The Secret to Weight Loss Dieting… or lack there of.

Before I get into the nitty gritty here I really want to stress how useful a regimented diet plan truly is. I’ve met numerous people who are not only willing but also extremely motivated to hit the gym regularly but when I begin to discuss with them various dieting strategies they will say something like “But I just can’t say no…” No offense meant to anyone who has used it but I call bull shit on this, you simply don’t want to and you just need to realize that. Anyone can eat an exciting diet, it’s one of the easiest things in the world to do, but it takes a person with true mental strength and dedication to achieve an exciting body. If you “can’t” do what’s necessary then you’re simply not one of those people, however if you realize that you’re simply unwilling to do it then that my dear sir/madam is something we can work with! =)

Now that we got that out of the way let me tell you the good news, you DO NOT need to stick to your regimented diet day in and day out every single day. It’s not only OK for you to splurge every now and again but I actually highly encourage you to do it! If you’re dieting correctly you will be forcing your body to eat away at its reserves for multiple days on end, this will have the positive effect of fat loss but if you maintain it for to long without a “re-feed” you could begin to suffer ill-effects the primary of which is Muscle loss. To combat this it’s wise to re-feed your body at least once a week with things that you’ve been taking away from it, I’ll hit more on that later, but rest assured, you’ll still be able to make stops at the Cheesecake Factory, it just can’t be every day. =P

Me giving the "Evil Eye" as I prepare to enjoy a carb up meal >:)

Now how about that Secret… that prize at the end of the rainbow that only a select few people seem to be able to find… well gather around cause I’m about to share it with you, but it’s far simpler then you think. If you look at any diet plan under the sun right now you’ll notice they ALL follow these same 3 rules:

Rule #1 – Restrict your calories

This is the golden rule! It will have the greatest effect by far out of anything you do with a diet. However the reason why some people fail on diet plans while others don’t is because not all people are made the same, and most diet plans don’t compensate for this, they simply stick to the averages. Everyone has a different metabolism and varying degrees of activity in there day, so finding out exactly how many calories you should be getting will take some experimentation on your part initially. Let’s face it, Zangief does not, I repeat DOES NOT, have the same caloric needs as Dhalsim, if they had the exact same diet the effects would be drastically different. I suggest you use one of the many calorie calculators that can be found on the net to find out what the average maintenance level is for someone of your size and stature, this will be a great place to start. Try to get in as close to that many calories as you can each day and if you can go 3 straight days without your weight budging (weigh yourself as soon as you wake up, before you eat) you’ve found your maintenance. If you notice your weight going up then try decreasing the calories by 100, if your weight went down try increasing the calories by 100, your goal is simply to find where you break even at and it will be great practice for you to get used to calorie counting. I highly encourage you to go through this step as this knowledge is invaluable! With it you can easily determine how much you should be consuming for both fat loss and muscle gain.

Rule #2 – Choose your scapegoat

One thing you’ll notice with every diet out there is they pick a nutrient, call it the devil, and then force you to avoid it like the plague! For the longest time Fats were always the problem child that people attacked, but as of recently we’ve also started picking on Carbohydrates. Either case works just fine, it’s all a matter of which is easiest for you to live without. Just don’t attempt to cut both! I couldn’t even begin to imagine what you would be eating if you tried to limit both Fats and Carbs, but don’t even bother trying to figure it out as that’s a very BAD idea. Generally speaking your body will attempt to go after the Carbs in your body initially for energy, when it runs out it will hit up the available Fats from the foods you’ve eaten that day and then it will begin to hit your reserves. If you choose to limit Fats in your diet once your body has chewed it’s way through the Carbs it will revert to slicing the stored fat off for energy. Likewise if you choose to limit your Carb intake then your body will immediately hit up the Fats you’ve consumed in the day and then will smoothly transition to hitting up your reserves. Either way you’re completely removing a step and forcing your body to chew away at your stored fat quicker, both strategies are extremely effective, it’s all a matter what works best for you.

Rule #3 – Learn how to say no to Sugar!

You’re just going to have to face it, sugar is just straight up bad for your physique if consumed regularly. It’s no secret that Sugar is stored as Fat insidiously fast and even when you are active most of it will be stored before it’s actually used. It’ll behoove you to severely limit your Sugar intake on diet days, and when I say limit I mean take in as little as possible, if you can get through a day with 0 sugar by all means do it, the less the better. For me personally I try to shoot for getting less then 10g of Sugar in total on an average diet day. And if you really need to get your sugar fix there’s always artificial sweeteners such as Stevia or Splenda. Now there are studies out there that attempt to link various health issues to artificial sweeteners, and I’m no Nutritionist so I have no idea how true they are or not, I’m just letting you know there are other options. It’s up to you to decide if you want to believe what the researchers are saying and if it’s something you want to do. Me personally, I’ve used both Stevia and Splenda while cooking various things, but I don’t consume them regularly. (I drink my tea straight with no sweetener =P)

And for pretty much any diet plan out there today you’ll find the above 3 rules to be true. And that is the secret, you could never set foot in a gym and as long as the above 3 rules were followed I guarantee you that you would indeed start losing weight. The hard part? Motivation and Willpower. You have to be religious about it, for 6 days a week you have to be in control of your cravings and you have to learn how to say no. It’s difficult at first I’ll admit, but once those results start coming it gets so much easier! And just remember, all those things you’re missing out on… on that 7^th day… oh yah, that’s right, =) go rip that Cheesecake Factory a new one!

Now there is 1 more rule that is very important to follow if you choose to workout, which I highly encourage you to do so:

Rule #4 – Get enough Protein!

When you workout what you’re doing is ripping apart your muscles, which is why they tend to hurt so much, then your body not only repairs them but makes them stronger and more efficient at achieving whatever task was called upon them. Your body needs Protein to do this, so it’s important to get lots of it so that your body is prepared for the task. It’s a common misconception that eating lots of Protein will make your muscles explode like the Incredible Hulk or something, this is completely un-true. The only way to get larger is if you start consuming calories well in excess of your maintenance levels. Regardless of your goals, whether they be getting larger or smaller, it’s important to get plenty of protein when working out, it’s vital to your well being.

This was meant to be a general overview of what you can look forward to with regards to your diet for those of you whose goal is to cut fat. Next time I will dig into far more detail and talk about how much you should be getting of what and why its bad to cut your calories too drastically. I’ll also go into more detail about how exactly I approach my diet and my experiences with both low fat and low carb dieting.

Catch yah next time!

Steve