Dieting 101: Everything You Need to Know Before Starting a Diet

In today's world, the term diet has become all too common. No matter what, it seems like everyone has a specific diet protocol they are following! Buy why? What has happened that created this dieting culture? In this article, I will show you exactly what I mean and everything you need to know before starting a diet. Also, I will tell you the best meal plan for your you! Let's dive into diet 101!

When it comes to the definition of a diet, the cold hard truth is, the word diet simply refers to what you eat. It doesn't mean putting restrictions on yourself, trying to lose fat or trying a cleanse. It is simply what you are eating. That is your diet.

The word just puts a bad taste in your mouth too, doesn't it? "Like, ugh, time to diet again." Just sounds like a bad time. And, truthfully, it usually is.

The moral of the story here is if diet means what you typically eat, then shouldn't your diet have all foods you enjoy in it? There's some food for thought!

Why Should You Diet?

You might diet as an ends to a means. It can be muscle gain, fat loss, body recomposition, health-related, for a procedure, etc. But as discussed before, your diet never ends because you never stop eating. So why diet?

Dieting (in it's normal terminology) is still a great tool to reach a goal. Many people have found success by following certain protocols. In fact, some people enjoy them so much, that they never go back to their old way of eating.

This tells us that dieting isn't a bad thing after all. Sometimes people need the rigidity of a diet in order to help them see how much better they can feel by eliminating foods from their diet. This isn't to say they will never, EVER eat them again, but they can enjoy them more easily in moderation

It is easy to get caught up in the fads and trends that come up all the time on social media or the news. Especially when you see a picture of your gal pal from high school stating she lost 10 lbs. in 5 days...

Yes, Becky, you lost what is called water weight and you'll gain it back as soon as you start eating like a normal person again! Not to mention, all you've done is suck down on liquid grossness for the past week and you feel like absolute trash...but, sure, I'll support you and buy your product! When do I start??

Fun Fact for you, did you know that over 85% of people who are overweight or obese will diet and lose weight? However, 95% of that number will gain it all back within 3 years. This shows that we are motivated to lose weight! We want to make it happen, but that yo-yo cycling of ups and downs is what stops people from making lifelong progress. That itself is something to explore in another article though!

So why should you diet? For your goals and your health.

How To Diet

How does one start dieting? Well...YOU JUST DO IT! Just kidding! But seriously...

There are right ways and wrong ways to go about doing things, and dieting has many ways for things to go really right or really wrong. Let's look into that!

Typically, you might just want to dive right into a diet. You give it almost no thought, no planning, nada! Typically these decisions are made after an episode of overeating or binging. It's good to identify what you did wasn't the greatest decision, but it's a whole other one to do a full 180 and cut all foods you love out. (i.e. Cheeseburgers!)

This creates an immediate path to failure and burnout. You may be able to go hard for 3 days, but then you say screw it because the gang wants to go out on Thursday!

So how do you stop this endless cycle of stopping and starting, stopping and starting? You plan, prepare and execute based on your goal.

Planning is the hardest part of changing behavior. This is the nitty gritty where you start second-guessing your decisions and if this is what you really want. It's the part that aggravates you and just plain sucks. That is also why it is so important.

By planning, you are making the conscious decision and effort to get things right. To make it happen and reach your goal. Planning is what allows you to truly prepare for what is ahead.

Preparation is something you may skip. On Sunday you say to yourself, "diet starts Monday!" Then Monday rolls around and you realize you have no groceries that fit your needs. Then, before you know it, that bowl of cereal sounds way too good and you're so hungry that you go for it. Leading to another account of failing and feeling like, "What's the point?"

This is why you should prepare and grab the things from the store you need, clear your house off all the delicious foods you will want and put sticky notes everywhere reminding you of your goal! Then, you are already set up for success because you have all the tools need. Nothing can get in your way and you are ready for the week!

Yes, the week, but what about the weekend? Ah, yes. Forgot about that one, didn't you?

