstly, let me just say “I AM NOT A VEGAN”, I am actually the polar opposite of being anything remotely vegetarian, but that doesn’t mean I am going to SHAME or HATE ON anyone that is!

You know what, it is fine if you are thinking about being a vegan, because it may well be the most positive step towards increasing your dietary intake of vitamins, minerals and fibre you could ever do!

I am not talking about being crazy, obsessive, restrictive and not touching anything to do with an animal by product, that’s a choice often made for very personal reasons or in line with other beliefs, that’s not what this is about.

The negativity I have come across on social media, which is based purely on riding off “health and fitness professionals” opinions, is crazy. Can you imagine if someone was struggling with an eating disorder then switched over to being a vegan and then improved their overall health, both physically and mentally, and then stopped based on someone’s AGRESSIVE opinion. That would be terrible.

Yes, there is no doubt, if you are looking to increase your muscle mass significantly that you will find it sometimes challenging on a plant based diet to get the amount of protein you want within the same calories as meat. What I mean by that is, for example, 100g of chicken breast equates to 112 kcals and to get the same amount of protein from, say, chickpeas, you would eat 336 kcals. So that, of course, could be a problem – IF you fall into that small category.

But also consider that being a vegan could encourage you to eat a lot more vitamins, minerals and fibre than people on a meat based diet.

So, I am simply saying relax if people mention “plant based” or being a “vegan”, and perhaps try a vegan recipe mixed in with some chicken breast and see what you think.

If you are thinking about trying the vegan approach, then yeh #itsfine just be mindful that if you don’t end up enjoying it in the main, perhaps including elements of it back into a meat based diet might be perfect for you.

#itsfine if you don’t eat little and often

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by John Burrows

How many times have you heard something either said, or printed, that tells you that eating “LITTLE AND OFTEN” is a must for losing weight or boosting metabolism? I, for one, see it all the time. But, guess what? #itsfine if you don’t want to eat like this.

If you scroll back through my feed to my earlier nutritional basics posts, I talk about how metabolism works and, trust me, food 100% doesn’t improve, speed up or enhance the process in the way you perhaps believe… This isn’t speculation, this is scientific fact.

Let’s just say you have a relatively sedentary desk-based office job. You can get up and go to a kitchen, store things in a fridge, use a microwave whenever you need to and snack and eat whenever you like. Well, in that instance, eating a few meals a day as well as a few snacks works very well. That would be fine.

However, on the other hand, let’s say you are a busy nurse, running around A&E helping people with very few breaks and moments to eat, this wouldn’t work. You may just have 1 or 2 meals throughout the day/eve and, when you get home, have a huge meal. That would also be fine.

Then there’s appetite and preference. You may just be like me. You may not want to eat in the morning at all and then have 2 huge meals during a smaller eating period. Well, that’s fine as well.

The fact is, if you are consuming adequate calories each day, eating nutrient dense foods and, most importantly, enjoying what you eat, then #itsfine.

It’s not right that this eating little and often protocol is often seen as the answer, solution or “must do” approach to losing weight or dieting. It’s irresponsible of the press to do this and it can have a negative effect on people who stress and worry about the fact that either their lifestyle won’t allow for this way of eating or because they just do not like doing it that way.

So, if you are currently eating like this and not enjoying it, STOP. Listen to what your mind/body want and give that a go. I bet your results will not be negatively affected and that, overall, you will be happier.

#itsfine if you can’t exercise

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by John Burrows

Don’t have the time to exercise? Don’t like exercising? But, you want to start a diet… Don’t worry #itsfine

If you are injured, suffer from a serious illness, have a crazy job, a big family etc. and you just don’t/can’t exercise but want to lose weight and get healthier, you have nothing to worry about…

Firstly, on the subject of fat loss, that only occurs on the basis of creating a calorie deficit. If you choose to do this through training, because you have a large appetite and want to eat more, then that’s great. However, if you can’t exercise, then create your calorie deficit through food instead. That doesn’t have to be set in stone either and you can chop and change based on circumstance.

Take me, for instance. Throughout my 10-stone fat loss journey I had brief periods where I could be training and, for the most part, times when I couldn’t. So, all I would do is calmly and confidently react to the situation and adjust my calories.

If I needed to hit 20,000 calories a week to maintain my body weight and then decided I wanted to lose body fat now, I could use the cross trainer for 25 mins a day, 5 times a week, and burn 400 calories each session and, therefore, 2,000 calories for the week. That would give me a small, 10% calorie deficit through training, which would do the job.

