Susan Niebergall joins me for the third time on the show (see Episodes 94 and 231) and this time around, we get to talk about her excellent new book, “Fit At Any Age: It’s Never Too Late”. We discuss the pitfalls she experienced with her own weight loss journey, how she had her “a-ha” moment and what we see affect our clients in practice. Susan’s story never ceases to inspire and I know you’ll love the episode and her book.
To find out more about Susan and to order a copy of “Fit At Any Age” for yourself:
On the afternoon of October 9, 2020, my wife, Marissa, and I were leaving Glenns Creek Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. We took a trip down starting the day before to celebrate her birthday which fell that week and our wedding anniversary which would be two days later.
We were making our way through certain parts of the “bourbon trail” that weekend and Glenns Creek was our last stop that day. We were fortunate to have a tasting with the owner of that distillery and it would prove to be one of our more memorable stops for more than one reason.
We did our best to pick up mementos from each distillery we could, whether it be a bottle to bring back home, a tumbler or something of that nature. At Glenns Creek, there were bourbon staves available for sale and I asked for one of those to add to our transaction. The owner was kind enough to sign it and I asked for a special request after his signature.
“Could you please write your tagline on the stave as well?”
As Marissa and I were leaving, I handed her the stave and said: “Read it.”
Alas, I’m getting ahead of myself.
Something I’ve made mention of more recently, via this blog and my podcast, is that Marissa and I have had an interesting history together. None of it has been traditional or orthodox, none of it has been what I think either of us ever considered normal.
As I’ve said to her, I feel as if we’ve spent the better part of our 11 years together going from one challenging circumstance to another. The upside being, that you get to be really good at solving problems and overcoming those challenges; the downside being, that you can (as we did) lose sight of actually having a relationship.
Readers of mine who have been in a long term relationship of any note know that nothing is ever perfect and as the adage goes “marriage is hard” and we’ve seen a lot of that in our time together.
The first 16 months of our relationship, Marissa was still a performer at DisneyWorld in Florida. We would see each other once a month, me in Ohio trying my damnedest to get RevFit off the ground, and she, 1000 miles away in Orlando. What we didn’t have in quantity of time, became a focus on quality.
It was within the first 7 months of those 16, that my father was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. He would leave this world nine months later. Marissa had to see me through all of that and I can’t imagine it was easy for her to do.
Her contract ended at Disney shortly before my Dad passed and after 5 years living in much warmer climates, she moved back to Ohio to be closer to me and her family.
Sadly, her parents were soon to be separated not long after she moved back. So, we transitioned from the trauma of losing my father to the trauma of watching her parents split.
We were both in these strange phases of our lives. RevFit kept growing and as it did, the demands on my time increased which meant, less time to spend with her. Marissa did her best to balance whatever degree of support she could provide to not only our relationship but the one with her parents too.
Due to the circumstances of losing my father and how it affected my mother and the way that Marissa’s parents were handling their divorce, our time became even more compromised, each of us children trying to step up in efforts to support the women who brought us into this world.
As my business continued to grow, it fed into my workaholic nature and I not only threw more of myself into the business, but it took more away from what I could emotionally give to my relationship. As one could predict, this began to create friction between Marissa and I.
Nevertheless, our relationship continued to move forward, and in October of 2014, we married.
“They” say that your problems don’t go away once you get married and those wise people would be correct. Our problems, no matter how they manifested, would only simmer and explode or be swept under the rug, waiting for a cleaning that never wanted to arrive.
August of 2017 brought the arrival of our son, Sebastian. Marissa’s first child, my second, having Jackson in my first marriage. The year before, Marissa and I had the opportunity to take over another business, a performing arts/dance school where she could let her creativity continue to grow.
But, the addition of a child, plus the demands of a new business proved to be more than she or I could handle, and the stress of that business only compounded the stress we brought into our marriage.
And so, each of us fiercely stubborn and independent in our own way, began to focus on the things we felt control over: RevFit for me and motherhood for her. Resentments, continued friction and a growing inability to communicate only furthered our problems.
When the dam finally broke, and it did, there was little left for us. We had nearly become strangers in our own home, two people passing like thieves in the night, trying to maintain composure for the sake of our son and not really succeeding at anything.
So, we had to step back, both of us coming to the conclusion that we each needed a therapist to sort through what was happening.
There were times when I think neither of us quite knew how to step forward or even if we could.
Slowly, that tide began to shift. There was no one catalyst. There were so many forces working for and against us that it felt as if we were speaking two different languages trying to work towards the same truth.
