Allow me to take you on a 5 minute visual journey.
A journey which, by the end of it, will have you understanding your metabolism, your weight and why you struggle to control it.
Imagine a clear bowl...
The bowl holds exactly 2000ml (2 litres) of water.
If you were to pour a 2 litre bottle of water into the bowl it would fill up perfectly to the top.
A single drop more and it would overflow.
You wake up with an empty bowl...
Imagine that every morning you wake up with this empty bowl by your bed.
Visualise picking it up, popping it under your arm and carry it around with you through the day.
Your bowl fills up as you eat...
For every 1 calorie you eat, visualise your bowl magically filling up with exactly 1ml of water.
Eat 500 calories for breakfast and you'll see your bowl fill up exactly 500ml.
Your bowl empties as your burn...
As your body burns calories through the day the water in your bowl evaporates.
For every 1 calorie your body burns, 1ml of water evaporates from your bowl.
Visualise your bowl filling and emptying..
The more you eat, the fuller your bowl gets.
The more you burn, the emptier your bowl gets.
Imagine your bowl filling and emptying as you go through the day.
The bad news...
Every time your bowl overflows YOU GET A LITTLE BIT FATTER! For every 3500ml your bowl overflows (or 3500 calories you overeat) your body gains 1lb of fat.
The good news...
Every time your bowl empties YOUR BODY STARTS TO BURN FAT! For every 3500ml your bowl is underfilled (or 3500 calories you undereat) your body burns 1lb of fat.
And so...
Keep the right amount of water in your bowl and you neither burn nor store fat.
If your bowl OVERFLOWS your body starts to STORE the excess energy as fat.
If your bowl EMPTIES your body starts to BURN your excess fat weight.
What does it all mean?...
The bowl is your body.
The water is the energy in the food you eat.
The evaporation of the water is your metabolism burning off the calories (energy) from this food.
By visualising your 'metabolic bowl' you now understand how your unique energy balance works through the day.
As you eat your bowl fills up (ENERGY IN), as you burn your bowl empties (ENERGY OUT).
If your bowl overflows you start to store fat (CALORIC SURPLUS), if your bowl is under-filled you start to burn fat (CALORIC DEFICIT).
But not everyone has a 2000ml bowl.
The size of your bowl is determined by your 'metabolic rate' - the average amount of energy you burn each day.
The average man has a 2500ml bowl (needing 2500 calories max a day), the average woman has a 2000ml bowl (needing 2000 calories max a day).
A sportsperson or athlete might have a 5000ml or even 10,000ml bowl.
They have more muscle, they are more active...
so they burn more and need a BIGGER BOWL! Now this is the important bit...
Imagine watching your bowl as you rest.
The average person burns 1 calorie a minute at rest.
Visualise the water in your bowl as you sit at your desk.
It is going down just 1ml a minute.
Imagine watching your bowl as you exercise.
The average workout burns 8 calories a minute.
Visualise the water in your bowl while you workout.
It is going down just 8ml a minute.
Imagine watching your bowl as you eat.
A sandwich contains 600 calories and takes 2 minutes to eat.
Visualise the water in your bowl while you eat it.
It is filling up 300 calories a minute! So why is weight loss so hard?...
The fastest you can empty your bowl is 15ml a minute: Sprinting.
Circuit training.
High intensity exercise.
You cannot cheat it.
Pills won't help.
15 calories a minute is the most you can burn.
The fastest you can fill your bowl is 1000ml a minute: Eating 3 chocolate bars.
Scoffing a pizza.
Glugging a couple of energy drinks.
Over a days worth of calories can be eaten in one binge.
Burning calories is like evaporation.
Consuming calories is like a flood!
A journey which, by the end of it, will have you understanding your metabolism, your weight and why you struggle to control it.
Imagine a clear bowl...
The bowl holds exactly 2000ml (2 litres) of water.
If you were to pour a 2 litre bottle of water into the bowl it would fill up perfectly to the top.
A single drop more and it would overflow.
You wake up with an empty bowl...
Imagine that every morning you wake up with this empty bowl by your bed.
Visualise picking it up, popping it under your arm and carry it around with you through the day.
Your bowl fills up as you eat...
For every 1 calorie you eat, visualise your bowl magically filling up with exactly 1ml of water.
Eat 500 calories for breakfast and you'll see your bowl fill up exactly 500ml.
Your bowl empties as your burn...
As your body burns calories through the day the water in your bowl evaporates.
For every 1 calorie your body burns, 1ml of water evaporates from your bowl.
Visualise your bowl filling and emptying..
The more you eat, the fuller your bowl gets.
The more you burn, the emptier your bowl gets.
Imagine your bowl filling and emptying as you go through the day.
The bad news...
Every time your bowl overflows YOU GET A LITTLE BIT FATTER! For every 3500ml your bowl overflows (or 3500 calories you overeat) your body gains 1lb of fat.
The good news...
Every time your bowl empties YOUR BODY STARTS TO BURN FAT! For every 3500ml your bowl is underfilled (or 3500 calories you undereat) your body burns 1lb of fat.
And so...
Keep the right amount of water in your bowl and you neither burn nor store fat.
If your bowl OVERFLOWS your body starts to STORE the excess energy as fat.
If your bowl EMPTIES your body starts to BURN your excess fat weight.
What does it all mean?...
The bowl is your body.
The water is the energy in the food you eat.
The evaporation of the water is your metabolism burning off the calories (energy) from this food.
By visualising your 'metabolic bowl' you now understand how your unique energy balance works through the day.
As you eat your bowl fills up (ENERGY IN), as you burn your bowl empties (ENERGY OUT).
If your bowl overflows you start to store fat (CALORIC SURPLUS), if your bowl is under-filled you start to burn fat (CALORIC DEFICIT).
But not everyone has a 2000ml bowl.
The size of your bowl is determined by your 'metabolic rate' - the average amount of energy you burn each day.
The average man has a 2500ml bowl (needing 2500 calories max a day), the average woman has a 2000ml bowl (needing 2000 calories max a day).
A sportsperson or athlete might have a 5000ml or even 10,000ml bowl.
They have more muscle, they are more active...
so they burn more and need a BIGGER BOWL! Now this is the important bit...
Imagine watching your bowl as you rest.
The average person burns 1 calorie a minute at rest.
Visualise the water in your bowl as you sit at your desk.
It is going down just 1ml a minute.
Imagine watching your bowl as you exercise.
The average workout burns 8 calories a minute.
Visualise the water in your bowl while you workout.
It is going down just 8ml a minute.
Imagine watching your bowl as you eat.
A sandwich contains 600 calories and takes 2 minutes to eat.
Visualise the water in your bowl while you eat it.
It is filling up 300 calories a minute! So why is weight loss so hard?...
The fastest you can empty your bowl is 15ml a minute: Sprinting.
Circuit training.
High intensity exercise.
You cannot cheat it.
Pills won't help.
15 calories a minute is the most you can burn.
The fastest you can fill your bowl is 1000ml a minute: Eating 3 chocolate bars.
Scoffing a pizza.
Glugging a couple of energy drinks.
Over a days worth of calories can be eaten in one binge.
Burning calories is like evaporation.
Consuming calories is like a flood!