Luke Goulden | The Health Hack Blog

25th April 2018

Fat Loss Food For Real People Volume 4: Binge Eating!

Binge Eating. It’s the dirty little secret none of us like to admit we do. What I consider binge eating, and what you consider binge eating may be two different things, for me, and I am happy to openly admit it is something I struggle with, walking past an off license or somewhere that sells something of the chocolate variety, walking in making a purchase, for no particular reason, consuming and telling myself it’s okay I trained hard today. For me, that is binge eating and something I do FAR too often. For others it could be classed as eating late at night or going mad at the weekends having starved yourself Monday to Friday. Whatever it is, it is a behaviour many of us have.

There are probably multiple factors as to why you and I ‘binge eat’. You might actually not be eating enough throughout the day, you might not give a shit about the additional calories, or you might have a mild addiction to the feeling binge eating gives you for that very short period of time. Whatever it may be lets look at the most likely cause and what we can put in place to reduce the amount we 'binge'.

So what’s the deal with this uncontrollable desire?

Whether its drinking, eating, shopping, different binge behaviours actually have similar causes and unbeknown to us all there are a multitude of factors causing us to do so.

It’s definitely deeper than just eating something, our brains release a chemical called dopamine when we eat something that is palatable and tasty. And non-surprisingly it feels really good, so much so we do it again, and again until its becomes so ingrained in our behaviour we barely notice it. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for our waistlines.

Its this daily feel good hit of dopamine we essentially become addicted to. And looking at the bigger picture, it can be this small daily decision you're making that might also be inhibiting you from losing weight/fat if that is your goal. And if weight-loss/fat-loss is your goal then you shouldn't be consuming refined high fat high sugar foods anyway.

On top of this small feel good hit many of us have to deal with the daily stresses and pressures of life, providing for a family, working long hours, dealing with people in the office you cant stand the sight of. All of these factors can lead to behaviour that becomes harder and harder to control.

What can you put in place to help?

1. Adequate calories. You might not actually be eating enough throughout the day. So have a look at your main meals and do they contain an adequate amount of protein. If you aren't consuming enough calories of lets say decent nutritious food the the likelihood of eating something high in fat and sugar will be higher.
2. Breaking the habit! Try a different route that is less likely to take to past something you potentially might walk in. It sounds silly, but you might not even be aware of how habitual this behaviour has become and what triggers you.
3. Make a better choice. Rather than buying something deemed unhealthy maybe buy some fruit. Pineapple or mango both taste sweet and might do the job of something wrapped or packaged.
4. Stay disciplined. Find a reason as to why you want to prevent or reduce your current binge behaviour. Summer is almost here and with the recent heat wave I have already witnessed a mass panic. Use it to your advantage.
5. Make a better decision. You don't have to walk far to find something free of something, gluten free, low calorie, vegan. Its out there and accessible find out a few options that will help you with whatever it is you want to achieve.

Indulging is fine and training hard certainly gives me more freedom with my food choices. Overindulging and sitting on your arse all day in and office though is not something I would recommend.

Ultimately like anything your level of discipline and adherence will be the determining factors but implementing the above might help you stay on the straight and narrow.

19th February 2018

Fat Loss Food For Real People Volume 3: Fat Loss Strategies For The Normal Bloke

Question. Can you get leaner without starving yourself? Can you build muscle and drink beer? Can you drop body fat and still look a carbohydrate directly in the eye? Can you be in a more confident place with how you look and feel whilst still enjoying your life and seeing your mates?

The answer is yes of course you can. The below before and after images are not going to break the internet, nor will they make the front page of Men’s Health, but it does prove a point that with a combination of training hard, being focussed on what it is you want…and importantly why you want it, you can achieve such things without any drastic changes to your lifestyle.

