Austerity Mode
Austerity Mode can best be described as Drink Your Carbs on steroids. Or, if you are a professional cyclist and the mere mention of steroids triggers a panic attack, think of Austerity Mode as Basic Drink Your Carbs with all of the fun foods removed. [The Austerity Mode Food List.]
Basic Drink Your Carbs includes plenty of healthy carbohydrates, including an allowance for limited quantities of healthy starches such as brown rice and quinoa. In Austerity Mode, these foods are eliminated and virtually all carbohydrates come from fruits and vegetables. This is not to say that Austerity Mode turns Drink Your Carbs into a traditional low-carb diet. Austerity Mode still allows plenty of foods banned by the low-carb gurus. More importantly, Austerity Mode continues to allow for the consumption of alcohol. This alone distinguishes it from every other low-carb diet we have seen.
Basic Drink Your Carbs includes plenty of healthy carbohydrates, including an allowance for limited quantities of healthy starches such as brown rice and quinoa. In Austerity Mode, these foods are eliminated and virtually all carbohydrates come from fruits and vegetables. This is not to say that Austerity Mode turns Drink Your Carbs into a traditional low-carb diet. Austerity Mode still allows plenty of foods banned by the low-carb gurus. More importantly, Austerity Mode continues to allow for the consumption of alcohol. This alone distinguishes it from every other low-carb diet we have seen.
Fact: The difference between Basic Drink Your Carbs and Austerity Mode may seem trivial. Trust us: these differences have an enormous impact in what you’re consuming. We recently spent a week in Austerity Mode and even for us it was a struggle. We were hungry the entire time. We would eat. Twenty minutes later we’re desperate for a snack. As children, we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar but only after that week did we fully understand his manic food issues.
Here’s the upside - Austerity Mode accelerates weight loss. By eliminating most of the remaining sugars and starches left in the Basic Drink Your Carbs diet, Austerity Mode further restricts calories. Assuming your exercise and alcohol consumption remain unchanged, the results will be predictable - and the weight loss will be dramatic. However, the increased pace of weight loss is not the only reason to spend time in Austerity Mode. There are numerous reasons that Austerity Mode is an invaluable part of the Drink Your Carbs dietary toolkit:
Faster weight loss
The most obvious reason has already been mentioned. If you want to lose a few pounds fast, Austerity Mode is the way to do it. Basic Drink Your Carbs, if followed consistently, will lean you down to a healthy weight. However, the weight loss tends to be slow and consistent. This is not a bad thing, as diets designed for fast weight loss tend to be difficult to maintain and are often followed by subsequent weight gain. But there are times when we want to see faster results. Whether it is for an upcoming competition, event or a fast-approaching high school reunion, sometimes the pace of weight loss matters. Austerity Mode is the answer.
The most obvious reason has already been mentioned. If you want to lose a few pounds fast, Austerity Mode is the way to do it. Basic Drink Your Carbs, if followed consistently, will lean you down to a healthy weight. However, the weight loss tends to be slow and consistent. This is not a bad thing, as diets designed for fast weight loss tend to be difficult to maintain and are often followed by subsequent weight gain. But there are times when we want to see faster results. Whether it is for an upcoming competition, event or a fast-approaching high school reunion, sometimes the pace of weight loss matters. Austerity Mode is the answer.
Chasing the perfect bikini/Speedo body
Weight loss on Basic Drink Your Carbs will eventually level off. Your caloric requirements go down as you lose weight. The less body mass you have to maintain, the fewer calories you need to maintain it. Eventually, we all come to a point where our calories and exercise fall into balance. Weight loss stops and maintenance begins. Drink Your Carbs is designed so that this leveling off will occur at a healthy, sustainable weight.
Anyone who has dieted will tell you that there is a difference between being lean and healthy and turning heads in a bikini or Speedo. Keep in mind that there appear to be no additional health benefits from achieving this next level of lean. The only reason to pursue it is for pure aesthetics.
The perfect bikini/Speedo body is not easy to attain. The older you are, the harder it is to get. The discipline required is enormous. You might have to spend more time in Austerity Mode than not. But if you want to pursue this goal, Austerity Mode is our tool to get you there.
Weight loss on Basic Drink Your Carbs will eventually level off. Your caloric requirements go down as you lose weight. The less body mass you have to maintain, the fewer calories you need to maintain it. Eventually, we all come to a point where our calories and exercise fall into balance. Weight loss stops and maintenance begins. Drink Your Carbs is designed so that this leveling off will occur at a healthy, sustainable weight.
Anyone who has dieted will tell you that there is a difference between being lean and healthy and turning heads in a bikini or Speedo. Keep in mind that there appear to be no additional health benefits from achieving this next level of lean. The only reason to pursue it is for pure aesthetics.
The perfect bikini/Speedo body is not easy to attain. The older you are, the harder it is to get. The discipline required is enormous. You might have to spend more time in Austerity Mode than not. But if you want to pursue this goal, Austerity Mode is our tool to get you there.
Fact: Bikinis are fashionable worldwide but the same cannot be said for the Speedo. Outside of platform diving and Michael Phelps’ closet, the Speedo is much maligned. If you want one, you’ll probably need to shop for it in a specialty store for either professional swimmers or Eastern Europeans.
