Top 15 Do’s and Dont’s of the PSMF Diet (PSMF)

June 7, 2019 by Spencer Rowles Blog PSMF Benefits PSMF Diet Plan PSMF Recipes Weight Loss

The PSMF diet is a great way to lose weight quickly.

However, many people who start it almost inevitably stumble along the way.

These occasional roadblocks aren’t the end of the world but can derail your success if you let them throw you for too big of a loop.

Let’s take a look at 15 do’s and don’ts of the PSMF Diet to ensure a successful weight loss journey.

1. Do Eat Quality Lean Protein Sources

The protein sparing modified fast or PSMF diet focuses very heavily on a variety of lean and low-fat proteins for a majority of your meals.

Just as importantly, you should avoid any meat that has a high content of fat among its nutrients. These foods may be useful on some types of diets but not on a PSMF routine.[1]

Instead, focus on protein sources such as fish, shellfish, eggs, poultry, organ meats, eggs, and egg substitutes.

For example, one ounce of low-fat haddock, sole, flounder, or cod has just 25 calories. Now imagine eating a juicy four-ounce slice of fish and getting only 100 calories from it!

By contrast, eating a four-ounce serving of fat-rich beef would provide four-times the number of calories. And most of them would be relatively empty. Instead of eating fatty meats, consuming low-calorie proteins like cottage cheese (which has one ounce of protein per two ounces of cheese) can provide your body with high-quality energy. [2]

That’s because protein is particularly crucial for the PSMF diet. Eating it will serve as the source of a majority of your energy. Unlike other types of ketogenic diets – which focus on fatty proteins – PSMF cuts out the fat and lets your body trigger ketosis without providing it with new fatty substances. Instead, your body will destroy its stored fats and slim you down quickly and efficiently.

2. Don’t Let One Setback Ruin Your Entire PSMF Diet

So many diets have been destroyed by suffering from one small setback.

For example, you might get a huge craving for a large pizza and order one during your PSMF diet. Like many people in this scenario, you may assume that your diet is ruined and fall off the bandwagon. There is no need that you need to let one small setback throw you off of success.

In fact, a setback like this can be used as fuel for your further success by tapping into your motivational forces. [3]

Motivation is nowhere near as hard as it might seem to achieve.

However, it is straightforward for people to write off a diet after a single mistake. “I’m simply not set out to do that kind of thing” you might argue. Or you might claim that “I don’t feel like doing it anymore.” These statements are typical excuses used by people with bodies that want to fall back into comfortable patterns. Breaking out of these patterns is one of the most important ways to achieve high-quality dietary success, but it is often as much a psychological struggle as it is physical. [4]

Therefore, a single mistake is no reason to give up your progress on a diet. Instead of beating yourself up for your one failing, use it as a rallying cry for even more success on your diet.

For example, you can immediately jump back into PSMF after your slip and dedicate yourself to it even more. In this way, you are increasing your chances of dietary success while creating a new focus and excitement in your routine.

3. Don’t Starve Yourself

Too many people on a PSMF diet end up starving themselves to lose weight. This mistake is understandable but can be a serious issue if you aren’t careful.

A real PSMF diet should consist of a healthy balance of a variety of food types that keep you motivated on your success without causing you to feel like you are starving to death.

Eating too little food will cause your body to fall into starvation mode.

During this phase, your body will trigger a series of defense mechanisms that go into place when it is convinced that you are starving and can’t find food sources. One of these mechanisms is a slowing of your metabolism. As a result, the body’s starvation mode can make a person gain weight when they do finally eat food again, even if they eat less than they did before starving themselves. [5]

Finding that balance of calories will trigger ketosis in your body without making you feel like you are starving. [6]

4. Do Set Realistic Goals

While it is possible to lose 40-50 pounds in a short period with PSMF, you shouldn’t go into it expecting those kinds of results.

Creating a high level of expectations is one of the biggest ways you can let yourself down with a diet. Even attempting to lose 5-10 pounds every week is unsustainable and is more likely to level off at 1-3 pounds. [7]

Creating realistic goals is important because it ensures that you don’t get sidetracked by setbacks such as plateaus and weight gains. There is a chance that you might not lose any weight during a week or even put on a few pounds. If you are realistic about your diet, you will understand that such ups and downs are inevitable and will likely correct themselves very soon.

Just as importantly, setting small and easy-to-obtain goals gives you something to look forward to during your diet. Goals of 5, 10, and even 15 pounds are good ones to start with on PSMF. Once you hit these goals, you can set larger and more long-term ones that may be off in the distance.