With my above client we simply implemented what I call 'Fat Loss Strategies for the normal bloke'

That is a little tongue in cheek, and there was a lot of sweat and hard work but if you’re willing to train hard 2 to 3 times per week, be more aware of what you’re eating, cut the crap where you can and move more you can actually look pretty good.

Below my client trained with me 2 to 3 times per week, added in a run or two now and again, upped protein levels because they were a little low, focussed a little more on rest, recovery and sleep and achieved pretty good results in a 6 weeks period.

What is important here is that there was little to no calorie deficit, calories were not tracked and carbohydrates were consumed. You don't need to completely transform how you look, a drastic transformation requires drastic changes in lifestyle, nutrition and training and its bloody hard.

If you're however willing to make a few lifestyle changes that'll actually benefit your overall health you can.

We kept the process simple. In order for fat loss to occur, which was the primary goal either energy in (food/drink) we consume or energy out (exercise) had to be manipulated. During this particular process output was going to be the main focus.

Increasing TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) so for example moving more throughout the day, lifting weights 2 to 3 times per week and adding some steady state cardio in which worked well for this particular person lead to some fantastic changes.

I have worked in the City long enough now to know that client entertaining, socialising with friends, travelling for extended periods of time with work is something that cannot be escaped. And it is not my style to tell someone they can't enjoy a wine or beer with their partner or friends, I certainly do. It's not realistic. But that does not mean to say that great things cannot be achieved.

Think about what it is you want and why you want it. Delve deep into that. And lastly don't be afraid!! You don't need to be a size 4 or have wash board abs to improve your confidence and how you feel about yourself. Make a number of small adjustments to your lifestyle and if done consistently you'll see results.

20th January 2018

The 1 Month Fix It Job

How are we already over half way through January? Albeit I’m not complaining, roll on Spring. You should all now be well into the swing of things post-Christmas break. Most of us are spending the month booze free, sugar free, gluten free or something else free of something. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few going food free.

January is a month like no other, there isn’t much going on, the social scene is quiet and even I look at my diary and have practically nothing in at the weekends which after the second half of last year is a more than welcome surprise. I am sure many of you can relate.

And whilst we all seem to have a small amount of disposable time many are spending it in the gym sweating away the excess pounds gained over Christmas. Firstly it’s perfectly normal to gain a few pounds over Christmas, we move less, eat more, drink more, socialise more. Accepting this can be difficult and can take some time but in my opinion being a little softer shouldn’t be the end of the world.

The seasons will often dictate how we look naked. So accept how you look at this time of the year. Myself included.

This perception of ourselves, how we look or feel post-Christmas sends us all into a mass panic. Everyone will join a gym, go to as many weekly body pump or spin classes to burn as many calories as physically possible. And then before you know it, the gym come February / March time will be back to normal.

So why such a huge drop off after January? Shouldn’t our fitness, our health, how we look be a continuous 12-month cycle rather than crammed into the 31 days of January? Do we suddenly decide we don’t give a s*** come February? It is laziness or a sudden lack motivation? Do we burnout or give up?

It could be anyone of the above, it could be them all. I do think going out hard and fast is an effective way to meet one of the above sooner than planned. Many of us are now aware that to lose scale weight we need to be in a deficit, exercise is a great way to create such a deficit. But hitting a gym class 3 to 4 times per week, going booze free for a month, and training like a maniac isn’t a sustainable 12 month plan.

Those who go booze free for a month booze even harder, those who train more than they ever have burn out, plateau or lose motivation. The shear amount of training isn’t sustainable.

Slow down, train and eat well but do it at a sustainable level so that you can do it across 12 months rather than 1. Our bodies are incredible, but to booze all month, overindulge and barely move over Christmas to then smash it in January to just get back to the same place you were in in November doesn’t make sense.

3 is the magic number. This is your start place. Aim for 3 types of activity across the week. It could be for example, a spin class there are now hundreds to choose from, try a couple that is either convenient for work or home and go. Yoga, again try a few classes and sign up to once per week. If this is at your current gym, you could also do a resistance training based class there. Body Pump or something similar.

