We’ve all heard it before: You’re going to need to make some life changes if you want to lose weight and keep it off. But, what are the best ways to make life changes, how do you begin, and how long will they take? To answer these questions, I decided to try out an experiment that could transform (or not, depending on how you look at it) my body.
Everyone knows that dieting makes you feel terrible. It can lead to cravings, binge eating, and a general sense of despair. In short, it makes you feel bad! But eating right, on the other hand, can boost your health, improve your energy levels, and even prevent illness, and there’s not a lot of myths out there to support the notion that you can’t make the switch without experiencing a major lifestyle overhaul.
Diet challenges usually come down to what not to eat. But what if you could get amazing results by doing a self-experiment where no product is taboo? Instead of focusing on what you eat, our 30-day nutrition program focuses on how you eat. And the results? They can be transformative.
Do you want higher level equipment? I asked
Do it first and see if you can handle it.
The nutrition advice I just gave Cameron Lichtwer was not what he expected, so I challenged him.
As an instructor at the BC Personal Training Institute, strength and conditioning trainer, and former competitive athlete, Cameron was no stranger to training and nutrition. In fact, he thought he had tried everything.
But my advice? It was so… simple. Wasn’t he already there?
Well, no. Because what I told him can help just about anyone, from the most advanced nutritionists to those who have struggled with healthy eating their whole lives.
Eat slowly and thoughtfully
I know: It seems too simple to work.
But you know what? It was just what Cameron needed. In two months, his body fat percentage dropped from 13.9% to 9.5%, the lowest percentage he had ever had. This was done without weighing or measuring food or following a restrictive diet.
Shortly after I started, he sent me this message:
I can’t believe it. I’m losing fat and wasting my workouts. I sleep better. I feel good.
Cameron was amazed at the results he could achieve with such a simple process.
But it’s not.
Eating slowly is one of the basic exercises of coaching.
Because it works.
So why not try the Slow Food challenge yourself?
Practice this method for just 30 days, and you’ll be amazed at what you’ll accomplish, even if you don’t change anything else.
5 ways this 30-day nutrition challenge will change your body and mind
When it comes to eating better, most people worry about the little things:
- Do potatoes make you fat?
- If I don’t drink a protein shake after a workout, is it worth it?
- Is the keto diet really the best way to lose weight? Or should I go paleo? Or an alkaline diet!
Yet they eat over the counter. Or in his car. Or in a daze in front of the TV.
And who can blame them? We were taught to think about what we eat, not how we eat.
That’s too bad, because…
Eating slowly and attentively can be more important than
- what you eat
- when you eat
- so everything else is perfect.
This may seem a bit controversial. Because if all you eat are Oreos, the speed at which you eat them isn’t your biggest problem.
But beyond the extremes, eating slowly can be the most powerful habit that can lead to great transformations.
Instead of figuring out what foods to eat, how often and in what portions – all important factors, of course – Slow Eating is the easiest way for anyone to start losing weight and feeling better, immediately. (For example, after the first meal of a slow meal).
This will give you confidence and motivation, and from there you can continue to work on the details.
So why go straight to the action when you can get incredible results without it?
Slow eating is not just for novice dieters. Dietary experts also see great benefits. For example, if you look like Cameron, that could be the key to unprecedented progress. We’ve even seen it work for physical development participants, fitness models and even Olympic athletes.
Slow Eating is like a secret weight loss weapon that everyone has, but no one knows about.
That’s because he can help you ….
1. Eat less without feeling useless
Of course, many popular plans claim this advantage. But if you eat slowly, this can happen even if you don’t change what you eat.
In one study, for example, researchers from the University of Rhode Island served the same pasta dish to 30 normal-weight women on two different days. During both meals, participants were encouraged to eat until they were comfortably full.
But they were also told:
- Lunch 1 : Eat this food as soon as possible.
- Lunch 2 : Eat slowly and place the cutlery between each bite.
Results:
- During a quick meal, the women consumed 646 calories in 9 minutes.
- During a slow meal, they consumed 579 calories in 29 minutes.
The slow eaters consumed 67 fewer calories in 20 minutes. They were also hungrier longer after lunch than those who ate a quick meal.
