I’m sure you’ve seen or read about the Military Diet on Pinterest, but the reality of this “diet” is not what you’d think…
Actors are highly pressured to remain physically fit, (trust me… the camera really does add ten pounds). In an age where fad diets and diet pills are so easily accessible and said to be so effective it can be tempting to try them. After all, how much harm could they do? The answer: a lot. One of my friends and I decided to try the Military diet not too long ago. If you don’t know the deal with that, there is a three day diet plan set out for you and you have to stick to it (exactly, no modifications). The first day not that hard, and I wasn’t going hungry between meals. However each day got harder and harder. The food I was eating was so plain and boring, and not very tasty. When I finished the three days, the only result was that my stomach was slightly flatter (because I wasn’t full of carbs most likely). I didn’t lose any weight and I certainly didn’t gain any more self-control. In fact, I fell into a spiral binge afterwards of unhealthy food. (Telling myself that “I would start another fad diet tomorrow” every day). But that scared me into eating bad because I would never be able to have it again… a dangerous cycle. In all honesty, the Military diet did much more harm than good and pushed me back ten steps. I would guilt myself for eating bad and I didn’t even enjoy it! I learned that healthy eating and nutrition is what is important rather than a crash diet. Don’t get me wrong I still love junk food sometimes, but I’ve actually begun to enjoy it less!
7 Helpful tips for eating healthier:
-Drink lots of water! Often times you’re not even hungry, you are just dehydrated!
-For a small yet filling snack, (especially when you’re craving sweets) try a handful of almonds or roasted peanuts
-Getting lean means eating lots of greens! Get as many veggies as you can
-properly proportion your food, (a serving of meat is about three ounces, that’s pretty small)
– MINIMIZE CARBS (bread, pasta, rice. Etc.) they are great pre-work out and even just as a staple but most people consume way too many
-Eat slowly; when you shovel it all down your throat you don’t leave your body time to tell you when it is no longer hungry… which leads me to my last tip
-Stop eating when you are no longer hungry. A lot of people eat out of boredom or stuff their face until they go into a food induced coma (been there, done that.. can you say Thanksgiving 2011?) and although you should eat something every two to three hours to keep your metabolism high, that doesn’t mean to eat a meal… some trail mix, grapes, or even a cheese stick will do just to give you a boost.
As far as the gym goes, I’ve been going since I was 16. I push myself but not hard enough. I should go more often, do more when I’m there, work harder to make progress. But I always find myself with a lack of motivation. I fall off the “gym horse” quite easily. Trust me, when I finally figure that out, you’ll be the first ones to know.
thelifeofahybrid 