all-protein-diet

Hey Alfonso,

I’ve struggled with my weight for 10 years now, really since I had my son. I’ve tried every diet, every workout and although I’ve lost weight and come close to my goal once before, I’ve always gained it back. I’m 42 now and I feel like I’m on borrowed time before it becomes impossible to shed the weight.

I just started working out with a trainer and my gym and he told me about a diet he’s used before. He said I can eat as much protein as I want, along with anything green, except peas. Have you heard of this?

He told me I can’t get fat on this kind of diet and that I’ll lose all the weight I want. How can that be? I’m totally confused. I’ve always counted my calories and thought in order to lose weight, you had to eat less than you took in.

Please help me! I don’t want to get it wrong again.

Thanks

Tisha

Hi Tisha,

Okay, first things first. To kick off I have to ask for how long you’ve tried all these new programs for? Too often I see people failing not because of a bad plan, but because they didn’t stick with it long enough and jumped onto another regimen almost right away. I always say you need to give a new plan, whether it be exercise or diet, at least a month to acclimate, and then work. That’s unless of course you’re gaining weight, than obviously stop right away and regroup.

But let’s get right into what your new trainer has to say and his diet suggestion. He’s right, in a way. Let me explain. I met a guy back in 1990 that gave me the same exact diet! And yes it works, for a few reasons. For one, you simply aren’t eating any starches – I mean NONE. So it keeps you in low blood sugar (great for fat burn), supplies green veggies with next to no calories that are super inefficient at supplying fuel, plus, they generally have a lot of fiber so you feel fuller longer. Also, you’ll be eating a lot of chicken, fish, lean red meat, turkey, etc. Again, these foods keep blood sugar low and breakdown slower than typical carbohydrates, so they too will promote fat burn. And lastly, while it sounds like you’d be eating thousands of calories per day, the truth is that one of this diet’s side effects is a huge drop in appetite. I can tell you from personal experience, after the first few days you almost have to force yourself to eat. You’re simply just not hungry. So in the long run, you end up being in a calorie deficit after all. In fact, you’ll have to be sure you eat enough!

With all that said though, I wouldn’t recommend this diet to you unless you can absolutely follow it to a tee, because once you cheat, you throw the whole thing off. The success of this diet depends on absolutely strict adherence. The other aspect is what I call the back to real life transition. Let’s face it, you can’t eat this way your entire life, in fact most diets people undertake are totally unrealistic, and although they lose weight, it all comes back. Why? Because they transition off the eating plan horribly.

You can’t simply stop eating one way, and then start another the next day. Usually, people eat more coming off a plan, and that’s a sure fire way to blow it. What you need to do to ensure success is SLOWLY transition off of a plan, in this case one without starches and typical carbohydrates, to one that has a bit more traditional food. Your body needs a chance to adjust and acclimate to different foods and nutrients. So as an example, the first week you may add just 100 calories of potatoes, the second week, maybe add another 100 in the form of rice, the third week add 100 from fruit, and the fourth week up the ante to 400 calories from “normal” carbs and sugars per day. Get it? Allow your body to acclimate.

So Tisha, try the plan if you want. It can be a useful tool for you to lose some unwanted weight. But remember, if you use it, stick to it. The first few days are torture, but then it becomes smooth sailing. It does provide a bit of leeway in the calorie department, but it’s tough. So the question is – how bad do you want it?


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