I went out to dinner the other night, and as a professional people watcher, I noticed a couple enjoying their ‘date’ night together.  Then I noticed just HOW much food they had sitting on the table for the two of them – it looked like they were eating for four.

Now, I know they might be hungry – but I’ve done the same thing before and the only thing it got me was 20lbs of extra weight and a really full unhappy tummy.

Ladies, it happens to us all. We go out with a guy – they get an appetizer – they won’t share – so we get an appetizer. Or you cook at home and you make some lunch and there is only a little bit left after you both eat so you figure – why not finish the last bit – he still has eaten more than me!  Unfortunately comparing our eating habits with how much a guy eats is not a healthy way to measure how much food we eat (and is definitely not on a flat stomach diet plan!).

Men naturally eat more than women. In most cases men weigh more than women and have more body mass, therefore they need more food and calories to burn as energy to keep their body functioning properly.  If your boyfriend is a foot taller than you and weighs twice as much as you do – you two should NOT be eating the same amount of food.

So how do you avoid making every an eating competition with your male counterpart and the extra weight that will come with it?

Here are FOUR quick tips to help you lose the eating game:

1. When out to dinner – while you are taking a look at the menu – pay attention to how hungry you really are. If you have an appetizer will you be able to eat all of your dinner? Do you really want a full meal or maybe a few small appetizers? Make sure you are paying attention to your body and what you want – don’t order more food just because ‘he’ is.
2. It’s okay if you don’t clean your plate. It was hard for me at first – especially growing up having to always clean your plate – but you can take the food home or let your guy finish the rest for you – they like leftovers and usually have a room for a bit more.



3. Don’t justify your eating habits off of your guy. If you are following a flat stomach diet and your guy is not – don’t get the French fries just because he is. You need to make the decisions for yourself. Just because he is having that extra serving of mashed potatoes doesn’t mean you need too.  Do for yourself not because he does.
4. Don’t eat too fast. Society these days has the tendency to scarf down our food with minimal conversation. I know conversation can be tough while eating if you are starving but try to eat slowly – chew each bite carefully – this will help you feel full without eating as much or more than you need to.

If you can’t avoid making every meal an eating competition – these tips will help you make sure that you lose the game. Trust me, this is one game you want to lose – to make sure you continually work towards your flat stomach goals.

Today’s workout was shoulders/legs (a GREAT idea courtesy of @mandystafford from Twitter).  That’s one of the best parts of social media – exchanging ideas with people all over the fitness industry.  Mandy and I always compare our workouts – and once she told me about this split, I knew I had to try it and I LOVE it. Not rocket science, but it’s different than my last 4 week routine and my body loves it.

I’ll be lifting weights again Monday – which will be chest/biceps and my third weight day is back/triceps.  Combining body parts this way allows me to work each body part just a little bit harder – and means I’m just a little bit sorer the next day (but we all know that I love feeling the results of my workouts!)

Quick tip – make sure to change up your weight routines or workouts every four weeks. This will keep your muscles from getting too used to the exercises. It will also ensure that you are continuing to build muscle and burn fat, while you do your flat stomach workout and getting you closer to reaching your fitness goals.

So, enough chatter – here’s today’s workout.

*The letters denote supersets. So, if two exercises have the same letters in the left hand column, this means that they were done immediately after each other with no rest, until after the second exercise has been completed.

It was another busy day in the gym. Today was all Upper Body and my arms are already shaking from my workout.

What did I do?

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After that I did some core exercises for my back and to work on my abs and flat stomach. Then some stretching and it was home to eat!

The most exciting part of this workout for me is seeing myself getting stronger. I did 7 pull-ups when I first got into the gym, I remember the days when I could barely do 1! Its those type of results that keep me going back day after day.  What results have you seen in yourself that motivate you?