Considering the length of time needed to produce fat loss results on a diet, it's smart to ease your way into it and practice measures throughout that will prevent you from getting burned out. Even if you're super excited about starting your new diet, avoid the cold turkey method of diving right in and trying to follow your plan to a 'T' from the get-go. If you have 12 hard weeks in front of you, starting out too strict too soon makes most start to wane far before the end from the hunger and mental stress. If you have been overweight for a very long time or have more than 30 pounds of body fat to lose, going cold turkey can even be dangerous. Going too low calorie, eating completely clean and/or exercising excessively when you haven't ever done this (or haven't in a very long time) can release toxins stored in body fat. This can make you sick and even cause damage if this is done too quickly. Dieters who have excessive amounts of body fat should ease into their program to avoid poisoning their body with the rapid toxin dump that can occur from starting a diet that's too strict. An example of this is when an obese person starts a drastic 85% raw diet, drastically changing from highly processed food to almost nothing but raw vegetables. Few can do this without becoming ill. This is not recommended as the result can be very dangerous.
They say you have to do the same thing for 21 days before it becomes a habit. Once you've reached the 3 week mark on your diet, there will be numerous procedures that have become habit making it much easier to stay on course for the long haul. The trick is to ease into healthy nutrition habits so it's not so hard you either get sick or mentally break down before you get to the 21 day habit zone. The best way to do this is to take the first ten days or even 2-3 weeks of your program and follow it halfway, gradually getting more strict until soon you're doing everything by the book. This can be done in several ways. One way is to practice several days of strict dieting followed by a day or two off the diet. Begin the first week with only dieting Monday, Wednesday and Friday and take the rest of the days off. Week two try dieting strictly for Monday and Tuesday, off Wednesday, diet Thursday, Friday and Saturday, off Sunday. Week three diet for the entire week and take half day off the diet on Saturday as a reward. Week four should be strict dieting for the remainder of the program.
Another way to ease into a lengthy weight loss program is the elimination method. This is probably the most common and possibly the safest method of starting a diet, particularly if you have large amounts of weight to lose. Rather than mixing strict days with off days in the first 2-3 weeks, take this time to eliminate bad foods while replacing them with good ones. For example, for the first week, rather than strict dieting with controlled portions, eat the way you have been however cut out all processed sugar and bread; replace with only clean, complex starches like brown rice, yams/sweet potatoes, oatmeal and legumes. Replace all of your fluids with water and increase the amount of water you drink to at least 64 ounces/day but up to nearly a gallon/day if you exercise hard enough to sweat. If you eat out, you're choosing plain chicken breasts, lean steak, plain potatoes and salads for week one. Week two, all eating out is replaced by only pre-planned home cooked meals with each meal containing the right amount of protein but still not calorie restricted. Week three begins calorie restricted meals and strict dieting until the end of the program.
Besides easing into your diet, it's also a good idea to ease into your exercise program. For the amount of exercise needed to effectively burn body fat, jumping in head first can also produce adverse effects. Juggling strength training and as much cardiovascular work as possible is like suddenly taking on a second job that can easily over work you, especially if you're new to the gym. Just like your nutrition program, take the first 1-2 weeks to ease into your exercise program. If strength training is not something you're used to, start very moderately with little volume for the first few sessions. If you don't, the muscular soreness can be overwhelming, discouraging and should be watched closely or over training will be hard to avoid. Go for a certain amount of cardio hours/week and build this up over time. For example, week one do three 30 minute sessions of cardio. Week two, do two sessions of 40 minutes and one 30 minute, continuing to build in numbers of sessions and length of time building up to 5-6 hours of cardio/week (or whatever your effective volume of work might be).
Another reason why going cold turkey on your nutrition program is a bad idea is because of the undue mental stress it adds. Success on most weight loss plans occur from being consistent with your regimen over a period of time. Being absolutely unforgiving strict for 12 hard weeks will make any pro break down mentally without some type of at least temporary reprieve. Taking a few weeks to ease into your program helps reduce the mental stress of dieting for long periods. Spending time preparing for your diet also greatly helps with this type of stress. For the best results, follow your diet as strictly as possible through the week, but reward yourself with one cheat meal on the weekend. This gives you something to work for, look forward to and satisfy cravings. It also gives your mind a rest and will renew your zest for starting fresh the next week. Rather than always trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel, take one meal at a time, one day at a time and focus on making each one perfect. Focusing on perfecting the process rather than only on the product will keep your mind occupied on stringing together a series of numerous small victories. Soon you will have spent enough time for habits to develop and results to be seen.
I'm Dan Levesque, owner/operator of HighlandsFightGear.com. We are an online store that sells wrestling equipment, MMA training supplies and apparel to help athletes reach their full potential. I have been a sports chiropractor, professional powerlifter and strength coach for more than 20 years and have personally trained and coached many high school, college and professional athletes. I am currently the strength coach and nutritional counselor for several high school and middle school wrestling teams. I also offer healthy weight management and nutrition programs to my patients for weight loss and healthier living. If you have questions about setting up a correctly designed nutrition program for athletic performance or weight loss, contact me through our website. Our website also sells effective weight management products such as supplements, good quality sauna suits and body fat scales to monitor your progress for the fastest and most effective dieting possible.
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