The Only Diet You Will Ever Need!

We have all been inundated with diets for most of our lives.  The mediterranean diet, the atkins diet, paleo diet etc.  How do you know which one will work?  How do you know which diet is BS?

If you have been struggling with your weight for most of your life, we feel your pain.  We are cutting through all the fluff here and getting right to the diet that will work.

THE MATH  To lose weight your calorie intake must be at a deficit.  If based on your activity level you use 2500 calories per day, you will have to eat fewer than 2500 calories to lose weight.  One pound of fat is 3500 calories.  If you can lower your calorie intake to 2000 calories a day at the end of the week you will lose 1 lb.  (500 calories x 7 days=3500 calories or 1 lb.)

So here is the only diet you need to know.  Eat lean protein with vegetables (we all know this right!). Seriously minimize the amount of carbohydrates that you eat/drink (less than 50 grams per day). 

Combine this with intermittent fasting and exercise and I promise you will be losing weight faster than you ever have before.

What is intermittent fasting?  It is a timed eating window.  You only eat for x amount of hours per day.   One of the most effective ways is the 16/8 fast.  You don’t eat for 16 hours.  Then you eat during the 8 hour window that follows.  For example: Your first healthy meal is at noon and your final meal finishes before 8 P.M. Then you don’t eat again until the next day at noon.

What about breakfast?  You don’t need it.  Trust me after a week you won’t even miss it.  I haven’t eaten breakfast in over 3 years.  I don’t even think about it anymore.

 If you want to push it farther don’t eat until 4:00 PM.  This will give you a 20 hour fasting period and a 4 hour eating period.  Eat all your meals for the day between 4;00 and 8:00.  The longer you are in the fasted state (low insulin levels) the more you will be burning fat.  So, if you can extend the fasting to 20/4 (20 hours of fasting and a 4 hour eating window) the weight will come off even more quickly.

By missing one meal a day you will be lowering your caloric intake.  See the math above!  You have to have a caloric deficit in order to lose weight.  Missing this meal will do it for you.

When you exercise in a fasted state your body burns primarily fat.  So early morning exercise is going to be the most effective time for you to get your daily exercise in. Almost everyone in our office noticed that when we started working out in the fasted state is when the pounds really started falling off!  It is a game changer! 

So why does it work?  Everytime you eat, your pancreas releases insulin.  When you are in a fasted state your insulin levels decrease in your bloodstream.  When insulin is low, your cells are triggered to use fat instead of glucose as your body’s primary energy source.  So instead of burning glucose you burn fat!

When you are fasting your insulin levels are low.  Low insulin levels trigger your cells to use fat for fuel.  If you exercise during this fasted state you will see the fat fall off very quickly because your body is burning fat instead of glucose.  Trust me, this is the only diet you will ever need.  

That’s it!

So what foods keep you in fat burning mode?

Safe to eat list: 

  • Protein:Eat 3-6 ounces per meal (two meals a day)
  • Lean beef
  • Pork
  • Chicken
  • Eggs
  • Seafood
  • Shellfish
  • Legumes  
  • Nuts and seeds (as a snack in small quantities)
  • Cheese (in small quantities)

Fresh Green Vegetables- Eat as many as you want.

  • asparagus
  • avocado
  • broccoli
  • cabbage
  • cauliflower
  • cucumber
  • green beans
  • eggplant
  • kale
  • lettuce
  • olives
  • peppers (especially green)
  • spinach
  • tomatoes
  • Zucchini

Things to avoid (don’t eat any of these!): Anything processed.  Candy, cookies, cake, pasta, rice, potatoes.  Those pasta and rice dishes that come in a box. In fact anything in a box.   All of this is garbage.  

If you bought a new Ferrari would you put low quality gasoline in it? No, of course not.  Treat your body like the Ferrari that it is and don’t put low quality food (fuel) in your body!

Pro Tip 1: Give yourself a cheat meal.  Not a cheat day, a cheat meal.  This will keep you sane and also increase your chances of sticking to this diet. Once a week (I choose Saturday night) you can have any meal that you want. 

Pro Tip 2:  When you get a craving for something, write it down.  Tell yourself that you will have it on your cheat meal.  

Just the idea that you get to have it later can buy you enough time to have that craving subside!

Another bonus tip:  Turn your weekend activities into physical activities  Make your weekends about bike rides, swimming, hiking or just anything that gets your body moving!

Park your car far away from the store entrance or your office entrance.  Those extra steps add up!

Walk around your office building at lunch time.  It will clear your mind and you will burn more calories! 

This is the most effective diet we have ever seen.  Try it out.  I am sure if you stick to it you will see great results!