Having Defined Roles is a Key to Success.

Anyone who has ever worked on a team whether for a job, athletics, or a family knows how valuable it is to have clearly defined roles.  When everyone does the job they are supposed to, there will be success.  For me it is easy to see this in sports, it's not always the most talented team that wins, but the team that works the best together. Much like my favorite baseball team the Minnesota Twins that won two World Championships while being heavy underdogs. If everyone has a role then everyone is important and everyone has a purpose.

I believe dieting is the same way, having great talent is like having great genetics, and only a few of us are born with this awesome gift. 

The rest of us if we want to lose weight and keep it off we need to give each day a role, and each workout, and every meal has a purpose. This is a big reason why the Spike Diet is so successful. The Spike Diet has a role for every day:

1.  "High Days" , the purpose is to have a more calories available for an effective workout. 
2. "Low Days" , The purpose is to create a larger deficit on days we don't workout to burn more body fat for energy.
3. "Spike Day" The purpose is to reset or "trick" our mind and body, and at the same time enjoy the food we love guilt free.

On a day to day basis, when I am going to eat something, I ask myself "why am I eating this"
Is it for pleasure or is it to provide nutrients needed for exercise or recovery. On my Spike Day it's simply because I want it or I have been craving it.

Exercise is the same way, there's a reason we do certain exercises, it's not just for fun, the purpose is to break down muscle tissue to rebuild it stronger. So every set, every move has purpose. When you realize how important each set is, your intensity rises. Then you have much more effective workouts.  Don't just go through the motions when you exercise, but make each rep count.

A big tip to making "roles" work for you is to understand that losing and gaining weight all comes down to energy balance. Our body exerts energy all day long and food is our main energy source and when it's used up our body fat makes up the difference as our back-up energy source.

Next time you go to grab something you know you shouldn't ask yourself why? What's the purpose?
If it's simple pleasure, I choose to wait and have that and more on my Spike Day.