1. Thou shalt control thy portion size.

Of this entire list, this rule is (A) the simplest, (B) the most effective, (C) the hardest to follow, or (D) all of the above… The answer is D. This step is crucial to controlling your weight, and it applies to everything, not just junk food. Even if you’re cooking a reasonably healthy dinner, don’t assume you can just load up your plate because the items are healthy. You want to keep your calorie count down, which means cutting back across the board.

While this rule can be difficult to follow, the benefit is that you don’t need to "outlaw" any foods. You can eat french fries… just limit yourself to a small handful. You can have dessert if you’re out to dinner, but split one item with your friends.

Now, I’m not saying that you can eat as much junk food as you want as long as it’s in small portions. You should still strive to keep things healthy. What I’m saying is that you don’t need to cut out all of the "not so healthy" stuff. If you do that, your diet will fail. Period.

Here are a few quick tips for helping you to control your portions:

  • Create one plate with an appropriate serving of everything you want for your meal, and then put the food away. Don’t sit at your table with all the items in front of you where you can keep taking from them.
  • Same applies for snacks. If you’re going to eat crackers, don’t sit with the entire box. Take out X number of crackers, then put the box away.
  • If you’re feeling really hungry when you’re going to eat a meal, try to take 2/3 of what you feel like taking. You may feel like you need a huge serving because you’re hungry, but you don’t, trust me.
  • Eat slower. This relates particularly to the previous item. By eating slower, your body will have more time to realize that you’ve consumed food and your hunger will diminish (without you eating a ton before it does).

2. Thou shalt eat many small meals, rather than a few large ones.

In addition to controlling portion size, it’s also beneficial to move from 3 main meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) to 5 or 6 smaller ones. This allows your digestive system to maintain a higher degree of efficiency by continuously breaking down and digesting new food, as opposed to trying to deal with 3 large "clumps" of food. This may be difficult depending on your schedule, but try your best. I find that breaking lunch into 3 small meals at 10am, noon, and 2pm works well. Note, make sure you’re dividing up the size of your meals when doing this. You’re not just adding more meals on to what you’re already eating… That’s bad… You’re taking what you currently consume and dividing it up further.

3. Thou shalt consume the bulk of thy calories early in the day.

Consuming the bulk of your calories early in the day will keep you energized and allow your body to process the food you eat. You’ve probably heard that breakfast should be your largest meal — which is decent advice. However, eating a huge breakfast isn’t for everyone. It’s certainly not for me. I usually start my day with a protein shake, and then eat decent sized meals later in the morning and in the early afternoon. The key is tapering down your consumption by late afternoon and avoiding a massive dinner. The later in the day that you eat, the less time your body will have to digest and use that food, which brings me to the next commandment…

4. Thou shalt do little, or no, eating during the 2 hours before bed.

Avoid snacking before bed. You want to give your body time to breakdown and digest what you eat, and as far as I know, you’re body is not very efficient at doing that while you’re sleeping. This may take a little getting used to, and you may have to deal with a little hunger before bed for a week or two before your body adjusts. But once it does, this rule is much easier to follow. Additionally, this will help you to develop an appetite in the morning — which is when you should be eating. If you have to nibble on something, try to go with a small amount of a reasonably healthy food, like some peanuts, or a handful of cheerios.

5. Thou shalt keep heavy drinking to a minimum.

This may or may not be a problem for you. I like going out on weekends, so if you’re like me, try to keep your drinking in check. I’m not going to tell you that you can’t have a few drinks on a Friday night, but try to find a balance or routine that works for you. I personally like to have 1-2 moderately strong cocktails before I head out, then I’ll just "coast" on that and end up having 2 – 3 light beers throughout the rest of the night. I’m not going to pretend that those drinks are good for me, but it’s certainly better than drinking a 12 pack of beer, or having a bunch of random drinks at a bar. Try to find a routine that works for you, both calorie-wise and buzz-wise. Also, do your best to avoid getting really bombed, it’s probably going to happen on rare occasions if you’re young, but it’s seriously bad for you. And last, but not least, stay away from late night taco bell, or other fast food.

