DIET

Diet is the most important parts of weight loss. It doesn’t matter if you’re spending the day in the gym burning hundreds of calories if you come home and eat a high calorie meal, destroying your calorie deficit. I know, I know… Everyone rolls their eyes when they hear someone is “counting calories”, and you don’t have to, but you do need to start looking at the number of calories you’re regularly consuming and get a feel for what you’re eating in a day, or per meal, or even per snack, to understand which things will keep you from losing weight.

CREATE A CALORIE DEFICIT- Candy bars and Coca Cola can’t be blamed for making you gain weight. It’s consuming more calories than you burn per day that makes you gain weight. If my body naturally burns around 1,800 calories per day when I’m sitting at home not doing much, I need to consume less than that per day to create a calorie deficit. If I go to the gym and burn another 300 calories, I’ve either created more of a deficit, OR I’ve just covered the candy bar I ate mid-day. And it takes a lot of work to burn a calorie! You can hustle for an hour on a treadmill and not burn nearly what you felt like you burned! This is where you start to realize that those high calorie snacks just aren’t worth it!

CUT OUT THESE THINGS- There are a few things that you can cut out completely that will make an impact with very little effort. Those things are bread and gluten, sugar, and alcohol. If you absolutely must have them, there are some alternatives that might help you. For example, if you’re a heavy beer drinker, opt for a light beer, and then consume less overall. There are also some refreshing seltzer beer and wine options, just check to make sure they aren’t loaded with sugar! If you’re a sugar eater, grab some dried fruit or banana chips, or things that are naturally sweet like dried mango or pineapple, and if they’re sweetened, make sure it’s with something natural like cane sugar. A nice, cold treat you can do is chopped pineapple or banana out of a tupperware you’ve kept in your freezer. You can also do light deserts like chopped strawberries in fat free whip cream with a pack of Splenda, all stirred up (I promise it’s way more delicious than it sounds.). Instead of ice cream, grab a sorbet or sherbet. It’s just too easy to grab a soda or a sweet tea, but try opting for a half sweet/half unsweet tea pretty much anywhere that serves both (Thankfully, this is becoming more common so don’t be afraid to ask!). If you love bread, this is a hard one. The easiest way to do this one, if you can’t cut it out completely, is to only eat really good fresh bread when it’s worth it! When looking at menu’s, don’t bother looking at sandwich or handheld items, just go straight to the baskets. A fish basket often has more fish than the sandwich anyway. And remember it’s alright to have a nice pastry now and then if it’s something you don’t make a habit of.

EAT BREAKFAST- Many people believe in intermittent fasting in the mornings, and that’s fine! Personally, my blood sugar drops too low and it ruins my day. When I wake up, the first thing my body wants is food, and I have a feeling I’m not alone in that. There’s an old saying: “Breakfast like a king; lunch like a prince; dinner like a pauper.” Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and you should make sure it isn’t just a PopTart. Get a glass of juice to pick up your blood sugar, and eat something substantial with some real nutrients. This is where you eat the fresh bread with some jam or butter if you want it, and make sure to get your protein. Don’t go overboard! If you consume a days worth of calories first thing in the morning, you’ll regret it in the evening when you realize you ruined that calorie deficit thing again and now you need to go harder in the gym.

DRINK WATER, REDUCE SALT INTAKE, and RID THE WATER WEIGHT- Water weight is a real thing. Ask any female. One way to keep water weight down is to drink a lot of water. You can even take Diurex pills which can easily be purchased at any pharmacy or drug store. However, having a little water weight during your workouts can actually assist with muscle cramps, etc., so don’t stress this too much if you’re the average person. Let the body builders worry about that. But if you’re headed to the beach with friends, it’s ok to take a Diurex, but drink lots of water because this can also cause dehydration. Salt makes you retain water, so anytime you’re eating too much salt, you’re going to feel and look heavier. Opt for low sodium options and don’t over salt your food! Drinking more water doesn't just aid in weight loss, it also helps in brain function and it is important for the general health of every organ in your body. Cutting back on the carbohydrates will also help reduce water retention!

NO PROCESSED FOODS- Stay away from processed foods as much as possible. If you’re eating a good meal of vegetables with a piece of meat roughly the size of the palm of your hand, you’ll be fine. Keep it basic, and keep it natural. You don’t have to buy all organic, just stick to things that grow out of or grow on the earth.

