When it comes to diet and weight loss, there are two major barriers which get in the way to most people achieving results. And in my opinion, based on my many years of experience from working with the general population, those barriers are snacking and lack of portion control.

Sure there are the fancy fad diets out there such as Intermittent Fasting and IIFYM (neither of which I promote FYI) that guarantee results while still remaining flexible with your diet. But even these diets won’t work in the long run if your ultimate goal is to lose weight and you are in a constant caloric surplus.

But how many calories should a person consume each day if he of she wishes to lose body fat? Should they decrease their carbs? Increase their protein? Or take their fats completely out from their diet?

Well obviously the answer is different for each individual as there are multiply factors to take into consideration such as age, gender, fitness level, weight loss goal, lifestyle, etc. However the fact remains that if someone truly wants to lose weight, then they need to have a general understanding of their overall daily caloric consumption and macronutrient allowance. And neither of which can be calculated accurately if there are no portions set in place for each meal that is consumed throughout the day.

Where To Start

Whether your goal is to lose body fat, build muscle or a combination of the two, you need to have a solid Nutritional Plan set in place in order to succeed. Yes there are a few genetic freaks out there that can get away with consuming junk food on a daily basis and still develop an amazing looking physique. However those people are few and far between. And chances are that if you’re reading this week’s blog in hopes to develop your physique and better your health, then what these people do with their diets is completely irrelevant to you.

Whenever I work with a new client on his or her Nutritional Plan, the first thing I tell them is that in order for us to be successful, then they are going to need to purchase a food scale. I know for many people a food scale might seem a bit OCD and more of an inconvenience then just “eyeing” out their portions. However in my opinion, it’s an absolute necessary tool for both fat loss and muscle gain. In fact, I believe so much in using a food scale, that if a person refuses or is too lazy to use one, then I simply don’t bother working with that person on his or her Nutritional Plan. It’s impossible for me to make revisions and adjustments to a person’s plan if I don’t know how much food they are consuming. Therefore why would I bother wasting both our time my guessing where to make changes to a plan with no actual data or facts to back up my changes?

With no food scale in place, then no accurate changes can take place. In which case, there is no point to even bother following a Nutritional Plan in the very first place!

A Food Journal

All my clients know that I HATE “Fitness Journeys” and I DESPISE “Training Diaries”. For one, transforming one’s physique is a process, not a damn journey! And two, if you seriously need to write down every single little thing that you do in the gym in a diary from your sets to your reps to the amount of weight you lifted from one week to the next in order to complete your next workout, then you really need to start paying more attention to your workouts! Each training session you do in the gym should be based purely on intensity and how you are feeling that day. Just because you squatted 315lbs last week for 10 reps does not necessarily mean that you’re going to be able to do it again this week. Shit Happens in Life – Now go write that down in your Training Diary….

A Food Journal on the other hand can be a very useful tool when trying to figure out as to why you may or may not be achieving results with your physique. A Food Journal that has been well documented and is 100% honest will provide you with detailed insight as to why your diet might not be working. I ask every single one of my Online Clients to keep a Food Journal as it holds them accountable for what they put into their bodies while at the same time gives me more of an understanding as to where to make necessary changes to their plan each week. Understanding as to why someone continuously cheats on their diet, or constantly craves sugar and/or salt, allows me to know when and where to make adjustments so that we can continue to move forward rather then remain stagnant or even worse begin to regress with our results.

The Perfect Diet

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – The Perfect Diet DOES NOT EXIST! Everyone (including myself) slips up from time to time on our diet. We are humans, not machines. Therefore sometimes we give in to our cravings or succumb to our emotions of stress, anxiety, depression etc. Sometimes it’s nice to just go out and have a few drinks with friends just to be social. If you’re someone who enjoys rich, calorically dense foods and alcoholic beverages, don’t worry, all hope is not loss. You just need to learn how to manage your cravings and understand as to when you can and cannot incorporate these foods into your weekly plan. I personally like to provide my clients with the option of having a weekly cheat meal or two to help provide them a sense of normalcy in their lives. Other people I work with respond better to no cheat meals, as even a small taste of something that is considered to be ‘Bad” will send them down a road of binge eating for days and possibly even weeks on end.

If you want to improve your diet, then I suggest to stop looking for perfection. Because just like in the real world, in the dieting world, perfection DOES NOT exist!

The Final Word

Remember, changing eating habits that you have been following for the majority of your life, takes time. You don’t need to change everything at once either. Rather then give up all the foods you like, start focusing on slowly eliminating a few of them while incorporating new and healthier options. Get in the habit of measuring and weighing out your portions if you know that you tend to overeat your meals. Stop snacking and start meal prepping. Smaller meals are much more filling and efficient for your body to utilize then uncontrolled snacking will ever be. And finally stop looking for perfection, because in the long run you’re only going to set yourself up for failure.

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Performance