Three Steps to Diet Domination (Part I)

The Type of Diet

Let’s get this out of the way first, we, as humans, are incredibly complex, diverse, and above all else weird. This is why something like the Atkin’s Diet will work great for Bobby Joe, but will cause Johnny Ballgame to binge three days into the same diet. What about the fad of liquid diets? Low Fat, high carb, moderate protein? High Fat, high protein, low carbohydrate? No carbs (i.e. Anabolic Diet)? Fasting? Straight up calorie restriction is fine too, as long as you make sure you get in adequate protein and carbohydrates to complement you training. But since many people like to follow a designed program or a set of guidelines I will help you decide if one of these diets are right for you.

(It is getting harder and harder for people to succeed when the read books like this)

All of these diets work when done as directed, but depending on the kind of person you are, you might be setting yourself up for failure. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself before you decided what route to go.

1. List your three favorite foods, do more than 50% of their calories come from carbohydrates?
2. Do you like/have to train HARD?  By “HARD,” I mean you go heavy, you go hard, you do death circuits at the end of training, do heavy singles, sometimes need to lay down and catch your breath because you are training so hard.
3. Do you have control over 90% of the food you eat? For example, do you do your own grocery shopping, food prep, and cooking for yourself? Do you cook one meal for your family and need to make, “something the kids will eat,” and can’t make something separate for yourself?

If you answered yes to 1-2 of these questions, commercial diets with a specific name will be difficult. Answering yes to all three will make it impossible and you are just setting yourself up for failure and nights of binging. In your case, it may make more sense to start with a 500 calorie deficit/day and go from there. We all know what foods are considered healthy. Think lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, some nuts, etc.

Modifying your diet is a major event, and it should not be taken lightly. That is why all of those people who say, “Oh yeah, I know I need to lost 10 pounds, I am going to start this diet I saw in [insert magazine of your choice]. It worked great for [insert celebrity],” fail each and every time. There is no planning or accountability involved (more on accountability later).

(poor Fat Bastard, “I can’t stop eating. I eat because I’m unhappy, and I’m unhappy because I eat. It’s a vicious cycle.”)

This doesn’t mean you can not follow these diets (most of which are low-carb), just be conscious that you will need to support your training style with proper workout nutrition and get as much rest as you can. Try to shoot for 8 hours of sleep per night like it is your job. Even I have made some sacrifices so I can get the appropriate sleep in.

If you want my two-cents on how to approach dieting, I would send you to Leigh Peele and her two books The Fat Loss Troubleshoot and Body By Eats. The Fat Loss Troubleshoot has multiple plans of attack when it comes to dieting based on your personality and how fast you need to lose the weight.