Ok, this article is going to be a bit of a KICK UP YOUR BUTT type article combined with powerful tips to actually help you stick to your diet and finally get ripped!
FYI: The no:1 reason people don't get results is because they don't stick to their diet or eating plan, so it is very important to learn how to do this no matter how little will power you might have.
But let's start with the KICK UP YOUR BUTT part first . Now this article is for those people who are on a quest or body transformation challenge. They have set themselves a goal to get into amazing shape and do it over a period of time. This article is not about someone who is looking to maintain or just lose a few pounds, that is easy to do. But if you want to achieve something like getting 6 pack abs then you are trying to become part of a very elite group of people. In fact there are probably more multi-millionaires than there are people with 6 pack abs and if you are trying to achieve something that special then you should expect that it won't come easy. It is going to take hard work and dedication.
And that is why I am still left gob smacked when I get someone who comes to me and says My goal is to get really ripped, I am already working my ass off in the gym, but can you provide me with a diet where I can still eat crap each day and get 6 pack abs or I don't like this or that food or I don't like eating this twice a day etc. I still remember the first time I got myself a coach many years ago and he told me to eat cottage cheese and oats for one of my meals and I was like WHAT?? I hate that stuff. And he said Do you hate it more than being FAT? If not, JUST eat it can get on with it. It won't be forever, it is just to help you get the best possible results over the next few months!
And well he was 100% correct.
Now I don't know if you have been in this situation but I have been a few times. When you get to a place in life where you want to take things a step up, whether it be in business or physical related, you will need to do stuff you don't like doing, burn the candle at both ends, suck it up and push through, shut up, stop complaining, and JUST DO IT! Now the great thing is that you only need to do this normally for short periods of time otherwise you will burn out, but for that short period you need to push through. Like I said in the beginning, losing a few pounds or maintaining a great body (which you will do once you are ripped ) is dam easy BUT getting there in the first place, or if you want to do something amazing like dropping 25 pounds in 6 weeks, now that will take some extra effort, extra commitment and extra dedication to your workouts and Especially your diet.
Ok, now having said all that and having got that RANT out of me , lets now look at how to make sticking to your diet for a short period of time, like when you're doing the 6WeekSixPack Challenge for example, a lot easier.
Stick to Similar foods
If you are going to try and eat eggs for breakfast, chicken for lunch, steak for a snack and then finish of with fish for dinner then I hope you are either a full time fitness model, actor or have a live in chef, otherwise it is going to be dam near impossible! You will make your life a lot easier by sticking to the same foods for 2 to 3 days at a time. Not only that but some experts even believe your body will function better if you regularly eat the same foods.
So instead of trying to mix things up too much try and find a good high quality protein, carb and fat and stick to it for at least 2 to 3 days. After that you can change it up again for the next 3 days and so on. AT the very most try and stick to no more than 2 choices per macronutrient. Personally I eat chicken or fish for protein, sweet potatoes or oats for carbs and avocado or omega 3 oils for fats at almost every single meal. I will then mix it up with other stuff every now and then just to keep myself sane during a challenge.
Cook in Bulk
I have mentioned this many times before and that is because IT WORKS. This also ties in perfectly with the first tip in that you can cook enough chicken for 3 days and just eat chicken for 3 days. But if you are going to try and cook your food from scratch every single meal then you are going to find it extremely hard as most of us just don't have 20 to 30 minutes to make every meal.
So what I do is simply cook ( Mostly on the grill ) 20 chicken breasts and around 15 sweet potatoes at one time and then make sure I have some almonds, or omega oils around. This way I always have stuff ready to eat in the fridge and I can put together a meal in minutes.
Have an Emergency stash
This technique has saved my ass ( Or ABS if you want ) a lot of times! Now what I mean by emergency stash is that you should keep foods around the house that you can easily use to create a meal at any time, especially when you have ran out of your normal foods or are in a position where you just don't have time to cook.
The best foods to have for your emergency stash are foods that will last a long time. Stuff like packets of tuna, oats, omega oils etc ( In fact those 3 foods just mentioned can normally last months so it is perfect to buy and just leave it for when you might need it ). Now remember this might not be the healthiest option sometimes but you are only ever going to use this in emergencies so that you don't have to resort to eating crap like crisps just to avoid starvation. For example I would sometimes go months without eating an emergency meal and that is why it's best to get foods that can last a long time like my packets of tuna that can last 8 months, so it's perfect to just have a few of them around whenever I need them for my no:1 emergency meal which is in Tuna & Avo!
Suck it Up and Just do it by Keeping your eye on prize
Listen, I already spoke about this earlier, but when you are working on achieving one insane body you already know it is going to be tough. But what gets you through it is your GOAL. That new ripped body you have always dreamed off should give you a spark of motivation every time you think of it. BUT if your goal is not something you really want then I can tell you right now you are probably going to quit as you will get to a point where you are going to ask yourself WHY AM I DOING THIS, and if you don't have a very powerful reason or answer to that question, you will probably just stop.
But if you goal is something you really want, if you have been yearning for a ripped midsection your whole life then nothing will stop you from achieving that goal. Not a boring meal or hard workout. Not a set back or disappointment. NOPE, you will just get back up if you get knocked down and you will get going again.
The good thing is that there is also a great thing called visualization to help you through this. See, if you get to a point where you just can't eat another boring meal or do another workout and need some ENERGY again, then do this. Close your eyes. See that new body you are working so hard on. See yourself on the beach or at a pool party. See the look on your friends faces as you take off your shirt and they see you are ripped to the bone. See the hottest girl at the party walk up to you and start to talk to you. See yourself having the best time of your life. AND THEN, open your eyes, eat that piece of chicken and broccoli and go do your workout!
Then finally, the one thought that also gets me through a period of extreme dedication like this is that IT IS ONLY TEMPORARY. You are not going to have to be this dedicated forever. Once you get ripped it is very easy to maintain your sexy new body. Now I know some of you might say YEAH RIGHT but the truth is this. When people get ripped and then get out of shape again it is because they completely STOPPED everything after they reached their goal instead of simply continuing to eat healthy and exercise each day and THAT is why they got fat again.
For example, if I calculate my BMR roughly ( your BMR will give you the amount of calories you can eat each day to maintain your current weight , calculate yours HERE ) I get to around 2900 calories. That is as much as 6 BIG MACS. Now I am obviously not going to stuff my face with crap like that as I am also interested in being healthy but it gives you an idea HOW much I could eat and still maintain my current RIPPED body.
So there you go guys! Now you have everything you need to make sure you stick to your diet and push through until you've reached your goal. NO MORE EXCUSES!
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