Cheat Meals Explained

Fantastic job!

You are eating well 80-90% of the time. You are getting all of the nutrients your body needs so that you can train hard, recover and train hard again.

The reward? A fit, strong, lean, sexy body!

But you want to let go. Every corner you turn there is an advertisement for some sort of processed junk food. Every page you turn in the newspaper, catalogue or magazine has a bright colored picture of the latest and greatest snack.

You want it, you’ve earned it and ……….the good news is that you can have it!

But before you have a free for all at the buffet and say ‘but James said it was alright!’ we gotta have some rules!

Call it what you will, a cheat meal (sounds negative), a structured re-feed (sounds too technical, and no fun) but the fact remains that there are some benefits from occasionally straying from the nutritional straight and narrow.

If you are restricting the amount of energy your body gets (ie dieting, calorie restriction, eating well) your body adapts to this decrease in energy by altering the levels of certain hormones resulting in an overall metabolic slowdown.

This would perhaps explain why when you start a ‘diet’ that it works for a week or two and then your progress stops.

The cheat meal or re-feed helps to reset these hormone levels back to their previous state so that your body will continue to burn more fat once you return to your proper eating plan.

What to eat. Well that’s pretty simple. Get the carbs moderate to high and keep your protein levels about the same as normal. You want to keep your fat intake under control here however.

So in real food terms you can have a go at those normally nasty starchy carbs, breads, pasta, rice, juice etc. Low fat pizzas and hamburgers will be alright here as well. Stay away from fried foods as they are going to be too high in carbs and fats together which is what we are trying to avoid.

If you are looking to keep the food choices as healthy as possible you can’t go past a heap of vegetables (grab the potatoes while you can), a heap of fruit and your berries as well.

Now that you know what to eat, you need to know how often. Somewhere between one meal and one day (all your meals for the day) per week will do the trick. You will find that this not only helps you to get that extra bit of fat off the body but will keep you focused in the days leading up to to the ‘cheating’.

Raspberry Blender Bomb

All of the recipes I post here are generally the result of some trial and error. As you probably know by now, my number one rule when it comes to eating food is that it has to taste good. Gone are the days of holding your nose and dry reaching in an effort to eat well. Say no to bad tasting food and say yes to this next recipe!

Raspberry Blender Bomb

Ingredients

• 200ml almond milk
• 1/2 cup frozen raspberries
• 1/4 cup whole walnuts
• 1/4 cup banana protein powder

Now this is where it gets tricky. You have to put all of the ingredients into a blender and blast it for 30-60 seconds.

Maybe it’s not that tricky after all, so that means there are no excuses for not eating well.

It will come out like a raspberry sorbet, but if you leave it for a few minutes (or use thawed/fresh raspberries) it will be a great tropical drink.

This blender bomb is perfect as a snack between meals, or even as a desert. You are getting a nice hit of protein, good carbs, good fats, fibre and a heap of other nutrients.

How To Make Almond Meal

I am always looking to find ways to add good fats, fibre and nutrients into my diet and nuts are a great way to do all three.

The thing with nuts though, is that it can be easy to over consume them and bump your daily calories up too high.

Enter almond meal, or any other nut meal really. (The best to work I have found are almonds, cashews, walnuts and hazelnuts)

It is very versatile and can be added to salads, used to make a paste (just add some seasoning and olive oil) for flavouring meat, thicken up your beef chili or even to add to your shakes.

You don’t need much as it works really well with other flavours.

Check out the video for a quick how to in the kitchen.

A to Z of Fat Loss

A is for Avocados. Good fats, plenty of fibre, great with any meal.
B is for Burpees. Old school, simple and effective.
C is for Crunches. Ditch them in favour of Killer Core Exercises.
D is for Deadlifts. Great exercise for your legs, arms and butt.
E is for Eggs. Natures perfect meal.
F is for Fasting. Often overlooked and misunderstood.
G is for Goals. Make sure you have them. You can achieve anything you want.
H is for Heavy. Don’t be afraid of lifting heavy weights. They won’t make you bulk up.
I is for Intensity. Pump it up. When you train, have a proper go. Finish your workout spent.
J is for Jumping. Get your own body weight moving vertically and your heart rate will follow.
K is for Kangaroo meat. Full of nutrients, very lean and good for the environment.
L is for Lifestyle. Make small changes every week and your fat loss lifestyle will be sustainable.
M is for Magnesium. Are you getting enough? If not eat more spinach and pumpkin seeds.
N is for Natural. Avoid processed foods as much as possible.
O is for Obesity. Don’t become a statistic. Stay active and eat well.
P is for Positivity. Focus on the good and eliminate the bad. Always be looking for the positives.
Q is for Quinoa. Actually a seed, but used like a grain. Great addition to soups, or as a substitute for rice. Have you tried it yet?
R is for Rest. Recovery is just as important as the hard work you are doing.
S is for Supersets. Raise the intensity of your workouts by doing two exercises with no rest in between.
T is for Technique. Always exercise with proper technique. The last thing you want to do is injure yourself when working out.
U is for United. Get the support of your family and friends and you will get further than ever before.
V is for Variety. Mix it up and you will never get bored.
W is for Weight. Don’t get too conscious of the scales. Do your clothes fit better, do you look and feel better? These are much more important than a number on the scales.
X is for Xanthines. Caffeine is derived from xanthine, and whether you want an extra boost for your workouts or just to kickstart your day then a caffeine hit will do the trick. (Drawn a long bow here, but you try getting a X for fat loss!!)
Y is for You. Get the body you have always wanted. Don’t be afraid of failing. The only way to fail is to not try.
Z is for Zinc. Common deficiency. Easy enough to get when eating red meat, peas and pumpkin seeds.