The Endless Diet Chase (And Some Fundamental Principles)
From Director of Health Alex Maples
The Endless Diet Chase
Over the last decade I’ve searched high and low for the “perfect” diet. From strict veganism to eating like a carnivore and many things in between. Trying to find something that would finally make keeping the weight off easy. I failed time and time again. Each time I tried one of these diets, with all of their specific rules and their good food/bad food paradigms, I would have success at first. But then, I’d ultimately find a way to regress back to my old ways. So why did this pattern continue even through these different approaches?
All diets work the same way. They restrict your options with the intent of limiting the amount of calories you consume. For some people this can work really well. For others, like myself, it works for a while. Until we figure out how to circumvent the system.
The Vegetarian High
The first diet I identified with was vegetarianism. It spoke to my young, idealistic self. “I can eat in a way that creates less suffering in the world? Plus all these crunchy chicks think it’s cool? I’m in!” This was the diet that helped me drop from 350 pounds down to 185. Pretty incredible results right? Well, yeah, but it’s worth mentioning that during this time I went from being unable to jog for more than 10 seconds at a time to competing in triathlons and spending 20 hours a week either running, swimming, or biking. With that level of activity, I likely would have lost weight with any reasonable dietary approach.
Eventually my body rebelled, I developed severe overuse injuries- tendonitis in both Achilles and elbows. Looking back, it was my body’s way of shutting me down, because I was pushing it too hard and not fueling it appropriately. This is not to say that vegetarian diets are bad, or that you shouldn’t compete in endurance sports. Instead, I was being dumb about how I was choosing to go about it.
The thing is, I was just following the rules of the vegetarian diet: no meat. That left everything else on the table and, seeing as I was burning an absurd amount of calories from all of the activity I was doing (and I spent so much time training I didn’t have time to eat all that often), I lost weight – a lot of it.
The Protein Awakening
Even though I had success, my approach was fundamentally flawed. I would ride my bike 10 miles to a friend’s house for a party, drink a bunch of beer, and then ride back, stopping at a gas station for a couple of Clif bars on the way home. I never even thought about protein. No wonder my joints started to wear out.
I ate eggs and beans for breakfast and dinner so I figured that would cover my bases. If I had to guess, I would bet I was only eating somewhere between 50–70 grams of protein a day as a 185 pound man with a huge training load. If I were coaching someone with that profile today, I would tell them to eat at least 140 grams of protein – preferably more.
When the injuries started piling up, my mileage plummeted. I didn’t have any other dietary tools, so I ballooned back up to 220+. Panicked after watching my hard work unravel, I knew I had to do something. A friend of mine recommended a podcast, The Fat Burning Man, which in turn led me to Mark Sisson and the primal blueprint.
The Paleo Pivot
That’s right folks, I went from being a vegetarian, eating almost nothing but carbs, to a full-on paleo/keto diet. Pretty much a 180. And you know what? It worked. I dropped back down to 200 pounds and started feeling better. I ate pounds of meat and giant salads. I also swapped out some of the mileage for kettlebell training and found that, despite being 15 pounds heavier than when I was full bore into endurance training, I was happier with how I looked and felt better because I had some muscle on my frame.
This approach served me initially, but then I started gaining weight back – again. It happened slowly, but over a couple of years I gained 20 pounds. I was still lifting weights, so some of it was muscle, and I was still a far cry from 350. But it was a slow creep that was worrying me, particularly because I didn’t understand how or why it was happening. I was only eating “clean” food. How could I still be struggling with my weight?
The “Clean Food” Trap
The diet gurus I followed insisted calories were irrelevant. Dave Asprey said things like “Your body is a chemistry set, not a calculator.” Gary Taubes famously promoted “Good Calories, Bad Calories.” Jason Fung said “When you eat and what you eat matters more than how much you eat.”
While food quality matters and building a diet on unprocessed natural foods is wise, the claim that “calories don’t matter” is fundamentally misguided.
Being young and dumb, I fell hook, line, and sinker. Everything I ate was “clean,” but I would gorge myself on these foods and then wonder why I would still not be able to keep off those last 20 pounds. Even when I went full bore on intermittent fasting, priding myself on how small of an eating window I could stick to.
For the record, I eventually compressed my eating to daily 2 hour “feasts” (more accurately, binges), felt like crap everyday, but was propped up by stress hormones that created the promised mental clarity. Meanwhile, I wondered why my physique and my health deteriorated when I was so disciplined about eating clean foods once a day. In reality, I was pounding fatty meats, mixed nuts, kale drenched in bacon fat, and dark chocolate to the point of feeling like I was going to explode every night and then starving myself for most of the next day, every day.
The Social Cost of Diet Extremism
Beyond physical impacts, my dietary zealotry affected relationships. I brought my own food to family gatherings and refused to eat anything they prepared because it wasn't organic, contained preservatives, or (horror of horrors) included seed oils. The result? I alienated my family, making them feel judged and shamed because I, "Mr. High and Mighty," was doing everything "right." My food issues became entangled with a broader pattern of arrogance, one I'm still working to overcome.
