How To Lose Weight When Working a 9–5 Job
Just over 4 years ago I was just like you, always hungry sitting behind my desk watching the clock from 9 to 5.
It would hardly be two hours after my “healthy” breakfast of cereal, orange juice and toast and I’d be starving watching the clock for lunchtime so I could dash out and buy a meal deal (sandwhich, fruit and apple juice). Again barely two hours after lunch I’d be ravenous watching the clock so I could dash home and “help” make dinner (to speed it along) because I was dizzy with hunger by this time. Lovely healthy spaghetti bolognaise with some peas thrown in for good measure.
So why was I hungry all the time if I was eating “healthy” and why did I look like this?
Picture: Vince at 200 pounds in October 2014
I was following the recommended dietary guidelines, eating “healthy” but for some reason my blood sugar was dropping rapidly and I had this urgent hunger to get some carbohydrates inside me to stop the hypoglycaemia.
What I didn’t know at the time was that the dietary guidelines are based on poor science, and lots of lobbying by big food companies to get their products included in the guidelines in exchange for grants and funding to public health bodies.
We’ve been lied to about saturated fats. Saturated fats are not bad for us, and along with other healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds are more important than what we’ve been told. Low fat is nonsense, and has been debunked.
And as for carbohydrates. They’re not an essential nutrient for human life. A diet that’s mostly carbohydrates is not healthy contrary to what all those health gurus tell you. When you eat a diet high in carbohydrates your body needs a constant supply as it needs the glucose for energy which it burns through pretty quickly, like kindle on a fire you keep having to throw more on to keep the flame burning. This is why shortly after your meal you feel hungry again. A high carbohydrate diet is not great for satiety.
Not only that but a high carbohydrate diet causes insulin hormone (our fat storage hormone) levels to be unnaturally high, leading to insulin resistance which means you constantly store fat instead of burning it, and the body screams for you to shove more carbohydrates (kindle) in so it can carry on burning it for energy while shoving excess energy into your fat cells.
Now your body can actually use fat as energy which is more efficient and doesn’t leave you feeling hungry all the time, just like logs on a fire that burn for a long time.
But you have to convert your body from running on sugar as it’s fuel source to running on fat as it’s fuel source by changing what you eat. And the first 3 to 7 days will be the most difficult as your body fights to stay as a sugar burner instead of a fat burner, but once the switch is made you won’t feel hungry all the time. You’ll have better mental clarity and focus behind the desk to produce your best work ever!
You simply need to add fat burning foods that make you feel full for longer (non-starchy vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and seeds) and remove foods that make you hungry (like sugar & refined carbohydrates and other “empty” calorie foods).
7 Definitive Things For Fat Burning
1: Simply add 450 grams of non-starchy vegetables (think vegetables above the ground like asparagus, green beans, sprouts, broccoli, cabbage and leafy greens) to your daily meals everyday.
You can eat non-starchy vegetables anytime and how often you like through the day. You can eat as much as you like too. The 450 grams is a minimum – there is no maximum – non-starchy vegetables are unlimited.
TIP: A large leafy salad with things like; cucumber, bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and mushrooms counts towards your 450 grams of non-starchy vegetables each day.
2: Eat fruit sparingly, maybe 3 pieces (servings) of fruit over the course of 1 to 2 weeks.
3: Add up to 3 tablespoons of raw nuts and seeds to your meals each day if you enjoy nuts and seeds, but remember to eat sparingly.
4: Limit whole grains (like brown rice, buckwheat, oats and quinoa) and any starchy vegetables (like corn, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, peas, beets and pumpkin) to 1 cup (combined) at most each day.
For the first three weeks remove whole grains (like brown rice, buckwheat, oats and quinoa) and any starchy vegetables (like corn, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, peas, beets and pumpkin).
You might be able to reintroduce limited whole grains and starchy vegetables back into your diet if you find you have a high tolerance to them, you’ll need to experiment with this to see what works for you and whether they make you hungry all the time.
If you do decice to do this then choose whole grains and starchy vegetables with lower GI ratings such as;
- Quinoa
- Oats (whole grain)
- Buckwheat
- Sweet potatoes
- Beetroots
- Bananas, oranges, blueberries, grapefruit, apples
- Kidney beans, chickpeas
5. Remove sugar and refined carbohydrates (anything with white flour, white bread, white rice, pastries, sodas, most snacks, pasta, sweets, most breakfast cereals and any added sugars). If it looks like it was made in a factory, don't eat it.
