A DIET is 7 days a week, 365 days a year!

Most people are under the impression that if they successfully follow their diet plan Monday through Friday that this means they can go crazy on Saturday and Sunday or sometimes Friday through Sunday. I have bad news for you, this doesn't equal results.

Everyone starts off strong on Monday. The gym is full, fridge is stocked with veggies, alcohol has been drank and you are ready to go. Fast forward to Friday, the gym is empty, the fridge has only leftovers and you are tired and need some relief. You figure, "why not go out for pizza and a few drinks. I deserve it.". Friday night you eat too much pizza, have too many drinks and cancel out any progress you made on Monday and most of Tuesday.

Saturday you sleep in and skip the gym because not only do you think that you deserve it but you feel like crap from eating and drinking on Friday. Later on that same day you have a graduation party to attend. You could follow your plan and eat before you go or just have a salad and chicken when you arrive but, hey it's Saturday! So you live it up, eat beef and fried chicken plus a few more beers. Go ahead and wipe your hard work from the rest of Tuesday and Wednesday off the board.

Now it's Sunday, you sleep in again, take the dog for a walk and call it exercise and although there are no social events there is also no food in the house so you order out before going to the store or fill up on random snacks that just sit in the cupboard week after week. Go ahead and wipe Thursday off of your progress board.

Now it's Monday and you are basically starting from day one again. The majority of people over estimate how many calories they burn and under estimate how much they eat. Not that you can't go out to eat now and then but if you want to progress each week towards your goals you should have no more than ONE cheat MEAL. Not a day, or two or a whole weekend. Those extra calories in two or three days combined with the workouts you skip are what is standing between you and your new life.

If you honestly and accurately tracked your calorie consumption vs calories expenditure in a day by day basis you would be shocked by the reality of those numbers. Combine that with a weekend of eating out and over consuming and you will be horrified to see that they really do equal a stale mate.

The moral of the story is not that you cannot have fun or go out but do so with your goals in mind and make better choices. Keep the big picture in mind and once you have reached that goal you still can't go crazy but you could allow a little more wiggle room. Just get there first!

 Never forget: Muscles and Abs are made in the kitchen!