3 hours of out of your week. You do have time for this trust me. This already is something that you might be able to replicate for the month of February and so on. This longer-term lifestyle change is where more of us need to get to.

1st December 2017

The False First Step

It’s December 1st and it would appear the festive season is already underway. With what is a super social month, various coughs and colds lingering around everywhere its sure to be a month the body will take a big hit on. It’s a boozy fun filled month after all and should be enjoyed.

If you survive the next 4 weeks like thousands of others you would have had enough, and like the beginning of this year will force yourself into some detox for a set period which like every year will likely not last very long. Commercial gym memberships will sky rocket and you will do your upmost to make yourself feel as healthy as you possibly can.

The False First Step albeit good timing with 2018 approaching can be applied to any day, week or month of the year. It’s to do with making the initial correct decision for you to get into that healthy place you seek. It’s about not joining a gym you will never use, but more about delving deeper into what will keep you on track consistently and feeling better about yourself all year round.

Firstly, get up off your ass and start moving around more each day. If you’re impressed with your 4000 steps in a day you need to check yourself. Your body is built to move and its more than likely you'll sit on it for a minimum 7 hours per day. So start tracking how much you move and do it. It will literally not cost you a penny and wont fill you with guilt an unused gym membership might.

Secondly, maybe go for a light jog 2, 3 or even 4 times per week. Doesn’t need to be a crazy marathon distance, 20 minutes will be enough to make you feel you’ve achieved something and will make you feel a whole load better. Again, free. Enquire about your local Park run on the weekend and join others.

Third, try something new. Take up yoga, pilates, go to a class. There are hundreds of options now in London from Crossfit to Strongman classes to yoga practised in a sauna. There will be something readily available to you you will more than likely really enjoy and meet some people but you will have no idea unless you try.

Fourth, boozing. The 30-day booze free month is practically useless if you’re going to smash it again for the following 11 months. Don’t get me wrong, your body will benefit from the break but think about how you can manage your alcohol intake better each week. Cutting down midweek alcohol intake and binging at the weekends or at least every weekend.

Ultimately, it’s down to you, and I could list a bunch of bullet points on how to survive the festive period which you would have read 100 times elsewhere when only you can make things happen. Don’t jump on the ‘join a gym’ bandwagon in the New Year and go hell for leather. It not sustainable, and who gives a s*** if our body fat percentage increases after Christmas. Remember you have 365 days / 52 weeks in every year so relax, you aren't going to get the body of your dreams in the first few weeks of January.

Nail the basics first of simply moving, managing your alcohol, eating and sleeping better and you will feel a whole load better.

27th September 2017

Fat Loss Food For Real People Volume 2: Is the Diet the problem?

Is losing excess body fat hard? Yes and no, it’s certainly easy to make it difficult with an overhaul approach, and in my experience the ultimate defining factor in whether you can be in a happier place with how you look naked won’t be the diet itself but how well you can adhere to what you originally set out to do. Get a little leaner, right? You don’t need to take the ‘Hare’ approach, the tortoise method will be more sustainable long term and doesn’t need to be complicated.

The list is endless with diet upon diet which vary from juicing to a magical fat burning coffee. Putting the marketing 'bs' aside the main contributing factors that'll increase your risk of failure are a complete overhaul of your diet, diets that require drastic changes in lifestyle and setting unrealistic goals for yourself.

Let’s look at the fundamentals of basic nutrition and why having some accountability for what you put in your mouth is more important than the diet itself because adherence and discipline are often the defining factors in whether you achieve what you set out to do.

