How I got my abs back - The 2:4:1 diet

It seems like forever ago I decided I would start the quest of searching for my abs again. And I did for a while, they come back slightly and then Christmas happened and they disappeared. Getting back into clean eating and focusing on exercising again was a struggle and getting those baby abs to come back out seemed so out of reach.

It was about 2 months ago that I decided to make a serious effort to get that body back that I was proud of and that feeling of being healthy again and its been paying off. In 2 months I've made a real change mentally, my new diet and cheat meals seems to work well with how my body responds to food and funnily enough I have stressed less about training and just focused on doing 3 gruelling sessions with a trainer a week, 15-20 minute Pilate sessions 4-5 times a week and some yoga when I need the down time. I haven't pushed myself, exhausted myself or felt guilty from having days off training and the kilos, centimetres and fat seems to be falling off quickly, something that doesn't easily happen for me.

My training sessions are focused on my whole body but I have been putting in some work around my core and abs but mainly for me the thing that helps those baby abs pop is diet.
This year I decided I was really going to focus on eating whole foods, work out how my body responds to different foods and minimise the amount of dairy and wheat I was eating and the easiest weekly meal plan was following a 2:4:1 diet.

2 DAYS OF FASTING

4 DAYS OF CLEAN EATING

1 DAY OF FREE EATING

 

THE FASTING DAYS - No this does not mean I don't eat for 2 days. These are 2 non-consecutive days where I restrict my calories. I don't calorie count so I'm guessing that I would cut it down to around 600-700 calories for the day. This just involves me eating very simple and clean meals for the day. I try to eat a minimal amount of meat and focus on eating mainly vegetables, miso soup and if I have meat it's a very small amount and very lean. I drink copious amounts of green tea on this day to help with any hunger but one fasting day always comes after my free eating day so I am generally not hungry anyway.

THE CLEAN EATING DAYS - I follow my everyday clean eating days for 4 days a week. Vegies, fruit, lean meats, healthy carbs, healthy fats which help me maintain my weight and give me energy for the days especially when I am weight training.

THE FREE EATING DAY - I probably couldn't do a full day of eating whatever I want because I would be sick, so for this day its about 70% clean eating and 30% treats. I'll enjoy chocolate, dessert, burgers, pizza - whatever I want in small amounts or for just one meal. This satisfies my cravings enough to get me through for the next week.


After 2 months of following this way of eating I have made some really great changes that I am so happy with in my body. This diet works so well for me because if I completely stick to a strictly clean and lean diet without a cheat or relaxing I become miserable and that's when I end up binging. The cheat days not only get my metabolism going, but they keep me in line to not overindulge. The fasting days are much easier for me to do so I can enjoy a treat, not feel guilty and also lose fat at the same time.
It's not only my stomach that is now showing definition but I am losing cm and toning up everywhere. I recently had a bioscan done to see where my body was sitting and I have gained 1.2kg of muscle, lost 2.3kg of fat and my body fat percentage has dropped 3.5%. I love seeing the transformation again and with just under a year to go till the wedding I am on the right track to be the hottest bride for my fiancé! 

Maintaining a balance between a healthy lifestyle and a fun social life

Over the years, my biggest dietary challenge has been maintaining a fit body while still having fun. If I ate alone and went to bed early, I knew I’d be feeling skinny in the morning, but hand me my best friends, my fiancé or a Sunday breakfast and my limits would go out the window.
The sad truth is, it’s easier to lose/maintain weight if you avoid social events. The real challenge is when life gets in the way of your own “plans” and causes you to reassess your clean eating diet.
I know many women (including myself) who have turned down dinner plans or a night out with friends because of their diet. Salads and going to sleep early may get you that flat stomach, but what is the point of it if you can’t show it off?
How can you maintain your weight without skipping out on fun life experiences? Your best bet is to avoid sabotaging yourself. I’ve slowly learned how to balance diet through trial and error, and I would be lying if I said this wasn’t still somewhat of a weekly challenge for me.
Over time I have realised some helpful tips in achieving a balance of food and fun:

Do you need to elimate sugar or fat to lose weight?

I recently came across an article about the effects of sugar and fat to your body and how this affects your weight loss.
When starting on a new diet regime everyone has their idea on how to lose weight; no carbs after 5, no fat, no sugar, raw until 4, run 10km a day - the list goes on. But I'd say the most popular thing we have been told is to cut out carbs (including sugar) or to go on a low fat diet.