In many ways, it was an approach of “burn it all down and build it back again.” (Not a method I would recommend to others).
Little by little, our communication changed, the way we looked at each other changed, the way we said “I love you” changed, the way we actually showed love in our house changed.
It had to.
Too much damage had been done and it was our own way of reinventing the wheel.
That trip last year was a pivotal shift for us. It was our first time away together without Sebastian and we needed time to talk without interference, without fear of reprise, laying all of our cards out on the table.
Today, we are not the same. We could not possibly be. We deserved better than that.
And when I gave her that stave, the tagline from Glenns Creek, written on the stave by the owner said: “A little different, a lot better.”
Marissa read it.
I looked at her and said, “Like us.”
Her eyes started to well up with tears and she said, “Yes, just like us.”
And it’s been our mantra to each other ever since.
Derek Saunders of Macros Inc. joins me this week for his debut on the show. In this episode, we talk about his journey into the industry and how his own story of weight loss informs how he coaches clients to this day. We also dive into the importance of better habits with weight loss, focusing on what we can personally control in life, trigger foods, and the dangers of comparisons in dieting.
On any given week, I respond to a number of questions from my clients who are constantly trying to improve their physiques for either health or aesthetic purposes (frequently both).
As the adage goes, there’s “no such thing as a stupid question” and I generally agree.
A question that a client might ask is in reference to where they feel they’re currently stuck. As if, in finding the solution they’ll achieve the results that have been eluding them or they can overcome a given plateau.
However, many of the questions I get don’t actually get to the heart of the problem. It’s not that they’re bad questions or stupid questions or anything of the sort. They just aren’t the types of questions that can give you the sustainable solutions or make the dramatic shifts clients might be looking for.
For instance, these types of questions might be:
-Are artificial sweeteners keeping me from losing weight?
-Should I be doing fasted cardio for better fat loss?
-Is inflammation the reason I can’t lose weight?
-Is my metabolism broken?
-Why is my neighbor seeing such great results and I’m not? (I’m doing way more than she is!)
-Should I do a juice cleanse to reset my body?
-Do I need a probiotic to lose weight?
What many people tend to forget is that the solution to better weight loss results depends on factors that are less sexy to talk about, terribly hard to market and actually require self-awareness, candor and “homework”.
I wanted to spend some time this week to offer you better questions, more effective questions and ultimately more enlightening questions that can help you with your weight loss goals.
I’ve opted to break down the questions into a handful of different categories. You may need to revisit these questions from time to time if your weight loss has stalled or before you jump to the next ill-fated diet.
Below, you’ll find questions relating to food intake, stress management, your social/support circle, mental/emotional status, sleep habits and methods of exercise. The list of questions is by no means exhaustive and you may find that a question I fail to ask below leads to a question better suited to your particular set of circumstances.
There is no one question that will solve the riddle of weight loss for you. You will likely have to answer several depending on where your life, body and mind are right now. It might even be helpful for you to answer as many of these questions as possible on the first go-round and then see where changes might need to be made.
Due to the nature of some of these questions, in some places, I’ve combined several questions under one bullet point to help you drill down for more specifics.
It’s my kind suggestion that you write the answers down to the questions you feel speak to you the most, date them, and refer back as needed. Life continues to evolve and questions you need answers to today may be different six months from now.
Questions About Food Intake
-Do you know how many calories you need to eat per day to lose fat? If so, how many?
-How many days in a week/month can you successfully hit that caloric goal? If that total is lower than you’d like, is your calorie goal too low? Have you considered raising it by 100 calories per day for better overall adherence?
-If you’re not currently tracking your food (as this method is not conducive for some people emotionally) have you tried taking pictures of your food for a visual daily journal?
-What is the easiest change you can make to your diet that would almost guarantee fat loss?
-Aside from water, what drinks do you consume which have calories? (Don’t forget to include creamers and sugars in coffee/tea, alcohol, protein shakes, juice, pop, energy drinks and tonic water).
-Do you currently measure your food using measuring cups/spoons? Do you need to start doing so for better accuracy?
-Do you currently weigh your food using a food scale? Do you need to start doing so for more accuracy than cup/spoon measurements?
-What time of the day do you find it more likely that you will snack, graze or nibble at foods? Do you track that? How many calories would you estimate occur at those times?
-How frequently do you get second or third helpings of food? How can you reduce that number?
-How frequently do you eat dessert?
-Do you currently measure your alcohol intake? Can you calculate how many calories that is on a weekly basis?
