It's time for another
30-day challenge – I don't want to alarm you, but it rhymes with "Fry it" (thought I'd ease you in). This challenge is a bit unique – I'm not going to ask you to go gluten-free, dairy-free, carb-free, fat-free, caffeine-free, and meat-free. I'm not trying to pick on anyone, but I think the extreme diets have a couple of problems...
They don't last.
It's tough to take on an extreme diet for 30 days, and I admire the willpower of people who do it, but even those who make it usually don't sustain it beyond that month. It's just too hard to translate the extreme into an ongoing lifestyle. Now, in some cases, like a suspected allergy, taking the extreme, cold turkey approach can make perfect sense. You suspect you're sensitive to gluten, you cut it out for 30 days, you feel better (or don't) – great. Beyond those special cases, though, what you really need is a plan you can stick with for the long haul.
They're one-size-fits-all.
I believe that there's plenty wrong with the average American diet, but it's simplistic to think that any one food is to blame or that what's right for you is right for everyone. I suspect I'm sensitive to dairy, and I need to cut back or even go cold turkey for a bit, but other people can probably eat it all day and (except for a load of satured fat) be basically fine. The same is true for gluten, carbs, fats, proteins, and on and on. The extreme approach ignores individuals.
Here's the challenge.
So, if it's NOT extreme, and I'm NOT going to tell you what to do, what kind of diet is this? I warned you it's going to be a bit unusual, but it'll be a real challenge all the same. I want you to do two things: (1) add in the good stuff you know you need more of, and (2) put aside 30 minutes/day for planning.
(1) Add in good stuff.
Most diets are deletion diets – you take out the bad stuff. There are two problems with this approach: (1) it feels like punishment, and (2) you often don't know what to replace the bad stuff with. In the 80s, we all heard about how bad fat was, so we cut it out of our diets. Unfortunately, we cut out all the fats (even good ones), and replaced them with trans-fats and low-quality carbs, which turned out to be just as bad (or even worse).
So, I want you to spend 30 days adding in good things, like vegetables and fruits. For example, while I eat ok (I work from home and cook at home a lot), I'm bad about fruits and veggies. Even counting juice, I probably get 2-3 servings/day. So, over 30 days, I'm going to try to add 3 and get up to 5/day. I'll do it in 10-day chunks, adding 1/day the first 10 days, 2/day the second 10 days, and finally 3/day.
Adding in the good stuff you know you need has the benefit of naturally pushing out some of the bad stuff. You've created the replacement before the deletion, in other words, and it feels less like a punishment. I'm not going to tell you what to add, but odds are pretty good that you know something your diet is sorely lacking. If there's a time you know you're prone to cheating, like your afternoon snack, then focus on adding in something healthy at that trouble point.
(2) It's planning time.
Some diet failures are failures of willpower, no question, but many are also failures of planning. You rush into a new diet, cut out the bad stuff, and you're just left with a hole. You didn't clean out the fridge (it's still filled with bad stuff), you didn't plan a menu to replace the bad stuff, you didn't buy good groceries to replace the bad ones, and on and on.
So, I want you to spend 30 minutes/day just planning – that's 900 minutes – yeah, I think it's that important. Here are a few suggestions:
- Make a meal plan (start with breakfast).
- Make a shopping list.
- Research new recipes.
- Try out new cooking techniques.
- Explore the food of an unfamiliar country.
- Try something you've never tried.
This doesn't have to be a chore – think of it in terms of adding new variety, not cutting back on things you like. This new approach to how you eat can be an adventure.
It's just a start.
Here's the extreme part of the non-extreme undiet – the first 30 days is just the beginning. The challenge is to take a new attitude toward food and figure out what's right for you. The real changes begin later, but I think the first 30 days are critical to developing a plan you can keep. A 30-day crash diet that has you back on Big Gulps and Zingers on day 31 is worthless.
So, who's with me?
Leave a note in the comments if you're in for the challenge. I'll be posting regular Friday updates, and will update my current challenge log when I start tomorrow.
Image licensed from iStockPhoto (Christian Carroll, ©2011)
I'm in. Although the 30 minute planning time will be a stretch. My alternative is joining the Spousal Unit on his P90X fixation, and I just ain't goin' there...
I suck at eating fruits & veggies too. I find eating a bowl of salad (aka bagged lettuce) while I cook dinner every day helps. I don't deny myself anything, but I do find when I fill up on healthy stuff first, I eat less of the rest...even my faves like mac & cheese.
