Diet Rules to Follow

Men's Health has a nice bit on the "Rules of the Ripped". I have condensed them here for easy reference but you should read the article for in depth explanations.

I'm proud to say that I've actually been doing most of this on my own for the past few months and it has been working. It mentions very interesting research about diet soda. I've recently started drinking more diet Coke. Perhaps I'll look for a replacement (unsweetened tea).

• Rule 1 "I Will Eat Protein with Every Meal and Every Snack"
• Rule 2  "I Will Never Eat the World's Worst Breakfast" (no breakfast)
• Rule 3 "I Will Eat Before and After Exercise"
• Rule 4  "I Will Eat It If It Grows on a Tree"
• Rule 5 "I Will Eat the Salad Even If It Makes Me Feel Girly"
• Rule 6  "I Will Not Drink Sugar Water"
• Rule 7 "I Will Follow the Rules of the Ripped 80 Percent of the Time" 

A Caveat: You'd think the easiest way to cut out sugar water calories would be to switch to diet sodas and teas. And yes, that will cut calories. But for reasons we don't fully grasp, diet sodas actually increase your risk of weight gain. Research shows that people who drink one to two cans of regular soda per day increase their risk of becoming overweight or obese by nearly 33 percent. But replace those regular sodas with diet sodas and the risk rises: diet drinkers are 65 percent are more likely to become overweight, and 41 percent more likely to become obese. Several studies have hinted at why this is. In 2009, researchers found that artificial sweeteners may interfere with your brain's satisfaction signals, essentially making you crave more food than you need. And even more recent research by scientists in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University suggests that artificial sweeteners may slow metabolism—meaning the more diet soda you drink, the fewer calories you burn during the day.