5 things holding back your Diet!

Have you ever heard the saying;

‘Dieting is easy, it’s like riding a bike.

Except the bike is on fire. And so is the ground. And so are you, because you’re in hell’.

Well a lot of athletes feel this way when they set out to either make weight for a competition or lose a bit of fat to be more competitive on the mats. A lot of diets start out really well with the first few pounds coming off pretty easily, then it slows down or stops.

What happened?

Is it just the nature of diets for them to slow down or are you sabotaging yourself from the start?

The honest truth is it’s a bit of both. It is rare for people to achieve steady fat loss all the way to their goal with zero adjustments. Most of the time you will need to make changes either to your training or your nutrition that will give you the results that you desire.

The problem comes with knowing what to change and when. It’s not the lack of will that hold athletes back as I have yet to meet a serious one that wasn’t dedicated to their goals. It’s not the availability of knowledge either, just type the words ‘fat’ and ‘loss’ into Google and see how many hits you get back (31,600,000 for those who care).

The problem is that the sheer wealth of information is just too much. People have no idea where to start when setting up a plan or what method will work for them best. I’ve lost count of the number of times a persona has come to me either eating like a small bird or thinking that eating junk all day is fine as they need to ‘fuel the machine’. Most people would do best with a sensible plan that is free from fads and crazy products and is based on whole, nutritious food from natural sources.

However even with this approach it is possible to sabotage your diet right from the start. There are certain things that you could be doing, or leaving out of your nutrition that could be costing you from the beginning. Most people see some of these things as ‘healthy’ and others are so simple it’s crazy. However I’ve seen this time and time again with clients and people who come to me for help.

Make sure you address these issues when you are setting up a nutrition plan or run the risk of making your programme much harder than it needs to be!

Make sure you set up the diet correctly.

I know I say this in every article but I cannot stress it enough! Making sure that you get your diet set up correctly from the start will save you many headaches as you go on. Having a good starting point will give you room to make adjustments and make sure that you cover all your bases so that the plan is healthy and supplements your performance goals (smashing people on the mat or in competition).

Make sure that your plan has a wide range of foods from natural sources and processed foods are kept to a minimum. Make sure you have plenty of vegetables and a variety of macro nutrient sources (i.e. not eating just chicken and lettuce).

If all the information out there confuses you, either speak to your coach or talk to a professional. Any Nutritional Coach worth his salt will answer a few questions as long as you are polite and don’t take the piss by asking him for a full plan.

Pay attention to water intake.

Water is insanely important.

Water is used for pretty much all of the processes in the human body including muscle building and fat loss. Many people think that the odd glass of water is enough and as long as they are getting a bit they will be ok.

This isn’t the case.

From my experience I would say that 2 litres per day is the minimum that everyone should shoot for. However based on my experience with clients I would say that the sweet spot is always between 3-5 litres per day. This seems to have the best effect on fat loss and hydration. As BJJ practitioners should never be water cutting (due to same day weigh ins) this is a great place to start for all athletes.

Never guess your water intake either. Always measure it out at the start of the day so you know exactly how much you have to drink each day. This is probably one of the biggest down falls I see with people.

Take care of your digestive system

This is something that everyone over looks, no matter what sport they are in. If you don’t look after your digestive system you are not going to be able to digest food properly. This means that if your body can’t break down the nutrients that you give it effectively, it will not be able to utilise optimally to produce the results that you need.

Make sure that you are not eating foods that cause you any kind of distress such as bloating, constipation, gas, or giving you unpleasant bowel movements (hard to pass, loose etc).

To help aid clients with this I make sure that they have a probiotic every day and take in foods that are rich in fibre. When it comes to dieting you want to try to aim for 12g of fibre for every 1000 calories that you consume. Your bodies ability to pass waste effectively plays a big part in fat loss and being healthy.

Manage your stress.

This is probably the hardest factor to manage in any diet plan. Stress has a massive effect on our bodies ability to function. When we are stressed it makes it ten times harder to lose fat.

While it is impossible to avoid stress completely in the real world thanks to jobs, kids, getting smashed by the brand new white belt in the gym, it is possible to manage it. This means that you take certain steps to reduce your stress and relax.

This includes things like,

·      Mediation

·      Taking naps/getting 8 hours of sleep per night

·      Baths, Jacuzzis and other recovery techniques

·      Yoga and stretching

·      Not looking at a screen of any type 1 hour before bed

·      Participating in exercise that allows you to de stress (like more BJJ training)

·      Letting little things go (like not chasing down the person that cut you up this morning and beating them to death with their own thermos etc)

I personally find BJJ as the biggest stress reliever simply because its impossible to think about anything else while doing it. It puts you completely in the moment and all of lifes other distractions melt away into the now.

