In the 70s, there was a movement happening in both the U.S. and the U.K. Bands like the Ramones and The Sex Pistols (respectively) were leading the charge with a style of music that was known as much for it’s DIY ethic as it was for how quickly it burned and fizzled out of style.
While neither band can claim to be the “first” punk band, they arrived at a time in music history where much of the music that was popular at the time was everything like the arena rock of Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin and KISS to disco and the progressive rock of Yes, Genesis and Emerson, Lake and Palmer.
Punk music showed audiences that you didn’t have to be overflowing with talent to make catchy music. You could get by with the bare minimum of skill, look the part, and write songs that not only still hold up nearly 50 years later but kept audience members showing up (and starting bands of their own).
While it may never hold the same regard as it once did, the 90s showed a resurgence of punk with updated forms of the genre when bands like Green Day and Blink-182 started to make their mark. It seems every decade brings its own styles of punk to audiences still clamoring to hear it.
It’s in the spirit of the original DIY ethic of punk rock that I write this week’s post about fat loss.
A lot of people looking to drop unwanted weight think that the application of nutrition knowledge and dieting is more complex than what it is. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot to know about how food interacts with the body and we can have endless discussions on energy balance.
However, this post is for the people who don’t need complicated interventions. They don’t need fancy diet plans, they don’t need macro splits and they don’t really need to know anything about the gut microbiome.
What they need is a very simple, do-it-yourself philosophy for how to get results.
–Find The Pattern: Take a few days to keep an honest, candid journal of what you eat and drink. You don’t need to see the calories or the macro splits. You need to see what you eat and how frequently you eat. You’re trying to spot patterns of eating that may need some attention. For instance, you may notice that you have a tendency to always eat something after dinner. Put your focus into that area and see if the scale starts to shift in the direction you want.
–Examine The Weekends: It’s not uncommon to find dieters who eat in line with their goals during the week and then burn down the house they spent all week building by time Friday-Sunday rolls around. The good news is that most people who do this are actually aware it’s happening, they just need to have a better strategy for weekend luxuries.
–Raise Your Step Count Before You Reduce Your Calories: Most of my clients have sedentary jobs which keeps their butts firmly planted in a seat and in front of a screen for too much of the day. Before you start slashing away at calories, start increasing your step count. You don’t need to sprint or jog (unless you’re into that kind of thing). You just need to move more than you currently do and as often as you can. Once you’ve locked that habit down, if the scale isn’t changing, then you can re-examine caloric intake.
–Have A Sense Of Confidence. One of the most disheartening things I see with individuals trying to lose fat is that they have no sense of confidence in themselves. That could be due to a history of yo-yo dieting, a poor track record of work with other coaches, or perhaps something in their upbringing. No matter what dietary practice you utilize, or what exercise plan you follow, have a simple belief in yourself and your abilities that you can achieve what you want. It may take the help of a coach you trust but the goal is to develop a sense of autonomy on your own.
Fat loss success doesn’t have to be complicated.
In spirit of the DIY approach to punk, you can approach fat loss with the same attitude: be bold, have confidence, and don’t ever think you don’t have what it takes to succeed.
Decades of punk music history can inspire you to think differently.
(With kind credit to Nick Fewings for an excellent photo to coincide with this article.)