@Kat - I think even 15 minutes/day on this one or 30 minutes every couple of days could make a big difference. My biggest problem is deciding to cut out a bunch of bad things from my diet and then realizing I have nothing left. Planning alternatives is critical - a girl's gotta eat ;)
@Dawn - Honestly, if it weren't for my wife insisting on a vegetable with lunch and dinner, I'm not even sure I'd get up to the 2-3. I'm trying to add a fruit for breakfast and veggie for an afternoon snack. Of course, in my book, salsa and guac are veggies (right?).
I have been eating a tremendous amount of fruits and vegetables the last 2-3 weeks and have lost about 10 pounds. I usually start my day with either a couple eggs of oatmeal. Most of the day I will consume 2-3 pieces of fruit and nipple on some cut up veggies. Dinner time comes and here it generally is a dramatic cut down in QUANTITY but still trying to eat proper foods. The dessert thing later in the evening has been replaced with either more fruit or a fruit smoothie(very filling).
@Bill - That's awesome, man. I've got not excuses (well, no good ones, anyway). I work from home, we buy groceries every week, there's plenty of decent produce here in the city, and our gym is just downstairs. Just gotta get off my butt.
With SMX West next week, your timing is poor...
@Todd - Sorry, man - unless your diet plan is "drink more free beer", that probably isn't the greatest timing :) In all seriousness, though, I see this stuff as ongoing. Start in 2-3 weeks and let us know how it's going. I don't assume everyone's 30 days will start tomorrow.
I'm horrible at cooking - most of my main meals consist of frozen dinners (healthy choice, so at least 1 veggie and fruit). I'll try the challenge but I'm not the greatest cook - most of the time my attempts are inedible and I end up getting fast food because by then I'm starving! :( Maybe my plan should have a back-up plan ... LOL
I've been following a Clean Eating Diet (on week two so far). It's not so much a diet, as a way of eating. Just reading the book gives you really great ideas of what foods work for your body (and more importantly, why). It's really helped me put together a healthy eating plan that incorporates food I already like to eat.
This is it: http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Clean-Diet-Fat-Loss-lasts-Forever/dp/1552100383
There is also a version for men, but obviously I haven't read that one as there isn't much point!
@Laura - In grad school (when I was also a bachelor, not coincidentally), I finally got so tired of Lipton noodles and sauce that I learned to cook a bit. It's really not that bad - just start slow and learn some basic techniques, like how to broil or grill. Master a recipe or technique every week or two, and you'll be cooking for yourself in no time.
@Steph - Sounds interesting - let me know how it works out. I've been reading "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy" which is a nice round-up of the research over the past couple of decades. I like the approaches that sort of educate you and let you build your own plans.
Well, Pete, I disagree on a few points and agree on others. I apologize for the epic size of this comment:
I have found a 30-day so-called "extreme" diet (though I 'd argue it's not extreme whatsoever) can yield long term benefits even if you don't stick to it.
When I graduated high school I weighed 215lbs on a 5'10 frame with next to no muscle (I could barely do 13 push-ups, as I remember specifically).
I put myself on an "extreme" diet with the following rules:
1) Next to zero animal fat (protein only from egg whites, chicken and fish).
2) Six small meals per day comprised of a lean protein and a hearty green vegetable.
3) 1 hour of cardio every day.
In four months I'd lost 50 pounds and felt incredible.
Is that "extreme" by your definition?
My eating habits never went back to the way they were before the diet, because I changed the way I looked at food. I learned. I never put the weight back on (though I admit I gained the occasional 10 pounds over the holidays and spent the spring burning it off).
I just jumped on the Slow-Carb bandwagon, because Tim Ferriss has that way about him, it's hard not to act after you read his stuff. In my opinion, what some might call "extreme" (the exclusion of most sugars (including fruit), "white" carbs, starches, dairy and fatty meats) in this case is anything but.
In America, we've reached a plateau obesity rate of 34% (not overweight, obese) - which is more than double the percentage of 30 years ago. (Though I guess we should celebrate the
plateau part.
Then consider that obesity-related healthcare cost the U.S.
$147 billion last year. That's 80% more than all cancer treatment combined.
That's extreme to me.
I do agree the negative "off limits" over-simplified manner of framing nutrition invites the wrong perspective on the situation as a whole.
But I think the answer is to learn through experimentation, for each of us. And I think a 30 day diet, with no intention to "stick to it forever," can yield long-term benefits so long as we learn from our mistakes and, more importantly, our successes.
ps I love Granny Smith apples dearly and will have a glorious reunion with them in a month (though it'll never be the same between us).
@Mike - Thanks for the comment. I don't think there's one right way, and I definitely respect people who stick to a 30-day plan and do something difficult (it's the whole point of the site, really). I just find that many people do it as a stunt or to impress people - "Hey, look what I can cut out for 30 days" - but then they don't turn it into something long-term.
