Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, & Stop Binge Eating
Whether you're aiming to lose fat, build muscle, or manage binge eating behaviors, tailoring your nutrition to suit your specific goals can make a profound difference in your journey. Instead of following one-size-fits-all diets, personalized strategies help you optimize your relationship with food while achieving sustainable results. This blog post is a 101 guide to the first steps when it comes to accomplishing any of these 3 goals. For specific plans or for help with navigating these three challenging goals, work with me 1:1 through your health insurance (most people pay $0).
Nutrition for Fat Loss
Achieving fat loss isn’t about extreme dieting or deprivation—it’s about creating a sustainable lifestyle that supports your goals. Here’s how to make it work:
1. Caloric Awareness
To lose fat, you need to consume fewer calories than your body burns, creating a calorie deficit. However, this doesn't mean you need to obsess over every calorie.
Track Intelligently: Use tools like apps (MyFitnessPal is my favorite) or paper food diaries to log your intake, this can help you to focus on trends rather than perfection. Track your meals for a few weeks to identify patterns, then transition to estimating portion sizes or using the plate method (e.g., half your plate as veggies, one-quarter protein, one-quarter starch) because NO one wants to log their food forever. If you need help with learning these skills or transitioning away from tracking when you’re ready, work with me!
Avoid Over-restriction: Extreme calorie cuts can slow your metabolism, decrease energy, and lead to binge eating. Instead, aim for a small, sustainable deficit of 300–500 calories per day.
2. Volume Eating
Volume eating emphasizes foods that are low in calories but high in volume, helping you feel full and satisfied.
Focus on High-Fiber Foods: Vegetables like leafy greens, cucumbers, broccoli, and cauliflower add bulk to your meals without many calories. Incorporating soups, salads, and steamed vegetables before your main dish can curb hunger.
Prioritize Whole Foods: Foods such as whole grains, lean proteins, and nuts/seeds/legumes take longer to digest and help regulate appetite. If you notice you are always hungry soon after you finish your meals or snacks, ask yourself, “Was what I just ate made up of whole foods or packaged/processed food?” If the answer is packaged/processed foods, I’d bet that is why you’re hungry again so soon (in less than 2-4 hours)! Packaged/processed foods get digested rapidly, and once they are digested, they get leave the stomach. Once they are gone, our stomach then signals your brain (and hunger hormone, ghrelin) that nothing is in there and that you need to eat again. Ultimately this is a cycle of over consuming calories and making it difficult to lose excess body fat.
3. Meal Timing
Eating on a consistent schedule can help manage hunger and appetite, and maintain your energy levels throughout the day.
Frequency: Aim for balanced meals or snacks every 3–4 hours. This pattern helps avoid extreme hunger, reducing the likelihood of overeating later in the day. My favorite meal schedule with my clients is early breakfast, mid-day lunch, mid-afternoon snack, and evening dinner.
Macro Balance: Build meals around lean proteins, whole grains, healthy fats, and plenty of veggies. For example, a lunch of grilled chicken with quinoa and roasted Brussels sprouts provides protein, fiber, and complex carbs to keep you satisfied.
Practical Fat Loss Meal Ideas
Breakfast: Spinach and mushroom omelet(2 eggs and 3/4 cup egg whites) with whole-grain toast and fruit.
Lunch: Grilled salmon salad with mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and balsamic vinegar dressing.
Snack: Sliced bell peppers and 2 boiled eggs.
Dinner: Turkey-stuffed zucchini boats with a side of steamed broccoli and high fiber rice.
Nutrition for Muscle Building
Building muscle requires a thoughtful combination of proper nutrition and strength training. Nutrition fuels recovery and muscle growth while supporting the intense demands of resistance training.
1. Prioritize Protein
Protein is the building block of muscle. Without adequate protein intake, your body can’t repair and build muscle effectively.
Daily Targets: Aim for 1.2–2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (or about 0.5–0.9 grams per pound). For example, a 70-kg (154-lb) individual would target 84–140 grams of protein daily. Another way I like to say it is 30-35% of your total intake should be coming from protein. So if you know your calorie goal, you can take the percentage of that, but if you’re just looking at your plate, make sure 1/3 of it is protein.
Spread It Out: Consume protein at each meal to maximize muscle protein synthesis (the process by which your body repairs and builds muscle). Each meal should contain a minimum of 30g of high-quality protein for all women, and it goes up from there. If you are struggling with eating enough PRO at meals, try adding in high protein snacks throughout the day.
Easy protein on the go- and gluten free too!
2. Timing Your Nutrition
Strategic meal timing can enhance performance and recovery.
Pre-Workout: Eat a balanced meal 2–4 hours before training(with protein, carbs, and fats), or a carb only snack 15-30 minutes before training. Examples of great pre-fuel snacks include: banana, applesauce, a small bit of your favorite gummy candy, graham crackers, saltine crackers, or pretzels.
Post-Workout: Consuming at least 20g of protein within 1 hour after exercise helps repair muscle fibers. Pair protein with a source of carbs to replenish glycogen stores(your stored carbs in your muscles). Ideally, you can eat a high PRO snack right after the gym, and then eat a full, well-balanced meal within the next 2 hours.
Examples of Post-Workout Meals:
1.5 servings of Greek yogurt with fresh berries and nuts/seeds.
