The Bro Diet — Fad or Necessity?
By now, you’ve probably heard of every diet on the market. The Bro Diet is just another one that promises to get you, as the bros would say, “shredded.” Unfortunately, it isn’t maintainable and tends to be very restrictive.
What is a Fad Diet?
A fad diet promises rapid weight loss or other advantages and is usually promoted as requiring minimal effort. Everyone wants a quick fix to a problem that they want to solve for a lifetime. You’ve probably heard of the Keto Diet, the Paleo Diet, or the Atkins diet. Those are a few of the many fad diets that promise quick results. But, they often don’t give you a lifetime of maintainable results.
Enter The Bro Diet. Now there really isn’t much credible research supporting this diet. In fact, the “bros” that use this diet loosely base their ridiculous amounts of chicken and brown rice around macros they found using an online macro calculator. The typical bro diet has copious amounts of chicken or another lean protein like ground turkey or tilapia. On top of the protein is brown rice and a vegetable, usually broccoli or asparagus.
To start, the diet is about as restrictive as it gets. It’s structured around the If It Fits Your Macros, or IIFYM, fad. However, it doesn’t allow you to eat whatever you’d like. You are limited to a lean protein, brown rice, and a green veggie.
The downside to this diet is the restrictive aspect of it. Unfortunately, all fad diets are restrictive, thus the quick results. Therefore, when you stick to these diets for 30–60 days, you don’t allow yourself to indulge in anything else. When you are done with this diet, there is a huge urge to “go crazy.” You then may indulge in all the foods that you avoided for those 30–60 days. It tends to spiral out of control, and after a couple of weeks. the weight is usually back. Often, you end up weighing more than you did when you first started the diet.
Meal Prepping
The benefit of this type of eating is it creates a very easy way to meal plan. You don’t have many options, so you don’t need to get creative at the grocery store or in the kitchen because it’s the same thing. Every. Time. And it’s a very clean way of eating, as there is no room for junky processed foods and sugars. I have always been a huge advocate for planning ahead when it comes to maintaining a plan or program. Meal planning is almost essential if you’re going to stick to the Bro Diet.
If you’re out and about without your container of chicken, rice, and asparagus, there aren’t many options for you. The exception might be if you hit up your local Chinese restaurant. If that is a habit you create while you’re on the Bro Diet, it will be pretty pricey. I would just invest in some cheap, reusable containers you can find on Amazon.
If you do cook in bulk at the beginning of the week, here’s a little pro-tip to keep food fresh. Refrigerate enough food for two days and then freeze the rest. Then, the night before you need your next round of meals, you just pull them out of the freezer. Pop them in the fridge to thaw overnight, and you’re done.
If meal prepping isn’t your thing, there are a ton of meal prepping services out there. They are pretty affordable and can build out meals for you based on your preferences and your macros. They come every 5 days or so. Since they are supposed to last up to 5 days in the fridge, you don’t have to freeze anything.
The 80/20 Rule
If you are really keen on trying the Bro Diet, then there’s an option to consider. I’ve noticed bros that give themselves freedom and flexibility in their diet can actually stick to it longer for better results. It’s the 80/20 theory. Eighty percent of the time, stick to your bro diet. And the other 20 percent of the time, eat what you would like (within reason). The strict diet allows for a bit more leniency when it comes to that 20 percent.
The Bro Diet is a cheap way to stay on track when your goals are to lose fat and gain muscle. As long as you can consistently cook for yourself, you will be well on your way to a “shredded” physique.
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