However, hitting these smaller goals every once in a while will ensure you don’t get tired of your diet or feel like it isn’t working for you. [8]

5. Do Pay Attention to Portion Sizes

PSMF is focused very heavily on portion control.

That’s because you are going to be eating smaller amounts of food in minimal quantities. Just as importantly, smaller portions help to increase your dieting success. However, you need to make sure that your portions are balanced between several different types of foods.

For example, a typical PSMF meal should consist of small portions of lean meat, fibrous vegetables, and a glass or two of water. The size of the meat should be balanced in a way that helps to maintain your weight loss. [9]

However, you can also adjust your portions in small ways to avoid boredom with your diet. For example, increasing your nuts by an ounce or two once a week can provide a fun diversion that keeps you interested in your food. Just as importantly, tweaking your portions is also necessary as your diet plateaus and slightly fewer calories are necessary for your weight loss or maintenance. [10]

6. Don’t Forget to Count the Calories You Drink

One of the biggest mistakes that people make on the PSMF diet is forgetting about the calories they get from drinks.

This error can be substantial because drinks can have hundreds of calories to worry about ingesting. Therefore, you need to make sure you check your label regularly to ensure that you aren’t drinking too many liquid calories every day. [11]

And while liquid calories aren’t the worst thing you can add to your diet, they are often quite empty when compared to calories from solid food.

Therefore, it is smart to skip out on calorie drinks entirely and to focus on water, coffee, or tea. Make sure that you don’t add any sugar or cream to your drinks to keep them free of calories. Coffee and tea are particularly helpful because they are a healthy source of caffeine, a drug that can improve your metabolism and help you lose weight.

7. Don’t Give Up

Standing on the scale after a week of tough dieting should always be rewarded with lost weight.

However, that isn’t always going to be the result you see. Some weeks are going to showcase minimal to no weight loss. Even worse, you might gain a pound or two and feel like giving up your diet and going back to your normal eating routine.

Giving up is a major mistake when it comes to a PSMF diet. That’s because this diet – like most others – goes through cycles of effectiveness. It will take a few weeks before your body starts really getting into the groove of it. Then, your success may decrease a little towards the end of the diet. Those results are standard and shouldn’t inspire you to quit.

Instead, you should try meditating, focusing your attention on the positives of your diet, or performing other activities that inspire you not to give up. The temptation to give up can often be very high with this diet. However, sticking with the routine can provide you with the help you need to beat the battle of the bulge for good. [13][14]

8. Do Eat Lots of Fibrous Veggies

During a PSMF diet, it might be hard to get the fiber that you need in your diet. However, that are many kinds of fibrous vegetables that you should eat regularly to ensure that your digestion is running smoothly. [15]

Fibrous vegetables are so important for weight loss because they will fill you up, aid your digestion, and provide you with a solid level of vitamins and nutrients.

Fibrous vegetables to consider adding to your diet include the following:

• Green beans

• Broccoli

• Cabbage

• Brussels sprouts

• Asparagus

• Carrots

• Garlic

• Celery

• Kale

• Leeks

• Onions

• Tomatoes

• Radishes

Focusing your diet on these types of fibrous vegetables will not only improve your health but make it easier for you to lose weight. Just as importantly, it can provide you with the high-quality fiber that you need to digest your food more effectively. [16]

9. Do Drink Plenty of Water

I already mentioned that you should drink more water when on a PSMF diet.

However, I think it is important to really focus on the benefits of water.

Water is a critical drink because it is free of calories and keeps your body well hydrated while you try to lose weight.

Hydration does more than make your urine clear, though. It helps your body operate more effectively and increases your metabolism. As a result, the food that you eat will be digested more fully and processed in a way that helps you lose weight and burn fat all at the same time. [17]

Just as importantly, water can also suppress your appetite and make it easier for you to stay focused during the PSMF routine. For example, you can drink a glass of water whenever you feel cravings for a specific type of food. In many situations, a glass of water will suppress your hunger more than eating a snack. [18]

10. Don’t Skip Sleep

Too many people don’t get the 7-10 hours of sleep that they need to stay healthy.

Busy work weeks, an obsession with television, and overactive children often make it hard to lay down at the end of the day and relax. However, you need to get some sleep if you want to lose weight while on PSMF.

Sleep is one of the most critical things you can do to improve your ability to lose weight. Sleep rests your body and alleviates anxiety and depression symptoms that may develop after changing your diet. Just as importantly, it can minimize stress hormones that can keep weight stubbornly clinging to your waistline. [19]

If for some reason you can’t sleep 7-10 hours every night, try to take a nap during the day. Your rest should be short and, preferably, before you eat. While this might slow your metabolism down slightly at first, it can also increase it by letting your body relax and feel more comfortable. [20]

11. Do Take Your Daily Supplements

One problem that may plague you during your PSMF routine is a lack of proper vitamins and nutrients.

