What is a diet?

noun

a special course of food to which one restricts oneself, either to lose weight or for medical reasons.

verb

restrict oneself to small amounts or special kinds of food in order to lose weight.

How many diets have you been on, only to gain all the weight back after you finish the diet? Unfortunately, more times than not you'll gain back most, if not all the weight you lost. The food and fitness industry continues to brainwash us into thinking this time, the diet will work, but we all know it won't.

Let's go through some of these diets that we’ve seen or participated in: the cookie diet, really? only eating powdered food and shakes, really?? eating as much bacon as you like all the time, really??? Excuse me, but lets be real for a moment, this stuff does not work! Yes, you may see results and lose weight initially, but it's short term and unsustainable for a long period of time. Wouldn't you rather lose weight slower and keep it off? I'm not about quick fixes because your body reverts back just as quick as you lost it. I'm all about living a well balanced and healthy lifestyle..

Why Diets Are Unhealthy And Don't Work

Diets are not a Lifestyle -

Diets are short term and unsustainable. Its really difficult to keep it up for a long period of time no matter how disciplined your are without breaking down your body. There will come a time when your body will crave sugar and more calories because its can't do it anymore. At the end of the day, it's really all about moderation and balance in your life. Too much of anything, no matter what it is, isn't good for you. When its time, your body definitely let you know when enough is enough.

Energy Levels Decrease -

When limiting calories, your energy levels will come to a screeching halt. This occurs because your body goes into something called starvation mode. The body will slow down significantly so that you can sustain life. You should avoid dropping below 10 times your body weight for calories to eat per day (150lbs x 10 = 1500 calories). This is the absolute minimum amount your body needs to function appropriately. On average add another 200-600 calories above your minimum dependent on your activity level for the day.

Increase in Body Fat -

When you restrict your calories, your body needs quick energy and goes after your muscle. Unfortunately, you can technically be the same weight on the scale, but have more body fat because where your muscle once was, is now composed of fat. See above for the minimum amount of calories that you need to consume per day without tearing down your muscle. I recommend instead of focusing on the scale, ditch it for how your clothes fit and how you feel. The reason being is that by having more muscle and less fat you can weigh more on the scale, but be significantly smaller and more healthy. (see here for reference to muscle composition vs fat composition)

What You Should Be Doing Instead Of Dieting

Instead of your next diet, focus on living a healthy lifestyle. You'll look better, feel so much better and be able to maintain it longterm. I've put together a few recommendations to get on the right path to living a well balanced, healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Check them out below.

Eat Well -

Increase the amount of veggies that you eat per day, you'll feel better and look better because they are packed with nutrients. I recommend by starting to incorporate between 6-8 servings of veggies per day and in time increasing to between 10-15 servings. One serving is a half-cup of chopped veggies.

Stay Hydrated -

Our body is composed of around 65% water, if dehydrated by even a small percentage the body does not perform optimially. I recommend drinking an average of 80oz of water per day. This way you don’t mistake thirst for hunger, you flush out the toxins and excess sodium in your body to maintain balance in your body.

Be Active - .

Stay active by going for a walk after dinner, walking the golf course instead of riding in a cart, going for a hike, just do whatever you enjoy most days of the week. To really make a transformation happen to your body, I recommend strength training at least 3 days a week and do a combination of cardio and stretching the other 3 days. Its all about balance and giving your body what it needs.

Rest -

Listen to your body and take a rest day when you need it. Regenerating your body is just as important as eating well and exercising. I recommend taking 1-2 rest days per week where you don’t workout and allow your body to recover. In addition to rest days, strive to get 6-8 hours a night of sleep. If you are short on sleep, take a 20 minute nap during the day, it also has strong regenerative effects.

I hope that you have an amazing rest of your day! If you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me at mike@sweat-space.com or leave a comment with your email address.

All the Best,

Mike