Know your limits when it comes to cheats and free meals.

I’ve lost count over the number of times I’ve seen crazy cheats ruin sensible plans.

Let’s get a few things out of the way. Yes cheat meals can help you stay on track psychologically with a diet and used correctly they can even aid in fat loss. I use many different forms of cheat meals with clients as it improves compliance with diet tenfold.

However I know what clients can have and when. 2 weeks out from a competition and you’ve still got a good bit of weight to lose? Sorry that cheat isn’t happening. I’ve seen countless people be unable to stop if given enough free rein. Some people go as far as to rationalise a full weekends worth of binge eating because they have stayed on diet all week. I’m sorry but two full days of eating crap will undo all your hard work.

Cheats are fine as long as they are used correctly. All my client get at least a cheat meal all the way up to their competition or fight and it is only in VERY rare circumstances that I have had to take them out. Again, if you don’t know when to add in cheats to get the maximum results, speak to your coach or a professional.

Make sure that before you start any fat loss plan that you have all of the pieces in place that will allow you to achieve the best possible result. Don’t get caught in paralysis by analysis on the internet. Speak to people who know what they are doing, have either achieved it themselves or have replicated the results on others, and take their advice.

The key to succeeding in any diet is to know what to adjust and when plus staying consistent. I’ve said this a million times before but consistency beats everything in any aspect of life. Working hard towards a goal will even beat natural talent 90% of the time. You have to have a smart plan, adjust it as necessary and follow it all the way through.

Plan smartly. Adjust intelligently. Execute. Achieve.

Stay healthy,

Mike

Take a look at our sister Website

Hey Guys,

Today I want to introduce our sister website The Wedding Diet Plan

The Wedding Diet Plan is a site that is aimed purely at Brides and Grooms who are looking to get int shape for their big day!

The site contains articles, tips, videos and interviews as well as details on the comprehensive diet plans that it offers.

You can head over to the website to take a look HERE or if you want discounts and offers, please sign up to the news letter on the front page of Unorthodox Nutrition.

Take a look and let me know what you think!

Stay healthy,

Mike

The Eat as much as you want Diet

Hey Guys,

Recently I've been getting quite a few messages and E mails about a post the other week on T Nation called 'The Eat as much as you want Diet' and my thoughts on it.

Well I've got to say that I do agree with quite a lot of it. It makes some great points on eating for the general population.

I thought I would do a quick post on it rather than sending the same thing to people every couple of days (all for being efficient).

Here are my thoughts in no particular order;

• Eating whole, nutrient dense food is a fantastic idea for everyone, no exceptions.
• Knowing exactly what foods are dense in nutrients is also another great idea.
• Yes I have no problem with bacon, however I prefer to put the calories elsewhere for most clients.
• Do calories matter? Yes. Yes they absolutely do. To see a reduction in weight or fat you need to lessen the amount of calories you eat.
• This isn't always just a case of taking calories out. Everyone responds differently to macros, timing, food types etc.
• If you are trying to get in the best shape possible or perform at your very best then you better be including calorie counting into the equation (if you are stuck on how to do this, drop me  a line HERE or see HERE).
• Will focusing on highly nutrient dense food allow 'regular' people (non athletes) to stay in shape. Absolutely.
• That being said for it to work it means that you need to remove all 'cheat' foods. This means no treats, alcohol or other indulgence that will make you over eat.

All people would do very well to have a closer look at the foods that they eat and make sure that they have the most nutrients in as possible, however looking for a magic diet that allows them to have zero self control simply isn't going to happen. 

To get the most out of your nutrition you need a smart, sensible plan that allows some flexibility and can be applied in the real world.

You can find the original article HERE.

Stay Healthy,

Mike

Is your diet missing these important points? Quick checks for brides and Grooms!

They say the devil is in the details.

When it comes to diet and nutrition plans this mostly isn’t the case. If you have the major parts sorted out (calories, marco nutrients) then you most certainly will lose weight for a good period of time.

The problem comes when you stop losing weight. What do you do then? What advice do you trust?

If you where to ask any form of diet question on your Facebook you would be overwhelmed by advice. Some would be sound advice (try tracking what you are actually eating, try dropping a few calories etc) and some would be silly and even dangerous (try this shake based diet, try the egg/cabbage/raw food diet).

Before you go running off to try the latest diet craze and possibly kill all your progress, make sure that you are doing the following things consistently.

1.     Make sure you are drinking enough water. While drinking 2 litres per day is recommended, the magic happens at about 3-4 litres per day. This will keep you hydrated, make you fuller for longer, improve your health and make your hair, skin and nails look much better.

2.     Are you exercising? While a lot of people focus on the latest fad diet, they often forget to make sure that they are exercising 3-4 times per week. This will burn calories, tone your muscles and give you that perfect body shape for the honeymoon.

