Just got done talking to a client, Jesus. So, I want to put something out there for everyone to read.
Let's assume we are rating ourselves on a scale of 1-10. Obviously, everyone would like to be a 10, but going from a 1 to a 10 is prolly not likely for most, but let's assume it is. So, what your diet consists of now, should be representative of what your hoping to achieve in the next 3 months.
Why this complex numbering scheme, you may ask. Well, it's simple. You are not going to go from a 3 to a 10 in 3 months. You will be lucky to get to a 5. Do you really need to worry about bread and dairy at this time? Is 500mg of salt over your RDA a big deal? If you put a dab of mayo on a sandwich will you lose progress? If you cheat on a whole day is it a big issue? No, for fuck's sake just make a slight improvement until you stall out. If you are maintaining your weight on a Whopper large value meal, a large pepperoni pizza, and 2 bowls of Lucky Charms a day, all you have to change is the large value meal into a medium value meal and you will see progress. Then, when you plateau, use skim milk instead of whole milk in your cereal. Then, order your pizza without pepperoni. Eventually, you will be that 5 you have always wanted to be.
Now, you want to go from a 5 to a 7 in the next 3 months, totally doable. We have you eating smaller portions of the garbage you typically eat. You have seen much progress and are really driven to go further. So, now you eliminate all dairy, all sugar, all bread, all alcohol, and never eat after 5pm, right? No, fortunately at a 5, you are where the average American was 15 years ago. You can still eat some garbage, just replace most of the garbage with healthier alternatives. Make yourself a chicken sandwich for lunch instead of a Whopper and have some baked crackers instead of fries. Drink water instead of soda. Density-wise, you can eat a larger volume of food at a lower caloric value.
Nice, we are really cooking now, we are at a 7 and looking for a 9. This is where you start to look at certain food choices and avoid them. Sure pizza was good, but now you should be looking towards eating more whole-grain stuff, fresh veggies, etc. Do you need to avoid pizza like the plague? No, just don't eat it all the time. Have it, but have it once a week if you need to. You probably shouldn't drink a 12 pack of beer every day, but one every now and again won't hurt you. Going from a 7 to an 8 is not that hard if you have a miniscule amount of will power and keep cals eaten less than cals burned. Going from an 8 to a 9 is harder, you might not eat as much dairy as before, you might not have that sandwich with bread every day. Going from an 8 to a 9 is hard, but not impossible.
Damn, you are at a 9, you have worked so hard to get where you are, now you have to ask yourself one question..."Am I going to compete in bodybuilding or figure competitions?" If the answer is no, there is no reason to change what you are doing. There is no reason to eliminate all the dairy, salt, bread from your diet and there is no reason to worry that you went over your normal calorie intake one day this month.
Now, you are armed with what you need to know, go out there and settle for that 7 you could always be, because that is what most people do anyway. And 3 months later, you will be back to that 3 you have always been.
Now that that is settled, someone with 30% body fat needs to post a thread asking whether they need to eliminate dairy and we can be back to normal.
Let's assume we are rating ourselves on a scale of 1-10. Obviously, everyone would like to be a 10, but going from a 1 to a 10 is prolly not likely for most, but let's assume it is. So, what your diet consists of now, should be representative of what your hoping to achieve in the next 3 months.
Why this complex numbering scheme, you may ask. Well, it's simple. You are not going to go from a 3 to a 10 in 3 months. You will be lucky to get to a 5. Do you really need to worry about bread and dairy at this time? Is 500mg of salt over your RDA a big deal? If you put a dab of mayo on a sandwich will you lose progress? If you cheat on a whole day is it a big issue? No, for fuck's sake just make a slight improvement until you stall out. If you are maintaining your weight on a Whopper large value meal, a large pepperoni pizza, and 2 bowls of Lucky Charms a day, all you have to change is the large value meal into a medium value meal and you will see progress. Then, when you plateau, use skim milk instead of whole milk in your cereal. Then, order your pizza without pepperoni. Eventually, you will be that 5 you have always wanted to be.
Now, you want to go from a 5 to a 7 in the next 3 months, totally doable. We have you eating smaller portions of the garbage you typically eat. You have seen much progress and are really driven to go further. So, now you eliminate all dairy, all sugar, all bread, all alcohol, and never eat after 5pm, right? No, fortunately at a 5, you are where the average American was 15 years ago. You can still eat some garbage, just replace most of the garbage with healthier alternatives. Make yourself a chicken sandwich for lunch instead of a Whopper and have some baked crackers instead of fries. Drink water instead of soda. Density-wise, you can eat a larger volume of food at a lower caloric value.
Nice, we are really cooking now, we are at a 7 and looking for a 9. This is where you start to look at certain food choices and avoid them. Sure pizza was good, but now you should be looking towards eating more whole-grain stuff, fresh veggies, etc. Do you need to avoid pizza like the plague? No, just don't eat it all the time. Have it, but have it once a week if you need to. You probably shouldn't drink a 12 pack of beer every day, but one every now and again won't hurt you. Going from a 7 to an 8 is not that hard if you have a miniscule amount of will power and keep cals eaten less than cals burned. Going from an 8 to a 9 is harder, you might not eat as much dairy as before, you might not have that sandwich with bread every day. Going from an 8 to a 9 is hard, but not impossible.
Damn, you are at a 9, you have worked so hard to get where you are, now you have to ask yourself one question..."Am I going to compete in bodybuilding or figure competitions?" If the answer is no, there is no reason to change what you are doing. There is no reason to eliminate all the dairy, salt, bread from your diet and there is no reason to worry that you went over your normal calorie intake one day this month.
Now, you are armed with what you need to know, go out there and settle for that 7 you could always be, because that is what most people do anyway. And 3 months later, you will be back to that 3 you have always been.
Now that that is settled, someone with 30% body fat needs to post a thread asking whether they need to eliminate dairy and we can be back to normal.
