Or maybe the word itself should be thrown out. Be gone Diet! I cringe every time I hear someone say I need to improve my diet, or my diet is wrong or my diet is (fill in the blank). When you say diet I think of a caloric deficit program to achieve a certain cosmetic outcome or to fix/improve a medical condition. There are very few people who need to “diet.” Are you participating in a physique or body building contest in 16 weeks? Then start dieting. Morbidly obese? Start dieting.

The rest of us just need to learn to eat. You aren’t eating enough of the right stuff. There is no magic pill or potion or powder that will have you achieve your goal. You are drinking too much (it converts to sugar). You aren’t fueling your body to meet your performance goals or your weight loss goals or your body composition goals (how you look in the mirror).
#1 Figure out what your specific goal is, define it, state it, put a time on it and get to work.
#2 Be patient…whatever it is will take time! Move slowly towards your goals so when they are met they are lasting and permanent.
#3 Build an individual plan. Cookie cutter plans won’t work. What works for me isn’t going to work for you. That means asking lots of questions and doing things differently than you have done them before.

EAT REAL FOOD! That means meat and vegetables, seeds and nuts, some starchy tubers, a bit of fruit and no sugar. Eat in quantities that will fuel activity but not store fat. Step one is to know what you are eating now! Can’t fix it if we don’t know what it is! Start tracking what you eat and drink every day. And stop guessing…are you eating 2 ounces or 6 ounces of hamburger? It makes a difference. After you start tracking your consumption for awhile you will get good at knowing what 4 ounces of hamburger looks like.

Get Help. Get support. There are lots of resources these days. The facts are simple though…you can’t out exercise bad food choices. You can’t do enough thrusters or burpees or row enough calories to make up for eating crap. So stop already.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412