Motivation doesn’t win games without blocking and tackling. But without motivation, none of us will get far. What the offense/defense approach does is help you regulate just how much motivation you need over the long haul.
Nobody can sustain willpower and discipline 24 hours a day for weeks or months or years. By switching between offense and defense, you can give yourself a break, not having to push yourself to constantly lose weight for months on end. It lets you build a rhythm of intensity. The really cool part is that even when you’re on defense, you haven’t “gone off” your diet. You’re still paying attention, still in the game.
Before I invented the Football Diet, I was either on offense, or I was letting the other team score touchdowns. Once I screwed up on my plan, I would just keep eating and drinking too much, and I’d stop exercising too. It took a major effort to get back on the plan. But with the Football Diet, I can take a break from the constant pressure to lose weight, without abandoning my overall game plan.
I think defense is the key to the Football Diet. Not only does it let you give yourself a break without losing ground, playing defense gives you the practice you’ll need once you’ve reached your target weight, so that you can attain your real ultimate goal, which is to maintain your target weight.
This is really important. Virtually any diet can help you lose weight. The trick is to stay at a healthy weight over the long haul. If your diet plan only teaches you to aggressively lose weight, it won’t work for you once you reach your target weight. With the Football Diet, you’re actually practicing sustainable behaviors every time you’re on defense.
I’ll leave it to you to decide which weeks are offense and which are defense. The important thing is to decide by Sunday, and then stick with either offense or defense for the whole week. You can’t win the game, or the week, without a game plan.