Back in December last year we took our Nephew up to the German Markets at Princess Street so he could play on the rides and meet Santa.

It wasn’t the nicest weather, in fact it was ‘baltic’ as we Scots say, but we had a good time nevertheless and most importantly so did he. There’s something magical about Edinburgh at Christmas time, don’t you agree?

I really enjoy going round the German Markets and being in amongst the Christmas atmosphere, as I’m sure you do too. But there’s one thing about the German Markets that really is difficult to resist, and that has the potential to throw your nutrition plan way off track.

Yup, you guessed it… it’s the delicious selection of German foods. Temptation is literally everywhere. The mulled wine, crepes, bratwurst, sweets, and fried foods on every stall. And to make matters worse the smell is simply too good!

I’m not going to lie. I caved.

I ordered a Bratwurst hot dog topped with onions. It was good. Really good.

Believe it or not, I’m human too. Even though I’m a trainer and nutrition coach I have cravings and have the occasional ‘treat’ too… and contrary to what many of you may think my diet does consist of more than chicken
and broccoli 😉

(^^the so called ‘rabbit food’ many new clients think is all they’re going to be allowed to eat)

But here’s the thing, I KNEW I was going to have something ‘naughty’ when I was at the markets. So what did I do? I PLANNED for it. I knew I was going to be having a high calorie, high fat food at some point during the day, so I adjusted my nutrition accordingly for the rest of the day to compensate for it.

You see, providing your metabolism is functioning properly (which is very important) weight loss does come down to energy balance at the end of the day. So there’s a VERY important lesson for you here:

RESTRICTION DOESN’T WORK.

Following a ‘typical’ weight loss diet normally involves restriction which inevitably leads to weight loss through massive calorie deficit of course…

But what happens when you come off the diet? If you’re like most people, you put back on all the weight and then some. See, I’ve found that major restriction doesn’t work for the average person looking to lose weight and in many cases it can do more damage than good.

The truth is you CAN still stay on track whilst enjoying the occasional treat, just as I did at the German Markets. You just have to set up your nutrition to plan and compensate for the occasional moments you do indulge, which is something that we teach as part of the nutrition module of our weight loss programmes.

If you’d like to learn more about how to be completely in control of your nutrition so you can still lose weight
without completely restricting yourself to rabbit food click here to find out more.

Photo Reference:
Brendan Howard / Shutterstock.com

For more expert advice on health, fitness, nutrition and weight loss, please like our Facebook page by clicking the button below:

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]