I’ve owned a healthy restaurant for 17 years. It started out as a healthy Mexican place and after 5 years it had a change into what is now FRESHJUNKIE, a healthy salads and wraps restaurant. During this 17 year long period I also got more and more into triathlon. While both eating at my store and triathlon will help you lose some weight. If I had to choose one for you. It would be eating right. 

There has never been a FRESHJUNKIE diet and what will follow won’t be as much of diet but more of a “philosophy of eating”. If you want to lose weight and keep it off. This will work. Every single time. 

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. 

Before we dig in. Let me preface with a few things.

First, The actual idea is to have a balanced life. But not a first. You’ve already proven you can’t have nice things and just “do moderation” so we will start with some rigidity to build the habit.  Second, you are going to have various levels of change and before you say “I can’t do this”. Please read THIS. Three, while you don’t have to exercise, it’s as good a time as any to start. You don’t have to run or do triathlon. Just pick something to do 3-4 times a week that you can be consistent with. Finally, everything on the plan is found where you normally shop. Not on the same rows. Prepare to learn to shop correctly. 

Prepare to be blown away. 

The Rules 

1. Pick a duration. I recommend somewhere around a month. Commit to following the plan for this amount of time. Don’t give in to “well, it’s spring break so, I’ll start after.”  You haven’t and you won’t. You can go as little as 3 weeks but I think that’s the minimum for any prolonged success. 

2. Get a sharpie and post it notes. You’ll need it. 

3. Eliminate the following 4 things from your diet for your duration.  

Fried food 
Fast food
Soft drinks
Alcohol

4. Eat less of the following. 
Dairy
Simple carbs (mostly bread) 

5. Increase vegetable intake. This is where I could say “eat at FRESHJUNKIE” every meal. But this isn’t an ad. We are healthy, fast and convenient and offer a salad subscription that shows up every Monday and takes lunch out of the equation, but over the next couple of posts I’ll share simple recipes based off of what we do. 

6. This should probably be #1, but PLAN, PLAN, PLAN. The food that is easily accessible and readily available is garbage. Don’t be fooled by advertising. Just because Chick Fil A has great service and is closed on Sundays doesn’t make waffle fries good for your ass. Period. 

7. Tweaks. Notice I didn’t say “no more sugar in your coffee” or “all carbs are bad” or “you have to weigh everything”?  Yes you can do that. But if you start with REASONABLY sized portions following the above rules. You will lose weight. What’s reasonable?  Get a 10 in plate. On 1/4 of it place protein. 1/4 with carbs and the last half with veggies. 

8. Now get your sharpie and post it notes out and write yourself notes to remind you to not do or to do certain things I once helped a friend lose 20lbs by making him write “NO FAST FOOD TODAY!” on notes and put them all over the house. Whatever you need plus uplifting shit too. It works

I haven’t said you can’t have butter. But let’s all please look at eating through the honesty glasses. If you’re adding more than a pat of butter. You know it’s probably too much. 

There’s a book I read some time ago called In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. His diet “plan” can be surmised in 8 words. 

“Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” It works. 

Finally, ask questions in the comments of this post or wherever you found it (Facebook, Instagram, etc.)

I’ll keep posting every couple of weeks with some recipes and follow up.

And yes, it’s going to seem like I am ruining everything. But that’s what you ordered. 

#hugsandhi5s