My Core Truths on Diet (How I Maintain Fat Loss...Sort of)
A wise weightlifting serpent once told me:
“Nothing changes but the weight”
I guess thats indicative to my life…
Over the years, my dieting strategies have shifted around. But, there are a few fundamentals — lets say patterns — which, when followed, almost always make me feel 100% happier, leaner and vibrant (insert heavy amounts of sass).
Caveat: This works for me. I have to acknowledge everyone is different. My strategies may not work for you. I’m extremely carb intolerant (and short). So any pies, pastries or sodas I scoff down will show on the handles of love — or at least I think — immediately. Training, too. Currently I train almost everyday. I do CrossFit and run regularly. But, I lost most of my fat from diet before I got heavily into CrossFit.
Also, Do your own research on these strategies I present. Take everything I say with a massive grain of Himalayan Pink Salt.
Prioritise Protein
Make protein a priority and eat low carb / banting. With the new Keto Craze happening, it’s easy to load up on unnecessary “fat bombs” filled with enough coconut oil to make you shit your pants immediately on the spot. Although good gut health is essential, this is not a recommended dieting strategy. I’m not going to get into it now, but there is something called the “Protein Hypothesis.” Basically, your body will keep feeding itself until it reaches it’s amino acid intake for the day. I feel my best when I eat ethically sourced meat from places like Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants here in Cape Town. Obviously, do the best you can. with what you got. Always opt for whole foods when possible.
Intermittent Fast
I’m a slut for fasting hey. I love how flexible it can be. But it’s important to eat low carb when fasting. Otherwise you will struggle because you’re predominantly burning glucose as a fuel source. Have you ever been camping? Think of glucose as the small, fucking useless little timbers in the fire (ok sometimes they help light the fire and they are fun to play with). Now, think of protein / saturated fat as the long-lasting big pieces of wood that will keep you going for long periods of time. Fasting and Intermittent Fasting helps kickstart this inherently fat-burning mode you possess into 7th gear. And training in a fasted state is the nitros oxide. I go for intermittent fasting for 16 hours (drinking nothing but water and black coffee) and then eating for 8 hours almost daily.
Avoid Dairy and fruit
Eish, but I love dairy. Feeling sad? Milkshake and a burger seems the default response. Unfortunately, that lactose is a form of sugar. If anything, go for Heavy Cream in your coffee. Fruit can be sneaky bugger for many. For years — especially during the fat vilifying era of the 70’s and 80’s — ‘experts’ said eat your fruits and veggies!! I just love how Tim Ferriss puts it in The 4-Hour Body: basically fructose gets converted into fat more efficiently than any other type of carbohydrate.
Track Food, Don’t Count Calories
I don’t count calories and I think people that do are psycho. I do, however, track food from time-to-time. Use an app like Under Amours food tracking app, MyFitnessPal, for 2 weeks. This will help you get a general idea of how you’re doing and what foods are working and which ones are not. I just eye-ball the calories. All this does is give me perspective. Call me crazy, uneducated or lazy — but this works for me. It’s more of an accountability coach in your pocket screaming, “ooooooooi you phat pig…we both know very well that rye bread will still convert to the same glucose molecule as sugar!?”
Fuck Your Shit Up One Day A Week
Finally, this is my favourite. One day in the week — I opt for Saturdays (or Faturday’s as Tim Ferriss likes to call it) — completely go nuts. Eat whatever you want. Think of this day as Free-for-all mode in Rust on Call of Duty Modern Warfare...it’s fucking fun and satisfying but there is only so much you can handle at a time. Counterintuitively, having a cheat day like this will, over time, make you more happier and keep you going.
I’m all about sustainable life strategies. The amount of times I’ve seen people struggle for months on low-calorie diets, only to lose a tiny bit of weight, be terribly unhappy and then put it right back on is unsurmountable.
What I’ve given you above is what I’ve used for over 4 years now. It works…for me.
The beauty about strategies is they give you freedom. I still eat bread every now and again. But shitballs, let me tell you something, when I eat that bread I enjoy every bite. I earned it. I also still go out, attend music festivals and enjoy myself. Having boundaries in life is a good thing and don’t let anyone tell you any different.
We are a team, so If you have any questions (or I missed something) I will try my best to answer them. Email me hello@joshsnyman.com.
Have a great day.
Joshy :)