Easing Into a Diet Program

This week I want to address those of you that need help easing into a dietprogram. First I would like to start by clarifying what the word diet means.Even if you don�t think you that you are on a diet, guess what?!; you are.Whether you eat candy all day everyday or oatmeal that is your diet. Usuallypeople associate diet with days of starvation and pain. However that is not thecorrect definition of a diet. The word diet refers to the food choices that wemake on a daily basis. In this article we are going to teach you a program thatyou will be able to use for the rest of your life to stay in top shape. Nostarvation here folks. And I don�t expect you to change your eating habits fromone night to the next either. As a matter of fact, this is the reason why I feelthat 99% of dieters out there fail. My goal is to have you succeed just as I didwhen I had weight problems and therefore, we don�t want you to become anotherstatistic. While it is possible for some people to be able to make drasticchanges in a small amount of time, I realize that most people do better by doingsmall incremental changes that eventually take them to the desired goals. Thatis the way that I am going to teach you to change your “diet”; small incrementalsteps that will lead us to a perfect one.

Baby steps, giantresults

We will make incremental changes to your diet every two weeks. Remember thatthis is how long it takes to create a new habit as well as this is how long ittakes the body to get used to something. Every 14 days we are going to set a newgoal. Each goal will build upon the success of the previous one. It isimperative that you use your determination in order to ensure the success of theprogram. By achieving each goal every two weeks you will end up with the dietthat will yield the consistent fat loss/muscle toning results that you arelooking for.

(Weeks 1-2) Cut the fat.

For the first two weeks we just want you to start looking at the labels ofthe things that you eat and try to start cutting out as many fats as possible.This is the way that you go about doing this:

a) If you fry things, we want you to start steaming and broiling.

b) If you use salad dressing with a high fat content. start substituting themfor low fat or non-fat choices.

c) Substitute high fat meats for lower fat choices. For instance if youconsume corned beef, substitute it for skinless chicken or turkey. If youconsume chicken with the skin, start taking its skin off. Also, buy lean redmeats as opposed to the high fat kind.

As far as taste, your taste buds will get used to your new low fat eatinghabits in the two-week period.

(Weeks 3-4) Eliminate refined sugars.

These weeks we want you to go ahead and eliminate the refined sugars fromyour diet. Where are the refined sugars?; you may ask. They are everywhere.Therefore, in order to accomplish this goal we need to do the following:

a) Eliminate regular sodas as they contain a large amount of sugar in them.Instead, drink diet sodas (However, be warned with the fact that they containAspartame and some research indicates that high consumption of Aspartame maycause cancer in the long run).

b) Eliminate the use of table sugars.

c) Eliminate the consumption of any type of sweets.

(Weeks 5-6) Make water the main beverage in your diet.

For these weeks, we just want you to start drinking much more water than youhave previously consumed before. We have already explained the reasons forconsuming water in the nutrition section of my site so we will not go into thereasons why. Therefore, in order to accomplish this goal we need to do thefollowing:

a) Substitute all types of drinks (including diet sodas and fruit juices,even if they claim to be natural) for water. Therefore, every time you getthirsty, drink water.

b) Drink at least an 8-ounce glass with every meal.

c) Drink 16 ounces of water during the workout.

(Weeks 7-8) Caloric intake control and multiple feedings.

The following weeks will be the most challenging, but if the determination isthere and you have gotten this far, then you will be able to do it. It is nowwhen you will start to see the most unbelievable results. In order to accomplishthese goals, we need to do the following:

a) Determine your lean body mass by either using a caliper or using theformulas in the following link:

http://www.davedraper.com/bodyfat-calculation.html.

b) Lean Body Mass x 12=Base Caloric Intake

c) Divide the amount of calories that you need by five (if you are a male) orby four (if you are a female). This will give you how many calories you canconsume per meal.

d) Start writing down everything that you eat and the caloric content of eachfood item in order to ensure that you don�t go over the allotted caloric intakethat you need to consume per meal.

(Weeks 9-10) Macronutrient Management.

These weeks we will get closer than we have ever gotten before to the idealdiet. The good news is that after these two weeks, dieting will not get morecomplicated and you will also continue to see unbelievable results.

In order to accomplish these goals, we need to do the following:

a) Determine the grams of Carbs that you need in one meal:

Since we want 45% of the calories from Carbs, then we need to multiply thebase caloric intake by .45 and divide the results by 4 (Since there are 4calories per each gram of carbs). Then divide by either 5 or 4 meals to get theamount per meals.

Grams of carbs=(Base caloric intake x .45)/4

Then Grams of carbs/5=grams of carbs per meal for guys

Grams of carbs/4=grams of carbs per meal for girls

b) Determine the grams of Protein that you need in one meal:

Since we want 35% of the calories from Protein, then we need to multiply thebase caloric intake by .35 and divide the results by 4 (Since there are 4calories per each gram of protein). Then divide by either 5 or 4 meals to getthe amount per meals.

Grams of protein=(Base caloric intake x .45)/4

Then Grams of Protein/5=grams of protein per meal for guys

Grams of Protein/4=grams of protein per meal for girls

c) Determine the maximum grams of Fat that you can have in one meal:

Since we want to have 20% or less of the calories coming from Fats, then weneed to multiply the base caloric intake by .20 and divide the results by 9(Since there are 9 calories per each gram of fat). Then divide by either 5 or 4meals to get the amount per meals.

Grams of fat=(Base caloric intake x .45)/4

Then Grams of Fat/5=grams of Fat per meal for guys

Grams of Fat/4=grams of Fat per meal for girls

d) Start writing down everything that you eat, the caloric content of eachfood item, and the macronutrient values in order to ensure that you don�t goover the allotted caloric intake and macronutrient intake that you need toconsume per meal.

e) If you have trouble choosing what to eat, refer to the nutrition sectionof my web site.

After week 10 you now have a perfect diet that will take you to the goalsthat you want. Next week, I will talk about a strategy that you can use todouble the efficiency of your diet (which as a result would double your benefitsfrom it). I will also talk about troubleshooting the base caloric intake. In themeanwhile,

Take Care and Train Hard!
Hugo A. Rivera

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About The Author

Hugo Rivera is an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer, Sports Nutrition Specialist and Computer Engineer graduate from the University of South Florida. Hugo is President and CEO of

www.hrfit.net, an informational, free fitness and nutrition website, as well as the guide for
www.bodybuilding.about.com.

Hugo is author of a self published bodybuilding e-book called Body Re-Engineering geared towards the natural bodybuilder and co-author of one of the most popular Men’s Health book in the country (according to Barnes and Noble) called The BodySculpting Bible for Men and the very popular BodySculpting Bible for Women.

Hugo also just released his new book called The Hardgainer’s Handbook of Bodybuilding in March 2005 and also serves as a nutrition consultant to several professional football players and other elite athletes. Hugo serves as business consultant to many personal training studios as well and offers personalized diet and training programs through his website.

Hugo continues to publish several articles on the subject of health and nutrition in several magazines and websites and has been with Prolab Nutrition for over three years. Hugo competes as drug free NPC athlete at the National Level and his core supplementation has always consisted of Prolab products.