-How many times per week do you eat “fast food” or purchase food through drive-thrus? Can you reduce that number?
-How much water do you drink on an average day?
-Do you have any trigger foods in your home/office? Can they be removed?
-What foods do you find you have no control over when you eat them and are more likely to overconsume? Does your family or the primary grocery shopper in your family know this? Are there substitutions?
-What foods can you successfully moderate in your diet?
-What foods do you need to temporarily/indefinitely abstain from?
-Do you ever sneak foods? If so, what foods do you typically sneak and how often does it occur?
-When was the last time you intentionally ate “at maintenance” and not on given ends of a spectrum of either dieting or “splurging/cheating/bingeing”?
-Do you find that best-selling diet books and food documentaries easily sway the way you choose to eat? What leads you to believe these are accurate sources of information?
Stress Management
-On a scale of 0-10, with 0 being “Not noticeable” and 10 being “Intolerable”, how is your stress level currently? Why did you select that number?
-When you’re highly stressed, do you use food/alcohol as a coping strategy?
-What other skills, hobbies, distractions can you use not related to food or alcohol when you are highly stressed?
-Have you considered speaking with a qualified counselor to help you with your stress levels?
-Take stock on the areas of your life that contribute to your stress. Is it professional? Is it personal? Is it possible to change those areas so they can provide you less overall stress?
-Do you frequently find that your stress level “deserves” a food or alcohol reward? Why do you feel that way and what do you use to reward yourself? How often does that happen?
Your Social/Support Circle
-Can you make a list of the 5 people you spend the most time with?
-Do all 5 of these people know how important your weight loss goals are to you?
-Of those 5 people, who is the MOST supportive of your goals?
-Of those 5 people, who is MOST likely to sabotage your efforts?
-How can the most supportive person be of more help to you in times of weakness related to your goals?
-How can the person most likely to sabotage you be more aware of their actions?
-What specifically is done in your circle of 5 that is most likely to sabotage your efforts? How can that be reduced?
Mental/Emotional Status
-Do you currently feel emotionally prepared to diet for weight loss?
-Why do you feel you need to lose weight at this time? Is that your goal or something an external source has asked of you?
-How frequently do you weigh yourself? Is that a positive indicator that you are making progress? If you were to weigh yourself less frequently, how else could you determine that you are on the right path according to your goals?
-Do you often consider other variables to your health that may be affected by your current weight? For example, do you consider having more energy, sleeping better, having an improved libido, feeling less joint pain, or not feeling out of breath when you take stairs as indicators that things are moving in a positive direction? Do you celebrate those non-scale victories?
-How does social media (Facebook, Instagram, news outlets, Snapchat, YouTube) affect the way you perceive yourself?
-Are there any people/sites you follow that make you feel unworthy or unattractive? Have you tried unfollowing them?
-How often do you find that you think about food, read recipes, share recipes on social media, and compare your calorie needs versus someone else’s? Does that seem like a healthy/reasonable amount of time? Do the recipes you share align with your specific goals/needs?
-If you have a history of dieting or cycles of yo-yo dieting, have you spoken to a qualified therapist to see why you have not been able to succeed at weight loss and weight maintenance?
-How does your upbringing influence your relationship with food?
-What is the narrative you tell yourself about how your cultural heritage affects your relationship with food?
-Do you frequently find that you blame others for your food choices? Do those people know that you feel that way? How do they respond to your feelings?
Sleep Habits
-Do you have a consistent sleep schedule (Going to bed and waking up at the same approximate time each day)? If not, what would you attribute that to?
-Do you sleep in a cool, dark room?
-Do you give yourself 30-60 minutes without electronics before you go to sleep?
-Do you take any sleep aids? If so, what do you take and do you find that they give you restful sleep? Do you know that certain sleep aids may need to be discontinued temporarily because the body can develop a tolerance to them?
-Have you tried a “brain dump” before bed? (This is simply a few notes of things that are pressing on your mind which may need to be done the next day).
-Have you considered that alcohol intake is preventing you from deeper sleep? (Many people claim that alcohol helps them fall asleep but they are unable to achieve deep sleep after drinking).
-If your partner/significant other mentions that you snore, have you considered being tested for sleep apnea?
-Did you know there is a correlation between a poor night’s sleep and poor dietary choices the day after? How can you improve that?
Methods Of Exercise
-How do you currently exercise? How many days per week do you do that?
-Do you find that exercise leaves you energetic or do you typically have a lot of soreness and fatigue afterwards?
