Hard Truth on Binge Eating and Metabolic Training

I’m not going to lie to you. I really wanted to eat dessert for breakfast this week while down in Mexico, but I made a promise to you and I stuck to it. Sure I would have enjoyed it for a few moments, but at the cost of losing my integrity.

But it was hard with all those waffles and whip cream there. Well, only on the first day, and then it got easier. I’m probably the only person in our group who lost fat while we were there.

To me, there’s no need to gorge yourself…just because a trip is all inclusive doesn’t mean you need to be ridiculous and eat to the point of being sick. That’s just plain unhealthy binge eating.

If you struggle with binge eating, you need to find:

A) something to break the cycle

B) something to replace this activity

C) routines that keep you out of the exact environment that causes the binge eating

For example, maybe you have a problem with eating a bag of cookies when you get home from work. But perhaps you notice you only do it if you change into your sweats and sit in front of the TV.

What should you do?

The answers are obvious. In addition to not having the cookies in the house, you should avoid changing into your binge clothes, and you should find another activity to do.   Also, you should force yourself to eat something healthy first and to “cut you off” from binging.

Have apples or cut-up vegetables available. In fact, here’s a damaging admission. I won’t lie to you, but when I visit my parent’s house, I eat a lot of cereal after my workout. I’ll have 3 giant bowls if I don’t cut myself off.

And here’s what I do now...

After my 1st bowl, I cut myself off by eating raw broccoli. It gets me out of the “feeding frenzy”. Otherwise I’d eat too much and feel terrible for about 90 minutes.

Hopefully those tips help you out.

Now for this week’s QnA, starting with a nutrition question.

Question: Do you have your clients take in a certain amount of calories or is it just as long as they are eating the right foods and the feel full and energized? – Sheronda

Answer: Here’s what we do:

  • Figure out how many they are eating.
  • Improve their diet first. Look at their results. Reduce if necessary.
  • I don’t use formulas.
  • I base it on what they are eating now.

If you want a more structured program, I highly recommend Isabel De Los Rios’ proven diet here: provenfatlossdiet.com

Question: What do you prefer metabolic finishers or interval training. – Bobby

Answer: I like both. Bodyweight finishers are one of the most practical/portable ways to train, but you will be more sore than with intervals. So each is awesome in its own way. Plus, some days I just feel like running in a straight line or running up hills or riding a bike. Depends on my mood and environment.

Question: I’m having trouble with grip strength with some of the exercises in the TT Big 5 Fat Loss Program. You stated that I can switch movements to alleviate this grip strength issue correct? – Femi

Answer: Yes, you can use a barbell or bodyweight only version if necessary.
NOTE: The only reason I don’t include more barbell exercises in TT workouts is because most folks workout at home with little or no equipment.

Question: I’m struggling with wear and tear on my wrists and struggle with press ups. Any ideas on what to do? – Garry

Answer: Garry – You will probably benefit from pushup handles that take stress off the wrists.

Question: What is your opinion of doing metabolic workouts on back to back days as a weight loss plan.

Answer: David – That’s what is done in the TT MRT program. Day 1 – heavy, Day 2 – conditioning, Day 3 off, Day 4 – similar setup as Day 1, Day 5 uses a similar setup as Day 2, and then Days 6 & 7 are off.

You can grab the full TT MRT program here:

Question: Craig, you used to be a Grad student right? How did you manage workouts with that hectic schedule?

Answer: Good question. There were days I was in the lab for 16 hours.

That’s when I invented Turbulence Training. the story is at Turbulence Training.com

Question: What’s a basic kettlebell workout when the goal is weightloss. Thanks. – Eric

Answer: Eric – Check out the man who shares the same last name as you, Chris Lopez, and his articles/vids at kettlebellworkouts.com

Question: As a trainer, what was the first obstacle you had to overcome to see yourself as successful? And what was the most recent obstacle you had to overcome to remain successful? – David

Answer: David – Making the time for all of my projects. That is the big obstacle. Also, you need a long-term vision. It will help you tolerate short-term problems because you have long-term optimism.

Question: Yesterday I did pushups, BW rows, BW squats, dips, 0.5 mile laps around block in a circuit. I did 3 rounds. I think next time I will only do 0.25. My question is this. Is there anything I could? Do to this circuit to increase the fat burn? I didn’t have too much core work in it but I am sore as he’ll today from it. Any suggestions are appreciated. – Freddie

Answer: Freddie – I would add more resistance to the first couple of exercises, or at least harder versions (decline pushup, pullup).

Alright, great QnA session.

Have a great weekend,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Certified Turbulence Trainer

PS – If you have a question, just drop by the TT FB page here to ask it:

“The world does not reward average people well so I will be extraordinary. – Ted Nicholas