IT'S ALL ABOUT THE BALANCE

“Everything in moderation....” and “...just follow the 80/20 rule...” are phrases often heard in conversations surrounding health – especially weight loss. It's a good place to begin but to achieve the best results, I would say more accurately “It's all about the PFC balance.” Moderation is a little vague and 80/20 is open to broad interpretation. For example, is it an off-plan (aka cheat) meal every four meals or every week? Without guidelines and direction towards a healthy balance, you can see how easy it can be to go off the rails where health and healthy weight is concerned.

The PFC balance I am referring to is, of course, a protein, fat, carb balance. Our bodies are designed to function optimally and live in a state of health, provided we give it what it needs, in a way in which it can be metabolized. A very simple concept really and one that many people are living and experiencing tremendous health benefits from every day. If you are looking for some balance in your life and are committed to achieving and maintaining your health and weight loss goals this year, read on.

Think of the balance you want to create within your body like a scale with two trays, one suspended at each end of a long arm. When equal weights are placed on each tray, the arm rests at horizontal and the scale is balanced. Add too much on one side, or take too much off and the balance is disturbed. Our bodies are not so different. Eating a balance of a protein, fat and carb within one hour of waking and every three hours throughout the day, up until about one hour before bed, keeps blood sugar levels stable – like the horizontal arm of the scale – allowing stored fat to be released and burned as energy. Clearly, PFCs every 3 is an optimal place to be. Skip breakfast, eat meals that are too large or missing a component however and immediately the balance is disturbed, fat is stored and muscle is burned. Definitely not ideal.

The other side of the scale is portion size. How big should each meal be? How many or PFC are good and how many is too many? All good questions with the answers right there in the palm of your hand. It's not realistic, practical or necessary to carry around a food scale when you can just look down at your hand for the correct amount. The palm, minus the fingers and thumb but taking into account the thickness, represents the amount of protein per serving (P for palm, P for protein). One palm is perfect for the ladies, men can increase that and dish up one and a half to two times that amount. A closed fist is the correct size for a serving of carbs. Again one fist for the ladies and one and a half to two for the gents. Thumbs up for fat. Contrary to packaging and advertising over the last few decades, our bodies need fat in order to burn fat and having a thumb-sized portion will round out your PFC meal perfectly. Ladies, we get the actual thumb size, gents you can measure a full thumb, down to the base of the hand. This is a measurement you can use for foods like cheese and avocado, and for those items that require a spoon mesurement, think of the small thumb as being one tablespoon and a large thumb as being two tablespoons.

Along with PFCs every 3 in the correct portions, staying hydrated is critical to help flush out waste and toxins, and it prevents the body from retaining bloat. Ladies should aim for at least two to three litres per day, with the guys needing three to four litres minimum, so drink up!

So, if you're heading into 2016 with another weight loss or health resolution, why not balance your scales with PFCs every 3 and make this year's weight loss resolution your last.