These effects, spread over each meal and snack, can translate into hundreds of calories saved throughout the day.
Of course, this is only one survey, but it shows what we have seen time and time again with our clients.
(If you want, you can try this experiment at home).
Why is that?
Reason 1: Physiology. It takes about 20 minutes for the body to show signs of satiety. Eating slowly gives your system time to work and gives you a better idea of when you are full.
Second reason: Psychology. If you slow down and really try to enjoy your food, you’re more likely to settle for less and feel less deprived.
Rachel Levy: Confronting fear and anxiety.
Rachel Levy’s initial reaction to this challenge: I can’t eat slowly. I’m going to die.
As you can imagine, she didn’t die after trying. She was also the winner of our July 2018 makeover contest.
How did she do that?
I thought I’d give it a try. I just put one foot in front of the other and did only what was asked of me – eat a little slower.
I faced the fear of doing something different.
During the first two weeks of slow feeding, Rachel had one of those aha moments.
I suddenly realized that the reason I ate fast was actually to get feedback: I ate fast to calm my anxiety, but eating fast made me anxious.
Summary: When Rachel discovered this connection, she immediately began to eat slowly.
2. Look and feel better
Do you regularly suffer from bloating, cramps or pain in the abdomen? Many of our customers say that Slow Food has helped them solve their digestive problems.
Why is speed important?
Because when you eat food, you take bigger bites and chew less.
Your stomach has a harder time breaking down these large chunks of food into chyme, a liquid mixture of partially digested food, hydrochloric acid, digestive enzymes, and water, which travels from your stomach to your small intestine.
If food is not broken down properly in the chyme, it can cause indigestion and other gastrointestinal problems. We can absorb fewer nutrients, which means we miss out on valuable vitamins and minerals.
Poor digestion not only makes you feel uncomfortable (maybe even unhappy), but it can also affect the way you think.
If you z. For example, if you experience bloating, belching and lethargy after a meal, you may interpret this as a lack of fitness and disappointment in your efforts. On the other hand, slowing down and digesting properly can help you feel slimmer.
3. Learn to be hungry and full
Have you ever eaten something because it’s a certain time of day, even when you’re not really hungry?
Or eat your plate empty, even if you’re sure you’ll regret it?
These are just a few of the ways people turn off internal hunger and satiety signals. There are many others, but the main point is this:
Many of us eat when we are not hungry and continue eating when we are full.
Eating slowly can help you get back on track. With regular exercise, appetite awareness improves. You will learn to recognize – and most importantly trust – your body’s internal signals.
Over time, this will train you to eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full. Not because a strict diet requires it, but because your body (your new best friend) is telling you to.
It’s the difference between dieting and listening to your body. …. a valuable skill that will help you make healthier choices for the rest of your life.
That’s it – a lasting body transformation without harming your health.
Nellie Long: Fighting food addiction.
Nellie was already in good health when she started her training. She went to the gym 3-5 times a week, ate mostly whole, unprocessed foods, and didn’t try to lose weight.
There was only one problem: She struggled with a food addiction. I had to find a reason to eat a pound of carrots at a time, she says.
When Nelly was first introduced to the habit of eating slowly, she was so afraid of failing that she considered quitting the program. But instead, she accepted the challenge. And although there were setbacks – like that day she ate seven muffins – it got easier and easier.
Now it has revolutionized their relationship with food. On a recent camping trip, Nellie’s friend brought Fritos. At the end of the day, when they had walked 13 miles, Nellie was craving fries.
I would have hit her sooner. But this time I put one in my mouth and enjoyed it. She still ate chips – slowly – but instead of feeling embarrassed and overwhelmed, she felt full and fulfilled.
Big lesson for Nellie:
I realized that if I listen to my body, it will tell me everything I need to succeed.
4. Break the patterns that impede your progress
If you tend to overeat, learning to eat slowly may help.
This may sound strange, because the core of overeating is the overwhelming urge to eat as much food as possible as quickly as possible. (This feature distinguishes supercharging from ordinary supercharging).
But the skills you develop during the slow feeding process can help you limit the damage and build resilience over time.
Here’s how: If you’re in a daze, hit the brakes as soon as you realize what’s happening.
