3 Easy Diet Tips

3 Easy Diet Tips

1.  Exercise Consistenly

Yes this is a diet tip…..  The first tip for diet improvements should always to be to start exercising and do it consistently.  Remember, it is much easier to succeed at exercising than it is in dieting.  I know, I know, you’ve heard it’s 90% diet, etc…, but that thinking will not get you results.  Everyone, literally everyone, will fail at some point with their diet.  Intentionally or unintentionally.  It could be a random give in to temptation, a complete off-the-diet for a while binge, or a scheduled cheat meal.  But, you will fail at some point on your diet.  And that’s ok.  You are supposed to eat good the majority of the time, not all of the time, which means that you get to stray from your diet regularly.  When we make all of our results contingent on the diet, when the diet is off, your results are off, thus causing you to go backwards with your results.  If you are exercising consistently, this takes the pressure off the diet.  When you are exercising, in times of good diet, you will get results, because you are exercising and eating good.  When you are exercising and your diet fails, you still will be getting some results and not going backwards like you would had you been not exercising AND not eating good.  Plus you will always be benefiting from the other benefits of exercise, such as strength, energy, injury prevention, etc.  So, first and foremost, get to exercising and do it consistently.  It takes the pressure off the diet!  It’s like money, the more money you make, the less pressure put on your spending….

2. Make the Obvious Choices First

One of the big mistakes that people make with dieting and trying to eat better is that people tend to go too far too fast.  They also tend to over-think things and try too hard.  These mistakes ultimately lead to another failed attempt at improving your diet.  Remember to keep it simple!  Don’t try too hard too fast.

With dieting and eating better, the two most important things that you need to know are (1) that it is relative to you and your current diet and (2) all you have to do to get results is improve upon what you are currently doing.  Too often people pick a diet and switch from their current diet to this new and crazy diet that is light years away from what they are currently doing.  The change is too much and this leads to failure.  All you have to do is improve on your current diet.  Simple logic tells us that if you improve what you are doing, no matter how small or large the improvements are, you will see results.  Remember, keep it simple!

So, how do we improve?  Start with making the obvious choices first.  Don’t over-think your “new” diet.  Your new diet is simply an improvement on your current diet.  Make the easy changes first.  Change the things that you know in your head are better choices.  If you can say to yourself “I know better than to eat that” about a specific food, then you already have enough knowledge to improve your diet.  At first, make the easy choices that you already know.  Get help later.  Start with less soft drinks, less fried foods, less sweets, etc.  Everyone knows how to diet at this level.  This will get the ball rolling and get you some much needed results.  Trust that your knowledge will evolve as your diet does.  You need to be gradually improving over time.  You will hit road blocks along the way, and when you do, then you can ask for help or advice.  

Just start improving.  It is that simple!  Don’t give yourself the excuse, “I don’t know what to do to eat a better diet.”  So, the good news is that you already are armed with the knowledge to start eating better.  The bad news is that you actually have to do it and you can’t use this excuse anymore :)!

3. Budget Your Calories

This is the overall theme for my book, Calorie Budgeting 101. The book digs deeper into this and several ways to apply it, but this will give you a good overview. 

Remember to look at the day as a whole, the week as a whole, and the month as a whole.  With that being said, you have the ability to “budget” your calories.  Save calories here to have calories there.  What ultimately matters is if at the end of the day, week, or month, your calorie totals are where they need to be.  And, the answer to that is that they need to be less than you are burning.  Remember - eat less and burn more.  It’s that simple.

With calorie budgeting, don’t waste calories.  If you are eating good, then do good.  Don’t waste any calories on the good days.  Save your calories for your cheat meals.  So, find as many ways as you can to reduce calories on your good days and save them up for your cheat meals.  

Think of this like a savings account.  You save up for something and then you buy it instead of charging it to a credit card.  If you have the money and are able to buy something, then you are financially ok after the purchase.  If you do not have the money and you buy something by charging it to a credit card, then you have to work and work to pay it off over time.  The same goes for dieting.  If you are trying to get 2000 calories per day, then you have 14000 per week to work with.  If you are planning on having a cheat meal that is 2000 calories more than normal, then you should try to cut 2000 out of the rest of the week.  If you cut those calories out in other places, then, after your cheat meal, you would still be at 14000 for the week.  If you didn’t cut your normal days down some, and just added the cheat meal, then you would be at 16000 calories for the week, thus increasing your weekly total by 2000, which ultimately will lead to body fat gains.  You will be working and working to burn those 2000 calories over time, just like you would be working to pay down that credit card.  

Treat your diet analytical, but also don’t over-think it.  Keep it simple.  Think of it like a bank savings account.  The more calories you can cut here, the more calories you can have there! (and like getting a second job to make extra money, you can always do extra exercise to burn extra calories)

I have used these principles and many more listed in my book, Calorie Budgeting 101, to get and maintain results myself and help thousands of others over the years, so I know without a doubt it works!  

To easily get started and lay the groundwork for your routine, message me about our 60 Day Total Body Transformation - which can be done in person at Hoover Fitness or remotely if you don’t live in the area.  The program helps you get the most out of your exercise and has an easy-to-follow diet plan that you can use to improve your current diet.

-Jason

Jason Cerniglia is a Certified Personal Trainer, a Certified Sports Nutritionist, the owner of Hoover Fitness, the creator of The 301 Workout, an Author, Speaker, Fitness Professional, and a Follower of Jesus.  Jason has been recognized as the “Most Fit Health Club Professional in America” and a “Top Ten Personal Trainer in America” and has used his practical approach to help thousands of people with their health and fitness over the past 20 years.  

For daily tips and pointers and to see more of Jason’s routine, follow him on Instagram and Facebook.

To purchase the eBook, Calorie Budgeting 101, on Amazon, simply click here.