6. Thou shalt combat hunger with fruits and vegetables.

If you’re looking for a snack, or something for one of your 5 – 6 daily meals, fruits and vegetables should always be at the top of your list. You can cut down your calories significantly by replacing meals, or other junk food, with them. No, it doesn’t have to be broccoli or spinach or something like that. Look for things that you like. On the fruit side, melon is great. I’m a big fan of watermelon. Does it have some sugar in it? Sure. But it’s almost always going to be significantly better than chips, pretzels, or other snack items. On the vegetable side, try celery, carrots or cucumbers.

7. Thou shalt drink lots of water.

This one is simple. Not only does drinking water prevent you from drinking juice or other beverages with calories in them, it helps your body with various things, like digestion and keeping your skin moist. If you’re not drinking water regularly throughout the day, you should be. Period. Having a glass of juice, or a cup of coffee or tea, here and there is fine, but your "go to" drink should really be water. Keep a pitcher of it in the fridge.

8. Thou shalt exercise at least 3 times per week for 30 minutes or more.

If this seems like a lot to you, there’s something wrong. Everyone should be able to dedicate at least 90 minutes a week to exercising. Claiming otherwise is a cop out. If you’re strapped for time, you can try breaking it down into 20 minutes, 4 – 5 times per week, but don’t go under 20 minutes. You need to spend enough time doing something to actually get your heart rate up. Yes, you need to get your heart rate up, so if you’re going to be doing something like lifting weights, instead of cycling, go for less weight and a higher number of reps. For example, with respect to burning calories, doing 4 x 20 presses with 50lbs is going to be significantly better than doing 3 x 8 presses with 80lbs. If you’re going to be cycling, running or using an elliptical, try to push yourself, specifically for the last 10 minutes — this is really where it counts. If you’re not sweating at the end of your workout, then you’re not pushing yourself enough.

9. Thou shalt vary thy workouts.

This is an important factor in fitness, and it’s often overlooked. Varying your workouts is important for a number of reasons. First, it allows you to work different muscle groups, as well as different aspects of your fitness: strength, speed, stamina, explosiveness. Second, it prevents your body from adjusting to a single routine. Think of it like this… Suppose you’re a guitar player. How good are you going to be if all you practice is one song? You might be great at that song, but overall, you’re not going to be nearly as good as you would be if you practiced many. A similar principle applies to working out. Will hopping on the same bike workout every other day burn calories? Yes. Will it give you the same level of conditioning, toning, and calorie burning that a mix of workouts will? Probably not, so keep this principle in mind when designing your workouts:

  • Decent – Exercise bike on level X for 30mins, 3x per week
  • Better – Exercise bike on a random program for 30 mins, 3x per week
  • Best – Exercise bike on Monday, weights on Wednesday, elliptical on Friday, for 30 mins each

10. Thou shalt focus on consistency, not intensity.

Slow and steady wins the race! Never is that more true than when dealing with weight loss. Your chances of losing weight and improving your health are much greater if you make a few moderate changes to your lifestyle and stick to them indefinitely. I know you want to see the results now, but if you decide one day that you’re going to cut out all junk food, count calories, and go to the gym 5x a week, you’re not going to last… you’re not… There’s probably 1 person in every 500 who can keep up a lifestyle like that, and guess what, they’re already skinny and in shape… ie – it’s not you. So make some moderate changes, stick to them, and you will see results.

 

And now of course the disclaimer. I am not a doctor, nor do I have any "official" evidence demonstrating that the above items will, in fact, help you to control your weight and improve your health — however, it is my opinion that they will. These suggestions may not be beneficial to everyone in all cases. You should consult your doctor before making any drastic changes in your diet or exercise habits.