“No matter how far you’ve gone down the wrong path, turn back.”
--Ancient Hungarian proverb
Experience has taught me that it’s not easy for most to jump right into a new diet and stick with it, so last month I outlined three basic rules to help you ease into starting the Gracie Diet.


  1.  During the first week, get used to eating only three meals a day—no snacks or deserts—and space your meals at least 4.5 hours apart.
  2. During the second week be mindful not to mix anything that carries fat, like a pizza, a salad, soup, or pasta with anything sweet, including a sweet fruit or any type of dessert.
  3. During the third week should stop mixing starches in the same meal. If you have bread, do not have a potato or rice. Just one starch per meal. Do not mix rice and beans!
It’s a part of the human condition to resist change of any kind. People seek the comfort of the familiar, so here are some things to keep in mind for staying strong in the long run. The Gracie Diet is not a fad diet designed to lose weight. It is a diet designed for maximum health for athletes and everyone in general.

ImageEnvision the Enemy, Then Use Jiu-Jitsu
Avoiding bad food and overeating are the keys to the diet, but how can we achieve these goals? If you went to McDonald’s and ordered a Big Mac and saw the cook in the back drop it on the ground, step on it, and cough on it and then he brought it to you, would you eat it?  Of course not, because you already know it’s dirty and will probably make you sick.

Yet this is how I see a lot of food; I know what’s bad for me and so I don’t eat it. And most people know that fast food is bad for them, but they eat it anyway. They just choose to look the other way when the cook is stepping on their Big Mac.

Keep in mind that the formula for failure is a bad habit repeated every single day. Eventually you’ll break down and mess up. How do you fix it?  Discipline, practice every day and turn it around. Your choices will bring consequences. Be sure you make the right choices so that the consequences will be positive.

Once you can understand this mindset you’ll see it’s the “opponent within” that’s trying to lure you into eating a plate of food that’s not good for you. And if you feel hungry between meals, have a glass of water. If you’re still hungry, have another glass of water. Having the self-control not to panic in this struggle is what jiu-jitsu teaches you.

It’s the same as if you’re in a fight and get punched in the face. Do you panic and run away or do you regroup, take a deep breath, realize that it’s okay, and then wrap him up, take him down and control the fight? Just because you have stressful moments in the fight doesn’t mean you have to panic and give up.

The willingness to calmly understand and deal with a temptation, knowing that it’s going to be tough and getting through it anyway, is what it’s all about and you can make a game of it, challenge yourself and enjoy your victories, taking a sense of pride in them.

Although I enjoy the foods of the Gracie diet, which makes it easy for me to stick to it, I do have to remind myself to walk away from the table when I’m 80-percent full. My struggle comes from not having an extra grilled cheese sandwich. That is my own personal jiu-jitsu match and I enjoy those small daily victories.

We all struggle with something; we procrastinate, we’re too lazy, we avoid dealing with anything unpleasant. The bottom line is that our biggest victories in life lie in our personal conflicts. When you decide to tell yourself that from now on you’re going to do, this, and this, and this, and you get in the practice of seeing yourself making your own thoughts  and dreams come to life, that is so empowering that there’s nothing that can stop you from accomplishing the impossible. And what was once a struggle becomes a calm and confident way of approaching life.

For more information on the Gracie Diet visit  www.GracieAcademy.com or consult the “Gracie Jiu-Jitsu” Master Textbook.