6: Eat mostly fish and poultry, and red meat in moderation.
7: Remove dairy products for the first 3 weeks.
You can add dairy back in after 3 weeks and see how your body and satiety levels respond. Some people respond negatively to the proteins in dairy. And go for full fat dairy, not low fat.
If you follow these 7 basic guidelines you will convert your body into a fat burning machine and you won’t feel hungry all the time.
That doesn’t seem too hard, does it?
Now I’m not saying remove all carbohydrates, and while it is true that carbohydrates are not an essential nutrient, the very “slow” carbs from non-starchy vegetables are fantastic for you, and they’re your secret weapon in the fight against hunger. Remember to load up on non-starchy vegetables.
The key to always feeling satiated is to keep your insulin as low as possible, choosing foods that don’t raise your insulin levels too high every time you eat. The best way to do this is to keep your carbohydrate consumption low (i.e. from non-starchy vegetables), your protein consumption moderate and your healthy fats consumption high.
Low carbohydrate is in the range of 50g to 150g per day, moderate protein is 0.4g to 0.8g per pound of lean mass (the target weight you should be for your height, age, and sex) depending on your activity level, and the rest of your nutrients from healthy fats.
Foods to Eat
As part of your new lifestyle eat whole foods, load your plate with non-starchy vegetables, have a variety of healthy fats, have fruit very occassionally and eat meat in moderation, prioritising fish and poultry over red meat (but note there is nothing inherently wrong with red meat).
Also, there is nothing inherently wrong with dairy but it may help accelerate reaching satiety by reducing dairy intake initially, and some people react to the dairy proteins but you will know if this is you.
Choose foods that are low in carbs and have a low glycemic index rating. Pasta, potatoes, rice and bread are not going to do anything for your satiety, they will just make you feel hungry again very soon!
Food with high nutritional values / density (and satiety) are;
- Eggs – omega 3 / organic free range.
- Salmon, tuna, haddock, trout etc. – wild caught
- Turkey, chicken, beef, lamb, bacon – grass fed.
- Broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, kale, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, celery, green beans, peppers, tomatoes
- Apples, pears, blueberries, strawberries, oranges
- Extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocodo
- Cottage cheese*, almonds*, walnuts*, seeds, full fat yogurt*, cheese* - *use these as part of a meal in small portions and not as snacks between meals.
Don’t be afraid of healthy fats. Fats don’t make you fat. Fat keeps insulin low, and allows your body to burn fat and feel full for longer.
Here’s the foods I recommend you remove from your diet as they do nothing for your satiety, weight or health:
- NO seed oils
- NO wheat (bread, oats, cereals)
- NO grains, pastas, rice
- NO potatoes, peas, carrots, corn, butternut, pumpkin
- NO legumes, lentils, beets
- NO Sugar.
- NO processed foods or drinks (nothing beats water, but black coffee or tea is fine)
- Watch out for alcohol - maybe an occossional glass of red wine but alcohol is best avoided as it does nothing for your health.
Eat 3 meals a day (roughly 4 to 6 hours apart but only eat if you’re actually hungry and stop eating once you’re full). Don’t snack in between meals - every time you eat you raise insulin levels - remember you want to keep insulin levels low and not stimulate your body to think it needs to eat all the time.
An example meal plan could be;
Breakfast: bacon and eggs with mediterranean vegetables or oats, with peanut butter and chia seeds (if you decide to reintroduce whole grains in your diet). I personally couldn’t do this as I went back to being hungry so I’ve eaten bacon and eggs for breakfast pretty much every morning for the last 4 years and it takes me through to lunch time easily.
Coffee (black).
Lunch: tuna / salmon / sardines (or chicken or turkey) salad with apple cider vinegar dressing (with a drizzle of olive oil to taste)
Dinner: mixed vegetables (broccoli, spinach, mangtout, asparagus, bok choy etc.), quinoa (if you’re back on the whole grains) and casseroled chicken thigh (or a steak, or seabass or salmon etc.).
Drink water throughout the day.
If you consistently eat and drink Low Carbohydrate High Fat at least 95% of the time you will stop feeling hungry all the time as the nutrient density and low insulin effect provides greater satiety than a high carb low fat diet.
And this is what it looks like working a 9–5 desk job while eating LCHF...
Picture: Vince at 150 pounds in April 2015
I lost 50 pounds in 5 months and have kept if off for 4 years without counting calories or ever going hungry all while working a desk job from 9–5.
PS: I founded Weight Loss Transformations you can check it if it work for you.
Good luck!
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