I want to talk to you guys about Diet because it is summa summa time and I know we are all thinking about some ways we can tighten and tone a bit. The season is just around the corner and since last week we talked a lot about self love with tips to finding that self love, I thought it appropriate to move onto the next step. Once you get that down, opening your world to trying a new lifestyle is that much easier. If you missed that post, please go back and read it here.

With the pressure of bikini season, you are going to see billboards advertising quick weight loss, articles with the latest fads and trends and all of these suggestions on what to do to lose weight quickly. I’m going to be real here and tell you three reasons why you need to figure out which lifestyle is best for you and educate you a bit on how to make that choice. Using what worked for someone else and not understanding how or why is like walking into a grocery store blindfolded and why so many people end up going into the yo-yo cycle of dieting.

What is a Yo-Yo Cycle?

A yo-yo cycle is when a person decides they want to lose a little weight, they read a headline about a diet, they try it and fall off for some reason or another and get back into old habits to then go back and try a new diet. This is a huge problem and one that I want to address.

It is something that all of us have done and I’ve done myself many many times. I want to get you over all of that and I think it is so important that you read this and understand why trying the latest fad diet is probably going to be the worst thing that you do in 2017.

One thing I really try to get people to understand is how important it is to really commit, be consistent and focus on what works for you not someone else.

How to Breakup With the Diet Cycle

• Commitment: Make the decision to take things into your own hands and decide that you want to really commit to this new lifestyle change. When you commit yourself to let’s say marriage, let’s hope that you make that commitment for life, even when things go wrong and arguments happen, you do what you can to make it work. Remember when you were in school working towards your degree? The late nights, the endless lectures, the papers you spent hours on and never looked at again, this was an investment you committed to for yourself by yourself, so why would you look at making a lifestyle change any differently?That’s my question to you. Why not commit to a lifestyle? I want you to ask yourself and think of a time when you were truly committed to your lifestyle change, your degree, your career, and/or your prom date. Think of that time and imagine what it felt like. Women show me photos of themselves when they were slimmer and say I remember when I looked like this and I want that again. I always ask, what happened. The excuses come out and all I hear is excuses. The same cycle of trying a diet, getting results, going back to old habits and the next thing you know they are off to try another diet that they will eventually fall off. The diagram above shows you exactly why and how this happens. Can you relate?What happens is you are not truly committed to making that lifestyle change. Once you reach your goal it’s back to old habits. Find a lifestyle you can truly commit to, one that is not reliant on supplements, pills, scales or wraps. As much as I love if it fits your macros, if carrying around a scale is not on your agenda, I would say disregard it. Supplements can work but do you want a meal plan that relies so heavily on a supplement program that a month of running out and being on a tight budget costs you your weight loss? If you want to get on the supplement train, try finding supplements that support your lifestyle. I suggest Omega 3’s, Probiotics (which I will get to in future posts) and Digestive Enzymes all of which support your goals and aren’t for you to rely on to reach your goals.

Find those new habits that make you feel energized and habits you can completely commit to for life.

• Consistency: When you are consistent with something you are going to always see results. I get asked a lot about different diets, ketogenics is a hot one right now and I think it can work for some people really well if that person is committed and consistent with it. The biggest problem with a diet like Keto is that you can’t just fall off,  your body will go into emergency mode with your insulin responses and this can in turn mess with your fat loss goal all together and bring a state of confusion to your body. I see a lot of talk about it but the thing is again, if you are not really going to commit full out, what’s the point? The easiest diet and the one I suggest to most everyone is just to rely on eating clean. Stay away from sugars, processed foods, gluten and just be really in tune with portion control. Simple and easy to stick to for the rest of your life. Relying on a diet you know you won’t be able to follow for long will put you right back into that diet cycle and back to where you started come November.Allowing yourself to live a life is key to staying consistent. Like I mentioned above, I keep it simple. I chew my food at least thirty times before I swallow, I enjoy and am mindful when I eat and I pick the best foods from the best sources all of which I can pronounce and enjoy. When I am out to eat I stick with fresh fish and vegetables so that having a glass or two of champagne along with my meal isn’t a big deal. I balance everything out with a frozen yogurt or tortilla chips and skinny margaritas a few times a month and that is exactly how I am able to maintain my figure all year long. A diet that allows you a little bit of freedom, one that allows you to go out and have cocktails with your girlfriends, a few bites of cake at your friend’s birthday party and one that allows you to live a lifestyle. The biggest difference I noticed when I switched my mind frame was making the best choices no matter what. Instead of eating an entire piece of cake, one bite gives me the same satisfaction. Instead of ordering a fancy frozen cocktail, I order a vodka soda with lime or a skinny margarita. Find a fitness routine that you love, that you want to commit to, one that you crave. You should literally wake up and have that rush of, I cannot wait to hit the gym! I love the Fit and Fabulous Club workouts because they are so addictive and literally leave me wanting more. It makes it easy to stay consistent with a program that challenges me and shows changes in my body.Stay committed, stop following these short term diets that promise you that before/after photo. Focus on what you can focus on long term.

