6 Nutrition Tips From The Biggest Loser’s Libby Babet

Libby Babet believes the key to good nutrition is consistency, so her philosophy is all about keeping things simple and sustainable. Here are her top 6 tips to get a banging body and keep it for life.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Food plans are easy to stick to in the short term, but they rarely last. It’s a much better option to educate yourself on what the right food choices for you are and why.

For example, if I simply told you to, “say no to hot chips, they’re bad for you”, that’s not particularly motivating and may even get a negative emotional response. But if I explain to you how hot chips are made, what they contain and how they impact your body, you won’t need willpower because trust me, you won’t want to eat them very often!

KEEP IT SIMPLE – USE PRINCIPLES RATHER THAN RULES

As Katharine Hepburn said, “if you obey all the rules you miss all the fun!”. If you build your health journey around rules, like only ever eating 1200 calories per day or never eating a single grain, not only will you need hundreds of them to keep you on track, you’ll also want to break them at some point (perhaps many), and likely get the guilts for it.

Instead, I always recommend simple guiding principles like “always choose the most natural and unprocessed foods available to you at each meal”, “avoid high sugar foods where possible”, and “stick to small portion sizes so you don’t stress your digestive system”. Principles like these ensure you can make the right choices without demonising food.

ADD RATHER THAN REMOVE 

You don’t have to exercise nearly as much willpower when you’re adding things IN to your diet rather than cutting things OUT. A focus on eating the foods your body really needs first (veggies/proteins/fruits/seeds) is a positive way to crowd out less healthy or more calorie dense options. Once you get the good stuff in you rarely have space for anything else, but if you are still craving a treat, then finding the healthiest version to indulge in is also a good move. A good example of this is choosing a quality 80-90% cacao dark chocolate with 10g sugar per 100g, rather than a milk chocolate product with 50g sugar per 100g!

GET HEALTHY TO LOSE WEIGHT, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND

You tend to get what you focus on, so talk about what you want, not what you don’t want.

If you wake up every day with the thought, “I have to lose weight” you’re focusing on your weight in a negative way, which puts a focus on everything you don’t have and all the ways you’re failing. That’s not motivating.

Instead, set your goals around getting healthy and nourishing your body in the best way possible, so your thought pattern becomes, “I am a healthy person”. This path will inevitably lead to weight loss as a side effect and you’ll do it in a healthy way. Small wins lead to big wins and help you feel inspired!

SLOW DOWN TO SPEED UP

It’s incredibly important to slow down when you eat. Relax, chew properly and taste your food, without multi-tasking at the same time!. This will help your appetite signals register properly and reduce inflammatory responses (e.g. bloating, reflux). It will also blunt the cortisol spikes that can mess up your digestion, create inflammation and lead to increased fat storage. Slow down at meal times to speed up weight loss.

USE THE 1-2 PRINCIPLE WITH YOUR VICES & TREATS

When it comes to foods you know you shouldn’t be over-indulging in but just can’t seem to stay away from – hello wine, bread, sweets and ice-cream - use my 1-2 principle as an easy way to cut down, without feeling deprived. First up, be honest with yourself about your vices and what you might be having a bit too much of. Alcohol? Bread? Chocolate bars? Pasta? The shared office bikkies? Whatever it is that you love but know it will be hard to cut out completely, simply make a deal with yourself that you’re allowed to indulge in 1-2 serves of those things, 1-2 times per week. For me, that means 1 glass of wine with my husband on a Friday and/or Saturday night, a slice of sourdough at Sat/Sun brunch and a serve of gelato if we’re out to dinner with friends. Health goals sorted, without over-indulging or missing out.

For more fitness and nutrition tips head to bufgirls.com, and don't forget to watch The Biggest Loser: Transformed on Ten!