You always hear that quick and dirty diets are good for losing weight fast, but bad for keeping the weight off. You may (unhealthily) drop a couple a pounds in a short a amount of time, but the weight loss isn’t permanent. The only way to healthily lose weight is to change your diet and lifestyle.
Changing your lifestyle isn’t easy. However, there are guidelines and ways to adjust that may actually be easier than you think.
Georgetown University student Jaclyn DiGregorio (’17) discovered a method to eat what you want, when you want while also being healthy when she was a sophomore in college. After struggling with fad diets and overeating, Jaclyn realized something needed change. She soon discovered that she wasn’t alone this constant struggle with food – this type of behavior is common on college campuses. So, with the help of nutritionists and fitness trainers, Jaclyn created a method unique to her life, but that could also be shared with others.
CUSP three-six-five isn’t a restrictive diet – rather, it’s a set of guidelines, adjusted by each individual, that promote healthy eating and lifestyle choices.
CUSP is broken down into 4 sections: Concentrate, Understand, Supplement, & Portion. To grasp the CUSP method fully, let’s use an example from Jaclyn’s book about craving a bowl of ice cream for dessert:
Concentrate
Concentrate means listening to what your body needs and wants is important. That’s why, with the CUSP method, you should always listen to cravings, even if that means allowing yourself that bowl of ice cream or piece of cake. Concentrating on what and why your body craves something will help you satisfy the desire and avoid overeating later in the day.
Understand
Next step is understanding the nutritional value of what you’re eating. You crave ice cream for some reason, maybe the sugar, dairy, or fat. Ice cream can be full of empty, non-nutritional calories, but because it’s dense, you are less likely to overeat later.
Supplement
Supplementing ice cream isn’t necessarily easy – or necessary. However, in a regular meal, if you’re missing a main food group, make sure to add something so that every meal has a balance of starch, protein, and vegetables/fruit. If your meal lacks starch, toast a piece of bread and top it with peanut butter for dessert. If you’re only eating protein and carbs, make sure you spice things up with some roasted vegetables.
Portion
It’s easy to overeat ice cream (or anything yummy really), especially if you’re eating it out of the carton. I’m especially guilty of this; there’s something so satisfying about eating ice cream from the carton – but it’s dangerous. It’s important to understand how to appropriately portion different foods. A healthy serving of ice cream ranges from a 1/2 cup to 1 cup, so roughly 1-2 tennis balls worth.
What makes Jaclyn’s book so perfect for college students is that each chapter contains a “changes you can make in your life today.” This end section summarizes the main points of the chapter and how you can easily implement the guidelines into your life.
When I started using the CUSP method, I observed that there were times, especially at night, when I would mindlessly eat. Other times my portion size would be way out of wack. I concentrated on my sugar intake and even decided to give up all processed sugar (giving up sugar for lent is definitely helping with this).
Overall, dieting shouldn’t be your go to if you truly want to change your weight, your lifestyle and your life in general. Try out the CUSP method and see what it can do for you.
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