Transformation Tuesday

Hi guys! This is my transformation since I first started tracking my calories. It's been a long journey but it was worth it every step of the way. For anyone that is just starting, I will warn you: once you see results, it will become an addiction! But personally, if I can do it, anyone can.

Balance and moderation are key. Don't label foods as "good" or "bad" -- there is no such thing. There are only bad quantities. Meal-timing and meal frequency are also irrelevant. Our bodies don't have a biological clock that slows down its metabolism when it's night time. Take your standard 2,000 calorie diet. If you eat 5 meals a day, each meal would amount to 400 calories. On the other hand, if you eat 2 meals a day, each would be 1,000 calories. At the end of the day, the energy your body expends to metabolize these calories will be the SAME. This is known as the thermic effect of food (TEF) and it is the law of thermodynamics. There is no going around it, any way you look at it. Thus, you cannot "boost" your metabolism or make your body become more "efficient" by (manipulating) meal timing and/or frequency.

And you can have carbs at night, whether it's 7pm or 11pm.. or whenever. Calories consumed at 11pm are the same as those consumed at breakfast. I am living proof of this. It just gets a little tricky when you start to consider when your "next day" is. I personally don't have my first meal until around 2pm or later -- not that I starve myself or anything, I'm just naturally not hungry in the mornings. And yes, this means breakfast isn't the most important meal of the day!!

Everyone is different. I think the whole message about how skipping breakfast may lead to unwanted weight gain is due to the fact that some people tend to over-eat later in the day when they skip breakfast (because of their busy schedules or whatever other reason). But if you are tracking your calories honestly and consistently staying within a calorie deficit, you will lose weight! Consistency is everything. Cardio isn't required to put the weight off either. It is good for cardiovascular health but is by no means necessary if you aren't a cardio type of person (like myself -- I prefer high intensity interval training like sprints as opposed to long distance endurance). A lot of this may sound counter-intuitive, I know. But I paid my dues when I spent about a half year constantly preparing meals, eating 5 times a day, every few hours.

Find out what works best for you. Take it day by day.. and slow progress is better than no progress! Here is 2 years for you -- with a lot of trial and error before I found the type of dieting style that works best for me

I apologize in advance if any of the above sounds repetitive. I made another post in the Success Stories section of this forum. But feel free to add me! My goal here is to motivate and inspire anyone who just started on their fitness journey as well as anyone that is currently on one and needs support to keep going!