The Fat Loss Secret
People are constantly searching for that one weight loss strategy or principle that is guaranteed to help them lose weight quickly and easily and of course, with little effort.
Well, there is one fat loss secret that most people never seriously consider when it comes to guaranteeing quick and effective weight loss results. It is so simple in fact that so many people overlook it in their quest for the 'holy grail' of weight loss.
By using this weight loss secret you are virtually guaranteeing your success. So what is this secret you ask? Here it is...
Prepare your own meals!
'What? That's it! That's not a fat loss secret. It can't be that simple', I hear you protest!
Before you dismiss this fat loss secret as a useless principle and too simple to be effective, think about it for a moment.
Think about how many meals you have each week that you don't prepare yourself. These may include eating out at restaurants, dining at a friend's house, going through a drive-through at a fast-food outlet, picking up Chinese or a pizza on the way home or simply throwing one of the frozen dinners in the microwave.
If we assume that we consistently have 5 or 6 small meals a day, as we should, then over the period of week we will consume at least 35 meals. Plus, if you are certain that you're only having 2 or maybe 3 meals that you don't prepare yourself then you'll be fine.
These 2 or 3 meals will generally be your 1 or 2 'Treat Meals' each week as well as 1 meal that you may have at a friend's or family member's house. The other 32 or 33 meals should be prepared by you.
As hard as it sounds, you'll be surprised at how easy it can be. Firstly, breakfast every morning is pretty easy to prepare. It may be 30 grams of cereal with some LSA and psyllium husks or 2 eggs on a piece of toast. Simply have it before you leave home for work or school. Both options will only take you a few minutes to prepare and consume.
Then your mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks should also be relatively easy. You may have the occasional protein shake, a piece of fruit with some almonds, 100 grams of yoghurt with 200 grams of low-fat cottage cheese, or perhaps a tin of flavoured tuna on 2 corn thins. Organise a carry bag or 'fridge' bag to carry your meals to work or school with you.
Well, there's 21 meals sorted out already!
Your lunch meals during the week should be prepared the night before. Then you can simply keep it in the fridge with your mid-morning and mid-afternoon meals and easily take it with you the next day.
Most people find it easy to simply prepare extra food at dinner so they can have that for lunch the next day. This way you save a lot of preparation time. Some people even go as far to prepare the weekly evening meals on the weekend and then put them in the freezer so they can use them whenever they need them. This is especially useful for busy people who work long hours and who are generally tired when they arrive home in the evenings.
In the morning when they go to get their mid-morning, lunch and mid-afternoon meals from the fridge in the morning before they head off to work, they simply transfer a meal from the freezer into the fridge so when they arrive home after work it has defrosted and only needs to be heated up for dinner.
There are so many benefits to preparing your own meals and disciplining yourself to create the habit of meal preparation. It is one of the main reasons why most people don't achieve the goals they want. If only they disciplined themselves to perform this one action they would be amazed at the results they would achieve.
Most personal trainers say that if their clients are disciplined enough to prepare their meals then it is far more likely that they will achieve the results they want. They believe that this one habit alone is even more important than any nutritional plan or exercise program that the client may follow! By simply preparing their meals themselves success is almost guaranteed. It really is a fat loss secret!
Here are just some of the reasons why preparing meals is a fat loss secret and ensures successful body composition change:
Mindset.
The habit of preparing good, wholesome, healthy meals helps people stay focused on their physical goals.
Effort.
The more effort people put into their own meal preparation, then the more they tend to respect this important necessity of life. If they rely on other people or companies to do it for them then the less they tend to care about what goes into their bodies.
Control.
Preparing meals gives people control on what goes into a meal. If people eat out on a regular basis it is very hard to control exactly what goes into a meal.
Knowledge.
People who don't cook much don't know what food is going into their body when they eat out or get take away. Shopping for food, measuring it, preparing it and then putting the food into a meal gives people a wealth of knowledge about what they should eat every day.
Variation.
Preparing your own meals ensures you can have a huge variety of healthy meals to ensure you never get bored. As long as you know basic cooking methods as well as how to use herbs and spices, the variety of meals you can prepare is endless.
Avoid temptations.
Having your meals with you at work or school makes it easier to avoid temptations. When you're feeling really hungry and you walk into a shop to buy your lunch or a snack, not only do they rarely have healthy options available but the temptation to get something sweet or high in fat is huge.
If you sincerely want to achieve further body composition changes and you are not preparing at least 32 meals a week for yourself, then you need to consider modifying your nutritional habits.
Once you start making meal preparation a regular habit of yours, you will then fully understand why it really is the fat loss secret.
