nutrition and performance book

6. Be aware of restricted dieting
Generally, when most people think about dieting they suddenly think it’s all or nothing. Over the
years, I have seen many cases where people get great results for the first few months but then
suddenly it’s back to square one. By looking at the chain of events it becomes apparent that
restrictive dieting plays a massive role in this factor.
What people do is they cut out all their alcohol, cakes, sweets and treats etc. in one go, then
exercise repeatedly every day on a very low calorie diet, which also doesn’t follow specific macros,
and in turn burn themselves into the ground.
Diet over. Body crashes. Back to square one as a byproduct of too much too soon!
If you tell a child they can’t have something, the human brain has this autopilot response to want it
more. This doesn’t change. The subconscious mind will always want what you tell it you can’t have.
Companies that offer smoothie diets for weight loss for example, will almost never have a continual
program to help their consumers once they have simply had enough of the restricted diet. They
market it well by saying you will favour “rapid results” and “have the body of your dreams”. Why do
people love this? … fast results. The fact is it takes more than a few weeks or months to get the body
you’ve ever dreamed of. People want things now…. not in a years time. Their turnover must be
huge with people coming and going every time they fail in their diet. They may blame the food they
started to eat again, which in return caused more weight gain. They may say that the smoothie diet
gave them results, hence why they do it again and again. The fact is that it is the restrictive dieting
that failed them and the immoral standards of the companies that give them false hope.
So, if you plan to lose some weight and generally become healthier you must make sure you can
sustain a life that consists of things that you enjoy but primarily made up of lifestyle choices that will
keep you healthy.
I always say an 80/20 split works well. Eat and be healthy 80 percent of the time but the 20 percent
that’s left…. enjoy it.
If you normally have four bars of chocolate a day, try just having one. One bottle of wine a day, make
it one glass. It’s far easier to manage. Plus, over time you can slowly restrict this more and more
through free will because you will begin to slowly feel healthier and the urge to eat and drink junk
will disappear.
The same goes for training. If you want to train five to six days a week straight off the bat, try doing
two to three days. Don’t over shoot the mark. Be sensible and give yourself room to breathe. I’ve
seen the pattern and I assure you, the people who take these routes generally achieve longer lasting
results. Generally increasing frequency and enjoying their healthier lifestyle more naturally.
So, to summarise this quick section, if you want to even begin to feel healthier then look at what is
possible and achievable in a specific time frame. Don’t look at getting healthy as a quick fix. Look at
it as something you can maintain every week all year round. Something you can build on and enjoy.
Do this by making sure you are happy and able to maintain a quality way of life.
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