The Key to Staying Lean

Many of you will eventually get lean, but few will maintain the weight. Most will unintentionally get fluffy again, not due to seasonal bulking or cutting. This is accidental, fueled by faulty habits. Listen, if you actually want to stay lean…if you want cuts year-round or at least slowly bulk, the diet change must be permanent. In fact, the word diet is probably not the best way to approach things since it implies something temporary. Short term, that which will not be maintained for long periods of time which is essentially failure. You see, the real key to staying lean is sustainability.

If you can’t see yourself doing this in five-ten years from now, chances are there will be a rebound effect. Either by a small or a very large amount, and we see this all the time with yo-yo dieters or people who enjoy following different fads. They go from one extreme to the next, and wonder why results are sub-par. This is also happening to guys who get shredded or decently lean. They think they’re all good because they’ve crossed the finish line, not understanding that this isn’t permanent unless you maintain those precise habits which got you lean in the first place. Just think about it for a second, if when you were fluffer you had three cheat meals a week do you honestly think that can continue as a lean person? No, maybe you have to drop it to once a week now. Or if you’re doing the frequent cheat meals you really have to pay attention to those calories and employ IIFYM/OMAD techniques. What about all the drinking you may have done in the past? Man, you have to seriously monitor your intake. That is, true moderation aka once in a blue moon. You can’t just do whatever you want because you got the cuts, otherwise they’ll be fatty cuts real soon. Consider this, if you’ve doing cardio every single day for months and suddenly just drop it, what will happen? Lower activity level, therefore a much lower TDEE which likely means you’ll be in a caloric surplus if following the same natural appetite. So you regain the weight!

How do you not fall into this trap? It’s simple, don’t get too comfortable when things are going great. When you want that extra slice of pizza, think twice because it’s a costly mistake. Every time you indulge in these behaviors you strengthen the neural pathways associated with the fatter version of yourself. You’re bringing it back to life, like an alcoholic getting back into it. They start relapsing and next thing you know they’re full blown addicts again. You may think this is an extreme example, but it’s definitely comparable to most dieters since they tend to get fat afterwards. Constantly going out and engaging in behaviors that a healthy person would not do isn’t doing you any favors. Now I’m not telling you to be a hermit. I’m not saying you can’t enjoy your life, and obviously cheat meals are fine. All I’m stressing is that the habits which initially got you lean must be sustained over a long period of time otherwise you will go backwards. It’s that simple, diets fail because they’re not sustainable! How come it’s been over a year and I’m still in the 160s? Why did I not go back to Bear Mode? Easy, it’s due to no longer living that lifestyle. The daily habits have been modified which keep me lean without difficulties. I do a lot more cardio, eat extremely clean, and am very mindful of long-term health.  When shopping for food I don’t think about all the junk that’s in the aisles. I only want whole foods to maximize my longevity and performance in the gym. And I’ll tell you this, every time you do indulge in one of these feasts (unhealthy ones that is) you instantly feel it. You can feel the inflammation, and the bloat is noticeable. It’s not fun when you’re actually living a fit lifestyle so the short-term gratification doesn’t become worth it.

Now maybe not every strategy you’ll be able to do, and that’s okay. It’s all about the overall picture. You’ve educated yourself, you know what your caloric needs are, and now you’re going to stay within those boundaries. You’ll keep yourself accountable and not allow yourself to get lazy. You won’t slip out these healthy habits just because you can for that moment. Once arrogance sets in, the irrational belief that you can get away with bad habits will manifest. This may not affect you the first few times, but over time you’ll bring back the old world and suffer the consequences. Prevent this from happening in the first place, you know what must be done. At any rate, I hope this article was helpful. Keep in mind, for those who are intentionally trying to bulk this message is not for you. Or for guys who just want to try being shredded as an experiment, no problem at least you know it’s a phase. That said, I only want you to be honest with yourself, rather than saying you didn’t want to maintain a lean state. Have the discipline to be accountable and consistent if this is what you truly desire. I know it’s tough at times, but we must stay on our grind. It’s all about sustainability, so find out what that is for you and the weight will not return.