I wanted to check in quickly to talk about a few things I’m doing this time around that I wasn’t doing during my last diet that have really been working for me. I took my waist measurement a few days ago, and it was down below 80 cm for the first time…well, for the first time in my adult life 😉
On top of that, I’m feeling awesome, I have more energy, and (with the exception of the last week), I’m only dealing with minor hunger issues.
Let’s start off with the diet. I talked about this a little bit in my previous posts, but I wanted to really flush out what my diet is looking like. Essentially, it’s a paleo (plus rice and sweet potatoes) diet throughout the week. Two nights a week, I let myself have dessert (making sure to adjust the calories throughout the day). One night a week I allow myself to have a full “cheat meal”.
Basically, my “regular” diet throughout the week looks like this:
- Meat
- Vegetables
- Fruit
- Butter
- Eggs
- Nuts
- Dairy
- White Rice
- Sweet Potatoes
You’ll notice that while wheat and refined sugar aren’t included, this isn’t a terribly restrictive diet (there’s a lot you can still eat when you include rice). The reason I cut refined sugar is obvious, but you may be wondering about the wheat?
Wheat and grains get a lot of bad press in the Paleo circle, but as far as I’m concerned, they’re not nearly as detrimental as certain guru’s are making them out to be.
That said, the reason I took them out of my diet is that I personally have a tendency to overeat on them. I can stop after one plate of fried rice. But if I eat a bowl of pasta or a slice of pizza, I’m going to have a hard time saying no to another.
On “Cheat Meals”
Back in the day, I used to do the whole “cheat day” thing. I’d wake up in the morning on my designated day, and from the moment I started, it was game on. By the time evening rolled around, I’d usually packed away a few thousand extra calories (and just generally felt terrible).
I do, however, like the idea of having designated cheat “meals” (or cheat desserts). For me personally, it gives me structure, and it’s spread out nice and evenly throughout the week so I don’t lose my sanity while trying to cut weight.
Much like the wheat restriction, it also makes it harder for me to justify any fuckery on my diet. When you’ve been cutting calories for a while, it’s real easy to tell yourself that eating mac and cheese for lunch and cookie dough for dessert is just “being flexible, bro. It fits my macros…I think”.
Anyway, just thought I’d share those little tips. I’ll keep checking back in with progress pics, updates, and any more little nuggets of wisdom I come across 😉