But, if I wanted to achieve the same 10% but couldn’t train, I would simply reduce the weekly calories down to 18,000 per week, which would only be a drop in food of 285 calories per day, no big deal.

It’s all about being flexible and understanding that it’s not exercise that’s magic, it’s the amount of food you are eating. If you eat 500 kcals extra a day and then did a HIIT session that burned 300 kcals, that wouldn’t create fat loss.

So please do not let the fact you cannot sprint up a hill at the speed of light, or lift a car above your head, stop you from achieving your fat loss goals.

Exercise is fun, keeps you motivated and helps health and fitness. But eating food also does exactly that and may just be all you need to think about initially, until you get an injury sorted or things just calm down at work, for instance.

#itsfine if you don’t like dark chocolate

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by John Burrows

Just wanted to clear a few things up for you all…

So, firstly let me just give you a breakdown of the fundamental differences between the two, so you can perhaps make more of an informed decision in future.

Broken down (per 100g) and going toe to toe with each other, let’s have a look.

DARK CHOCOLATE (90%, the proper stuff)

Kcal – 592
Fat – 55g
Carbs – 14g (Sugar – 7g)
Protein – 10g

MILK CHOCOLATE (Dairy Milk)

Kcal – 530
Fat – 30g
Carbs – 56.5g (Sugar – 56g)
Protein – 7.5g

Funny isn’t it, as, dependent on your macro beliefs, one is certainly much ‘worse’ than the other.

In this example, dark chocolate contains almost double the fat and milk chocolate contains 8 TIMES the sugar! Very similar in calories though, aren’t they, and that, for me, enables complete flexibility with your choice between the two, which is amazing!

Chocolate comes from the cacao plant and, in comparison to milk chocolate, dark chocolate has a much higher percentage of cacao contained within it. With this in mind, dark chocolate is considered purer, containing higher levels of antioxidants.

That’s all great, so, with that in mind and if you focus on nutrient density, it’s the clear winner.

Then, you have real life, taste and enjoyment. That is just as important.

Remember, calorie-wise, there is nothing really in it, so if you fancy a few squares of either dark or milk chocolate on your oats, then #itsfine and doesn’t matter at all.

But please, if you don’t enjoy dark chocolate, don’t think it has some fat-burning edge that means you need to force feed yourself. Don’t think by eating it your body will be flushed with antioxidants and you will become a super hero, that’s just not the case.

If your diet is rich in fruit and vegetables, then you are there and winning.

If eating some milk chocolate each day keeps within your weekly calorie deficit, ensures you stay on track and, most importantly, you enjoy what you’re eating, then do it. And if doing the same with dark chocolate is your thing, then again, go for it.

#itsfine if you don’t like coconut oil

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by John Burrows

Now I personally love the taste of coconut oil however, there are certain things even I don’t like the after taste with, for instance steak. Definitely not for me that, however I appreciate some people smother coconut oil over everything.

But, what if you don’t like coconut oil, literally can’t stand the stuff? Well, you know what I am going to say, right? #itsfine

This post is all about listening to your palate and eating ONLY things you enjoy.

It’s important to consider the fact that coconut oil is a saturated fat and, therefore, using it on everything at the expense of getting those important mono and polyunsaturated fats in your system isn’t a good idea. But, that said, if you enjoy it, cook with it and even use up all your daily allowance of saturated fat using it. But, if you don’t enjoy it, realise that you don’t need to force feed it to yourself.

If you are looking to get your daily dose of saturated fat from other sources, go for butter or even beef dripping if you like. If you aren’t keen on them, then go cook with some oil. Remember, you can get saturated fat from meat for instance, not just room temperature cooking fats.

Also, with recipes, don’t miss out or disregard a lovely looking savoury dish just because it contains coconut oil if you aren’t a fan. You can replace it with butter. If its baking, then go for lard.

Don’t think “oh well, I won’t get all that coconut oil goodness”. Well, what if that dish contained 15 nutrient dense ingredients, you would be missing out on all of them, wouldn’t you?

So, what I am saying is the following:

1. Eat coconut oil because you enjoy it, not because you have been told to.

2. If you don’t want it then, in the main, use butter instead to cook with.

3. It doesn’t improve metabolism, aid weight loss or cause body fat to be used as energy more efficiently.

As I say, I love the stuff, which is the only reason I eat it. But you must ONLY eat things you enjoy, otherwise you are going to disconnect with food very quickly and resent things for no reason.

