Eat more: do less

So the husband has a weight loss secret. He thinks he can make himself a pile of cash by advertising it for a $1 on the internet, and when people send him their dollar he'll tell them this... eat less:move more.

But now, contrary to advice you may have read previously in blogs such as (and including) this one, I'm going to tell you that the opposite is working for me at the moment. Do less: Eat more.

I know, it's doing my head in too, but it is definitely changing the shape of my body.

I haven't been kind to my body. I've put it through hours at the gym. I haven't fed it enough, and when I have I've fed it up on 'fat free' this and 'artificial' that. The result. The moment I slow down for a second, or increase my calories just a bit my body is so grateful, it stockpiles fat.

You see, my body thinks it's perfectly healthy, it's only me that thinks it needs a bit of reform.

So, I've upped my intake from 1200 to 1700. And I've decreased my exercise to weight training 5  days a week and the occasional bike ride, indoor climb or circuit. Now, far from the 500 calories a day I used to expend in exercise, I'm guessing I'm doing more like 250 -300.

Don't get me wrong. I don't eat 1700 calories of whatever I like. I eat a balance of vegetables, protein and carbohydrates. I've dumped refined carbs and limited anything that is overly processed. I include more fats in my diet than I ever have before. I eat full fat yoghurt.

And, for the first time in ever so long I'm not always hungry.

I'm not saying this is for everyone, but I am saying that maximising the calorie deficit is not always the way to reach your goals.

It's been a long 12 months of discovery for me. I'm guessing that without the journey I wouldn't have necessarily reached the destination, but boy, some good advice early on could have saved me a lot of time and energy.