TROUBLESHOOTING & TWEAKING - NUTRITION: STAGE TWO - AKR Fitness
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N U T R I T I O N : S TA G E T W O TROUBLESHOOTING & TWEAKING PERSONALISING YOUR APPROACH
A K R F I T N E S S ⁄ N U T R I T I O N : S TA G E T W O ⁄ T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G & T W E A K I N G
IT’S STILL NOT
ROCKET SCIENCE
In Stage 1: The Basics, we began with
the idea that nutrition doesn’t need to be
complicated.
We begin stage 2 with that same point.
It’s in our nature to believe that there’s one
special thing out there that will transform
us if only we knew about it. A magical food
or ingredient, a unique way of eating …
another new diet. Most of us are suckers
for these kinds of things …and not so
great about practising the basics, with
consistency, over a long period of time.
In this guide, we go a little deeper and
introduce some troubleshooting.
Note: Much of this guide is influenced by the book, Lean & Strong by Josh Hillis.
Check out our recommended reading at the end for more on that.
02 W W W. A K R F I T N E S S . C O MREVIEWING
THE BASICS
If you are unsure about the basics, re-read Stage 1: The Basics and
come back to Stage 2. If you just need a short reminder, here’s a
basic summary of the main points:
SIMPLE PRINCIPLES
Effective nutrition programmes are based on a few simple principles
that are just about making some more helpful choices.
FOUNDATIONS FIRST
Focus on the most important things before you get lost in the
finer details.
DROP THE BAGGAGE
Work to move away from black and white thinking and use more
rational labels to describe food. How calorie-dense is the food? How
nutrient-dense? How filling? How enjoyable?
PRACTISE FOOD SKILLS
Keep working on improving your food skills:
1. Eat at regular times
2. Prioritise protein
3. Eat colourful veggies
4. Eat just enough
5. Plan and prepare
6. Eat like an adult
03A K R F I T N E S S ⁄ N U T R I T I O N : S TA G E T W O ⁄ T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G & T W E A K I N G
RESPECTING
CALORIE BALANCE
Calories In vs. Calories Out
Regardless of what some diet books might suggest, the
science is clear: calories do count.
If you want to lose weight, you must consume fewer
calories than you expend (known as a calorie deficit).
If you want to gain weight, you must eat more calories
than you burn (calorie surplus).
The reverse of this is also true: If you didn’t lose weight
in the past fortnight then, by definition, you were not in
a calorie deficit for that period.
You do not necessarily need to count calories in order
to create a calorie deficit or surplus, nor do you need to
starve yourself. However, if you are in a calorie deficit,
you can and should expect to experience some hunger.
04 W W W. A K R F I T N E S S . C O MCALORIES IN VS CALORIES OUT
CALORIES CALORIES
CONSUMED BURNED
BALANCED WEIGHT
CALORIES
BURNED
CALORIES
CONSUMED
WEIGHT GAIN
CALORIES
CONSUMED
CALORIES
BURNED
WEIGHT LOSS
05A K R F I T N E S S ⁄ N U T R I T I O N : S TA G E T W O ⁄ T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G & T W E A K I N G
DON’T DIET
Respecting calorie balance doesn’t need to mean going on a diet. In fact,
for the majority of people, dieting is a bad idea. Here why:
DIETING PREDICTS WEIGHT GAIN
In a large meta-analysis of long-term weight loss, 75% of studies found
that dieting predicted future weight gain.
Let’s say that again: Dieting repeatedly, increases the likelihood of you
gaining weight in the future.
Two-thirds of all people who diet will gain the weight back within one
year. Nearly all of them will gain it back within five years. One third of
dieters will gain back more weight than they lost …every time they diet.
…AND EMOTIONAL EATING
On top of that, the research suggests that dieting makes you more
vulnerable to emotional eating, cravings and binge eating.
This is why our focus at AKR is more on skills than on diets.
1
Front Psychol. 2013 Sep 2;4:577. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00577. Dieting and restrained eating
as prospective predictors of weight gain. Lowe MR1, Doshi SD, Katterman SN, Feig EH.