• Body Type: I love to talk about body types with people because a lot of people look at their friends and they say how come my friend can eat carbs and not gain any weight while I eat some brown rice and wake up 5 lbs heavier? There is a lot that goes into how our bodies process foods: hormones, adrenal fatigue,  body type and even our blood type. Understanding your body and the chemistry is so important. Before you can even step into that one thing that you need to look at what are you eating. You also need to take a moment and look at what you are eating. I always suggest writing down everything for 2-3 days, that one cookie a day you think you are eating might actually be three, or you might realize lunches aren’t as healthy as you thought. Seeing exactly what you are doing on a daily basis can help you see what you might be lacking or need more of in terms of eating a cleaner diet. I see it all the time, women have salads for lunch with sugar filled dressing, granola with tons of sugar in the morning and wonder why they have a hard time losing fat. My clients share photos of supplement ingredients and it is shocking, if your supplement uses soy letchin, food dyes and has added sugars, stay away. I have seen clients drop weight just by changing out a protein powder to a more natural source like Kefir and Greek Yogurt. Our bodies can become overwhelmed trying to digest all of these chemicals that you can get bloated from it. If you love your protein powders, try finding one that is more natural, I share my favorite protein powders in this post. Trying a new diet isn’t your answer if you don’t have an understanding of what you are eating at this very moment.

Body Type Macro Splits

• Ectomorph: An ectomorph usually has a hard time gaining muscle but can lose weight very quickly. This body type is generally smaller limbed, has a faster metabolism and is usually naturally skinny.  If this fits your characteristics, the best split for you is 55% Carbohydrates/ 25% Protein/ 20% Healthy Fats. Carbohydrates should be more complex, fruits and vegetables and proteins should be on the leaner side.
• Endomorph: An endomorph usually has a hard time losing weight and is the friend that gains weight eating brown rice and salads. This type has a larger frame naturally with broader shoulders. The best split for you is to focus on a diet made up of: 35% Protein/25% Carbohydrates/40% Healthy Fats. Eat complex carbohydrates post workout only and rely on vegetables for your carb source.
• Mesomorph: A mesomorph is someone who gains muscle really easily and can have a little bit of trouble losing fat unless they workout and eat well consistently. If you are someone who does a CrossFit work out and get super buff within two weeks you are probably a mesomorph. The best split for you is to focus on a diet made up of: 30% Protein/30% Carbohydrates/40% Healthy Fats. Focus your fruits post workout, eat complex carbs around your workouts only and eat protein at every meal. 

What Should You Do With This Information?

• First, write out a food diary of everything you eat for the next 3-4 days. Write the serving size, how you are feeling and what time you eat it at.
• Next, look through all of your supplements and check out the labels, read them and see what you are consuming. If you need to make some changes, make them happen.
• After that, spend thirty days on the cleaned up diet and see how you do overall. If the weight isn’t falling off look into your hormone panels, think about how many times you use the bathroom a day and how you feel on average energy wise. I will be following up with another post next week more about gut health so look out for that.

If you want a more concrete program, check out my personal online coaching! I have a few slots open for clients who are serious about making a transformation and want a coach to guide them along the way. You can be anywhere in the world, all I ask if that you comply! Sign up today for a free consultation call.

So I wanna know…

• How many diets have you tried in the past?
• What has your experience been like on diets?

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