As people we are constantly bombarded with advertisements for McDonald's, ice cream, bread, sugar; all of the things that we as followers of a Zone/Paleo diet need to keep out of our life. How do we do this on a long term basis? We need to be persistent. This means a couple of things to me. First off it means that if I fall off the wagon or eat an entire pizza in one sitting, I don't beat myself up over it. The second thing it means is that when that happens (and it will happen, its inevitable) the very next day or meal, I am right back to hitting my diet on target. Whether you Zone, eat Paleo or Primal, or even are on the Natural Hormonal Enhancement diet, you need to be able to jump right back in to good food choices.
I personally find it extremely difficult to adhere to a diet 365 days a year 24 hours a day. In fact I find it difficult to make it through a week sometimes. However, I have been very successful at losing weight and gaining muscle (45 pounds of weight lost and 15 pounds of muscle put on). This entirely has to do with the fact that I have been extremely persistent in my dietary habits over the last year. There are a couple of ways that we can increase our ability to stay persistent in our food habits:
- Eliminate all cheat foods from the house. This includes bread, pasta, vegetable oils, cake, cookies, basically anything that would allow you to have a breakdown.
- Eat at home. This is an extremely simple thing to do for some, and incredibly difficult for others. Prior to my shift to a zone/paleo diet a year ago, I had never cooked. Now I probably cook 15 meals a week at a minimum.
- Get your friends to buy in. Ok this is definitely the most difficult, but I am a big believer in telling people what you are doing. Some are going to tell you its stupid, others are going to be totally on board. In my opinion, letting people know forces you to stick with it because you know that they know what you are doing.
- Adapt your favorite foods. I love potatoes, specifically I love hashbrowns and french fries. Unfortunately neither food is really considered healthy in anyway whatsoever. I will on occasion make sweet potato french fries or hash browns. This is a great alternative that is significantly healthier than any regular potato dish you make. Plus this limits the cravings for regular fries.
- Go to the gym! This one is simple, if you are working out, you tend to feel like you need to eat better to match up with all the hard work you are doing on the elliptical (whoops! Wrong crowd. I meant on the rower!).
Remember, this is a marathon not a sprint. We have changed our lifestyles so that we can live a longer and healthier life. Not a life devoid of pleasure. If you have a piece of chocolate cake just remember that when you have breakfast the next morning it is going to be your perfectly healthy meal of some eggs, coffee, and a couple of pieces of fruit. We should strive to be hitting our dietary eating goals (i.e. what we put in our mouths) about 5-6 days a week. Some can do better, most cannot. This is something that is difficult for everyone. Just remember if you aren't perfect one day, get right back to it the next.
What are your ways to stay persistent in your diet? Also, what helps you to be persistent in every part of your life? Please post to comments.
Posts
6 comments:
For me breakfast is easy. Always shoot for a good breakfast and at least the days start out good. Nick, I know we disagree on keeping all cheat foods out of the house. I, for one, enjoy having cheat foods around because I can see the challenge that I am overcoming (not eating the food) more frequently. The challenge is more present if the food is there... and I like challenges.
On another note, I think persistence can be hard to see but often felt. For example, the feeling of needing to eat healthy and go to the gym persists within me, but because I have other priorities and responsibilities, other people cannot always see this persistence to which I refer.
I agree, it can be very difficult to be persistent in one thing when you have a bunch of other things going on.
I also know that you like the challenge of having some cheats in the house, but I feel that for most people this makes for temptation that is too great. However, too each there own.
I don't adhere to any diet scheme. Everyone knows what they should eat and should not. When one becomes to strict on themselves, they are bound to failure. Sweats are great, but should be done in moderation. I feel when you do not let yourself endulge you set yourself up on a course to disaster. I find it makes people focus their attention on something they are not having, and then the have a "cheat day" and binge.
My concern, or rather question is rather about carb consumption. I am not sure if alchohol carbs should be substituted instead of complex carbohydrates that would be eaten throughout the day. I understand the argument as a total carb intake for the day. I just feel it would better to stay fueled correctly throughout the day and then have a couple drinks, rather then to have a couple drinks and not fuel my body correctly from the get go, or there after.
I like the post.
keep it up.
Aneel
Aneel, I think that if you are going to have a beer or two a night its probably not as necessary to cut out some carbs. However, if you are binging and you know that you will be binging why not? I want to keep my blood sugar as low as possible, as a sorta zoner, its still quite a bit of carbs, even if they are high quality. I am aiming to reduce that intake as much as I can to keep my own insulin level (and inflammatory level) down.
Thanks for the very insightful post! Although I'm not on the Paleo diet, persistence has always been a sore spot in my training and dietary habits, so your message definitely resonates with me!
Post a Comment