Photo: Prevention.com
This morning's Rachael Ray show featured another entry into the world of pre-packaged diet plans. The 400 Calorie Fix, like many fad diets, promises that you can "lose up to 11 pounds in two weeks!". Of course, you can do this while eating whatever you want, avoiding exercise, and generally not doing anything at all.
The basic premise of the diet is this: eat four small meals a day, each one totaling about 400 calories, or about 1600 calories a day. This is caloric restriction at it's finest, which, if you are only concerned about numbers on a scale, will work as a method of weight loss.
But if you're a practicing martial artist, it's an absolutely terrible diet.
First of all, despite what the diet suggests, one size does not fit all. Depending on your age, height, weight, and activity level, 1600 calories a day may be too much (unlikely) or frighteningly little. Bear in mind that your body needs calories and nutrition to sustain activity, and getting too few calories can be just as dangerous as getting too many.
Second, while the diet addresses caloric intake, it doesn't address the quality of those calories. There is a world of difference between 500 calories of chicken and 500 calories of Milky Way Bars. While you could theoretically survive on the Milky Way diet from a caloric perspective, you'll be doing some serious damage to your body in the process.
Finally, it's worth noting that dropping a 11 pounds in two weeks is, frankly, not a terribly impressive. feat. Combat athletes do this all the time--it's called cutting weight, and it's one of the most pervasive and unhealthy practices in combat sport. Through a combination of sudden changes in diet, forced dehydration, and other unpleasantness, a practiced combat athlete can drop as many as twenty pounds in a single week! That kind of weight loss is neither sustainable nor healthy, but it is possible.
Serious students of the martial arts quickly learn that there are no short cuts to success. Similarly, true changes in body composition cannot be achieved overnight. If you want to change your body, skip the fad diets, and just work hard at it. It will take longer, but in the end, it will be worth it.
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