A turkey sandwich with six slices of turkey, whole-grain bread, and a side of baby carrots.
A smoothie made with protein powder(or cottage cheese, silken tofu, or Greek yogurt), banana, frozen spinach, peanut butter or avocado, and water. TIP: the 5 components of a great smoothie are protein, frozen fruit, spinach, a fat, and a liquid. PRO TIP: freezing your spinach or buying frozen spinach will make it last longer and it makes no difference if you are throwing it into a smoothie to be blended anyways.
Clean, delicious protein to easily add to any smoothie
3. Include Healthy Fats
While carbs and protein often get the spotlight, fats are essential for overall health and hormone production, including testosterone, which plays a key role in muscle growth. Aim for healthy fats from sources like avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil.
Practical Muscle-Building Meal Ideas
Breakfast: Overnight oats with protein powder, almond butter, and mixed berries.
Lunch: Grilled chicken breast with sweet potato wedges and a side of steamed green beans.
Snack: Cottage cheese with sliced pineapple or a handful of almonds.
Dinner: Beef stir-fry with quinoa and sautéed vegetables.
Nutrition for Managing Binge Eating
Managing binge eating involves addressing both physical and emotional factors that drive the behavior. Balanced, structured nutrition can play a critical role in breaking the cycle.
1. Structured Meals
THIS IS THE NUMBER ONE BEST WAY TO AVOID BINGE EATING!!!!!! PLEASE TAKE THIS STEP TO HEART!!!!! Skipping meals or going long stretches without eating can lead to extreme hunger, which is ONE OF THE MOST COMMON (and preventable) triggers for binge eating episodes.
Balance is Key: Include protein, healthy fats, and fiber at each meal to promote satiety. For example, a lunch of grilled chicken, brown rice, and a mixed veggie stir-fry provides a satisfying combination of nutrients.
Regular Meal Schedule: Aim for three balanced meals (with 30g of protein at each meal) and 1–2 snacks daily to maintain steady energy levels and prevent excessive hunger. If this is something you struggle with, eat breakfast, then set a timer for 3-4 hours and when it goes off, EAT AGAIN! Even if you are not hungry enough for a meal, have a snack, not hungry enough for a snack? Drink liquid calories such as bone broth, a smoothie, or a protein applesauce such as pictured here.
Perfect for a quick boost of protein
2. Mindful Eating
Mindful eating can help you slow down and become more in touch to your body’s hunger and fullness cues. Speaking of, did you know those are controlled by 2 hormones? We have ghrelin, our hunger hormone, and leptin, our fullness hormone. Cool, huh?
Eat Without Distractions: Turn off the TV and put away your phone during meals. Focus on the flavors, textures, and smells of your food. If you need something to entertain you try reading a book, it will slow you down much more compared to the TV or your phone.
Pause and Assess: Take a moment halfway through your meal to check in with your body. Are you satisfied, or do you need more? This practice can prevent overeating.
3. Include Satisfying Foods
Deprivation can lead to feelings of restriction, which often trigger binge episodes. Allow yourself to enjoy your favorite foods in moderation.
Avoid Labeling Foods as “Good” or “Bad”: These terms are subjective. I recommend you practice questioning why you have these beliefs around certain foods. All foods can fit into a healthy lifestyle when you eat them in moderation. Enjoying a small portion of chocolate or potato chips when you’re craving them is healthier than trying to resist and later overeating. I recommend adding these “fun foods” to meals and snacks by pairing them with satisfying foods like your protein, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. For example: If you really want a creamy dessert, instead chocolate by it’s self, maybe you enjoy chocolate with Greek yogurt so you’re getting protein too.
Plan Treats: Try including satisfying foods in your daily or weekly meals so they become a normal, guilt-free part of your routine.
Practical Strategies for Managing Binge Eating
Identify Triggers: Keep a journal to note patterns around binge episodes. Do they occur after skipping meals, during stress, or in specific settings?
Build a Support System: Talk to a dietitian (like me, Shannon Cook, MS, RD, LD), therapist, or support group to work through emotional eating triggers and develop coping strategies.
Example Daily Plan for Managing Binge Eating
Breakfast: Oatmeal with a protein (like protein powder, Greek yogurt, or a side of eggs), topped with peanut butter/nuts and banana slices.
Lunch: Grilled chicken wrap with avocado, spinach, and a side of roasted carrots.
Snack: A handful of trail mix containing both nuts(a fat/protein) and dried fruit(a carb).
Dinner: Baked salmon with quinoa and steamed asparagus.
Dessert: A square of dark chocolate or a small serving of ice cream.
Final Thoughts
Tailoring your nutrition to your goals requires understanding your body’s unique needs and respecting its signals. Whether you’re working toward fat loss, muscle building, or managing binge eating, focus on sustainable habits rather than quick fixes.
Fat Loss: Focus on a modest calorie deficit, high-volume foods, and frequent meal timing.
Muscle Building: Prioritize protein and eat strategic pre/post fuel in good timing.
Managing Binge Eating: Maintain structured meals, practice mindful eating, and avoid deprivation by including satisfying foods.
Consistency and balance are more powerful than perfection. Progress comes from small, manageable changes that align with your lifestyle. By tuning into your body’s needs and adopting these tailored strategies, you’ll be on the path to reaching your goals while fostering a healthy relationship with food.