You obviously did, and that's awesome. I also agree that what most of us are doing now is way off in the wrong direction, so it will take radical change. I guess the "extreme" I object to is mostly short-term with no eye to what it takes to change for a lifetime - and let's face it, a lifetime is what's required.
As a scientist, I also worry a bit about extreme experimentation. So much of food and how we process it is contextual - a part of our broader diet and habits. Too much of the lab research relies on very isolated changes out of context, and I'm not sure our bodies work that way. So, sometimes, I think gradual but deliberate changes are important, so that our bodies can adapt.
That's a valid point - a sudden, drastic change in habit can be dangerous. Even losing fat too quickly can be a problem as most toxins are stored in fat cells (you can end up damaging your kidneys by releasing the toxins into your blood stream too quickly).
The best lifestyle alterations arrive from mindfulness - not rash, emotional reactions. But I do find introducing some rigid structure from time to time - "guiding the elephant" - is a useful way to change habits for the long term.
@Mike - Agreed. If you do a 30-day experiment, even a radical one, thoughtfully and based on research and self-education, that's great. If you go gluten-free because you read it in Oprah's magazine and aren't even sure what gluten is, then I'm not so sure.
I saw a great "fry it" in a book called the 4 hour body. It's called a slow carb diet. I think 30 days is the perfect amount of time to do something to change your life. Not too long, not too short and if it works out, you keep going.
11 Mar – Eva
Ryan, my husband and i tried out the "4 hour body" by Tim Ferris diet for 30 days. and while we lost 'some' weight.. the eating of the same meals daily, lost major influence over our desire to eat healthier.. quickly. by the time we decided we'd had enough, we'd both lost approximately 11 pounds each, but were miserable from depriving our bodies of any and all 'extras'... no caffeine, no carbs, no fruit, no fruit juice, no milk... i'm sorry, but as radical as his diet is, and 'proven' to work. it's too much for anyone to maintain, regularly. especially with children, whose growing bodies NEED milk, fruit, juice, carbs.
since stopping this diet, we've put a lot of thought into how to make healthier choices in our day to day lives. despite any and all claims of what certain foods do to ones body.. the reality is, the only time anything is unhealthy, is if it's in excess.
the key to eating well, is portion control, moderation, and knowing how not to sabotage yourself. if you're eating well to lose weight.. i think the best way, is to.. as Dr.Pete says, increase the 'good' foods in your diet. 5-10 fruits & veggies a day, is good for anyones body. even the healthiest person. removing these things from your diet completely, is setting yourself up for failure, later down the road.
11 Mar – Eva
oh, and i should add.. we found on Tim's "binge" days.. we were going too far overboard. it was like mentally we were trying to make up for what we had deprived ourselves the week prior. the binge days ended up being days wherein we got so sick from stuffing ourselves.. well, let's just say.. it's not a pretty site.
@Eva - Honestly, I think it's like a lot of diets. There's some good in it, some people will get great results, and a lot of people will realize it doesn't work for them long-term.
When I tried to cut out dairy, even though that's probably a good step for me (or at least a good step to try), I found I just had no idea what to fill the gap with, which led to some even less healthy decisions. I'm feeling good about this challenge, because as I add in positive things and make time to plan, some of the bad stuff is just naturally falling out. When I'm done, I should be in a much better position to make a more radical change.
WEll as I stated early in the month -- the diet continues. Another 5 pounds came off this week.If you set your mind to something and stick with it -- you will accomplish your mission.
@Eva I totally hear you. I've been on the slow carb diet for two weeks and am seeing results, feeling great, but it is not easy to eat the same/similar meals every day with few pleasures.
I don't think there's much of a leg to stand on arguing that anybody NEEDS milk or juice. The vitamins in both are good for you, but they can be had elsewhere. There's little evidence that milk actually "does a body good." As for juice - there's a reason fructose is the biggest sweetening agent in most foods. It's sugar. Same effects.
That said, it's hard to argue an apple a day is going to keep you in spanks.
For people who are used to a donut with coffee in the morning, the slow carb diet will be painful. For me, I was eating pretty healthy already, so it's not much of a stretch. Even so, I know I can't hold out and avoid eating lunch with coworkers or grabbing a burger/beer after work with a buddy forever - most of the joys of life center around meals, so sticking to this diet too strictly for too long I think you could argue is, in a direct way, literally removing some of the joy from life.
My plan was never to stick to the diet forever - just ride it out for a while, see the results, learn from them, adjust habits for the long term. I don't think it has to be all or nothing, but for the sake of experimentation I'm willing to live that way for 30 days.