2
Obes Rev. 2015 Feb;16 Suppl 1:1-6. doi: 10.1111/obr.12250. Pathways from dieting to weight
regain, to obesity and to the metabolic syndrome: an overview. Dulloo AG1, Montani JP.
06 W W W. A K R F I T N E S S . C O MDIETING VS. SKILLS
DIETING PRACTISING SKILLS
Tends to be a short-term Can bring both short and long-
approach. term success.
Tends to encourage black & Promotes flexibility.
white food rules.
Predisposes you to cravings, Encourages self-development
emotional eating and binge and mastery.
eating.
Promotes all-or-nothing You can practise a skill two
thinking. You’re either on the or three times a week and
diet or off it. still improve.
Predicts weight gain. Can increase subjective
wellbeing.
High failure rate. Everyone gets better at skills
with practise.
07A K R F I T N E S S ⁄ N U T R I T I O N : S TA G E T W O ⁄ T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G & T W E A K I N G
THE TROUBLE-
SHOOTING MATRIX
In Stage 1: The Basics, we introduced food skills, now
it’s time to delve a little deeper.
THE FOUR KEY AREAS
Food skills can be subdivided into
• Listen-to-your-body skills
• Guidelines
These skills and guidelines can be applied
• During meals
• Between meals
This gives us just four key areas to work on to improve
our food skills.
DURING MEALS BETWEEN MEALS
LISTEN TO Notice when getting full Distinguish true hunger
YOUR BODY and stop eating (when from cravings, boredom,
you reach this point). tiredness, emotions or
thoughts.
USE A Plate nutritious and Eat a balanced meal every
GUIDELINE balanced meals. four to six hours without
snacking.
08 W W W. A K R F I T N E S S . C O MLISTEN TO YOUR BODY
Listen-to-your-body skills are exactly what they sound like – they involve
tuning in and paying attention to your mind and body.
Our main listen-to-your-body skill at AKR is what we call Eat Just Enough.
However, there are many others you could practise.
LISTEN TO YOUR BODY SKILLS
DURING MEALS BETWEEN MEALS
Notice when getting full and stop eating Distinguish true hunger from cravings,
(when you reach this point). boredom, tiredness, emotions or thoughts.
Halftime: Check in with your stomach Label the emotion. Say what you feel. Is it
halfway through your meal. hunger in your stomach? Or some other
thought or feeling?
Notice that flavour enjoyment is different Practise flexibility: say “yes” to treats
from fullness. sometimes, and “no” other times.
Use all of your senses to experience the Notice hunger building for around 30
meal. As well as the taste, consider what it minutes before eating.
looks like and smells like. How does it feel
and sound in your mouth as you eat it?
Eat enough. You should find you get Notice when you are tired and go to sleep!
hungry 30-60 minutes before your next
meal.
Eat just enough. Notice and stop eating
before you become too full.
Check in with your stomach an hour
after your meal and adjust portion sizes
accordingly.
09A K R F I T N E S S ⁄ N U T R I T I O N : S TA G E T W O ⁄ T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G & T W E A K I N G
GUIDELINES
Guidelines can be thought of as frameworks which enable you to make
helpful decisions – particularly at times when you don’t have the energy to
listen to your body or even think clearly. Guidelines are not rules.
At AKR, our main food skills include guidelines such as Eat At Regular
Times and Prioritise Protein. As with listen-to-your-body skills, there are
others you may want to try.
GUIDELINES
DURING MEALS BETWEEN MEALS
Plate balanced portions (i.e. protein, veg, Eat a meal every 4-6 hours, without
carbs and a little fat). snacking in between.
Plate appropriate portion sizes. Wait 10 minutes before snacks or treats.
Put the fork down between bites. Practise Mindfulness – engage yourself
with what is going on at the moment.
Eat without screens. Renew & Review – consider what you do
for coping, self-soothing, for fun and for
hobbies.