Firstly, start nailing the basics, stop buying and eating shit. In my latest blog, I addressed the fundamentals of nutrition and what should make up your plate. Start buying less high fat high sugary foods, the sweet tasty foods that are calorie dense and are not conducive to fat loss and putting higher protein foods and vegetable in your fridge at home. Higher protein foods will keep you fuller for longer, so aim to have 3 portions per day. This could be scrambled egg on toast for breakfast, a Healthy Living Tesco meal deal, and a meat of your choice for dinner, with sweet potato and a big handful of vegetables. And yes, I just recommended a Tesco meal deal purely because I see many being purchased. Maybe have a think before picking up the BLT sandwich, full fat coke and packet of crisps though.

I admit working in the City doesn’t make life easy if dropping body fat is your goal but I refuse to believe today that most people don’t know what is good or bad food especially now with what is readily available. Whether it’s the Tesco meal deal mentioned or a wrap from Pret. Most of the food you have the opportunity to purchase will provide information on calories and the macronutrients, so look at them. The Tesco Healthy Living Egg & Cress sandwich has 132 less calories than the standard Egg & Cress sandwich in Tesco. I’m using this simply as an example of a smarter decision that needs to be made daily.

Your level of adherence and staying disciplined will ultimately be the difference between a leaner happier you to you being the person you tell yourself everyday ‘I’ll start next week’. When I use, the term disciplined, I mean not popping into Sainsbury’s and buying a chocolate bar or sinking 3 pints on a Thursday lunch hour. This is something you’re doing for you and you alone, so when your colleague asks if you fancy a couple of pints don’t take the easy option and say yes. When you going to pay for your lunch, choose not to pick up that Mars bar. Be mentally prepared for everything around you to be against you from the sugary snacks strategically placed along the aisle to the excess calories consumed from alcohol on a Thursday lunch.

This leads nicely on to the environment we create for ourselves. Biscuits on your desk, ice cream in the freezer, chocolate in the cupboards. I am certainly an advocate of eating food that I like the taste of. But I train hard, I move a lot all day every day and if you aren’t willing to at least hit a 10,000 a day step count then such foods need to be removed from your working and living environments.

Lastly remember your ‘why’. The reason you set out to do this in the first place. This is for you and you alone, no one else so take that into each day and the results will come. In a month or two you’ll have friends and family saying how great you look, the colleague who keeps asking you for lunch time pints will start asking you how you’re looking trimmer. And what I believe is the most important factor, your confidence will massively improve, along with your health and all of this will have a knock-on effect to how you eat, eating healthier foods will become habitual and you will be moving more without realising it.

So take some responsibility, hold yourself accountable and focus on the reasons why.

7th August 2017

Mastering Your Mindset Volume 1: Can your lunch really effect your performance?

Before you delve deep into this blog, this certainly is not another lambasting article on carbohydrates. I am a big fan of carbohydrates, I don’t advise massively limiting them unless you want to and I believe fat loss can occur just as quickly as someone who is on a low carbohydrate diet. When I say believe, I mean it’s a fact, I know it can. Adversely, I completely appreciate how going ‘low carb’ for a weight/fat loss goal can be a quick and easy fix. Removing a macronutrient that is often anywhere from 30 to 55% of most people’s diet will inevitably incur weight-loss. It’s not rocket science. Achieving fat loss/weight loss (I use the term weight loss loosely) on a balanced nutritional diet is the ultimate long term goal. Up on the next blog i'm going to look at how to manipulate energy balance (energy in/energy out) if your goal is to lose weight.

Anyway, let’s look at what a carbohydrate is, then following on from that how our bodies react when you eat it and whether this reaction can have a direct impact on concentration and performance at work.

Carbohydrates are sugars that are broken down inside our bodies to create glucose. This is then transported around our bodies and used as a primary source of energy, as well as our muscles and other essential cells utilising it. To regulate the glucose within our blood, insulin and glucagon are produced from the pancreas. When a carbohydrate is consumed blood sugar levels increase which is when insulin is secreted in order to manage this.

Your typical carb can range from potato, rice, wheat, bread to vegetables and to the slightly more addictive foods such a chocolate and sugary sweets. Unfortunately its the best tasting food, for me anyway.

