Try to Follow those Rules to Lose Weight
Rule 1: Keep Your HEC in Check
The idea is to eat in a way that controls hunger, energy, and cravings (HEC).
These sensations are both biochemical and behavioral and therefore are
impacted by more than just food. However, food has a powerful influence
over HEC. It is the quality of the food rather than quantity that
determines control of HEC. A doughnut and a chicken breast
have the same number of calories – 250 each. Which one is going to fill
you up quicker, keep you satiated for longer, reduce cravings, and give
you more stable energy? Which one is more likely to result in cravings
for more sweet or fatty stuff in the hours after you consume it? You
don’t need a research expert to tell you, do you? It’s common sense.
Foods that have high water, fiber, and protein content are the best
foods to control HEC.
Rule 2: Spend equal time eating as not eating
Your hormonal biochemistry works best in rhythms. It requires time to
build and time to burn. It needs times of increased energy and times of
rest and recovery. When you eat, your hormones are optimized to build
and store. When you don’t eat, those same hormones are optimized to
burn. If you want to burn fat, you have to honor this natural rhythm.
The easiest way to do this is simply break the day into two time frames:
12 hours of eating and 12 hours of fasting. This is easily
accomplished with little impact on hunger, energy, and cravings (HEC)
because most of the 12 hours without food come while you are sleeping.
Rule 3: Find your carbohydrate tipping point
Insulin is a fat storing and fat locking hormone which means when it
is around, excess calories will be stored as fat and fat can’t be used
as energy. What many will not tell you is insulin is also a muscle
building hormone and a hunger suppressing hormone. If it is too low you
can’t build a lean physique and will stay hungry all the time. The major
trigger for insulin release is starchy foods and sugar like bread,
pasta, potatoes, cookies, crackers, rice, etc. The trick is to use
starchy foods to your advantage by finding the amount your body needs to
keep your energy high, make sure you maintain your muscle and balance
HEC, but not so high you slow fat loss down. We call this the carbohydrate tipping point,
and you can find it by adjusting the type, timing, and amount of
starchy carbohydrate to fit your unique metabolism. Don’t try to burn
fat without it.
Rule 4: Eat fat, but not unlimited amounts
The idea that fat does not store fat is ridiculous, but it is also
ridiculous that eating fat automatically makes you fat. Like starchy
foods, we each have our unique tolerance to fatty foods. Fat has several
unique hormonal effects that you will want to understand. First, fat
helps control hunger through the release of hunger hormones like CCK,
GIP, and GLP. Fat also has a relatively neutral impact on insulin when
it is consumed alone. But insulin is not the only fat storing hormone.
Fat intake releases ASP, which is a fat storing hormone in its own
right. And of course fat carries a hefty dose of calories. At the same
time, very low fat diets decrease testosterone and other important
hormones and may therefore slow fat loss and delay muscle gain. The best
approach is to eat your fat, but don’t overdo it especially when it
comes along with starch (see rule 5).
Rule 5: Eat the combination of fat and sugar sparingly
Starch and sugar provide the major impact on insulin production. Fat
alone has little influence on insulin. But fat and sugar/starch combined
together? Watch out! When combined, they create a fat storing atomic
bomb of hormonal activity. First, this combination seems to disrupt the
ability of the metabolism to self-regulate its metabolic thermostat.
This combination also is the most likely to generate the perfect recipe
for fat gain: caloric excess in the context of hormonal fat storing
signals. This combination also causes the fat storing hormonal
triumvirate, simultaneous release of insulin, GIP and ASP. Since GIP and
ASP themselves stimulate more insulin release you can understand why
this combination is one to avoid (more on the hormonal effects of this here).
With this rule, there is no need to take it to the extreme. This
combination is most detrimental when refined starchy foods are also
combined with high fat and you are in a caloric excess. We are not
talking here about apples and peanut butter, oats and nuts, or other
high fiber foods with fat (although these too, despite being healthy,
can slow fat loss in some). What we are talking about are bread and
butter, pastries, ice cream, and the like. Another hint on this rule is
not to go to extremes. These foods have little negative influence in the
context of a low calorie diet.
Rule 6: Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good
The ridiculous notion that you have to eat organic kale and wild
Alaskan salmon from Whole Foods to burn fat is just another form of
judgement and extremism. The truth is fat loss can happen anywhere.
Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. There are plenty of
conveniently packaged protein bars and shakes that may not be ideal, but
serve as functional foods that can quickly decrease cravings, stabilize
energy, and blunt hunger. While real food is always best, use these as
needed to fit your lifestyle.
Rule 7: Learn the ME Label Rule
Packaged foods are difficult to decipher. Will they throw your HEC
out of check and make you store fat? If you subtract the fiber and
protein from the total carbohydrates on a label, the total should equal
ten or less. The lower the number the better. In addition, the fat
content should be less than 15. If not, this food will not be effective
at helping you manage your fat loss goals. This is the art of clinical
practice at its best and a down and dirty quick trick that works
fantastically.
Rule 8: Stop being the dieter and start being the detective
Be a detective not a dieter: To find your fat loss formula,
you need to know how to read the signals of your body and adjust your
approach. Hunger, energy, and cravings give you a reliable source of
biofeedback. Correct these sensations first and then you are in a
position to see lasting change. Resist the temptation to look for off
the shelf “plans”. There is no one way, there is only your way. Work to
create a program by you, for you. Stop being the dieter. Stop looking
for the “right plan”. Stop relying on food lists, meal plans, and
designer supplements. Start being the detective, educate yourself and
create the perfect plan for you. It’s the only way it works. Do what
what works for you.
Rule 9: Know your buffer and trigger foods.
One of the key understandings in this lifestyle is “trigger foods” and “buffer foods”.
Both are important concepts to learn in deciphering the metabolic fat
loss formula unique to every individual. Trigger foods are foods that
trigger hunger, cravings, or energy fluctuations leading to compensatory
eating and/or simply a slow down in fat loss. Buffer foods are foods
that can be used periodically through the day or week to help stave off
compensatory reactions. Unlike trigger foods, they have the ability to
balance the metabolism and work for a person rather than against them.
Buffer foods are far more broad and can simply be something that is
psychologically pleasing (i.e. having 2 squares of dark chocolate in the
afternoon to avoid craving candy or pizza later).
Rule 10: What you do, or don’t do, impacts what you eat, or don’t eat
Exercise impacts hunger and cravings.
Certain forms of exercise make you more hungry while others have less
of an effect. Sleep and stress too. They don’t contain calories and you
can’t eat them, but they dramatically impact HEC and fat loss or gain.
Living the fat loss lifestyle means being acutely aware of how your
actions are impacting your eating. If you are a twenty something male
bodybuilder trying to gain muscle then a few doughnuts post-workout may
be just fine. A 55 year old post-menopausal female likely needs to do
things differently. Understand how your lifestyle intersects with your
unique metabolic expression, psychology, and personal preferences.
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