Confessions of a Former Yo-Yo Dieter

To whom it may concern,

"You have what it takes. But it'll take everything you've got."

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So I started my about 4 years ago. At first, it was a childhood friend of mine that got me in the gym. We hit the weights nearly every day, but neither of us knew much about dieting. I personally thought that if I put the time in, the results would come. And so for my first two years, I ate whatever and whenever I wanted. No food was off-limits because I felt the hours I spent weight training would counter balance everything. But I couldn't be any more wrong. After my initial strength gains, I soon hit a plateau and never really looked any different.

After browsing the web for nutrition and dieting guidelines, I was convinced that the only way to get in shape and have abs was to eat strictly "clean" food -- unseasoned chicken breasts, brown rice, asparagus, broccoli, you name it. Without any hesitation, I jumped on this bandwagon and somehow managed to live this lifestyle for about half of a year. Soon, eating 5 meals a day, one meal every 2 to 3 hours became routine clockwork.

It wasn't until one day when a classmate of mine had a bite of my lunch (lean ground turkey & spinach) that I got my wake up call. To put it quite frankly, she told me my meal tasted like dog food.

Fast forward another 2 years and here I am today. You may be wondering what's changed.
- I generally have 2, maybe 3 huge meals a day
- I pay no attention to meal timing. Sometimes I'll have breakfast at 8AM, other times I won't have my first meal until 3PM or later
- I often eat carbs late at night, often times right before bed
- Aside from biking to and from classes on campus, I almost never do cardio
- I enjoy counter-intuitive foods like pizza and burgers while still staying on top of my diet
- When I completely stopped eating "junk" in the past, I would go about a month before I ended up falling off my diet completely.
- Ergo the vicious binge/restrict cycle.

There is no such thing as a "good" or "bad" food. There are only bad quantities. Your body recognizes all types of food as pure energy sources, nothing more, nothing less. In terms of body composition, it essentially doesn't matter what you eat as long as you're logging everything and getting adequate amounts of macro nutrients (protein/carbs/fats) and micro nutrients (vitamins/minerals/fiber). However, foods higher in calories won't be as nutrient-dense. This means they won't be as satiating or physiologically satiating.

But keep in mind that with any diet, there are always two sides to hunger. Your appetite is the psychological aspect of it. Balance and moderation are critical for long-term weight loss success and diet adherence. Completely removing processed "junk" from your diet will aid in fat loss, yes -- but by no means is it necessary.

There is always more than one way to get something done. As human beings, everyone is different. What works for me may not work for you.

There are also no "quick fixes". Drastic changes won't happen overnight. One cheat day won't make you gain unwanted weight, just like how one day of healthy eating won't get you in shape. Be in this for the long haul, but don't beat yourself up over a few mess-ups or setbacks. Learn from them and be better tomorrow than you were yesterday.

No single macro nutrient is your enemy.
Carbs are not your enemy.
Fats are not your enemy.
Protein is not your enemy.

Weight gain and weight loss is as simple as calories in versus calories out. Eat less than your body expends for any prolonged period of time and you'll lose weight. And vice versa. How fast you gain or lose all depends on how much of a calorie deficit or surplus you are in.

Listen to your body. There is no "best" dieting style. Never take anything for face-value. Question everything. Don't conform to something just because it may have worked for a group of people. The reason why eating 5 or 6 meals a day is unnecessary is because contrary to popular belief, eating smaller meals frequently throughout the day does NOT boost your metabolism.

Consider your standard 2,000 calorie diet. 5 meals would have each consisting of 400 calories. On the other hand, if you only eat 2 meals a day, each would be 1,000 calories. At the end of the day, the energy your body expends to metabolize 2,000 calories will be the SAME no matter how you look at it. This is thermodynamics, and it's referred to as the thermic effect of food (TEF). It's physiologically impossible to trick your body into being more "efficient" by manipulating meal frequency.

But if your lifestyle permits you to prepare multiple meals and eating often throughout the day works best for you, then power to you. The best diet is one that ensures long-term success. It shouldn't be a chore. You've got to love what you're doing.

And I'll be honest. You'll probably lose some friends along your fitness journey. I did. There will always be those few individuals that just "don't understand". But don't let it stop you from achieving your goals. If it's important to you, you should never have to explain your motives -- they should embrace them and support you. And if they do, you've got yourself life companions. If they don't, then love yourself enough to let them go. Life is too short to be anything but happy and fulfilled.

Here's to anyone just embarking on their own journey, or are currently on one -- and everyone else in between. I wish you all the best in your endeavors. You can do this. Believe me.

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"We all die. It's not about living forever, but creating something that will."