Do something engaging after eating – Power Down – turn off screens and lights
like a hobby – so you are not focussed and go to bed at a set bedtime.
on food.
Wait 10 minutes before having seconds
or treats.
10 W W W. A K R F I T N E S S . C O MDURING MEALS VS. BETWEEN MEALS
You’ll notice that we have listen-to-your-body skills and guidelines for
both during meals and for between meals.
Which period do you find most challenging?
For most people the issue isn’t what they eat during meals; the issue
is snacking between meals. Calories consumed in snacks are often
consumed mindlessly and snacking is often totally unrelated to hunger.
In fact, studies have shown that increased snacking has contributed more
to the obesity epidemic than increased portion sizes.
SNACK SMART = NO SNACKS?
Eating at regular times is an important first step that will help you
distinguish between eating times and non-eating times.
If you’ve implemented this and are still not getting the results you want,
consider eating 3-4 meals per day, without any snacking in between.
You might just find that eliminating grazing and snacking is the most
powerful thing you can do to reduce your calorie intake.
Take Action!
Pick four things to start practising immediately. Aim for two listen-to-
your-body skills and two guidelines. These can be for during meals
and/ or between meals, depending on which you feel you’d most
benefit from.
There is a notes section at the end of this guide that will help.
11DATA TO CONSIDER COLLECTING
FOOD SKILLS NUTRITION
& GUIDELINES NUMBERS
Number of days on which you Calories consumed
practised a particular skill
Protein consumed
Number of days on which you
Carbs / fat consumed
followed a guideline
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY SLEEP
Daily steps (for weekly total) Consistency of your Power
Down Practise
Number of workouts done
p/month Hours of sleep (weekly
average)
MyZone Effort Points (MEPs)
Sleep quality, ranked 1-5
BODY METRICS SUBJECTIVE DATA
Daily body weight Your energy, ranked 1-5
(for weekly average)
Your appetite, ranked 1-5
InBody Analyses
Your mood, ranked 1-5
Body circumferences
Take Action!
Make a list of all the types of data you could collect.
Plot each data type in the Impact vs. Do-Ability Matrix at the end of
this Guide.
Decide on the few that are most valuable for you to track.
13A K R F I T N E S S ⁄ N U T R I T I O N : S TA G E T W O ⁄ T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G & T W E A K I N G
IF-THEN PLANS
Research has found IF/THEN planning to be an extremely consistent
predictor of goal achievement.
People who create IF/THEN plans to overcome obstacles are more
successful in their actions, behaviour change and goal achievement
than those who don’t.
IF/THEN plans are also effective – and therefore particularly useful –
when you’re tired, anxious, irritable or in a bad mood.
So, what is an IF/THEN Plan?
It’s simply a case of thinking through potential obstacles and deciding
in advance what you will do should that obstacle show up.
1. IF obstacle ________ shows up,
2. THEN I am going to do ________ to help me stay on track.
3
Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. Volume 38, 2006, Pages 69-119.
Implementation Intentions and Goal Achievement: A Meta‐analysis of Effects and Processes.
Gollwitzer, PM & Sheeran, P.
14 W W W. A K R F I T N E S S . C O MTIPS
›F
ocus your if/then plan on what you will do; not what you’ll
avoid. Deciding that you will not eat the chocolate, for
instance, is not something you can actually do. If you are
going to avoid the chocolate, what will you do instead?
›F
ocus on the actions you want to take (practising skills,
following guidelines) as opposed to the outcomes you want
to achieve (weight loss/increased strength).
›F
ocus on your biggest challenges. If/then plans are not so
effective for easier obstacles.
EXAMPLES
External Obstacle
IF Thursday is going to be a hectic day,
THEN I will prepare my food in advance on Wednesday.
Internal Obstacle
IF I have a craving for sweets in the afternoon,
THEN I will check to see if I’m genuinely hungry or if I actually need something
else (a drink, a break, a stretch, a chat).
Take Action!
Take some time to consider some of your biggest potential obstacles
and make an If/Then Plan for each.
