Small Changes Add Up!
April 9, 2008 by JohnAdmit it. Yes, I am talking to you. Your diet is not perfect and if you are like most people, it is far from it. You know that cherry cheesecake that you ate right BEFORE dinner was not a good idea, but what else goes good with pizza and beer?
Diet is Very Important
To achieve your goals in bodybuilding and/or fat loss, you must have a near perfect diet. Eating should be viewed as something that is not just a side part of bodybuilding, but a major part of it. The truth is that you can’t get half the results no matter what workout program you are following if your diet is a stinker. There are no two ways about it.
Okay, so what do you do about it? Empty all your current food out of your cupboards and refrigerator into the trash and replace it with tofu? Don’t worry, it does not have to be that hard. The easiest way to acheive your goal of perfect nutrition is to take BABY Steps. The main idea of BABY Steps is that you slowly replace the bad foods that you are currently eating with better foods. The change will be so small each week that you won’t even notice it. All you will notice is the ripped abs and huge biceps that suddenly came out of hiding!
Use BABY Steps
Follow these example BABY Steps to get you started:
Drink skim milk. Ugh! Skim milk is sick… right? If you are currently drinking whole or 2% milk, you probably think so. It is just too hard for you to drink white water. Understand that by drinking even 1/2% milk over skim milk gives the average person hundreds or thousands of extra grams of fat per year! This can add up to extra pounds of fat each year! It has to go somewhere…
Make it easy on yourself. If you are drinking whole milk right now, immediately move down to 2% milk. The first week or so you may notice the taste difference a little, but your body and tastebuds will adapt. You will enjoy 2% just as much as you used to like whole milk. I promise you that this is true! Give it a chance for two weeks.
After a few weeks or a month of 2% milk, switch to 1%. Wait until you are used to it, then change to 1/2% and then to skim milk. This little change in your diet can make a huge difference in your body in just a few months. Skim milk has all the same protein and vitamins as whole milk, but without the fat.
Cut the sugar! Sugar is the evil nutrient just waiting to turn you into a fat blob. These days, there is no excuse to consume a large amount of sugar. With stevia, aspartame and all the other sugar substitutes that taste great and have been proven to be safe, you can still satisfy your sweet tooth.
The main place that sugar is hiding is in soda. It is easy to get addicted to this stuff. Right now, make a vow that you will NEVER drink another regular soda again… no matter what! Switch to diet soda. “But diet is so sick!”, you say. Just give it a few weeks. I used to say the same exact thing a year ago. I drank soda each and every meal and loved it. I switched to diet when my bloated stomach asked me to. It was not great at first, but at least it was better than water. After a few weeks, I HONESTLY could not tell the difference between regular and diet! My tastebuds adapted and I haven’t had a regular coke since. I don’t miss it or the sugar and calories at all. I saved myself at least 1000 calories per week just by making this small change in my diet.
Once you are used to the changes you made above, it is time for the next step. Note: The next sentence may freak you out. Completely cut ALL pizza and burgers out of your diet. Okay… breathe. It is going to be okay. We can do this together. In fact, you should make a pact with one of your diet buddies that you will help the other stick to it.
Pizza and burgers are just about the worst things you can eat. The problem is that they are SO convenient! On every corner there is a pizza or burger joint just a smell away. Studies have shown that one of the main reasons so many Americans are obese is because they constantly eat fast food. Cutting out all fast food would be ideal, but usually not practical on a quick lunch or dinner. There are healthier selections on the menu at most places. As long as you completely avoid pizza and burgers, you are on the right track.
The cool thing about the human body is that it adapts quickly. You LEARN to crave fattening food like pizza and burgers. You can also UNLEARN it. After a few weeks without it, you won’t miss it as much… then not at all. Ask any healthy bodybuilder.
It’s Easy and It Works
These are just a few steps you can take. You know what bad foods you eat too much of that need to be slowly cut out. If cutting out a certain food is too hard, make a deal with yourself to only eat it once per week. Cheating is okay! In fact, it can help you stick to your diet in the long term.
After a year of slowly cutting out and/or reducing the bad foods and replacing them with healthier ones, your diet will have made a 180 degree change… and you won’t even have noticed it! So many people say that starting today, they are going to eat perfect. Almost always, they do pretty well for about a week and then give up. The change is too drastic and they can’t do it. By following the BABY Steps plan, you will change your diet effortlessly and your body will thank you for it.