#itsfine to cook with olive oil

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by John Burrows

Isn’t it funny that, around the time coconut oil started to have its moment, olive oil suddenly got bad press…

So, let’s just say, like me, you’re a massive olive oil fan. You love its taste and, because of its amazing health benefits, you have decided to include it in your cooking.

THEN… the bomb drops! You get told NOT to cook with it or, more specifically, not heat it, because it will transform into an “unhealthy” fat, which will harm you in some way.

Well, let me tell you, in my opinion #itsfine to cook with olive oil.

If you heat ANY OIL to a very high temperature (and/or its smoking point), the oil will begin to degenerate to a degree and begin a process that creates toxicity. I will point out “BEGIN A PROCESS” because this fundamental point is what’s accurate and relevant when people like us go and make something like a stir fry.

The reality is that we put a frying pan on a hob, drizzle some olive oil on to it, wait a few minutes and then chuck all our goodies on top and start frying.

What we don’t do is leave the pan and oil on the hob, go next door for a tea and a biscuit, come back 30 mins later and start cooking… What we certainly don’t do is get any oil that’s left, pour it into a container and use it the next day.

The words “HYDROGENATED FATS” also get thrown in the mix here and are somehow linked in a serious way to cooking with olive oil. We all know that hydrogenated fats are bad for you, however, think about your local chippy, for example, where the same oil gets reheated repeatedly – not for 5 mins in a pan.

It is, without a doubt a scientific fact, that fats begin to break down when heated. The longer and greater the temperature, the more unstable and toxic the fat becomes. BUT this doesn’t apply to us.

For how we cook at home, the amount of hydrogenation is miniscule and we would never experience the problem that you have been led to believe.

So, get those oils in your diet and in your cooking, especially olive oil. It not only contains vitamin K, vitamin E, and plenty of minerals, but tastes great.

#itsfine if you don’t like white rice

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by John Burrows

This is one of those subjects which I imagine for most people gets a little boring to talk about.

But just this week alone, I have received almost a handful of messages from people not liking brown rice and being concerned that eating white rice instead, would have a negative effect on their weight loss.

So, I am saying #itsfine if you don’t like brown rice.

There are two separate parts to breaking this down. The first relates to the calories and therefore the dieting aspect, the second is nutrition, and therefore the health benefits.

In terms of calories, lets take an average portion of say 125g.

WHITE = 240 calories
BROWN = 220 calories

Now, if you are consuming rice once a day for example, or even twice a day, eating white instead of brown will NOT affect your fat loss progress. Honestly, it won’t.

I am not going to break down the macronutrients of the two, because in terms of the numbers, that won’t matter either.

Then we have all the goodies contained within them, and there is no doubt at all that choosing brown rice will give you slightly more of them, as it does contain a higher number of vitamins and fibre, as well as minerals like zinc and magnesium. This is because to produce white coloured rice, the process removes the bran and the germ, and in turn some of the fibre, vitamins and minerals.

When you look at the back of a packet of white rice you can often see things like B-vitamins and iron have been artificially added to boost the nutrient content of each grain.

So, in the main, brown rice is a slightly “healthier choice” than white rice.

My point is, if you are trying to lose weight and can’t stand brown rice, then that’s fine, eat white rice. This will not have any effect on fat loss.

Consider also that for some people with digestive issues, brown rice could actually have a negative impact on that condition as it takes longer to digest.

As I always say, it’s about enjoying food and finding that balance, but hopefully from a fat loss perspective this has helped.

#itsfine if you want to skip breakfast

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by John Burrows

Is breakfast the most important meal of the day?

Well, that totally depends on if you want it and it’s a simple as that.

How often you eat should simply be driven by two things, your appetite and your lifestyle.

If you wake up in the morning hungry, then you must eat.

Of course, dependant on your job, for example, you may struggle with time. However, that’s just a case of prepping the night before and ensuring you require as little time as possible to cook/heat things up in the morning.

But, what if you are like me, and you don’t wake up hungry in the morning?

Well, if you do then I say #itsfine to skip breakfast.

There is no significant, results-based, scientific data that suggests eating breakfast in the morning is going to enhance fat loss. So, if you believe that, and are force-feeding yourself early doors because you feel you have to, then please stop.

