Why your Diets Fail (Try this instead)

Do you ever feel like you're spinning your wheels with diets that just don't work?

Are you tired of feeling sluggish, brain-fogged, and unable to lose weight, gain muscle, or perform at your best?

Most diets fail because they lack one important thing:

Sustainability.

Much like many trends these days, they’re fun and exciting for a short while but they usually don’t last.

The same is true for diets.

They often eliminate an entire food group or macronutrients, resulting in a calorie deficit.

• Keto (cut out carbs)

• Vegan (cut out protein)

• Low-fat (obvious)

Scientifically speaking, this is the only way to lose weight.

However, I DO NOT RECOMMEND this!

We need all 3 macronutrients to function properly (especially protein for physique).

But your goals may be different.

Today you’re going to learn how to start your own diet plan (for life).

Some key concepts to note before diving in are:

• Calories

• Macronutrients

• Body recomposition

If you already know these, skip the links and read on!

This short guide will help you get started.

There are 4 things that 99% of people need to know to figure out how they want to eat, look, and optimize their energy levels:

1. How many calories you need to eat

2. How many grams of protein you need

3. What foods to consume for gut health

4. How much workout volume you need to do

In this guide, we'll focus on the first 3.

For the workout piece, you’ll want to check out this article.

How to Find Your Maintenance Calories

Maintenance calories are simply the amount you need to consume to maintain your body weight, given the average amount of activity you do daily.

For now, we’ll estimate to avoid any complications.

Calculate your daily calorie intake using a calorie calculator or by tracking calories and weight for 7 days.

This will give you an idea of how many calories you burn in a day at your current weight, age, and activity level.

You can use apps like MyFitnessPal and EatThisMuch to track your progress.

Or use this for a quick start method:

Determine Your Goal

For weight management, focus on protein and calories.

Calculate your goal calorie intake based on whether you want to maintain, lose, or gain weight.

For example, my maintenance calories are about 2000.

If I want to gain muscle (with exercise): I add 250-500 calories to my daily intake.

If I want to lose fat: I subtract 250-500 calories per day.

*Recommendation: start with the low end, 200-250 calories per day, and adjust over several weeks to dial in what works for you and your body type!

Daily Summary

A 5’11” male at 29 years old weighing 180 lbs:

• Maintenence: ~2000 cal

• Fat loss: < 1800 cal

• Muscle gain: > 2200 cal

Calculate Your Macronutrients

Protein is a key macronutrient that is essential for muscle growth and repair.

Determine how much protein you need to eat by using your body weight (pounds) in grams.

For bodyweight in KG, simply multiply by 2.2.

Again my example, I weigh 180 lbs, so I would need around 180 grams of protein a day.

You’d be okay with 0.8-1.2 grams per lb of BW. Don’t stress about numbers just get close consistently.

Remember there are 3 types of macronutrients:

• Protein

• Carbohydrates

• Fats

Get your protein in and the rest of your daily calories can come from any combination of the other 2.

But I wouldn’t just eat huge amounts of cake and ice cream all day.

Those are great for sanity but I’d limit that to no more than 10% of your food intake if you care about your heart and arteries.

Instead – make your carb and fat choices come from foods that optimize gut health.

Optimizing Energy and Gut Health

For your carb and fat sources, focus on non-inflammatory foods.

Limit sugar and refined carbohydrates to avoid spikes in insulin, which can cause brain fog and fatigue.

Prioritize fiber-rich foods like vegetables, seeds, and certain fruits.

Some of my favorite foods and supplements to take are these:

• Fish oil (omega-3s)

• Psyllium husk (fiber)

• Hemp & chia seeds (fiber)

• High-fiber fruits & veggies

  • Broccoli

  • Spinach

  • Carrots

  • Mushrooms

  • Pears

  • Berries

• Apple Cider Vinegar (with the ‘mother’)

• Greens supplement (with probiotics/prebiotics)

There are tons of benefits for these that I wouldn’t be able to cover in one article but here’s a more in-depth video on why your gut is basically your second brain!

TL;DR

• Pick a goal (weight loss, muscle gain, maintenance)

• Find your maintenance + goal calories

• Find your protein goal (1g per lb of body weight)

• Adopt a non-inflammatory diet

Hope this helps!

As always if you got value out of this, let me know with a reply or DM on Twitter!

How else can I help you?

Want clarity on your personal or professional systems? Book a free strategy call with me!

Or check out any of the valuable resources I use below!

See you next time!

Resources:

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