Friday, April 20, 2012

Diet fuel - What keeps my motor running while cutting?

When I'm cutting, one thing is important, and that's sticking to the dietary plan. That means eating what I'm supposed to eat, and not necessarily always what I want to eat. But, there are still ways to cheat on your diet without suffering severe consequences. How do I do it? By incorporating drinks, beverages, candy and fruit that are low in calories, or (preferably) containing no calories.


So, here's a list of  the things I use on a regular basis. What's in common for each and every item is that they're NOT affecting my results because A. they contain no calories, or B. they contain very little calories, or C. they are being consumed in a very low quantity.




The general idea here is to find a beverage that holds little to zero calories. Caffeine in itself seems to do well with suppressing hunger, and I personally tend to get a satisfying feeling when the beverages contain caffeine, are carbonated and/or contain artificial sweeteners - preferably all at the same time. 

Preferred drinks:
  • Coffee - Mostly used during the morning. I tend to avoid it prior to bed.
  • Battery Sugarfree - A high-caffeine energy drink.
  • Powerking Sugarfree - Another high-caffeine energy drink.
  • Coca-Cola Zero/Light - Needs no explanation.
  • FUN Light - Swedish word for this type of beverage is "Saft". Other than simply mixing it with water and drinking it, I also mix this down with my Quark during evening snacks.
  • Ice Water/Mineral water - I drink a lot of water each day. It satisfies me to a certain point, then I tend to crave something sweetened or carbonated.



The idea here is to only have candy that lasts for a long time, and, that is small in its size. Therefore it shouldn't be candy that easily can be chewed. It's all about giving myself something I want, in a small portion - with little calories - in order to satisfy myself for the time being. Any candy that's being processed for an extensive period of time is preferred, as it keeps me satisfied longer. Therefore, hard candy, such as Tyrkisk peber is awesome!

Preferred candy:
  • Turkish pepper (Tyrkisk Peber) - Hard surfaced candy with a salty powder inside. Fits perfectly with my salty liquorice needs.
  • Läkerol - Also liquorice in various forms. Tend to carry a bag of these (Giants version) in my pocket wherever I go.



The same idea that goes into candy goes into fruits as well. Smaller fruits are preferred in order for me to just get the psychological benefit of getting to eat something (without me adding too many calories). I always pick the tinier apples as well as the smaller oranges in order to keep the calories low. If there aren't any smaller ones, I tend to divide them and eat them as halves instead.

Preferred fruit:



Unlike the other items in this post these are not something I snack on in-between meals. I use these as fillers in my bigger meals. They are especially important the further I get into my diet, where my meals tend to get smaller and smaller in their actual size. The idea is to choose fiber rich vegetables in order to prolong the feeling of satisfaction after I've eaten my meal. I don't really concern myself with counting calories here, even though I have added the amount of calories into my dietary plan.

Preferred vegetables:



This was a short list of my various cheat items that I incorporate in my daily dieting. There's no magic about the them, it's simple a matter of eating a moderate amount, or eating things that contain no calories. Some might satisfy your needs, some may not - it's all individual. Hopefully you found something worth looking in to. The items are not fancy or unusual in any way. It's the thought behind them, and how we use them, that puts them to good use.


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