After all, you are going to be focusing your diet on a very restricted set of foods.

That’s why you need to take your supplements every day when on PSMF.

A single multivitamin along with fish oil on this diet is essential.  [21]

These supplements help your body run smoothly while on PSMF and minimize your lost hormones. Just as importantly, they provide you with the nutrients you need to stay healthy. Talk to your pharmacist about the best PSMF-specific multivitamin – to keep your body as healthy as possible. [22]

12. Do Use the PSMF Calculator

Achieving a fine balance between your protein intake and various other elements of the PSMF diet can be a real challenge.

Most people are probably going to get it wrong and struggle to stay healthy. Thankfully, there is a tool that people like you can use to improve the success of your dietary routine: the PSMF calculator.

This calculator is available and provides you with the help you need to manage your diet.

It considers various factors when creating a plan, including your body weight; gender; the circumference of your waist; your body fat percentage; the type of training you perform every day; how much exercise you perform; and your periods of inactivity in a day. [23]

Once you have inputted this information, the PSMF calculator will tell you how many grams of protein you need to eat every day, the number of fats and carbs you can safely consume, when you should take a diet break, and how long your refeed period should be at the end of your diet.

Following the advice of this calculator helps to ensure your PSMF period is a success. [24]

13. Do Give Yourself a Diet Break

The PSMF routine is not designed to be something you do for the rest of your life.

Instead, it is supposed to be a temporary solution for serious weight loss. However, you can continue going through the rigors of this diet if you want to control your cholesterol and manage late-life weight gain. Therefore, you shouldn’t be afraid of taking an occasional break if it gets too challenging. That said, you shouldn’t think of a diet break as a period of incredible binge eating.

A diet break is, instead, a short period during your diet during which you stop following the PSMF schedule. There are a few reasons you should take a diet break. First of all, it will replenish your body’s source of various types of hormones and increase your diet’s success. Secondly, it can provide you with a chance to calm the anxiety around your diet. Instead of counting your calories, you are going to eat healthy amounts of food when you feel hungry. [25]

14. Don’t Give Into Your Cravings

Anybody who has ever been on a diet knows how troubling cravings can be for their dietary success.

Many people assume that these cravings indicate a personal weakness and give into them and fall off of their diet. However, that is simply not the case. Cravings should not be considered a failure of character at all.

Instead, it is essential to understand the science of cravings and how foods trigger physical and psychological needs.

For example, junk food is specifically designed to be as pleasurable as possible for your taste buds. Potato chips, ice cream, candy bars, and more all use ingredients that are rich in flavor. They also use multiple types of additives that activate your hunger and which generate addictive-levels of cravings that are hard to fight no matter who you are as a person. [27]

The interesting thing about cravings, though, is that you can overcome them by merely tricking your stomach and mind with healthier substitutes. Let’s say that your body suddenly craves the delicious texture of a pepperoni pizza from a specific restaurant. However, you can satisfy your hunger and carving by eating a healthy substitute, such as a piece of low-fat beef topped with a thinly sliced tomato. Just as importantly, understanding that will power has nothing to do with cravings can help you better know how to satisfy them without falling off of your PSMF diet. [28]

15. Don’t Lose Motivation

Throughout this list, I have focused heavily on the complications that can occur during a PSMF diet.

I have also discussed how to avoid these issues and the ways that you can focus yourself on dieting success.

Unfortunately, there is one issue that is much harder to tackle than the foods you eat: motivation.

If you don’t feel motivated to continue your diet, there isn’t much that you can do to continue succeeding on it.

Or is there? Motivation on a diet is all about your psychology and maintaining a positive attitude towards a goal. Keeping a positive mindset about your success and taking small changes as signs of real progress is critical for maintaining your drive.

Whether you are trying to lose weight or tone your muscles, refocusing yourself on the reasons behind your actions can improve your motivation when it wanes. Just as importantly, you can get help from your friends and loved ones by talking to them about your waning dedication and letting them pump you up for success. [30]

Conclusion

As you can see, your success in PSMF is all about maintaining consistency, staying focused, and working hard towards your goal. However, a successful PSMF diet also focuses on specific types of foods and gives you a little room to make mistakes here and there. Nobody is perfect, and you might stumble here and there on your dietary routine. Don’t beat yourself up about it but instead bounce back and stay dedicated to success on this powerful diet.