-How often do you perform high intensity exercise?
-How many calories do you believe you are burning when you exercise?
-Do you have a tendency to eat more on the days that you exercise as a reward for a hard workout?
-How do you currently scale up your method of exercise? Do you have quantitative data to show that you are getting stronger, or faster, or that you have an otherwise measurable proof of better endurance?
-Do you feel that exercise is an efficient fat burning tool? If so, do you use your diet to complement that?
As you can see, when we (as coaches) talk about successful fat loss, the advice of “eat less, move more” is accurate but nuanced. Our relationship with food, our social circle, the way we handle stress, the way we manage our sleep habits and how we train all have a direct effect on how we eat, what we eat and how much we eat.
These questions are designed to help you understand where the pitfalls may be and ultimately carve out a more specific and more successful path to your fat loss goals.
A.J. Morton, of FitPro Mentorship Review, joins me this week on the show. In this episode, we talk about the origins of his Mentorship group and why it might matter not only to fellow fitness professionals but to those who hire us for professional services. This was a fascinating conversation and I think A.J. has done a fantastic job keeping this group of the highest value and caliber around.
With every twist and turn, every fantastic moment or tragic detour, there’s an opportunity.
Each day that I wake up, I have another chance, another glimpse at a different reality.
I’ve taken the parts of my story, the ones where bad and good things happened to me, the ones where I’ve initiated the good and bad in my life, and those parts have shaped me.
Defined me.
Molded me.
It’s a flawed life. It’s a painful life. It’s a beautiful life. It’s an ever-evolving life.
I have allowed that story to shape friendships, my marriage, fatherhood and into owning a business.
I have allowed that story to define who I am, how I live and how I react to the things that happen around me.
That story has nearly killed me on a handful of occasions.
I’ve shared many parts of that story on this blog.
It’s said that depression is when you are chained to the past and anxiety is when you are in fear of the future.
I’ve suffered both (not always in a clinical sense) for much of my life.
And there are stories you tell yourself too.
Whether you are the victim or the hero(ine).
Whether the way you were raised defined every choice you made into adulthood.
There are those who point a finger at the people around them and say: You’re the reason I am this way.
And those who aim their finger at the mirror and say: You are the reason I’ll be better today.
Every decade of my life has brought it’s share of: I can’t believe that happened to me, I can’t believe I did that, and When will you ever learn from your mistakes, you stubborn son of a bitch…
It’s in between those moments, those mind-altering, game-changing moments, that life continues to happen.
A life that can either pass us by because we stop paying attention to the signs or a life we become enraptured by.
If your life is anything like my life, you have a past that has defined you.
Respect that past.
Let it guide you.
However, if you are a prisoner to your past, you have a choice.
You can continue to write the same story over and over again and be discouraged by the results (the definition of insanity…)
Or you can take your proverbial pen to imaginary paper and start writing something different.
Something better.
Something to be proud of.
Something your children, your loved ones, and the people who have left this world believing in you knew you were capable of.
Coach Ashley Day of Kick Ash Training joins me this week. In this episode, we talk about the mental obstacles that stand in the way of our progress and how a change of perspective can be the difference in whether we succeed with our goals or not. We also talk about how a foundation of strength and self-respect can be the best place to start.
By time you read this, my son, Jackson, will have turned 13.
I have my own shock at how these last 13 years have passed by so quickly.
I am still telling myself, like any other parent who’s been through this: I can’t believe I have a teenager…
Most of my readers know that Jackson has autism and for all of his 13 years to date, he’s been just about one of the happiest children I’ve ever had the opportunity to know.
I write this week’s blog in tribute to my new teenager and from a bittersweet place in this pandemic.
When everything began with the coronavirus last year, it affected our ability to see Jackson as frequently as we might normally.
His mother and I have maintained a great relationship despite our marriage not working but the initial fear when businesses were on lockdown last spring, led us to agree that perhaps it was safest and best for all parties that we put a pause on visitations until we all felt more secure with how the virus spikes were happening.
So, we didn’t see Jackson for about 2 months last spring and then we tried to pick up frequency when things “seemed” normal again. However, that was before a November spike happened in the state of Ohio and we put a pause on the visits again.
Unfortunately, during that time, Jackson’s mom tested positive for the virus and she self-quarantined away from Jackson and her boyfriend so that they were not at greater risk to catch it.
The good news is, she has mostly recovered and is trying to get back to her previous strength and stamina relative to where she was prior to diagnosis. And, Jackson remained negative.
