The 50/50 Diet

Despite what infomercials or Instagram advertisements claim, losing weight, leaning out, or building muscle is NOT an easy process. There are a ton of barriers such as confusion, time, prepping, and patience, which hardly anyone has nowadays.

The ironic part about all those limitations is the fact if you get past them, the end result leaves you feeling more confident, energetic, healthier, and optimistic than before. Plus, you get the added bonuses of potentially living longer, sleeping better, and having a heightened sense of self worth. The benefits certainly do outweigh any of the hardships you face along the way, and there is literally ZERO argument against that. No one wants to feel lethargic, heavy, sad, depressed, or have health problems now or in their future. Yet unfortunately, the average person would rather turn to food for pleasure and party every weekend than give 100% commitment to their health. (Priorities, right?)

Now, what about the people who have a genuine desire to commit to a healthier lifestyle yet have no success? You know the type; this is the type of person who seems to ALWAYS be on a diet, yet never looks any leaner.

Well, this person is likely following what I call the “50/50 Diet”, and it may be exactly what you have been doing your whole life, too.

How the 50/50 Diet Works:

You follow a meal plan but don’t weigh out your food as stated. Instead, you eyeball the measurements since you do not make the time or have the patience to do it right. You follow all your meals (sometimes), occasionally missing a few or adding some extra bites here and there. When you go out with your friends, you always have to remind them that you are trying to better yourself and lose weight. So—to your anguish— you cannot join in on their late night food and drink binges. You are now likely feeling left out and frustrated. When you go out for dinner (more often than you should), you always pick the “healthiest” menu option and watch your friends with envy ordering whatever they want. When everyone drinks or goes out for dessert, you are reluctant to go but go anyway and pick the “lightest” option available.

How the 50/50 Diet Leaves You:

To sum it up, you are 50% into your meal plan and 50% indulging with friends and family. After doing this weird 50/50 dance between both lifestyles—neither committing 100% to your meal plan or 100% to your cravings—you are left feeling frustrated. More likely then not, you are not seeing the results from your meal plan since you are taking a half-assed approach. But you are also not indulging like you want to be with your friends, doing that half ass as well. Half the time you are kind of strict, half the time you are kind of teasing your cravings. You are not happy because you are not seeing results, but also not happy because you are not eating junk or partying. I bring you the 50/50 diet, ladies n’ gents.

To be frank, you have to go in 100% for a minimum of 12 weeks (3 months) if you want to VISUALLY see and feel a difference. Don’t believe me? Ask yourself this: How many successful things in society are done half-assed? How many businesses exist that were only 50% committed to? None. You only see those with 100% commitment; the 50% ones failed a long time ago. When you have a child, do you only give 50% of your effort into raising it? No, because doing so would mean it could grow up to be a non-contributing member to society. What about the house you live in? Probably not a 50% effort or else it wouldn’t be standing very well. Your car? It would probably be broken down and in the dump if 50% effort went into building it. Bottom line: if you want something to work and you want to be successful, then 100% commitment is the only way to go. Your diet or meal plan is NO exception. No excuses, no ways around it. Don’t let an infomercial or someone who has not been through the actual process tell you any differently.

This is not being crazy strict; this is being realistic. I’m not telling you what you want to hear; I’m telling you what works. In summary, the 50/50 diet is not a real diet. You are only prolonging the process, becoming more frustrated by the day, and likely not enjoying any minute of it. You will never see the results you truly want, and you are also never indulging with your friends and family. Either suck it up, do the work, and get the results, or suck it in and party your face off. If anyone tells you differently, they are likely not speaking from experience and are probably not happy with themselves either. You don’t have to join them in their boat if you don’t want to be there. Try something you have never done before and give it 100% of your effort, miracles usually happen this way.

Don’t forget to stay in touch! Comment below and let me know what you are thinking. Have these exercise tips helped you enhance your diet and workout plan? #DollTalk