Metabolism doesn’t get kick started first thing in the morning by a meal and then, as a result of that, become super-enhanced, that’s not true at all.

I have posted a lot about metabolism and how often you eat, so there’s plenty of nutritional advice on that detailed in my feed if you are interested.

As some of you may know, I eat my food for the day during a small window of around 6 hours, this is also known as intermittent fasting. However, it shouldn’t be labelled as anything, as it’s just a preferred way of eating the calories I need each day/week.

However, on the other side of the coin, if you wake up hungry but believe that not eating breakfast is ideal, because it means you fasted for longer and therefore are burning more fat, then that’s not a great way to go about it.

Again, research is few and far between, and this can encourage a bad relationship with food.

Breakfast isn’t essential at all, but if you enjoy it, feel it keeps you on track, your hunger at bay and fits into your lifestyle, then go grab that bowl of porridge or stack of pancakes.

But, if you don’t feel hungry, struggle to fit breakfast in and suffer psychologically from not having it, then great, don’t worry.

Eat and how you want to and enjoy food.

#itsfine if you don’t want a protein shake

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by John Burrows

So, what are protein drinks? Well there are two types really, animal source proteins (whey, casein, beef and egg white) and vegetable source proteins (things like soy, rice, pea and hemp)

This post is not about my opinion on which are more superior though, it’s about addressing if, perhaps, you are taking them when, in fact, it’s not the best option for you.

Now, granted, they are convenient but, that said, if you are struggling to afford them and don’t like the taste, there are ways around it. If you had a chicken pasta for lunch, all you need to do is add an extra chicken breast, for example. Remember, as I have mentioned a lot, meal frequency does not affect fat loss, so don’t think that you need that “extra snack” to boost your metabolism and, on that basis, don’t fancy eating a chicken breast at 10.30am. You really don’t.

Using them in place of food isn’t going to be good at all. These shakes are often lacking in complex carbs and fibre, contain heaps of sugar or effectively just contain some protein and added vitamins and minerals, which will 100% affect your energy levels as protein isn’t used for that initially in the body.

The other myth is the absorption rate, particularly with things like whey protein isolate.

The research on this is poor and, also, it’s extremely case dependant. If, for instance, you train fasted in the morning and have a protein shake afterwards, well, for sure, your body will absorb that quite quickly, but it’s never instant, regardless of what you eat.

But, consider training in the evening, after a few meals. Your body is well underway digesting all of that, so by necking a protein drink immediately after training, that’s not going to tell your body to stop digesting all the food before, and only digest and absorb the shakes protein content.

If you can comfortably afford them, like the taste, don’t suffer from bloating & have them as a snack alongside food, to just boost your protein content, then yeah, there’s no issue with that.

But, if you are experiencing or agree with any of the above, know that you can continue getting the same results, potentially even better, without them.

#itsfine if you want to weigh yourself

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by John Burrows

Yep, that’s right, I am jumping away from the norm and hype of people saying weight isn’t a good measure of progress. “Throw away the scales” that’s another popular one…

What should be happening is a little bit more education and advice on what the numbers represent, so that people can understand what they are seeing and use the result in a positive way.

What I am not saying is to weigh yourself every day. That isn’t a good idea. But what I am saying is that, at various intervals throughout a weight loss journey, it’s got its uses.

So firstly, the cheapest and easiest way to calculate your maintenance calories (how much you need to remain the same weight) is by standing on a set of scales.

I would encourage anyone who thinks they need X amount of calories, to spend a week eating more, perhaps 10% extra. Then jump on the scales and see what happened. If weight has been lost then eat a little more, if weight has been gained reduce your calories a bit, and if you have stayed the same EUREKA! You now know your starting point to successfully lose weight. That’s a positive thing, which weighing yourself has achieved.

If you ensure that you record what you have eaten, weigh yourself at the same time (first thing in the morning) with just your underwear on, then the number shown will be accurate.

Of course, you can lose weight by reducing portion sizes and exercising, and if that’s working for you that’s great. But winging it may not last forever, which is why I always suggest just spending a little time working things out correctly at the start.

If you weigh yourself correctly over say a 4-week period and no weight has been lost, and you have a substantial amount to lose, then you know something needs to change. Weight will tell you this.

The scales are not a bad thing, they just need to be used a fair amount at the start for a short period of time. Once you have nailed that, use them a couple of times a month, in a sensible way and they will become a very useful tool.

