Meal Splitting

Well, my plateau issues continue so I decided to pull the pin on Weight Watchers and give Tom Venuto's "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" program a go. So far I'm very excited with what I've been reading and I'm confident once I start to implement his principles I'll get past this dreadful sticking point and finally take it all the way home.

It seems I've been in a classic "starvation mode" all along and my metabolism has slowed so that now I'm not losing weight any more on the same (meagre) calories and if I eat more I start to gain, but if I eat less I don't have the energy to exercise so I still gain (or at least don't lose it). Damned if I do and damned if I don't...

The trick is to ramp my metabolism up by eating more. Not so much that I put on fat but also not so little that I lose the energy to work out and/or lose lean body mass. That sounds like it could be tricky but with some careful planning it's entirely possible (and probably the only correct way to lose weight fat anyway).

Tom, like may other fitness experts, recommends 5 or 6 small meals per day and each meal should contain a balance of carbs, proteins and fats somewhere around 50-55% carbs, 30% protein and 15-20% fat. Oddly when I punch my numbers into Calorie King it shows I'm a bit high on the fat and protein and not getting enough carbs. The fat comes as no surprise (getting fat intake below 20% is easier said than done) but I'd been expecting my carbs would be too high and I wasn't getting enough protein... Well, slap me with a slice of wholegrain (hold the ham & mayo)!

One method he recommends to change 3 meals into 6 is to just split your meals in two and eat half now and the other half 2-3 hours later. You're never full this way but you're never empty either so insulin levels are more stable, and you're always assured that the next meal is only an hour or two away so a bit of hunger is easy to tolerate.

I've found the meal splitting idea an awesome break-through for me. Splitting my lunch so that I have half around midday and the other half around 3 means I'm not looking for an afternoon snack. Splitting dinner means my belly isn't too full after dinner so I feel up to hitting the gym rather than slumping in front of the TV, and then later on I eat the other half when I'd normally be looking for a snack (read: having a nocturnal eating frenzy). All in all it means not only am I taking in less calories but I'm also getting into the gym regularly again so I'm burning a bit more as well as preserving and maybe even increasing my lean body mass a little too.

Has it made a difference on the tape or scales? Not yet but I need to be patient for my metabolism to get normal again and to also make the final break away from sugar/junk food. I'm confident though.