5 Keys to any diet

As I sit here and eat my kids’ Halloween candy - there is an 18% dad tax on all chocolate bars in my house- I stumbled across a great post from Brad Schoenfeld on Twitter.  Brad is the assistant Editor-in-Chief for the National Strength and Conditioning Journal that serves as a great resource on all things training and nutrition for those of us in the industry.  Brad has spent years doing meta analysis on the data around nutrition as it pertains to weight loss, weight gain, body composition and performance which can be a lot to digest (pause for laughter for 3,2,1..).  According to Brad, all successful weight loss programs can be condensed into a few simple principles:

1. Create a caloric deficit

   Not a shock here. If you're looking to lose weight than calories in should be less than calories out. 

2. Keep protein intake at >1.6g/kg of “ideal” body weight

   This will allow you to keep the desirable lean mass without gaining weight if you have an ideal target weight

3. Focus on nutrient dense foods

   Choose the foods that have a high nutrient content for the calories that they contain.  Think nuts, berries, fish, eggs, peppers, sweet potatoes, yogurt.

4. Experiment with different ratios of fats and carbs

   Here is where, oftentimes, people promote one way of eating over another.  The fact is fats and carbs are what makes much of the food we eat taste good.  This can be the reason you stick to one way of eating over another in my opinion.

5. Adherence

   The best diet is the one you’ll stick to, it’s the only reason any of them work.  The one that works for you is the one you’ll do.  I tend to see people get the best results on plans that teach them nutritional habits instead of hard, fast rules of “you can’t eat this” or “you can only eat that”.  

These principles are very simple.  But they are not always easy.  We tend to underestimate how much we eat and we overestimate how much activity we do.  In general, I think many of us know what to do but struggle with following through.  It reminds me of a great quote from world famous strength coach Dan John. Although it may be tough to trust a guy with 2 first names, Dan has a great way of simplifying things for many.  His quote:

"Here's an idea: eat like an adult.

Stop eating fast food, stop eating kid's cereal, knock it off with all the sweets and comfort foods and ease up on the snacking. And don't act like you don't know this: eat more vegetables and fruits. 

Really, how difficult is this? Stop with the whining. Stop with the excuses. Act like an adult and stop eating like a television commercial. Grow up." ~ Dan John

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to put all my wrappers in the smarties box before I put it in the garbage to make it look like I only had a box of smarties - that is a free tip!