Should you diet over Christmas…

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by Ben Smith

OK, so this is where a lot of people in the public eye perhaps abuse their responsibilities a bit.

The answer, in our opinion and as we are sure you will all guess, is NO, but it’s not an aggressive, patronising NO, and we are certainly not going to say… AND GO CRAZY!” “EAT ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING IN SIGHT AND AS MUCH AS YOU WANT”!

It’s comments like those that actually can result in a really negative outcome.

Let us break down what we mean…

If you are in a perfect place with your body and mind, do not suffer from emotional eating or binge eating, at your “target” fat loss goal, don’t have any issue whatsoever with your weight and don’t obsess with the scale jumping on and off of it daily or more, then ok, go nuts if you like. BUT, if you are or you do, then you just need to take a step back from running with those comments and identify with the potential risks.

Indulging in foods you enjoy with family and friends is what it’s all about, but take a normal approach to it. Whatever is on offer, if you enjoy it, should be eaten. You should feel relaxed, happy and excited about having delicious food.

What you should not be doing is getting geared up for an eating challenge. You shouldn’t be feeling anxious about everyone else eating EVERYTHING and GOING CRAZY, because that’s not how regular people do things.

The knock-on effect of this ‘ALL or NOTHING’ mentality could trigger a massive binge. Christmas Day is not a binge, but it can feel like it because of the DIET HYPE CRAP that surrounds it. Having an emotional connection with the day being a binge could then trigger SELF-SABOTAGE and then, before you know it, you are a week into disorganised, chaotic eating, all because of the stigma surrounding a day that should be nothing but FAB!

So, ignore social media guidelines for dieting during and after, that just causes anxiety and a misrepresentation of the day, and forget about doing the other end of the scale and treating it as a MAMMOTH BINGE. It’s neither.

But, if you can, just wake up, be happy and positive, eat in a relaxed fashion without trying to calculate the contents of the food in your mind and then get up the day after knowing ZERO damage has been done. Then, on Boxing Day, enjoy the left overs in moderation and glide smoothly into the 27th feeling like a winner.

We hope this has made some sense and have a fantastic Christmas period.

#itsfine if you are struggling to get started

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by Ben Smith

Struggling to find the motivation, time or even desire to get started with a weight loss journey is tough. No one instantly wakes up one day, decides to lose weight and improve their health and then starts immediately or succeeds straight away. That’s not how it works, that’s not how anything that’s worth achieving works.

After the decision has been made it often takes a lot of planning and research. Then, once that’s all done, a date can be set when it’s best to get cracking.

When you get going is such a personal decision and not one you should allow others to make for you.

Ben has been very open and honest on our stories and posts about his opinions on this and that there isn’t ever going to be a perfect time in your life to begin a fat loss journey, but there is such a thing as the right time. No one can predict the future, so focussing on a start date being magical isn’t ideal and, more often than not, won’t happen.

He started his 10 stone weight-loss journey during the worst possible time. He was very injured, very stressed with work and his wife was about to undergo a series of major operations for her disability. His son’s chronic chest condition was also extremely bad. But he had made his mind up so, when the day came, he was committed and ready.

Prior to getting his act together, he must have talked himself out of starting at least 20 times before he actually did, and that’s the purpose of this blog, because #itsfine IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING, and very normal.

Keep your eyes on the prize!

So, focus on the start date and, regardless of what happens, just commit to it. If something doesn’t go according to plan, #itsfine. It’s one small day of a significant journey where you will experience obstacles, but that’s part of the process and you will learn and grow from them – trust us.

Do not fall into a cycle saying “I will start tomorrow” if something happens. If you forget to prep something, have a bit of a cold, feel stressed from work, whatever happens on your day one, don’t focus on the fact the day didn’t go 100% as planned, because that’s going to be rare. If you can consistently have a week where you ate and exercised even 50% as planned, you are still making progress. That’s much better than striving for perfection and having ZERO 100% days, right? Just try not to let the cycle of ‘self-sabotage’ take control of your life.

The lead up to Ben’s day 1 was shocking. He didn’t cook one of his meals right, he had a terrible night sleep and his son was off school ill. But that’s OK. Just because he wasn’t as well rested as he wanted, which meant he couldn’t exercise as well, it didn’t matter, he just did a little less. Just because he didn’t have the meal ready as he had planned, it didn’t matter, he just had a chicken sandwich and hit his calories instead, no big deal. Congratulate yourself on everything you do that takes you further towards your goals, focus on what you are doing right as there is no such thing as an easy diet!

