I have always been a bit of a ‘wannabe athlete’. Happy to give almost anything a go. Yeh sure gymnastics was my thing but you can’t go on bragging about something that was almost half a lifetime ago. I recently did a questionnaire based on my physical, mental and emotional attributes and the suggestion was that I should have been a boxer (those of you who know me personally would probably say that that is pretty accurate!). None-the-less, in my early 20s I chose to embark on endurance activities. When I think back to the reasons why I decided to start swimming, riding and running for hours on end I generally come back to a desire to be leaner. Yip, just like most women out there (and probably more men than I realise), I was and yes I still am, aesthetically driven. I want to look good. Back then I was still of the ‘calories in, calories out’ mentality and so in my mind I calculated that endurance activity would be the best exercise to get me the results I was after (oh I had so much to learn!).

We (Joe and I) immersed ourselves in the triathlon culture. For many years our lives revolved around events and races. In our life before kids we were both up every morning at around 5am to either swim, bike or run and this was very often followed by a second session sometime later in the day. Weekends brought with them even more time to train. We even had our honeymoon in Forster, NSW where I participated in my very first Ironman triathlon (how romantic is that). We both grew to love the sport and the people within it. Today many of our close friends are those very people that we met during those triathlon years. Triathlon absolutely changed my life. It instilled within me an attitude of really living, of getting out into the great outdoors, challenging myself and discovering new places and extraordinary people.

However one thing continued to baffle me. Despite a massive amount of training week in and week out for years on end, my weight NEVER got easier to manage. I was always thinking about what I was putting in my mouth, always counting calories and if I didn’t my weight would jump up a few kilos quickly and easily. It frustrated the hell out of me. Here I was eating all the ‘right things’ – and I knew what the right things were because I was a sports dietitian and that’s what we had been taught at university – and of course exercising like hell but for some reason I could never attain that lean, fit body I had always strived for. I told myself (and my patients) that it was extremely difficult, if not impossible, to train for performance AND to achieve weight loss at the same time. Why? Well in order to improve my performance and get the most out of my body, I needed fuel (calories, energy i.e. carbohydrate) but in order to lose weight I needed to decrease calories! Clearly both could not be achieved at the same time… well so I thought!

Fast forward a decade and I now understand completely the frustrations I was experiencing back then. To use an analogy, I was constantly adding little pieces of paper (carbohydrate) to the fire, which was ultimately preventing me from burning the logs (fat). I was completely carbohydrate dependent and lived in a state of constantly elevated insulin levels which prevented me from ever burning fat. I also now realise that there are so many athletes out there who are existing in this state and many who are possibly on the verge of developing full blown metabolic syndrome. Luckily there is an alternative, there is a way to burn fat, to easily keep your weight in check AND perform at your best. Its called being ‘fat adapted’ or ‘metabolically flexible’ and it is one of the MANY benefits of a Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) diet.  Sure it may be challenging initially, anything new and anything worth doing usually has some degree of challenge associated with it. However once you take the turn into metabolic flexibility the benefits for your performance, weight and health make it all worthwhile.

So how do you start this process? Here are a few key steps to get the ball rolling:

1. You will need to decrease your carbohydrates. If you are a massive carbohydrate consumer you may need to do this in stages. Start by removing all added sugar and processed carbohydrates and aiming for a level of carbohydrate intake of no more than 200g per day. Over time you would then reduce this even further, sometimes down as low as 25g of carbs per day for some individuals. This involves removing all grains, legumes and most fruit too. Everyone has their own individual level of carbohydrate that works best for them; it is about finding what your tolerance level is.
2. Ensure you are eating adequate fat and make sure this fat is from a quality source. Stay away from all vegetable and seed oils. Having adequate fat in your diet is the key to keeping you satisfied and preventing hunger pangs that are typically experienced on a low-fat diet. The message here is ‘don’t fear fat’, it has a vital role in our diets.
3. Moderate protein intake is required. Be sure not to overdo your protein intake but at the same time you need to ensure you are getting enough. As a general rule around 1.2-1.5g of protein per kilogram body weight is required.

The LCHF diet is a lifestyle choice. It is about eating real food that is tasty and enjoyable. Eggs, meat, fish, dairy, green vegetables, butter and other good fats can be enjoyed on a daily basis, making this a highly sustainable long-term approach to diet. I encourage you to read lots, give it a go and see what benefits you discover for yourself.

If you’d like some assistance we are here to help, give us a call, send us an email, book an appointment, we’d love for you to join this revolution!