So, as a father, it’s been tough to go through so much of the holiday season and into his birthday month with only a handful of FaceTime calls to get us through. If there were a silver lining to Jackson having autism, it’s that he has shown little negative effect of being in quarantine. He has access to all of his toys all day long, can partake in school virtually and rarely has to hop out of his pajamas. I’d say, that’s quite an enjoyable life for him.
I know that others have it much worse. I have clients who can’t visit their parents in nursing homes and may have had to discontinue traveling to see family because of safety concerns for elder parents. I can’t rank my pain against anyone else’s.
It’s just part and parcel for how 2020 has transitioned into 2021.
I know that we miss having him the way we did when things were “normal” but that this too shall pass and we’ll look back at this as a small hiatus in his long, happy, healthy life.
Sebastian definitely misses having his big brother around and no doubt will shower him with more attention than he likely wants the next time we have him.
I was fortunate to be able to see Jackson on his birthday after nearly three months of not seeing him. He was, as I suspected, just as happy as I could ever ask him to be.
I write these blogs each year for my boys as part diary and part just a place to put some random thoughts.
To Jackson, he may never be able to comprehend these words but I write them as if maybe one day he could.
Until then, this is my love note to my son: Dad loves you (and misses you) and I can’t believe you’re 13.
Happy Birthday, to my young man, my little “meatball” who is not so little anymore.
Melody Schoenfeld returns for her 4th appearance on the show this week. You can check out episodes 88, 163 and 205 to hear her former appearances. This time, we get to chat about her new book “Diet Lies and Weight Loss Truths” which she co-authored with another veteran of this show, registered dietitian, Susan Kleiner. If you’re looking for a great dive into the most popular diets out there and a very un-biased, evidence based look at what they do and don’t do, Melody did fantastic work here. She also looks into the other areas of successful dieting that tend to get overlooked like: psychological impact and goal setting. This is another HIGHLY recommended read.
To learn more about Melody’s work and to purchase your copy of “Diet Lies and Weight Loss Truths”:
Several years ago, I wrote a blog outlining some options to pick from when venturing into the conventional fast food drive-thru. I kept those options higher in protein and still calorie controlled for those wanting to have better choices and not feel like they derailed their weight loss efforts simply because they made a planned/unplanned detour into McDonald’s or some place similar.
However, due to changes in public taste, the need to add variation, and relative availability in light of the pandemic, many of those options may have changed since then.
As a refresher, if all you had access to was fast food options, you can still lose weight effectively assuming you are consistently in a caloric deficit.
Some people may snub their nose at the quality of fast food as opposed to a home cooked meal and they wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. However, this isn’t a discussion on quality, it’s on portion sizes/quantity.
Here’s the thing: no matter where you go in the domestic U.S., a Big Mac will always be the exact same amount of calories because they’re made in the exact same way, every.single.time.
Several years ago, my friend and fellow business owner, Kristie, asked me for some help with her weight loss goals. I knew that Kristie was a big fan of cheeseburgers and when I gave her a calorie estimate to shoot for, I asked her to consider how she wanted to include cheeseburgers into that diet.
Kristie, not unlike a lot of people, assumed that any weight loss plan would deny her the ability to have her favorite food. I reminded her that calories mattered more than food choice for weight loss efforts and she asked: I know that a Big Mac is about 500 calories. Are you telling me that I could have a Big Mac every day and as long as I make up the difference to get to my calorie goal, I’ll still lose weight?
“Yes”, I said “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
To Kristie’s credit, she didn’t eat Big Macs every day but she had them several times a week. She also removed alcohol from her plan for a lengthy amount of time in efforts to keep her calories in line as well. Ever since then, we’ve always joked about her great weight loss success on the “Big Mac Diet”.
Of course, Kristie’s not alone. Internationally renowned coach, Jordan Syatt, ran the experiment on himself too. You can read about that HERE.
If we were arguing that Chipotle (for instance) is a healthier option than McDonald’s, the source of the food might be “better”, relatively speaking. The problem with places like Chipotle is that you are at the mercy of the person serving you. A “little” bit of sour cream means one thing to one server and something different to another server.
I was recently at a Chipotle near RevFit and I asked for a “little” bit of sour cream. My server, the nice gal that she was, dropped a loaded ladle full onto my steak bowl. Estimated calories in that ladle: somewhere between 300-400…IN SOUR CREAM!
I wasn’t the type to be nasty about it and ask them to make it over again but now that my bowl was drowning in sour cream, it definitely made caloric navigation a lot more difficult to do.