3.     Make sure that if you are exercising, you are working hard enough. Simply sitting on a bike while reading a magazine or walking on a treadmill while watching TV simply isn’t going to get the job done. You should be sweating, breathing hard and feeling like you have actually accomplished something when you have finished.

4.     Are you focused on your health? Having a diet that is ridiculously low in calories, vitamins and nutrients will not only make you ill, but will make it ten times harder to lose weight. Make sure what you are doing is sensible and healthy!

5.     Are you undoing all your hard work at the weekends? Any diet plan, no matter how intelligent and well thought out can be undone with a weekend of binge eating and drinking. It’s fine to have a treat (all my clients do), just make sure that you go about it in a smart way. A nice meal and a few drinks is a lot different to a couple of bottles of wine and endless takeaways and chocolate!

The truth of the matter is that almost everyone can get in shape for their wedding and honey moon as long as they use a sensible plan and give themselves enough time to get the job done. To give you an idea of how long you will need, a healthy, smart weight loss rate is one pound per week. Use this to get an idea for how long you will need to get the look you want.

Remember, if anyone is trying to convince you to do a diet and it involves taking a large amount of a product (shakes, pill, potions etc) or focuses on one type of food or starves you, it is a bad idea! Good nutrition is healthy, filling and flexible!

Stay Healthy,

Mike.

Mike Leng is the owner of Unorthodox Nutrition. He helps Brides, Grooms, athletes and gym goers get into the best shape of their lives through smart, healthy, whole food plans. You can find him HERE

Article for Brides on staying on your diet!

Hey Guys,

Here is an article I wrote for Kiss the Bride Magazine for Brides starting to stay on your diet.

You can read the article HERE

Also if you are wanting to get in shape for your big day and have no idea where to start, take 5 mins to have a quick look over on the wedding section of the website!

Stay Healthy,

Mike

Quick Tips for Brides to be!

Hey Guys,

Today I want to share with you a quick little article I did for Kiss the Bride Magazine.

Here are some quick tips for Brides to help you get in shape for the big day!

Real World Diet Tips for looking great in your Wedding Dress and on your Honey Moon

Hi there,

We all know that ever bride wants to look great in their dress on the big day and look even better in the Honey Moon photos. Brides everywhere work so hard to get in shape for their weddings but seem to always stubble at getting the perfect body that they want.

But where do you start?

So what factors make some brides more successful than others?

Why can some people get in shape easier than others?

Well to be honest there are a lot of factors that can determine the out come of any diet and fitness plan, however the most common is how dedicated the person is and how consistent they are with implementing a smart, well thought out nutrition plan.

The key is knowing what a smart, well thought out nutrition plan is!

However even if you have a great plan and all the will in the world, there will always be a few stalls or hiccups along the way. What do you do when this happens? How do you deal with these tricky problems?

With that in mind here are some quick tips that can make a massive difference to your plan and how you look on the big day.

1. 1.     Give yourself enough time. Everyone seems to start a crash diet 4 weeks before the wedding. This is a bad idea! You want to give your self a couple of months so that you can do it nice and slow. This way you can still have treats all the way through the diet (CHOCOLATE!) and still get in great shape!
2. 2.     Have a plan. There is so much information on the Internet these days its scary. Everything seems to contradict everything else and it all sounds either to good to be true or torturous. The truth is that a sound plan is somewhere in the middle. It allows you to do things at a good pace, is balanced, and doesn’t deprive you of anything.
3. 3.     Know what to do when you get stuck. There comes a point in any diet where fat loss stalls, the key is knowing what to do when this happens. Normally it is just a little change or tweak that gets things moving again, but it is important to have a plan of what to do (see point 2).
4. 4.     Have someone to lean on when times get hard and kick your butt when you’re being lazy. Things happen in real life that can hamper any fat loss plan like work, family, personal commitment, kids etc. During times like this it is important to have someone that will help you get through it. On the flip side there are going to be times when you just want to sit on the couch and eat cookies instead of training hard. It’s at times like this you need someone to kick your butt and remind you about that dress and those photos!
5. 5.     Figure out how to stay motivated. For some people it is a photo of their honey moon on the fridge, writing down a list of goals or regular progress photos. It is important to have a way to motivate yourself to keep you on track for that big day. Find out what works best for you and keep it in a place where you will see it regularly (the fridge, mirror of phone back grounds are popular).

Getting in shape for your wedding is just another thing that requires you to plan and organise. However just like your wedding, as long as you have a smart plan and stick to it, you will have the day of your dreams!

If you have any questions or you would like a little extra help with your plan, please give me a shout on Twitter (@mike_unorthodox) or if you want something a little more private and confidential, please send me a message on the Q&A on the website!

Stay healthy,

Mike