1. “Slow gains add up really fast.

I want you to go into the gym this week, pick your favourite exercise – squats for example – and lift 1kg more than you did last week. You are not allowed to do 2kg more, only 1kg.

Do you think you could do that? Most people would be like, “Of course. That’s easy.” And they’re right.

But here’s the funny thing: if you do that every week, then you’re going to add 50kg to your lifts in the next year. Stick with that for 2 years and you’re lifting 100kg more.
How many people do you know who are lifting 100kg more than they were 2 years ago? I don’t know many. Most people are so obsessed with forcing out an extra 10kg this week that they never find the patience to make slower, but greater, long-term gains. It all comes down to the power of average speed. The next two years are going to come and go. The time will pass by anyway, might as well be climbing the whole time.”

2. “Do you find yourself being really, really “good” with your food choices during the day, only to inhale an entire unplanned tub of ice cream in the evenings? Do you find this happening a little too often?

You cave in at night because that’s when your willpower is at it’s lowest. You’ve gone the entire day resisting chocolate, drinking your coffee black (even though you love cream), and turning down anything considered “bad”. I challenge you to change that mindset. Because after all, what’s the point of being so “good” if you undo all of that goodness – plus more – at night? Doesn’t that defeat the very purpose of what you were trying to do?

Throw yourself a bone. Relax your everyday food choices. Food is not in black and white. Nobody – I repeat, nobody – ever got fat from having a bit of cream in their coffee. And you cannot derail all your progress from just ONE cookie. I promise you that. No food is inherently good, and no food (in moderation) is inherently bad. There should be no guilt associated with food choice whatsoever.

For better long-term progress, make sure you allow yourself a few treats from time to time. For me, that means things like cereal, perhaps some desert or even a doughnut now and then. Everything else I eat comes from whole nutritious food sources: varied selections of meat, vegetables and fruit. I also consume dairy foods regularly. These foods actually make the majority of my intake for the day.

Night time cave ins using this strategy? Zero. Urges to binge? Zero. Food groups restricted? Zero.
Dietary satisfaction? 100%.”

3. “Q: Will eating food, like carbohydrates, late at night make me fat?

This is a myth. Last time I checked carbs, protein and fat don’t change their molecular structure from one time of the day to another. Carbs at 7am are the same as carbs at 10pm. Your body doesn’t know the difference. I don’t know about your body, but mine doesn’t have some secret digestive clock that turns everything into fat after a certain time. This myth most likely came about by people who consumed more calories than they should’ve and did most of this excess eating at night.

The only way for you to gain weight is if you consume more calories than you burn. If you overeat in the morning or night, you will gain weight. The time of day in which you overeat doesn’t matter.

For some people, the only time when they get a break from their hectic schedule to eat is at night time. Don’t ever feel guilty for eating at this time.”