So, is there a link to this decrease in blood sugar after eating a heavy carb lunch some hours after to that afternoon slump that I know so many people struggle with? Possibly. Individually we are all so different and I’m sure many can have a heavy carbohydrate lunch and feel fine throughout the entire afternoon as much as I am sure some would struggle and not be able to identify why. Couple this with a sedentary job an 8 – 12-hour work day and it might be worth addressing if you do find yourself going into the office kitchen a couple of times during the afternoon.

A couple of factors to consider. Firstly digesting your food. The food you eat for lunch diverts blood away from the brain to help with the digestion process. Also feeling particularly full isn't massively conducive for a working environment. Your body will also release melatonin which is a hormone that aids sleep.

To avoid such extreme high lows, opt for a higher protein & fat based diet. Carbs don’t need to be completely avoided but might be worth trialling. Some additional steps I would take;

• Eat Breakfast and look at how nutrient dense your breakfast is
• Reduce caffeine consumption
• Drink water (mild forms of dehydration can trick the body to thinking its hungry)
• Get a good nights sleep aim for minimum 7 hours sleep
• Look at what you’re eating the evening before

Below two very popular eateries within 100m from where I work. Itsu and Wasabi both offering not to dissimilar types of foods. Here I have compared two dishes from Itsu and a very popular lunch option from Wasabi. Il also add it was quite difficult finding nutritional information on Wasabi and was very surprised to find out the Katsu Curry potentially surpasses 1000 kcals of which I am very sure Mr Smith who east it a couple of times a week has no idea of.

Low Carb – Itsu

Mixed Sashimi

385 kcal / Pro 43.5g / Carbs 4.3 / Fat 3.9g

Veggie Threesome

109kcal / Pro 1.9g / Carbs 16.9g / Fat 3.5g

Total: 494 kcal / Pro 45.4 / Carbs 21.2 / Fat 7.4

High Carb – Wasabi

Chicken Katsu Curry

1142 kcal / Pro 41g / Carbs 165 / Fat 35g

Total: 1142 kcal / Pro 41g / Carbs 165 / Fat 35g

12th July 2017

Fat Loss Food for Real People Volume 1: The 6 Commandments

Fat Loss Food for Real People - The 6 Commandments

One: Green is God

Make greens/vegetables the foundation of your diet. Do you best to make sure they are a part of every plate you eat. Another point, you would have to eat half a kilogram of asparagus to ingest the same amount of carbs as you get in a single whole meal pitta bread.

Two: Protein with EVERYTHING

Protein will be one of the most important components of your diet and when you eat a high protein diet you're generally less hungry, eat less and lose body-fat as a result.

Three: Fat is your Friend

Fat will not make you fat. Eating too much will. In fact good quality fats are important if you want to build muscle and burn body fat because the macronutrient plays a number of roles in energy expenditure and vitamin storage.

Four: Eat Real Food

An essential RULE. Follow the guidelines the best you can to eating food that once grew out of the ground or had a face.

Five: Alcohol

Alcohol along with rule 5 also play an important role. Rather than completely eradicating this from your diet, you will need to make a conscience effort to reduce your alcohol intake. It not only inhabits your ability to build and repair muscle, but can be hugely calorific. There are roughly 200 calories in a pint of lager. 3 pints = 600 calories approx. If you’re trying to lose body fat then 3 pints will equal around a ¼ of your total daily calorie intake.

Five: Sugar

Again calorie packed, taste good but provide the body practically nothing nutritionally and I have never known a packet of Revels or a Chocolate Muffin to completely satisfy satiety. Revels, 35g bag = 168 calories. A medium sized white potato weighing over 200g contains less calories and more likely to fill you up. That’s almost 6 times more in grams and still less calories. Options – sugar cravings are perfectly normal and there are plenty of low calorie sugary foods out there.