Now, execution becomes a priority. In order to be successful , you have to execute at least 80% of the time. That is where you miss out. You think that since you did so well during the week that "calories don't count on the weekend." Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they do. Maybe even more so.

The weekend makes up almost 43% of your week (including Friday). So almost half of the time, you could not be following the diet you set out to do. Makes sense why it doesn't seem like you're making progress now, right?

You need to be smart about your decisions all week long. Every day counts. You might not count, but your body does. This complex machine knows what's going on!

By no means am I saying don't enjoy yourself on the weekends, but at least be mindful of the food choices you are making. This will allow you to stick to your diet better and not fall off the deep end when you inevitably "mess up".

Should You Even Diet?

With all this talk about dieting, sometimes we forget the big question. Should I even diet?

Many factors go into making a decision about dieting. Is it peer pressure, will it make you feel better, are you doing it for yourself, what will change in your life if you do this, etc.

Asking yourself if you should diet is more powerful than you may think. It gives you a moment to reflect and think about all of your other responsibilities. The kids have games all throughout the week, I have a huge work project I need get done by the end of the month, I went to Costco and already bought a bunch of food (not particularly nutritious food either) and so on.

Give yourself permission to reflect and analyze your current situation. You may find that a drastic change in diet may not be what you need right now.

Just because dieting doesn't fit in with your current life situation, doesn't mean you can't take some steps to prepare yourself in the future.

Grab a few more fruits and vegetables at the store, actually cook your own breakfast, swap out your mocha cream latte concoction for a coffee with cream. Small changes compound to huge results over time. It's easy to discount this approach, but the truth is there. If you feel like you're stuck or trapped in your current situation, just ask yourself, "What can I do now to help my goal later?"

The Big Picture with Dieting

When it comes down to the nitty gritty, it doesn't matter what you decide to do. This guide will layout many different types of diets for you. (One of which may be how you decide to eat for the rest of your life. ) But no matter what you do, it all comes down to this:

What can you remain consistent with?

Remember: Consistency is the driving point of progress.

Diets have a lot more in common than they may seem. The greatest driving factor of their progress is that they all create a calorie deficit. Calorie deficit referring to burning more calories throughout the day than you consume (eat).

If your main goal is weight loss, a calorie deficit it a must. One way or another. If you want to gain weight/muscle, a caloric surplus is what you need. It all comes down to thermodynamics being the driving force but that is science stuff I don't feel like discussing right now and I'm sure you don't want to hear about! (But a future article will be made on that too!)

Now What Diet/Meal Plan is Best for Me?

So now what?

Time to learn about some diets! If you are ready to make a change, are looking for ideas, are in the preparation phase or just want some info on trendy diets, then begin researching! You are also more than welcome to email me at TheCheeseburgerEffect@gmail.com for some help, as well!

I've done a decent amount of trendy diets in my life, so I know what to watch out for and the questions to ask! So don't hesitate to reach out! :)

At the end of the day, it will be up to you what diet you choose. (If any at all.) You are in control of your life and, more importantly, you are in charge of your diet! Not your parents, not your spouse, not your dog, YOU!

Best of luck and I hope you found this article helpful for whatever journey you have planned for yourself. If you have any questions on any of the content, feel free to contact me via social media or email. My info is below!

Email: TheCheeseburgerEffect@gmail.com

Twitter: @vinnieg_cb

Instagram: @vinnieg_cb

P.S. I have an email list where I always send out free workouts, nutrition plans, fat loss advice, muscle gain tips and more! If you're interested in more value like that, hop onboard HERE!

I look forward to hearing from you and any way I can help! As a welcome, I'll also send you a FREE copy of my 101 Metabolic Workouts E-Book! So don't miss out! Here is the link below just in case it didn't work above --> https://mailchi.mp/fd644845e7d8/the-weeklyish-cheese

Thanks for reading and happy dieting!

-Coach Vinnie