I’m not a fan of the zillions of diet challenges you see all over social media.
I get the reasoning behind them from a marketing perspective, but I’m more a case-by-case, individualization-is-numero-uno kinda guy.
Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates wouldn’t keep junk food in the house when dieting.
So the most focused, driven bodybuilder of all time didn’t want to unnecessarily test his willpower when hungry.
Something to consider before you fill your cart with snacks & sweets “just in case.”
— Bryan Krahn (@BryanKrahn) June 3, 2021
As in, “take a big picture look at your diet & lifestyle and then move YOUR biggest rock, fix YOUR biggest roadblock.”
For some, fixing sleep might be priority one, for others it may be not snacking after dinner or even leaving a life-sucking job or relationship.
A friend recently ended a dysfunctional marriage and got noticeably more jacked. No, divorce isn’t anabolic, but if you are LESS stressed you eat better, perform better, sleep better, and as a result you grow OR lose fat better.
Everything is connected, and thinking you can seal off your emotional and mental health from your physical health is foolish. But what do I know.
But there ARE diet “challenges” you can do that might help in the long run.
One is decreasing the amount of sweetener you consume, such as diet sodas and condiments and sugar-free gum. This can help sharpen your palate and lead you to appreciate plain, natural foods you once disliked.
Not to mention chewing gum all day + sugar alcohols + caffeine is a recipe for a colon bomb.
THAT SAID… There’s a time and a place for testing yourself.
Namely NOT when you’re already dieting and in prolonged deficit.
Because it’s when dieting that these kinda “crutches” become REALLY valuable.
There are already MANY lessons to learn when dieting, such as time management, food prep, tracking, focus, sticking to a plan and delaying gratification.
That’s enough of a challenge, at least until the diet is done.
I think Dorian would agree.