The 10 Uncompromising Laws of Dieting
Confidence Through Aesthetics
Let’s cut through the bullsh!t and be honest here; the number one reason why 99% of people begin training or diet is to look better naked.
You know it, and I know it, and you know what?
It’s not selfish, self-centered nor vain.
In fact, I believe it’s completely normal to want to look good naked. Who doesn’t want to look into the mirror and see a stronger, leaner and more capable individual able to handle whatever life throws at them?
That feeling of being superiorly confident in how you both look and feel can help you perform better in other aspects of your life. The only issue? It’s really f#@k@n hard to lose body fat. If it wasn’t, we would all look like Greek gods or goddesses.
That’s where I come in to help you.
Here are the 10 Uncompromising Laws of Dieting. By obeying theses’ laws, you will shred that unwanted body fat and look incredible naked. (isn’t that the real reason why people diet?)
1) The Power of Why
You want to lose body fat? You want to get rid of that gut once and for all? Good for you. Seriously. However, these are common goals and isn’t enough to sustain a diet or consistently going to the gym, especially when it becomes tough. To lose body fat, you need to know “why” it’s important to you.
Ask yourself, “Why does this matter to me?”
Don’t just focus on the superficial level, go deep.
Dig deep, and please, don’t say because abs are “hawt.”
For example, when I embarked on my fat loss journey, I established my “why” for three reasons:
I was tired of seeing what I saw in the mirror. I was extremely disappointed and depressed to see the individual looking back at me. It would wreck my self-confidence and self-pride. I didn’t want to be that person anymore.
I wanted to transform my body so when my ex would see me, she would get jealous.
As a fitness professional, I want to undergo my own transformation so that I can use my education and expertise to help others.
I established my “why” and maintain it throughout the whole process. When the journey become difficult, I remembered why I started my journey in the first place to help me resume the course.
It doesn’t matter if you want to get shredded, so you are finally see your abs for the first time or lose 20, 30, or even 40 pounds to be healthier and happier. The point is you need to discover your “why”. This is what separates those who achieve their goals and those who don’t.
Take five minutes, grab another coffee, and write down your why. Put it on your phone or on your dashboard so you see it every day. You have five minutes to do so.
I’m serious…… do it.
2) The Law of Caloric Restriction
You must restrict caloric intake to trigger fat loss. This is the most basic, fundamental rule of fat loss is energy balance. Energy balance is the relationship between energy in/consumed (food and drinks) and the energy burned (metabolism and physical activity). You need to be in a negative calorie balance in order to lose weight.
Period. End of story.
3) The Law of Tracking Calories\Portion Control
Most people think they’re doing everything right, yet can’t figure out why they’re not losing body fat. This missing puzzle piece can only be found once you start tracking your calories. Maybe the culprit is that extra scoop of peanut butter or that extra syrup pump you’re getting into your Starbuck coffee. But you’ll never know until you start tracking your nutritional habits.
In short, if you are not assessing, you are guessing.
That’s why you should track your calories either by writing your nutrition down on paper or using an app like MyFitnessPal if you want to make an awesome transformation, get abs, and look great naked (why else do people workout?). I highly suggest you track your nutrition for 1-3 weeks to create a weekly menu of go-to meals.
By tracking your calories, this will give you the biggest weapon in your fat incinerating arsenal: Awareness. Tracking calories gives you the awareness to build habits and maximize your progress.
4) The Law of Food Quality
You need to focus on eating minimally processed, whole foods. There is a saying,” you cannot out-train a bad diet,” and its 100 percent true. It doesn’t matter if you’re busting your butt in the gym. If you are eating excess foods and/or crappy foods it will be difficult to lose body fat.
Follow these guidelines:
Stick to mostly foods that.
Shop the perimeter of your grocery store
Get one serving of fruits or veggies (the size of your fist) with each meal (eat the rainbow!)
Get one serving of protein (the size of your palm) with each meal.
Replace all calorie-dense drinks with non-calorie options or water. (more later)
Just realized your whole kitchen is full of the opposite?? Click here to Red Light, Green Light to prime. your kitchen environment. for success.
