In the last blog I told you about my client who lost 8 lbs over the holidays last year, whereas in previous years she had always put on at least 8 lbs. 

Her change in mindset set the stage to try out different strategies. I taught her the most effective ways to enjoy these holiday party foods, while also seeing continued fat loss. 

She had been successful at the approach we had discussed: a clean diet of lean proteins and veggies most days. She had been enjoying two weekly cheat meals that included foods higher in starch or sugar or alcohol. At that rate she was seeing decent fat loss. When she had more than her two weekly cheat meals, she used strategies to balance them out. 

Before I share these strategies, let me give you some background on

how the body uses carbs

The average woman needs between 100 and 150 grams of carbs per day. to see fat loss.  You can estimate how many you need by using your goal weight in pounds. For example, if your goal weight is 150 lbs, then aim for less than 150 grams of carbs per day, but no less than 100 grams to keep your appetite and energy balanced. 

If you eat more than that on any given day, your body will send excess carbs into the liver and muscles. Both can store up to about 2,000 calories, which is about 400-500 grams of carbs. (The more muscle you have, the more carbs you can store, so that's why strength training is so important for boosting your metabolism). When those stores are filled, the body converts the excess carbs into body fat and stores them in your fat cells. That’s the point where you gain weight. 

If your goal is to lose body fat, you need to moderate your carb intake.

Let’s assume you’re eating a carb heavy meal (pasta and dessert) and eat a whopping 100 grams of carbs more than you need. Those excess carbs will get stored in your glycogen stores and ultimately your body fat if your carb intake exceeds your stores. You want to balance out those 100 grams of excess carbs to prevent them from getting stored away. 

Here's how:

  1. Reduce your carbs in the following 2-5 meals by eating fibrous veggies with a lean protein and skipping starches, sugar, and alcohol. Balancing out an extra 100 grams of carbs may take 1-2 days of lower carb eating - hence choose veggies. 

  2. Skip the next meal or two. Do this only if you don't end up overeating as a result of meal skipping. For example, after a big dinner, you want to wait to eat breakfast or lunch until you feel physically hungry (your stomach growls). Then, make sure those meals consist of lean protein and fibrous veggies (kale, spinach, celery, asparagus, broccoli, etc)

  3. Reduce your carb intake in the meals before your cheat meal by focusing on protein intake to keep full. You can do that for the entire day or just a few meals before the big meal- all depending on how well your appetite stays balanced. If you tend to overeat as a result of going too low-carb, then don’t use this approach. 

  4. Skip dinner. Finishing your day with a light dinner or none is one of the most effective ways to burn fat. You’re allowing your blood sugar to normalize, your digestion to rest and you're boosting anti-aging effects. Too hungry to skip dinner? Drink a protein shake or veggie smoothie to keep things light. 

  5. Use exercise to burn off some carbs. The average person burns about 30-45grams of carbs per hour of exercise, so that's only about one slice of pie - not that effective. If you worked out a lot more than an hour, you may end up getting super hungry and overeat again as a result of working out too hard. So, use it wisely. 

  6. Work out before a big meal. A workout will lower your blood sugar and a higher carb meal right after an intense workout won't create such a sugar spike. You can also schedule a more intense workout within 12-16 hours of the higher carb meal, so the carbs that are stored in the liver and muscles can be burned off. 

The above are listed in order of what’s most effective. Always use food to balance out food and not just exercise. You cannot undo a high-carb diet in the gym. However, you can use exercise in a fasted state to boost fat loss and your metabolism and adjust your carb intake. 

Here's a Super Effective 19-Minute Workout that will help burn off carbs and put your body in to fat burning for 48 hours afterwards. No equipment needed:

4-Minute HIIT Workout


9-Minute Lower Body Workout

Password: burn


5-Minute Upper Body Workout

Password: definition

Enjoy your Thanksgiving meal. I want to leave you with one last thought:

Find your tipping point of enjoyment.

That's the point where you enjoy the meal AND how you feel afterwards. So, how much food do you need to feel you're celebrating, connecting with your family and loved ones, but also feel great the day after?

See if you can tune in this Thanksgiving and if you feel you overdid it, apply the above strategies.

I'd love to hear how you did! 

Stay tuned for a special Thanksgiving Gift in your inbox! 

Cheers, Ariane


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