15A K R F I T N E S S ⁄ N U T R I T I O N : S TA G E T W O ⁄ T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G & T W E A K I N G
FLEXIBILITY
& VALUES
RIGID DIET RULES PREDICT FAILURE
Rigidity and perfectionism are your enemies. An all-or-nothing approach
usually results in a lot of time on the “nothing” side of things.
The opposite of rigidity is flexibility. Flexibility is more of a continuum.
Sometimes it’s about making a good choice rather than the best choice.
Flexibility is harder to learn than rigidity because it means sometimes
saying “yes”, sometimes saying “no”. It requires more self-insight,
more self-compassion and it requires you to clarify your values.
YOU’RE A GROWN ADULT, YOU CAN DO WHAT YOU WANT
Rather than talking to yourself about what you have to or should do,
consider that as an adult, you have permission to do what you want.
Rules lead to rebellion. Permission leads to values-based decisions.
Clarify your personal values. Clarify what matters most to you, what it
is you actually want. Then choose.
Sometimes you might choose beer or ice-cream because you value
socialising and having fun. If you genuinely value being fit and healthy
– and if you let go of what you think you should do – you might also
find that most of the time you want to do your workout and practise
your food skills.
The more clarity and trust you have in your values, the easier it is to be
flexible. The more flexibility you have, the less all-or-nothing you suffer.
16 W W W. A K R F I T N E S S . C O M“THE HEIGHT OF FLEXIBILITY
ISN’T JUST KNOWING
HOW TO USE A SKILL IN
MULTIPLE SITUATIONS,
BUT TO BE OKAY WITH
NOT USING THE SKILL AT
TIMES, WITH NO FEAR
OF “BLOWING IT” OR
WORRYING IF YOU’RE
CAPABLE. FLEXIBILITY
MEANS KNOWING YOU
HAVE THE SKILL, AND ARE
ABLE TO CHOOSE TO USE IT
WHEN YOU WANT.”
(JOSH HILLIS, LEAN & STRONG)
17A K R F I T N E S S ⁄ N U T R I T I O N : S TA G E T W O ⁄ T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G & T W E A K I N G
RECOMMENDED
READING
FROM AKR
NUTRITION STAGE 1: THE BASICS
Introducing Food Skills
If you’ve not already read our Stage 1 guidebook, be sure to check that
one out as well.
BEATING BINGE EATING
If you’re struggling with emotional or binge eating behaviours, be sure
to check out our Beating Binge Eating guide.
FROM OTHER AUTHORS
LEAN & STRONG
Much of this guide has been influenced by the book, Lean & Strong
by Josh Hillis. If you’d like more detailed descriptions on the skills and
guidelines outlined here, and more on eating skills and psychology in
general we recommend you pick up that book.
ATOMIC HABITS
James Clear’s Atomic Habits is a book about creating behaviour change
through tiny steps. It could be considered an excellent companion
guide to how we do things here at AKR.
THE HAPPINESS TRAP
For more on the emotional side of things, including strategies for
managing unwanted thoughts, feelings and emotions, check out The
Happiness Trap by Russ Harris.
18 W W W. A K R F I T N E S S . C O MNOTES
SKILLS TO PRACTISE
During Meals
Between Meals
SKILLS TO PRACTISE
During Meals
Between Meals
19 W W W. A K R F I T N E S S . C O M 19A K R F I T N E S S ⁄ N U T R I T I O N : S TA G E T W O ⁄ T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G & T W E A K I N G
NOTES
IMPACT VS. DO-ABILITY
IMPACT
DO-ABILITY
20 W W W. A K R F I T N E S S . C O MNOTES
MY IF/THEN PLANS
IF
THEN
IF
THEN
IF
THEN
IF
THEN
IF
THEN
IF
THEN
IF
THEN
IF
THEN
21 W W W. A K R F I T N E S S . C O M 21AKRFitness.com
01224 587039
18 S College Street, Aberdeen, AB11 6JX follow us @AKR_Fitness
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