If you clicked on this post it's probably because you are looking to lose some extra pounds for soon to be summer. We have an endless cycle as human beings that once we get that first breath of fresh spring air, it's time to drop some weight. Some people have a very hard time dropping a few extra pounds and some find it very easy. It's a mind game that can be easily won if you play your cards right!
There's a lot of fad diets out there (gluten free, ketogenic, intermittent fasting, plant based diet, etc). These are all very useful tools in the fitness world but honestly they could SUCK for you! The best diet for you is the one that you can follow. If you try to dive into a ketogenic diet and fail you are probably going to end up overeating and be in a worse spot than you started in!
In my years of losing and gaining weight I've found it is best to ease into a diet. For example if you are a 250 pound man that is trying to get to 200 pounds, you have some questions to ask yourself. How fast do I want to shed this weight, how much physical activity will I be doing, what is my current calorie intake? The name of the game is to eat less and move more generally when you are overweight. Let's assume this 250 lb man eats on average 5000 calories per day (it sounds crazy but the average in the USA for a man is around 3600 calories.) If his weight is holding steady at 250 it's because his body has adapted to using the 5000 calories. Meaning if you slowly decrease calorie intake and increase activity you will see results very quickly. When I say slow I really mean slow! Do not go from a 5000 calorie diet down to 2000 the next day. You will shock your body and potentially get flu like symptoms (headache + body ache). I would recommend this man to decrease 200 calories per day once a week.
His calorie intake would be as such:
Week 1: 5000 calories per day
Week 2: 4800 calories per day
Week 3: 4600 calories per day
Week 4: etc, etc
I believe if this man kept consistent with his diet and followed this week by week until it finally capped around 2400-2600 calories per week then he would absolutely crush his goals!
Personally my diet is constantly changing for my goals. Currently I'm on a 12 hour eating -- low carbohydrate and 2400 calorie per day diet. I'm working on getting as lean as possible for summer. I'm currently 183 lbs and would like to be 172 lbs by April 11th. I'm tracking all my progress and can't wait to share it with you guys!
12 hour eating??
Yes! this simply means the first thing I put into my body that has calories begins my 12 hour eating window. For example: if I have my first cup of coffee at 9 in the morning, I only have until 9 that night to finish all my meals. Which means no late night snacking for me! I love this because it keeps me in control of my eating. If I plan on eating late, let's say around midnight because I'm working late then I won't consume my first calorie until noon that morning.
