How many of you have heard someone say they are trying this or that “diet” but it just isn’t working? Does this sound familiar? Better yet is this you?
My first question to these people is how long have you been on this or that “diet”? Most often I get a response like 2-4 weeks. This just isn’t long enough to see consistent results!
The second mistake is viewing any weight loss change as a “diet”! Why? This is because a “diet” is SHORT term! Meaning once that period of time (30 day challenge) or weight loss goal (50 lbs lost) is achieved/over people go back to what they were doing before the diet. This results in fat re-gain and usually always is more gained than what was lost!
What can we do to avoid this? First off we can’t view any weight loss effort as a diet but rather look at it as a LIFE STYLE CHANGE! Diet is short term and a life style change is forever! Whichever method you choose needs to be sustainable for you long term or you will fail! Adherence must always be #1! The BEST “diet” is the one you can stick to and something that can be stuck to is a LIFESTYLE!
How do I know what is sustainable and what are the keys/steps to seeing progress?
1) Monitor calories/macro nutrients and increase your protein intake. Most people are all under eating protein. Set this at about 1 gram per LB of body weight and fill in the rest of the calories with carbs and fats.
2) Do you enjoy higher fat or higher carb rich foods more? If it’s carbs you enjoy then set these higher, if it’s fat than set this higher. Do what’s sustainable for you! Carbs and Fats can be interchangeable for the general population as the overall caloric intake is what matters most. Hit protein and hit calories!
3) Have you started monitoring intake and still not losing weight? How much are you moving? Not much? If you are sedentary start taking two 10 minute walks per day and increase this weekly by 2-5 minutes until you get a good 30-60 min of activity in daily!
4) Monitoring intake, moving move, and still not seeing progress? It’s time to add strength training into your life! Why? Strength training stimulates muscle activation which can lead to muscle growth which leads to a more efficient metabolic rate since muscle burns more calories than fat. Add in a total body training session 2-3 times per week using mostly compound movements such as squat, hinge, lunge, horizontal push/pull, vertical push, pull!
There is no magic formula to seeing progress but I can promise you if you don’t view weight loss as a lifestyle change and rather just starting a diet you won’t be successful. Monitor your intake, hit your protein, hit your calorie goal, move more, and lift weights! If you do this consistently you will see progress!
Blayne Steffen
M.ED, CSCS, CPT, USAW
Owner Alpha Athlete Performance & Nutrition Consulting, LLC
Blayne Steffen is the Owner of Alpha Athlete Performance & Nutrition Consulting, LLC! Blayne holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in Applied Kinesiology & Nutritional Science. He also is a certified strength & conditioning specialist with the NSCA, a certified personal trainer with the NASM, & a certified USA Olympic Weightlifting/Performance Coach with the USAW.
Blayne is a former collegiate athlete where he played football and started 4 years at the University of Minnesota-Morris. Blayne also has been competing as a natural bodybuilder since 2010. Blayne brings over 10 years’ experience working in a variety of settings and clientele ranging from elite athletes, physique athletes, general population, & special population. No goal is too tall for Coach Steffen!
Blayne believes because everyone is so different in terms of metabolism, biomechanics, training experience, & physical limitations among other variables that individualization is a must when it comes to all nutrition & training protocols! Blayne uses a no cookie cutter approach to training & nutrition! He values his client relationships & wants to make each client feel like “THE ONLY CLIENT”!
Blayne is a co-promoter of the OCB Natural Viking Bodybuilding competition and offers contest prep services for physique athletes. Blayne also offers online nutrition & training coaching/consulting for all populations & athletes. Lastly Blayne’s services include in-home personal training if you are in the Twin Cities area! For Inquiries you can email Blayne at alphaathletepnc@gmail.com or private message him on Instagram @alpha_athlete_pnc or check out Alpha Athlete Performance & Nutrition Consulting, LLC on Facebook!