EAT PROTEIN- Protein can help you build muscle if you’re hitting the gym, but that’s not the only reason to make sure you’re getting enough of it. Protein can actually make you feel fuller longer and can help you burn more calories in your workouts. For each meal, 2-3 oz’s of lean meat is fine, but if you don’t eat meat, you can replace that with a half cup of beans. Getting too much protein isn’t an issue, but if you’re eating too much meat and it’s totaling too many calories, then you have an issue. In regards to using protein to build muscle, there were studies done that showed that using extra protein didn’t actually help build more muscle, but it was absolutely necessary to consume a normal amount of protein if you were trying to build muscle.

EAT HEALTHY FATS- Fat is good. Many people assume that fat is a negative thing and will make you gain weight. That’s now how this works. Of course, too much fat will make you gain, but it’s those sneaky carbs that make your blood sugar fluctuate which causes you to eat more. A high fat and low carb diet will stabilize blood sugar in the body and help you feel less hungry throughout the day. If you’re eating quality food, you’ll eat less of it and you’ll lose weight. Healthy fats include nuts, avocados, natural nut butters (but check for added sugars!), eggs, dark chocolate, olive and coconut oil, salmon, etc. Fats that you might want to minimize in your diet would be things like red meat, soybean or canola oil, margarine, cookies, crackers, sugar and other processed food items. Fat is necessary in our diets, but you have to choose the right fat! Now just because you’re eating the “good fats” doesn’t mean you can eat as much as you want! That means- Holy Guacamole! A hand full of nuts could easily be 100 calories. Make sure you’re eating these things as your source of fat, but remember to go easy.

EAT LOW GLYCEMIC- Not everyone thinks about this, but if you’ve ever had a problem with diabetes or stabilizing your blood sugar, this one is HUGE. Eating low glycemic is linked to reduced risks for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and so many other diseases. It’s simple once you learn the chart. Instead of white rice, opt for brown rice. Instead of watermelon, opt for berries. There are many charts across the internet that you can save to your phone and keep as a quick reference. Keeping your blood sugar stable helps your body want less food.

EAT FIBER- Fiber doesn’t just keep you regular, it also improves your body’s response to insulin, thus keeping that blood sugar balanced. When your blood sugar is balanced, the mind works better and the body is happier. You’ll stay full longer and eat less. Fiber also helps lower blood pressure.

SNACK SMART- So you’ve got your meals down to a weight-loss science, and then you grab the 400 calorie pastry at Starbucks, and it wasn’t even that good, was it? The easiest thing to do is carry snacks in your purse or your car. If you have to stop for gas, you know you’re going to end up with that soda and some nasty snack over 300 calories. Take the coke if you must, but you can opt for the zero calorie sodas and then grab a bag of nuts. You can also buy individually wrapped snacks like sun dried grapes or apricots, nuts, cranberries, etc. Also, try buying an inexpensive air popper ($20) and popping your own popcorn and lightly salting it. That’s one of those things you can literally eat all day and never have to worry! The easiest way to snack smart is by planning ahead, because we snack when we are hungry, and when we’re hungry and haven’t prepared anything, we tend to grab whatever is in front of us. Plan your snacks!

TAKE A PROBIOTIC and a MULTIVITAMIN- When our body is getting the nutrients it needs, it doesn’t crave specific foods as often. Sometimes those cravings are what make us break and we eat the thing we weren’t supposed to eat. Taking a good quality multi-vitamin can help make sure you’re getting those important vitamins. The probiotic will balance gut bacteria, it can help suppress appetite, and they may affect the absorption of fat, allowing you to excrete more fat and absorb fewer calories. For men and women both, I highly recommend the Garden of Life probiotics as they are the highest quality.

DON’T BRING IT HOME- The handiest rule of all is to buy your food at the grocery store and make your own meals and snacks. But here’s the catch, and it’s really easy! Eat a nice meal so you aren’t hungry, then go shopping for groceries. From there, just check the calories on the things you pick up, see which products make the most sense, and if it doesn’t make the cut, don’t put it in the buggy! I know this is hard when you’re feeding other people, but this is where they get healthy too. Grab the natural alternative to those cookies, the ones made with a natural sugar. Just buy the healthiest version or alternative to what they need to be happy, and then if you do decide to be naughty and get into the good stuff, it really won’t be that bad. And now look what you’ve done! You’ve cleaned up their act!

Losing weight doesn’t have to be difficult. You don’t have to deprive yourself of food, you just have to choose the right foods. And if you’re determined to fight for a few pounds off in a few days, using this plan and being strict about it will be the fastest way to weight loss through dieting.