Three Simple Ways to Win At Your Diet (Beginner-Intermediate)

Everyone that wins at their diet tends to have developed three particular habits.  For people in the beginner or intermediate stages of fat loss, creating these three habits are the ultimate golden keys:

1.) Planning

2.) Preparation

3.) Following The Plan

And this is it.  Spending your time on anything else is a waste of time.

Planning

The first step is to have a plan.  One plan.  Not a combination of plans.  Not the parts of the plan that you like.  But to have a plan, use only that plan, and do all of that plan.

The next step is to map that plan onto your life – start to pick out the meals from list of meals that come with the plan, and match them with the kinds of meals and when and the quantity that there are in the plan.

Last, take that plan and put it on a calendar.  All of it.  At least one week at a time.  Note where the free days are.  Notice where you’ve got social events you’ll have to go to.

Preparation

This is where the rubber meets the road.  Where we really start cooking with gas.  And what ever other cliche you like about getting this party started.

So now, you take a look at your whole plan for the week.  Check your plan against what food you have in the kitchen.  Most likely, you’ll need to go to the store.  So go to the store.  Or, add going to the store into your plan and put it on your calendar.

Then cook the meals you need.  Bonus points if you cook them all at once.  I’m talking doing it like this: If your stove has four burners, you should be cooking four things at once.  Like two proteins and two carbs.  Or three proteins and one carb.  Whatever.  But don’t waste any time by doing one thing at a time.

Try and cook and prepare all of your food for Monday-Friday in under 120 minutes….  and then not have to worry about food at all for the whole rest of the week.

Also, take a look at what social events you have.  Check which ones you can match with your free meals or free days, and decide which ones you are going to need to suck it up and follow your plan anyway.  Decide if you are going to eat first.  If you can eat there, choose what you are going to eat ahead of time.  If you need to deflect food pushers, start making up excuses now.  Mentally decide that you are going to stick to your plan.

Follw The Plan

This one is just as important as the first two.  And, in real life, not as obvious as you would think.  I’ve totally seen people plan and prepare an awesome day…  and then go to work and eat the brownies that their co-worker brought in.

Following the plan is really a matter of your word and your personal integrity – keeping your promise.  Unfortunately, it’s usually just your promise to yourself.  And we tend to sell ourselves out faster than we would other people.

So if you can have a diet buddy, I’d get one.  It doesn’t even matter if they are doing the same diet as you.  Just that you are both doing one.  And that you both promise to follow what ever plan you are on.  You need to be the strong one, and not let your buddy off the hook.  Assume you will have to stand for both of you.  And then, explain to your buddy why he or she should stand for both of you.  With both of you taking 100% responsibility each, it will be an awesome team.

Regardless of if you have a buddy or not, there will be times where you will be alone with cookies.  Try to avoid this situation.  But if you do find yourself left alone with some cheat food on a non cheat food day, remember – this is your opportunity to create yourself as a matter of your word.

Let me say that again, in a new way: Following the plan is your opportunity to create yourself as a matter of your word.

As you create yourself as your word, you don’t have to be your past anymore.  You get to be your promises.

Every time you be your promise, you get to be a totally new person, entirely unrelated to whoever you’ve been about diet and nutrition in the past.

Just keep in mind: It’s the nature of being human to bullshit yourself out of your pomises from time to time.  Everyone falls of their disciplines – to think otherwise is naive.  So just know that at some point you will fall off, but I have some genius coaching for you – when you fall off, get back on.  That is all.

It’s not about being perfect and following the plan all of the time.  It’s about having a plan.  And following the plan.  And when you fall off the plan, you get back on the plan really fast (like the very next day, or even the next meal).