5) The Law of Satiation
The key to any successful fat loss is consuming a high protein and high fiber diet. Why is this essential for fat loss? By focusing on consuming protein and fiber-rich foods keep you full while providing your body with the essential macros, vitamins, minerals with fewer calories. Boost your protein and fiber intake to ensure you’re getting the necessary nutrition to preserve your muscles and feel full too.
6) The Law of Longevity
Your diet needs to be sustainable. Crash diets are (at best) a temporary fix, not a long-term solution. In fact, most crash diets promise massive fat loss, yet you’ll probably regain the weight. In addition, most crash diets may cause health problems. In order to lose that weight once and for all, you need to focus on being consistent, patient, and staying the course with your nutritional approach.
The best diet is the one you enjoy and able to stick to long-term while making consistent, measurable progress.
7) The Law of Lifting
The purpose of lifting weights is to build strength and muscles. During your diet, the role of lifting weights is to preserve the strength and muscle you possess. Lean body mass is more metabolically active than fat mass, so the more lean body mass you preserve, the better your metabolism will function and by extension your overall health. (also, you’ll look really, really, really, really good naked too 😊)
8) The Law of Hydration
Proper hydration can have a significant impact on your health, performance, and looking good naked. Dehydration sucks and most of us know we aren’t drinking enough water.
The main reasons dehydration has as adverse affect on exercise and overall health can be summarized as follows:
• Decrease in blood volume and blow flow
• Decrease heat dissipation and removal of wastes from exercise
• Decreased metabolism and increased organ stress (ouchie)
• Decrease body temperature
Make this your rule going forward: drink ½ your bodyweight (in pounds) in ounces of water. That means a 150lb person should drink at least 75oz of water (~9 standard glasses), each day. Carry a water bottle, drink it up, and refill it every two hours or when empty.
9) The Law of Recovery
Sleep is often the forgotten component of fitness. In fact, it’s as equally important as your workouts and nutrition. As many as 30% of adults sleep less than six hours per night, the minimum amount of necessary sleep. If you think you can get away with less than six hours of sleep, then allow me to drop some knowledge bombs. Both sleep quantity and quality are incredibly important for good health, fitness and regulating our circadian rhythm.
Need more reasons? A lack of sleep can negative impact the following:
Cognitive ability
Recovery
Sex Life (No, thank you)
Mood and dietary decisions
Workouts
Get 6-8 hours of quality sleep every night. Without proper sleep, it’s difficult to see significant improvements in general health and/or fitness. Your body, your workouts, and your performance will suffer because of a lack of quality sleep. If you need help creating a sleep routine, click here.
10) The Law of Imperfect Progress and Flexible Dieting
Here’s the honest truth; there is no such thing as a perfect diet. Paleo. Ketogenic. Intermittent Fasting. Atkins. South Beach. All these diets work. How? They focus on restricting your nutritional choices, so you eat fewer calories, more protein, and more veggies. For more info, click here (link to Choosing the “right diet”)
However, by restricting your usual nutritional choices, you’ll eventfully rebel and want that cheeseburger. This is normal and why it’s essential to adopting a flexible dieting mindset. I define flexible dieting is eating right 80% of the time while treating yourself the remaining 20%.
Let’s run the numbers to make this easy. If you are eating 4 times per day (3 meals and 1 snack), that means you have 28 eating opportunities each week. If you are following the 80/20 rule, that means that you can have 5.6—let’s round up to 6 — meals each week that don’t have to follow the habits.
Stick to your diet most of the time. When you do slip up, have a short memory. You’ll need to forgive yourself and then make the next best decision. One meal won’t ruin a diet and one slice of pizza doesn’t need to turn into a family size meal for one.
Make the best decision most of the time, forgive yourself for the slip-ups, and get back on track.
At the end of the day, you’ll need to be consistent with your effort. There no knight in shining armor coming to rescue you from yourself. You’ll need to do this for yourself. Just like life, it’s your responsibility. Embrace the process and learn from your mistakes.