Don’t let thoughts of perfection stop you from starting. Pick the day you want to begin and do your best.

Having a plan and all the tools in place, ready to make life easier, is going to be extremely beneficial. Also knowing that you will be eating only foods you enjoy and exercising how you like will reduce feelings of anxiety. This is why it’s so important to ensure your diet strategy fits into YOUR lifestyle, not the other way round, and we hope during your free trial and can see how we accommodate that for you.

My experience of mental health

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by Ben Smith

As some of you may be aware, it’s #mentalhealthday and perhaps a chance for everyone who suffers from an eating disorder to get together and help one another.

We appreciate that coming out in the open about suffering from any mental health condition is nerve wracking, but we assure you, from our experience, once you do it can be one of the most fantastic decisions of your life.

Not just because you get to engage with others in a similar situation, but also being open and honest with yourself about issues with food can be the first step to improving and eventually curing the condition.

It can feel impossible to cure and we’ve heard people say you can’t, that all that will happen is you will supress the emotion but have to live with it forever. That doesn’t have to be the case.

Ben’s personal experience with mental health relates to binge/emotional eating disorder. This is when you are triggered by an emotion to eat, often uncontrollably, past the point of fullness. You do this because it feels like food will fix the issue and make it go away. In his past situation, it was an addiction and a serious one at that.

Eating disorders manifest themselves in so many different ways and start because of so many different reasons. For Ben (and perhaps you), over restricting yourself to certain types of foods, ingredients and macronutrients based around training, certain times in the day etc. may be the catalyst preventing you from fixing your bad relationship with food.

My Personal Journey

He has been there, as you all know, a couple of times. The first time he lost weight was 5 years ago, eating what he believed to be the perfect ‘macronutrient structure’, focussing on food for function and not taste and living by optimum biological techniques. It was impossible to sustain and an extremely unpleasant journey.

He then lost all the weight again, in the exact time frame, back in 2017, by only caring about one thing, a flexible, weekly calorie allowance. He ate nutrient-dense meals, rich in things like fibre and vitamins, but the actual meal itself could be anything he liked, at any time of day I wanted.

The process was enjoyable and, most importantly, reset his behavioural patterns of responding to a negative emotion with food. It changed his life.

There is no one expert in the world with eating disorders and, ultimately, it’s you that has to start the process, admit you have an issue with your relationship with food and begin the journey to help yourself.

But it’s SOOOOO hard to do this and we wish we could cure the world ourselves with a single post, but we can’t. All we can do is hope you are inspired by our message at Fine Dieting and what we are doing with the app.

Social media is a great tool for helping mental health, but it’s also full of posts that can trigger a negative emotion and worsen the problem. So take some of it with a pinch of salt, but do persevere and find all the good bits and the great people that will help you on your way to recovery.

Stay strong, stay open minded and stay positive.

#itsfine if you want to eat out

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by Ben Smith

Yes, we are saying #itsfine if you want to eat out, but we are going to take a step back from the norm and be sympathetic to many of you that get very anxious about this.

Now, we have been there. We have had that rush of negative emotion and anxiety whilst being on a diet, when someone invites you out for dinner and, you know what, it’s OK to feel this, it’s just about breaking your situation down and then understanding how positive eating out can be for it.

Loads of people, especially on social media, take this very one-dimensional approach saying, “don’t be stupid, you can eat out and get back on it the next day”. Yes, this is true in a way, but it annoys us no end.

You can explain why it’s OK to someone until you are blue in the face about how many extra calories it takes to add a pound of fat, or that you can just wake up the next day and smash out a training session, but if they have experienced emotional eating, binge eating or self-sabotage, it’s not going to help.

Structuring your week to make dieting flexible

When starting a diet, it’s so important to factor in your likes and dislikes. Not just with food, but how you socialise.

If you enjoy eating out, it needs to be factored in. That’s where weekly calories come in, for those that like numbers and also to help others better understand that there is no need to worry.

If you need to eat X amount per week and are aware you are eating out, then just take a small amount, perhaps 10%, off your daily calories each day and then be safe in the knowledge you have made a nice comfortable effort to insert balance into your life.

