The Warrior Diet: fatloss for busy people.
In today`s society, most of us lead extraordinarily busy and hectic lives, so the idea of trying to remember what to eat or not eat at exactly what time is a prospect that often turns off people to dieting. I am definitely in the same boat, with classes at odd times during the school year, and a full and part time job on my breaks so I hate having to worry about what my next meal is going to be.
Enter the Warrior diet!
The basic premise of this diet is that you only eat one big meal per day and nothing else, except maybe a piece of fruit in the morning. This is an incredibly flexible diet that almost anyone can fit into their schedule. Most people end up eating their large meal at either lunch or dinner, but you can eat whenever you want to. I love eating like this during especially busy days since I actually feel more energetic during the day without food in my stomach, and then I`m ready for a big meal
Don`t worry about your metabolism slowing down.
I think many people tend to get caught up in the idea of eating multiple meals per day as “healthy”. This is a mainstream media and bodybuilding myth perpetuated by supplement companies who want nothing more than you eating protein shakes and popping pills six times a day. Now I`m not saying that eating 6 meals per day is not effective, I just think most people tend to eat too much at these smaller meals, and it requires a lot of discipline and planning to be effective. If anything, your body will go into overdrive to maintain your lean body mass, while living off of your fat stores during the period you aren’t eating. You lose more fat, your body works better: a win-win situation!
Elite military units do it: You can too
A good example is the US Army Ranger School. These guys are forced to go days at a time eating little to nothing, then come back and essentially “make up” their calorie deficit. Now I admit this isn’t the greatest example since they actually lose muscle mass during their training, but that is because they aren’t doing any heavy resistance training (i.e. weights), and they are in an extreme survival scenario eating foods with low protein and vitamin content. You and I don`t have that problem, so don`t worry about it.
Why eating all your calories in one meal is actually healthy
Think about it. Our caveman ancestors almost certainly didn t have access to food 24/7, eating snacks every couple of hours “To keep their metabolism up”. I really don`t think it`s healthy to have food constantly in your stomach. If your gut, liver and stomach are constantly working to process food, when are they going to rest? It seems very natural to have one big meal after a period of fasting. Now I wouldn t recommend eating like this every single day, but maybe 3-5 times a week is definitely doable.
A caveat before you try this
Be careful not to overeat while on the Warrior diet. Eating all your calories in one meal can be a lot of fun and you can be a little less strict on the types of foods you eat. However, I would definitely try to fill up on veggies and lean meats as the base of the meal first, and then move on to starches or high carb foods like bread or potatoes. This will help you keep calories in check and insure you get an adequate amount of protein.