The Training Misadventure
My training approach during this period was equally misguided. The same "experts" convinced me to focus exclusively on "functional" training with kettlebells, clubs, and sandbags. I believed bench pressing would destroy my body and that exercises became more effective when performed in unstable positions because they would "recruit maximum muscle fibers." (Spoiler: they don't.)
I honestly believed that any exercise was better if you figured out a way to do it on a bosu ball. That anybody doing curls was a vain idiot that didn’t understand how the body really worked. That every session had to be different because of “muscle confusion.” Meanwhile, I was swinging weights around with no thought as to what muscle I was training or any method to see if I was making progress. All the while pulverizing my joints in the process.
And if HIIT training was supposedly the fat-loss holy grail, wouldn't it work even better after an 18-hour fast? So I'd fast as long as possible, train intensely, then gorge myself on "clean food" once daily—convinced I was optimizing every variable. Yet somehow, I remained overweight.
The Fundamental Principles I Finally Discovered
My approach to nutrition and training has transformed over recent years. By setting aside rigid dogma and focusing on evidence-based principles, I've achieved better results with less restriction. Instead of chasing dietary perfection, I now follow these principles:
1. Calorie Awareness Matters
Looking back, I see that despite all my dietary experiments, I never addressed the fundamental issue: I was consistently overeating. Each new diet worked initially because limited options forced me into a calorie deficit temporarily. Then my adaptable brain would find diet-compliant foods I could overeat, and weight would return. In all of my dietary shenanigans up to this point, I had never once even thought about how many calories I was actually consuming.
Now, I work to keep my calories in check. Sometimes I track calories, sometimes I don’t. Tracking has been a powerful tool for me personally to become aware of how many calories the food I’m eating actually has, and what a portion size really looks like (I’m looking at you, peanut butter).
For anyone pursuing weight loss, I strongly recommend tracking calories and measuring portions for at least a couple of weeks. The awareness this creates is transformative. Countless clients have returned shocked after discovering they were consuming an extra thousand calories in nuts daily or adding 600 calories of creamer to their morning coffee without realizing it. Addressing these behaviors represents low-hanging fruit that can yield significant fat loss with minimal effort.
In addition to finding surprising caloric offenders, tracking helps establish how much food you need to maintain, lose, or gain weight. Understanding these ranges and how different intake levels affect you is crucial for eventually regulating consumption without constant tracking.
2. Prioritize Protein
Most of the meals I eat are built around protein. Protein is a big deal when it comes to both satiety and muscle mass. For me to consider something a protein source it has to have a 2:1 protein-to-fat ratio (in grams). I use boneless skinless chicken thighs, 90 or 93% lean ground beef, 93% ground turkey, shrimp, zero fat greek yogurt, and egg whites and whole eggs mixed as the base for a large portion of my meals.
You could always opt for leaner cuts, like choosing chicken breast over chicken thighs or just using egg whites, but I find having a little more fat makes things more palatable, meaning I’m more likely to actually eat them regularly. I still eat fattier meats like a good ribeye, skin-on chicken, and fattier pork, but when I do I balance out the extra fat in that meal by opting for something leaner in the meals before or after.
At my current weight of 210 pounds, I aim for 210 grams of protein daily. Based on available research, anywhere from 0.6–1 gram of protein per pound of body weight appears optimal for maximizing benefits. I don't stress if I occasionally fall above or below this range—consistency over time matters more than daily perfection.
3. Emphasize Whole Foods Without Absolutism
I make sure to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and other whole foods like potatoes and beans. These foods help me to feel satisfied with fewer calories. They also contain micronutrients and fiber that help support overall health. Nothing is off limits, I just recognize that if I have too many high-calorie, high palatability foods, I have a harder time keeping my calories in check because I don’t feel as full when I eat those foods.
Going out to eat is no longer taboo. If I am actively trying to lose weight, I generally avoid eating out, but during times of maintenance, eating at restaurants can be totally fine and enjoyable. I just work not to go overboard.
I also find things like diet soda can be a great way to have something palatable without wrecking my calories (sorry for shaming you about the Diet Coke, Mom). If you are concerned with aspartame, even though most of the evidence says it’s innocuous, there are stevia-based options like Zevia. It is not necessary to completely deprive yourself of pleasure to be healthy. Just be smart about how you indulge.
4. Rethink Fasting
I stopped making fasting central to my approach. While not inherently harmful, constant fasting creates physiological stress that affects my overall function. Instead of testing my willpower through hunger endurance, I now distribute adequate calories at regular intervals so that, even during caloric restriction, I maintain energy and well-being throughout the day.
Occasional fasting can be helpful to reconnect with genuine hunger signals, but it's not the ultimate weight loss solution. Depending on your goals, extended fasting may actually impede progress. Regular protein consumption helps prevent muscle loss, whereas prolonged fasting creates extended periods without protein, potentially slowing muscle development or even accelerating muscle breakdown.