If you want to forget about the numbers, then focus on the fact that weekly calories represent the kind of length of time it takes to affect things badly. If you ate out every day for a week, for instance, and really went for it, then yeah, you are more than likely going to slow down weight loss, but honestly 1 or 2 days #itsfine

We know it can be hard to move away from the worry and stress of eating out but, take it from us, #itsfine and remember, in order to sustain something, it needs to fit into your lifestyle and eating out is often a big part of that.

Anything goes when it comes to exercise

Published on Wednesday 10th October 2018 by Ben Smith

Right, so this is one of our biggest bugbears. Being told that a specific type of exercise is better or worse for fat loss.

The absolute key to sustaining and enjoying anything is that it’s right for you. If you don’t like something, it’s going to be a hell of a lot harder to stick to it, and that’s why we are saying #itsfine if you don’t like that exercise.

It’s exactly like food. If you don’t like runner beans, then don’t eat them. Why? Well, because there are at least a dozen things we could name off the top of our heads that would give the same result. Just like with exercise.

When it comes to designing a training program, YOU pick only what YOU like, what fits into your lifestyle and your body’s limitations.

Create that calorie deficit however you like

Somewhere along the line the reason behind doing exercise has been lost and now causes quite a deal of confusion. First and foremost, exercise improves fitness, which in turn has a positive impact on health. From a fat-loss perspective, exercise burns calories. In doing that, it enables you to burn fat by putting you into a calorie deficit if you are eating right. So, if you needed to create a 200 kcal deficit, you could do that any way you want.

If you burn 200 calories walking your dog for 45 mins, that’s the same as doing a 20-minute HIIT session that also burnt 200 calories. Don’t get caught up in the ‘afterburn effect’, the research is barely there and the actual prolonged effect on metabolism is so small it’s irrelevant.

There IS NOT a magic form of training to burn fat, that’s the point to always remember and keep in mind, especially when you are doing something you don’t enjoy.

Imagine being 20 stone and thinking that burpees combined with mountain climbers and hills sprints were the answer. Well, the first thing that would happen is you would try them and get disheartened by the fact you couldn’t do them. You may well get injured, then feel demotivated and then actually end up going backwards. Do ONLY what you like.

Please do not believe the hype of these miracle training protocols. If you want to exercise, take the time to find out what you enjoy and make sure it’s within your current capabilities. You may not even have the time to exercise, but don’t worry as it’s not essential.

If you are injured, suffer from a serious illness, have a crazy job, a big family etc. and you just don’t/can’t exercise but want to lose weight and get healthier, you have nothing to worry about. This is the main reason why the Fine Diet Plan makes no assumption of what training you want to do. You can begin with a blank canvass, knowing whatever you enter in or chose to do will be embraced and allocated to your tailored calories instantly.

Creating that calorie deficit can be done in one of two ways. If you chose to create it through training, because you have a large appetite and want to eat more, then that’s great. However, if you can’t exercise, then create your calorie deficit through food instead. That doesn’t have to be set in stone either and you can chop and change based on circumstance.

Take Ben personally, for instance. Throughout his 10-stone fat loss journey, he had brief periods where he could be training and, for the most part, times when he couldn’t. So, all he would do is calmly and confidently react to the situation and adjust his calories. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do manually and the Fine Diet hadn’t even been thought of then, but he managed.

If, for example, a person needed to hit 20,000 calories a week to maintain their bodyweight and then decided they wanted to lose body fat, they could use the cross trainer for 25 mins a day, 5 times a week, and burn 400 calories each session and, therefore, 2,000 calories for the week. That would give them a small but healthy 10% calorie deficit through training, which would do the job.

But, if they wanted to achieve the same 10% but couldn’t train, they would simply reduce the weekly calories down to 18,000 per week, which would only be a drop in food of 285 calories per day. This is often where people struggle, because it takes a fair amount of calculation and effort, and it’s one huge reason why we are so proud that the Fine Diet Plan does that all for you in an instant.

It’s all about being flexible and understanding that it’s not exercise that’s magic, it’s the amount of food you are eating. Remember, if you eat 500 kcals extra a day and then did a HIIT session that burned 300 kcals, that wouldn’t create fat loss – it’s all about energy balance.

So please do not let the fact you cannot sprint up a hill at the speed of light, or lift a car above your head stop you from achieving your fat loss goals and, remember, the key to sustaining anything is enjoying it.