Crossfit: Making better waitresses since 2005.
Lately I’ve been experimenting with eating one main meal each day.
So I don’t eat all day and then I have one massive feast beginning at 8pm each night.
By the time 8pm rolls around… I’m pretty freakin’ hungry.
So when the clock strikes 8pm…. here’s what happens.
Either:
A) I immediately start stuffing my face with pop-tarts, cookies and a bunch of other unhealthy options.
Or
B) I calmly start cooking a healthy meal based around meat, protein and vegetables. No matter how long it takes to prepare the meal, I am completely relaxed and content.
Option A sounds pretty typical, right? But option B sounds like a proven formula for losing weight.
Luckily, I have a simple trick I use that makes more of my days look like option B.
I use alcohol.
Yup. I’ve found that when the clock strikes 8pm, if I reward myself with a nice glass of red wine or a nice craft beer… it almost instantly “knocks down” the hunger pangs and allows me to calmly and casually prepare a healthy meal without feeling like I’m starving or suffering.
I don’t do this every night (I train at night, so obviously this strategy is only for my “off” days.)
Of course, most fitness experts and personal trainers will tell you to avoid alcohol if you want to lose weight. And in theory, they are correct. But in the real world, I’ve found that alcohol can be a useful tool for achieving your fitness goals.
The keys, of course, are moderation — both with your alcohol consumption and your food consumption. This plan would not work nearly as well if I was eating all day long and then adding alcohol on top of my food intake. It works because the alcohol allows me to restrict my caloric intake without suffering.
A large protein shake consumed right at 8pm would probably work just as well (maybe better). But it’s nice to be able to enjoy something that most fitness gurus consider “off-limits” and still achieve my goals. I get a lot of emails from people who feel that beer or wine is one of things holding them back from getting a great body. Most of them feel they’ll never get achieve their goals until they completely cut-out alcohol.
So the purpose of this post is to show you a way that you can have your beer and your abs too. Want more unconventional fitness tips? Grab my book.