5. Implement Diet Breaks
I don’t perpetually diet anymore. There are times when I am dialed in and times when I am more relaxed. I find it easier to be adherent when I take time to let myself relax a little bit. There is even evidence suggesting that, the longer you are in a calorie deficit, the more your body will adapt and do things in the background to decrease your expenditure. Taking breaks can actually re-sensitize your body to a calorie deficit, lessen food focus, and improve results.
In recent years, my goal has been to gain muscle, which means I have even started having periods of intentionally gaining weight. Given my history of being obese, this stressed me out at first. Seeing the number on the scale go up was uncomfortable. I had spent so much time trying to lose weight that it felt like going backwards. Now, I don’t panic because I know I have the tools to lose weight when it’s time to do so.
Letting go of that mindset has been enormously beneficial. The number on the scale is just data, not a reflection of whether I have been bad or good. In the appropriate context, gaining weight is actually good, and even when it isn’t my goal, I don’t panic because I know that I have the tools to lose weight when the time comes. As a result, holidays and family gatherings aren’t stressful anymore (at least not because of the food). I don’t ask my family if the food they want to share with me is up to my standards. I say thank you and enjoy it knowing they made it with love. I recognize it’s just one day and there is no reason why I can’t go back to the healthy habits I’ve built right after.
6. Train Smart, And Hard
My exercise approach has similarly evolved. I bench press. I do primarily stable exercises because they actually do recruit more muscle fibers. I even do “vanity” exercises like lateral raises and curls (GASP!). Turns out bigger shoulders are often also healthier, more functional shoulders. I still like to play around with “functional” movements that challenge balance and coordination, I just view them more as a supplement instead of THE way to train.
Rather than maximal exertion every session, I follow a systematic plan prioritizing gradual improvement. I've learned that progress doesn't require destroying myself each workout and that leaving some energy in reserve actually enhances long-term development. This approach has dramatically reduced injuries, allowing more consistent training.
Having a plan is also helpful to make sure you don’t overdo it on one specific muscle or movement. Most muscles, especially big ones like your legs, chest, and back, respond best to twice-a-week training. You don’t have to be super sore after every workout – but odds are if you are never sore you could be working a little harder. Anywhere from 5–30 reps is good for muscle growth. After the havoc I wreaked on my shoulders in my early days of weight training, high rep sets like 12–20 helped me rebuild the ability to lift pain-free over time. Now that my shoulders have less pain, I have been able to work back into lower rep ranges and lift heavier again. I use both low and high reps because they both feel good and are effective for my goals.
7. Rethink Cardio
I don’t spend hours doing cardio anymore. I was using cardio as a means to balance my caloric budget, but it was actually counterproductive to my goals. I wanted to be healthy and fit. Trying to use cardio to accomplish that just made me skinny. Excessive cardio not only consumes time but can actively deplete muscle mass. We often mistakenly assume that if a little bit of something is good a lot will be better.
Running and biking are great ways to build cardiovascular endurance, but if you build your entire movement practice around them you will end up stiff, injured, and under muscled. Playing dynamic sports like tennis, pickleball, soccer, and ultimate frisbee are also great ways to build cardiovascular endurance while also asking your body to move in dynamic ways. They are also done in community and can be a ton of fun. Walking is also an underrated way to move your body and receive the benefits of balancing the caloric budget without accumulating a bunch of fatigue on your joints. I’m not saying don’t run, but rather if running is all you do for fitness, consider expanding your horizons – you might find other things you enjoy.
The Results: Progress Without Perfection
As a result of these changes, my body is in the best shape it’s ever been. I feel great, am happy with my appearance and, while I am not quite satisfied (I’m not sure I ever will be), I am proud of the body that I have built. Better still, I enjoy the process of improving it now that I actually know how to do so and can see measurable progress happening. More than anything, this exploration has helped me to fall in love with the physical practices that I do – so it doesn’t take a ton of discipline to stick to them.
Laying this all out there I feel pretty silly. I now can’t help but laugh when I look back at my younger self, so strong in all these convictions. Kurt Vonnegut said “There are times in life where your only two options are to laugh or cry, and I choose to laugh because there’s less to clean up afterward.” It’s that kind of laughter, because when I think about how hard I was working, in all the wrong ways, I feel sad. I look back and think that, if the younger me just had some of these insights, he would get so much more out of all that work he was putting in.
I hate to see other people doing the same thing. Trying their damnedest to slay a giant that is actually just a windmill when what would really benefit them is right under their nose. I don’t regret my journey. Instead, I’m incredibly grateful. The lessons sting, but not without purpose. I had to go through all this to know what I know now. To give me the experiences that help me help others navigate their own journeys.
Regardless of what diet you choose, make sure it’s built on a foundation of the basics. Focus on managing calories, getting enough protein, and exercising in sustainable ways. Everything else is just preference.
