5 Ways to Finally Lose Your Spare Tire—and
Keep It Off For Good
Find out why you’re having such a
difficult time keeping off weight—and the simple techniques that will transform
your body forever
IMAGE BY THINKSTOCK
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I have this buddy who’s a big dude:
6’3”, 240. He’s not “fat,” but he could spare to lose a few pounds. Girls
describe him as a
big teddy bear.
He plays pickup sports and hits his
local CrossFit box a night or two each week. So that extra weight
isn’t there because of laziness. It’s there because the man can eat.
My friend is that guy who
polishes off those last wings you didn’t eat, orders an appetizer with every
meal, and comes back from hitting the head at the ballgame with a dark lager
and a 12” Philly Cheesesteak.
About a year ago he decided
he wanted to slim down. So he went paleo. Adios chips, Chipotle, and
cheesecake. Hello chicken, kale, and coconut milk.
(What CrossFit calls paleo isn’t really what our
ancestors ate. Here’s The REAL Paleo
Diet.)
He told me the diet seemed
uncomplicated—it gave him a clear definition of what he could and could not
eat—and, hey, lots of people at his gym did it, and they looked fit.
And his approach worked!
When I saw him three months after his declaration to eat like a caveman, he was
visibly less hefty—he’d lost about 20 pounds, he said.
But when I saw him a
handful of months later, he was back to teddy bear mode.
What gives? We all know
someone who’s committed to a diet—whether it’s Paleo, Zone, Atkins, or South
Beach—and seen success, then ultimately ended up where they started. Why do
diets fail so many people?
“Going from an ‘anything
goes’ way of eating to a very strict diet is like going from only knowing how
to ride a bike to trying to drive a stick shift Ferrari on the Autobahn,” says
Krista Scott-Dixon, Ph.D., who develops nutrition coaching curriculum for
Precision Nutrition. “You might manage for awhile, but eventually you’ll
crash.”
The reason why you crash
isn’t because you have faulty willpower, commitment, or self-respect. It’s due
to two key factors.
1. You Never Break the
Rules
Crash dieters have a tough
time adjusting on the fly.
Whenever you’re on a diet,
you probably live in a black-and-white reality, where some foods are “bad,” and
others are “good,” explains Scott-Dixon. It’s this thinking, however,
ultimately sets you up for failure.
A person who eats to
maintain their desired physique—also known as a year-round healthy
eater—however, understands that many foods—even “bad” ones—have a place in his
diet and lifestyle. He gets that it’s totally OK to have a weekly “cheat day”
or to indulge every so often.
To illustrate this point, Craig
Weller, a nutritionist with Precision Nutrition, says to imagine putting a
plate of nachos in front of a crash dieter and a year-round healthy
eater.
“A healthy eater might have
a few nachos and be done,” he says. “And that’s totally fine because he realizes
that everything else he’s doing is healthy, so those few nachos don’t really
matter in the grand scheme of his overall lifestyle.”
“On the other hand, I see
so many crash dieters who think nutrition is an all-or-nothing proposition,” he
says.
You have one nacho that
doesn’t fit into your diet’s “rules,” and—bam!—all
bets are off. You finish off the entire plate, and that’s the end of your diet,
Weller says.
Suddenly, you find yourself
right back at where you started.
2. You’re Out of Your Element
Stress easily derails crash
dieters, says Weller.
That’s because your new way
of eating is not your normal behavior. Figuring out what food to buy, how many
portions to eat, if a restaurant serves meals that a caveman would eat—are all
added anxieties.
So when life suddenly
throws you a curveball—a traffic jam right before an important meeting, a fight
with your partner, a sleepless night—your diet (a big stress) is the first
thing to go, Weller says. You default to your old habits. The autopilot setting
that you’re used to.
That’s when one nacho turns
into an entire plate.
For a year-round healthy
eater, food isn’t a stress. There’s no anxiety associated with every meal.
They’ve figured out a formula that’s worked for them over the years.
When stress crops up, their
diet stays on autopilot, while your diet, well, crashes and burns.
The Answer for Crash
Dieters
This isn’t to say that
“crash diets” don’t get results.
The nutritional foundations
that they’re built upon can absolutely help keep your weight in check—for a
short time, at least. But if you want to keep the pounds off, you need to be
able to sustain the diet.
Sure, you can lose your
spare tire in 45 days like a diet promised, but it’ll be back.
Consider this: In 2005, a
study from the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that just 20% of people
who begin a diet and lose weight manage to keep that weight off for a year or
more.
Of that 20%, the people who
were able to keep the weight off for 5 years were able to keep the weight off
for the rest of life, the study found.
The reason: By that point,
they knew how to bend the rules to make their diet work for them. Their diets
were on autopilot.
“Learning to eat healthy is
like learning to speak a different language,” says Weller. “You learn a little
at a time until you’re proficient.”
Here’s what Weller and
Scott-Dixon say does work:
Take it slow. Pick just one simple healthy eating habit and practice it for at
least two weeks.
That’s the ideal amount of
time it takes to learn how to easily implement the practice into your life, and
for it to lose its stress factor, says Scott-Dixon. After that two-week period,
the habit becomes automatic.
Then, adopt another healthy
eating habit for two weeks. And continue to repeat this process.
Start here: incorporate
these simple, stress-free steps into your life, one at a time. When one step’s
time period ends, don’t stop doing it, simply incorporate the next one.
They’re effective
individually, but together they have the ability to permanently transform your
body and turn you into a year-round healthy eater for the rest of your life.
Weeks 1 to 2
Eat slowly
Stop scarfing. Research
consistently shows that eating slower and mindfully keeping track of how much
you’ve consumed during a meal can help you eat less, says Brian St. Pierre, MS,
RD, CSCS, Director of Performance Nutrition at Precision Nutrition.
Weeks 3 to 4
Eat protein
Protein is a super
nutrient: It builds and maintains muscle and burns fat, while also helping you
feel more full, so you'll eat less overall. That’s why you should aim for two
palm-size portions of protein at each meal (six to eight palm-sized portions
per day).
The best source: meat,
fish, eggs, Greek yogurt,
cottage cheese, or a scoop of protein powder.
Weeks 5 to 6
Eat vegetables
Yes, vegetables are loaded
with health-promoting vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. They also deliver
minimal calories, and because they’re filled with water and fiber, they help
you feel full.
Another way to think about
it: Vegetables essentially take the place of more calorie laden, “unhealthy”
foods that used to fill your plate. Aim for two fist-sized portions of
vegetables at each meal (six to eight fist-sized portions per day).
Weeks 7 to 8
Get enough sleep
You might be surprised to
learn that sleep is just as important as diet and exercise when it comes to how
you look, feel, and perform, says St. Pierre.
Weeks 9 to 10
Unwind
Too much life stress can
impact your weight. “Stress is a killer,” says St. Pierre. “It stores fat, eats
muscle, ruins health and crushes your fitness performance.”
That’s why taking just 20
minutes each day to do something—anything—that reduces your stress can improve
your physique, and also allow you to make better food decisions. Try
meditation, petting your dog, walking, reading, or even building Lego
sets.
Michael Easter is the
Fitness Editor of Men’s Health.