Break. Breathe. The food will be waiting for you. Breathing between bites helps.
You may not be able to stop eating right away, and that’s okay. It’s not about how much you eat, it’s about getting back to thinking things through.
With this slow food technique, most people regain a sense of control. And the more you practice it, the more effective it will be.
If you slow down, even in the most difficult moments :
- You become more aware of why, where and how you overeat (so it no longer feels random and you are finally able to break the chain).
- You will be more inclined to eat less and stop sooner.
- You will feel less panicky and helpless.
- This will help you calm down and return to a reasonable state of mind faster.
Over time, this will help you normalize your diet, improve your physical and mental health, and improve your body composition (or make it easier to maintain a healthy body composition without restriction-compensation cycles).
5. Get a tool you can use anytime, anywhere
We do not always have control over the products offered to us. But we still control the speed at which we chew and swallow.
Think of slow food as the low-hanging fruit of food: super cheap in all situations.
You don’t need special meal plans or scales to achieve this. No matter what’s going on in your life or what’s on your plate, you can practice Slow Eating.
Elaine Gordon: Find a better way.
When Elaine Gordon, a coaching client, started the program, she already knew a lot about nutrition, having worked with coaches for years and done her own research.
I knew a little about nutrition, but the way the NP teaches has helped me a lot, she says.
It’s amazing to see your relationship with food change when you focus your attention and awareness on the eating process.
With a new, smarter relationship with food, Elaine began to get the results she had been looking for all these years. And after Elaine saw how effective this method was, her husband even started eating slowly. Now they practice this habit together.
The best part? Elaine knows she has this tool at her disposal wherever she is and whatever she does.
Even if my diet fails, I can still choose to eat slowly.
How to eat slowly
Eating slowly and mindfully is simple and effective, but not necessarily easy.
Most people have to work at it.
Fortunately, you don’t have to achieve perfection. Instead, try to do a little better. You will be surprised how effective this method is.
Try one of these tips. You can try them for one meal or do a 30-day slow food challenge if you feel like it.
Take a breath
Take a break before you eat. Breathe.
Take a bite. Then take another breath.
Take another bite. Then take another breath.
Take one bite at a time and breathe at a time.
That’s it.
Add one minute only
At first, most people panic at the thought of wasting time eating or being alone too long with their thoughts and creaking sounds. Besides, life is busy and rushed. Long, leisurely meals can seem impossible.
So start small. Only add one minute for each meal. Or two, or three if you’re in an arrogant mood.
When you start eating, start a clock (or use an app like 20 Minute Eating to time it).
The game: Make your meals last as long as possible. Then try to make your next meal last another minute.
Over time, you can gradually increase the time you spend eating.
Don’t be so hard on yourself: If you forget to calm down during a meal, that’s okay. Next time, slow down and watch what happens.
And don’t forget it: A better minute – or better breathing between bites – can also help.
Put the remote control down
To make it even more difficult, don’t eat, watch TV or play with your phone while driving. Sit at the table, not on the couch in the living room, and for heaven’s sake, don’t eat standing over the sink. Try to relax and enjoy your meal.
Most importantly, pay attention to your diet and your body. So for the next 30 days, try to eat in a quiet environment with as few distractions as possible.
Eat food that needs to be chewed well
Do an experiment: Eat a whole piece of food, say a piece of apple, and count the number of chewing motions it takes to swallow a mouthful. Then have a highly processed snack, like. B. a cracker or cookie, and count the number of times you chew.
What differences did you notice?
What type of food do you think is easier to eat slowly?
Act on it now.
Lean, minimally processed proteins, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes require more effort and time to eat.
The more you have to chew, the longer it takes you to eat, which gives time for satiety signals.
Do something between bites
It’s easier to keep up the pace if you have specific actions in mind to portion out the food.
Try between the two:
- search
- Take a breath (or three)
- Take a sip of water.
- question sb.
Enjoy your meal
If you eat… Eat. Enjoy it. Try it.
Is it salt? Nice? Does it cover the bottom of the mouth? What’s the texture?
Notice these little details in every room.
To get a feel for the experience, try tasting food. Practice chewing slowly, sniffing and enjoying your food as if it were fine wine.