If you choose to wear a Speedo, expect your friends to refer to it by unflattering nicknames, such as “man panties,” the “banana hammock” or the “budgie smuggler” - ask an Australian if you want to know what a budgie is. We strongly disagree with all of this negativity. If you spend the time in Austerity Mode to get yourself into shape to wear it, we say ignore these self-appointed fashionistas. Strut your stuff like a bird in the full plumage of mating season. You have earned the right.
Advance preparation for an epic event or weekend
This simple notion may be the most revolutionary idea in Drink Your Carbs. We are shocked not to have come across it in other diets. This idea is so blindingly obvious that it really should be part of every diet plan. As far as we know, this is a Drink Your Carbs exclusive.
We will further explore this idea in Chapter Ten, How to Cheat on Your Diet. We are discussing this strategy here as well because it really is useful.
While every major diet has a section or chapter titled “How to Stay on Your Diet While on Vacation,” only Drink Your Carbs allows you to prepare in advance for a guilt-free holiday.
We all have events on our calendars that we know will blow our diets. Perhaps you are planning to visit relatives who don’t share your Drink Your Carbs obsession. You might be taking a cruise, complete with a midnight chocolate buffet that you know you probably can’t - and won’t - avoid. A wedding, charity dinner or office party is equally likely to knock you off Drink Your Carbs. All of these events have one thing in common: they are scheduled well in advance. You have plenty of notice. Austerity Mode is the strategy that will help you prepare.
Before you embark on a vacation or attend an event where staying on Drink Your Carbs will be difficult, go into Austerity Mode. The idea is to build up a calorie deficit in advance of the event. That way you can enjoy yourself without guilt or regret.
This simple notion may be the most revolutionary idea in Drink Your Carbs. We are shocked not to have come across it in other diets. This idea is so blindingly obvious that it really should be part of every diet plan. As far as we know, this is a Drink Your Carbs exclusive.
We will further explore this idea in Chapter Ten, How to Cheat on Your Diet. We are discussing this strategy here as well because it really is useful.
While every major diet has a section or chapter titled “How to Stay on Your Diet While on Vacation,” only Drink Your Carbs allows you to prepare in advance for a guilt-free holiday.
We all have events on our calendars that we know will blow our diets. Perhaps you are planning to visit relatives who don’t share your Drink Your Carbs obsession. You might be taking a cruise, complete with a midnight chocolate buffet that you know you probably can’t - and won’t - avoid. A wedding, charity dinner or office party is equally likely to knock you off Drink Your Carbs. All of these events have one thing in common: they are scheduled well in advance. You have plenty of notice. Austerity Mode is the strategy that will help you prepare.
Before you embark on a vacation or attend an event where staying on Drink Your Carbs will be difficult, go into Austerity Mode. The idea is to build up a calorie deficit in advance of the event. That way you can enjoy yourself without guilt or regret.
Fact: We acknowledge expert opinions are mixed on banking calories from one day to the next. Some claim that it works in a limited way. Others believe that dieters simply lose weight when cutting calories and regain that weight later when more calories are consumed. From our perspective, it makes no difference which group turns out to be correct. The end result is the same. If you have lost weight in advance of a cheat, you have earned a cushion and can enjoy yourself more freely.
The bigger the cheat is likely to be, the more time you need to spend in Austerity Mode. Planning for a blowout Christmas party requires spending a few days in Austerity Mode beforehand. The cruise would take longer. Before embarking on that kind of trip, we would go Austerity Mode for a couple of weeks. In exchange, we would allow ourselves to enjoy the vacation without beating ourselves up every time we are handed a complimentary sickly sweet cocktail.
Deciding how long to prepare for a planned cheat is more art than science. We suggest you err on the side of over-preparing. There is no downside; if you go into Austerity Mode for longer than needed you might lose a little extra weight.
Deciding how long to prepare for a planned cheat is more art than science. We suggest you err on the side of over-preparing. There is no downside; if you go into Austerity Mode for longer than needed you might lose a little extra weight.
Dietary reset button
Just like everyone else, we occasionally find ourselves drifting away from our diet. This typically happens when we have family in town or otherwise find ourselves eating out more often than we eat in. At first, we cheat in small ways, snagging a few French fries off a nearby plate. With each cheat we grow bolder. Eventually, we find ourselves justifying fish and chips, or even sipping on a cocktail sweet enough to qualify it as dessert. It’s embarrassing to admit how quickly small cheats snowball into bigger ones. Suddenly we are no longer even close to adhering to Drink Your Carbs.
A week in Austerity Mode acts as a diet reset. It is not easy, but seven days is enough to kill our sugar cravings and rededicate us to the Drink Your Carbs lifestyle.
Just like everyone else, we occasionally find ourselves drifting away from our diet. This typically happens when we have family in town or otherwise find ourselves eating out more often than we eat in. At first, we cheat in small ways, snagging a few French fries off a nearby plate. With each cheat we grow bolder. Eventually, we find ourselves justifying fish and chips, or even sipping on a cocktail sweet enough to qualify it as dessert. It’s embarrassing to admit how quickly small cheats snowball into bigger ones. Suddenly we are no longer even close to adhering to Drink Your Carbs.
A week in Austerity Mode acts as a diet reset. It is not easy, but seven days is enough to kill our sugar cravings and rededicate us to the Drink Your Carbs lifestyle.
[Explore the Austerity Mode Food List.]