Places like Subway and Panera aren’t exponentially different either. While you do have the advantage of watching them prepare your food, you don’t have complete control over how added options like: dressing, cheese, guacamole and added oils can drastically derail what might otherwise be a decent option.
Of course, it does help that many of these chain restaurants post the calories for the foods they offer. It makes it easier for you, as the consumer, to make a more informed choice of what you’re going to order.
Where things tend to get dicey is when we cave in to options that send us further from our goals. In other words, maybe you weren’t planning on getting fries with that burger but as soon as the person taking your order asks if you want to add fries, that little voice goes off in your head says: Fries would be delicious! YES! Order the fries!
And even on the low end, you’re adding an easy 300 calories to your meal and often double that.
So, here are some loose guidelines to help control the calories at the drive-thru or fast food establishment. I’m including places like Chipotle and Subway even though they aren’t always considered in the same breath as McDonald’s and Burger King.
While you certainly don’t have to follow all of these, adhering to any combination of them can drastically reduce your total caloric intake in that meal.
–Skip The Side. Whether it’s chips at Chipotle or Subway, a baguette at Panera or fries at Wendy’s, your entree probably has enough calories in it to be sufficient for a portion size (and often well beyond that). If you want to stack the deck in your favor, opt out of the side offering.
–Grab a bottle of water. While diet drinks are often low or zero in calories, a bottle of water is going to not only guarantee a zero calorie option for you but you get the added bonus of better hydration, flushing excess sodium through your system and assisting with processing fiber and waste removal. I try not to over hype any one area of a diet but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who won’t encourage an increase in water intake.
–Swap a veggie for a starch. A really easy way to cut back on calories without necessarily counting them is to swap out your starch option and toss in a veggie instead. Sub shops like Jimmy John’s let you wrap your sandwich in a leaf of lettuce and Chipotle can set your bowl over greens as opposed to rice. While salads can be a good option, if you’re not careful they can actually be higher in calories than a sandwich. I spoke in greater detail about that HERE.
–Watch the condiments. While I’m on the subject of salads, take any dressing on the side so that you can control the amount you’re consuming. I’ve seen hundreds of calories get added to a fairly innocuous offering of food in dressing/oils alone. It’s not just dressing though. For weight loss purposes, steer clear of mayonnaise, tartar sauce, and dressing. If you really want those condiments, get them on the side and use the smallest amount you can. Mustard and balsamic vinegar tend to be safer options from a calorie standpoint. Also, never discredit how added black pepper or oregano can spice up a dish without adding much in the way of calories either.
–Hold the cheese. Need a ridiculously easy way to cut back at least 100 calories from any food option? Remove the cheese. 100 calories is conservative though. I’ve seen Subway and Chipotle put well over that in their offerings simply because they don’t measure cheese. It just gets tossed on. Other high fat options that can get out of control are avocado/guacamole, sour cream (as mentioned above) and added nuts.
–Eat mindfully. One of the reasons it’s called “fast food” is that it’s not only fast to make but exceptionally fast to eat. I can inhale a burger in around 5 bites. Total time to consume? Probably less than 3 minutes. Does that sound mindful? Of course not! Take your time chewing the food, slow down your pace and actually try picking out the combination of flavors. Disclaimer: One health professional I know used this tip to actually turn his patient away from fast food dining. The slower pace of eating allowed his patient to realize that: Wow! This stuff doesn’t actually taste very good when I slow down my eating!
Ultimately, you are in control of this dining experience for yourself. By virtue alone, eating higher quality foods doesn’t necessarily equate to fat loss and eating fast food doesn’t mean you will gain weight. Some options are custom-designed to 1) make you eat more than you might normally 2) make you come back for more.
How you handle the convenience, the chance of impulsive options and the wide array of ways to play things in your favor is on you. These tips may just help along the way.
And for the record…I did eat this Big Mac (pictured below) and if I had to guess, this was probably the first time I’d eaten one in about 15 years. I do love a good burger but I’d be perfectly content if I didn’t have another Big Mac for another 15 years. I also got a small order of fries which I was not able to finish. Total calories had I eaten everything would have been around 750 calories. By comparison, I would have much rather eaten a burger from Five Guys but I would have paid a greater price (calorically speaking) to do so. A regular hamburger at Five Guys is approximately 700-800 calories and their small order of fries is over 500 calories.
So, if weight loss was my obstacle, what’s the better choice? I think you know the answer.
Jason Leenaarts 