Pay attention to what affects the rate of intake
Try experimenting to find out what affects your rate of intake or concentration.
Consider factors such as. B. :
- who you’re going with.
- when you eat
- what you eat
- where you eat
Once you’ve made some observations, ask yourself:
- What can you do to improve what already works well?
- What could you change, given what isn’t working well?
Improve your practice
Pay attention to the speed of intake of those around you. Observe the slowest eater in the group and adjust his speed.
If you’re in a hurry, that’s fine. Put the dishes aside and take a moment to focus. If you are not used to eating slowly, it will take some time to get used to it.
Adopt an experimental attitude and pay attention to what you are learning.
Remember: Every meal is an opportunity to practice.
Philip Wilson: Slimming down and learning to be present.
Like many others, Philip was skeptical about slow eating.
I didn’t expect it to work. It seemed too easy, he said.
Eating slowly proved more difficult than expected, but with practice it worked and the results were remarkable.
Just taking the time to eat slowly has brought me closer to my goals than anything else I’ve tried, says Philip.
And the results aren’t just physical: Eating less has helped Philip find a more comfortable pace in other areas of his life.
Not only have I become thinner, but life no longer lets me pass. I have a better understanding of the moments that come my way.
I ate slowly, what now?
At the end of the 30-day Slow Food course, note what has changed.
You will probably notice changes in your body, for example. For example, how your stomach feels after a meal or how your pants fit. You may also notice changes in your psyche, such as. B. what you think when you eat or how you respond to the feeling of hunger or satiety.
Look at how much has changed in just 30 days and imagine:
What happens if you keep working on this habit… forever?
There’s a good reason to do it: No matter what other habits you implement or what things you try, eating slowly will always help you in your efforts. And how many times can you say that about something?
Don’t keep it to yourself, though: Share the Slow Food 30-day challenge with your friends, family and colleagues. It may be exactly what they need, but they haven’t even thought about trying it yet.
Want help becoming the healthiest, fittest and strongest version of yourself?
Most people know that regular exercise, good nutrition, sleep and stress management are important to feeling and looking good. However, they need help applying this knowledge in the context of their busy, sometimes stressful lives.
Over the past 15 years, we’ve helped over 100,000 clients lose fat, get stronger and improve their health with the coaching method… all the time…. no matter what challenges they face.
That’s why we work with health, fitness and wellness professionals (through our level 1 and 2 certification programs) to teach them how to coach their clients to solve the same problems.
Interested in training? Sign up for presale; save up to 54% and get your seat 24 hours in advance
Places will become available at the next coaching session on Wednesday the 14th. July 2024.
If you are interested in coaching and want to know more, I encourage you to sign up on the pre-sale list below. Inclusion in the list offers you two special advantages.
- They pay less than everyone else. We like to promote the most interested and motivated people, because they are always the best customers. Get on the pre-sale list and you can save up to 54% off the sale price, the lowest price we’ve ever offered.
- You have a better chance of getting a seat. To give clients the personal attention and care they deserve, we only open the program twice a year. The last time we opened registration, all tickets sold out within minutes. If you sign up on the pre-sale list, you will have the opportunity to sign up 24 hours in advance, increasing your chances of participating.
If you’re ready to change your body and your life with the help of the best trainers in the world, this is your chance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I eat on the 30-day challenge?
You can eat anything you want, as long as it’s healthy. What should I avoid on the 30-day challenge? You should avoid processed foods, sugar, and alcohol.
Does the 30-day food challenge work?
The 30-day food challenge is a popular diet plan that claims to help you lose weight in just 30 days. The diet plan consists of three phases: the first phase is a detox, the second phase is a low-calorie diet, and the third phase is a maintenance period. The detox phase lasts for two weeks and involves eating only fruits and vegetables. The low-calorie diet lasts for four weeks and involves eating only 500 calories per day. The maintenance period lasts for six weeks and involves eating a healthy diet. The 30-day food challenge is not a medically endorsed diet plan, so it is important to consult your doctor before starting the plan.
What is the 30-day clean eating challenge?
The 30-day clean eating challenge is a 30-day program that helps you to eat healthier and lose weight.