The sports medicine field entertains some of the most extreme dieting and eating habits. Everything from 10,000+ caloric intakes of the worlds strongest men to the nearly eating disorder inducing calorically restrictive periods of body building, physique and figure competitors. These 2 diets are at the opposite ends of the spectrum, however, versions of these diets are utilized by non-competitive athletes in order to alter body composition by gaining or dropping weight. These diets can lead to serous health consequences. Extremely calorically restrictive diets can cause serious illness and lead to serious health issues like the metabolic diseases. Tom Hanks is not only a true legend on and off the screen, he is also a cautionary tale of what can occur with repeated bouts of severely calorically restricted diets. He was eating around 200 calories per day to lose enough weight for his very AIDSy appearance in the movie Philadelphia. He also repeated this style of dangerous dieting to generate the emaciated look of a deserted island survivor in Castaway. Once filming wrapped on these films he returned to his more traditional Western style of eating over indulgence in sugar and processed foods. This caused him to develop type 2 diabetes. These restrictive diets, followed by a rebound of drastically increased caloric intake wreak havoc on the hormonal balance and regulation of the endocrine system within the body. Athletes and actors are not the only populations susceptible to wildly extreme diets. There are literally more extreme diets than there are different foods on the planet. Some current culturally popular diets are Keto, Paleo, Liquid, Smoothy, No carb, Low carb, Vegetarian, Vegan and even pills as a replacement for food. The is absolutely NOT one superior diet for everyone. There are however similar populations of people with common physical goals and health goals which will benefit from a similar style of diet. Proper diet and nutrition is not a one size fit all application.
Before we consider the types, portions and timing of food intake we must contemplate one simple question: What am I trying to achieve with my nutrition? Is the goal to lose weight, gain weight, sustain weight, improve blood work numbers, improve a marathon time, sprint faster, gain lean mass, maintain lean mass during illness, have a killer beach bod, or have a killer Dad Bod. The goal must be very clear and be worth your time to attempt. Time allotment in life is all about your priorities. Everyone is “busy”, your priorities have nothing to do with being busy. Priorities are driven by an internal goal to achieve, improve and pursue a desired change. If diet modification is not a priority the best laid out nutritional plans will never succeed. Once we have prioritized dietary modification as something worth our time to alter, next the specific goal of the dietary modification must be established. Specificity is key here. The clearer the goals, the timeline, the acceptable losses, and acceptable gains are decided upon, the more precise and effective the nutritional plan can be. We don’t plan to fail, we fail to plan effectively. A dietary plan can only be successful if it directly reflects a specific measurable outcome. Proper diet for the proper person.
Now that we have established how dangerous extreme dieting can be and that dietary recommendations can only be made if the goal is specific, let’s explore the 7 dietary truths which are universally applicable to ALL healthy food intake. You will notice many of the currently trendy diets miss the target on many of these dietary truths.
TRUTH #1...
Avoid Processed Food (and I use the word “food” lightly here)
If it’s processed it’s not even really food. We all know how bad this crap is for us, nothing ground breaking here. As a culture we are programed to consume crap food, its actually more difficult to grab a quality apple and banana than it is to grab a coffee and cookie. Whole foods have a very high nutrient density in general, and these nutrients are delivered with all the required enzymes, hormones, transporters and even the ideal pH to assist the gut in optimal absorption. Nature got it right, and as a species we have evolved over the last 200,000 years eating what we could hunt or gather, and realistically probably scavenge. The first emergence of any kind of processing came 12,000 years ago with the birth of the Agricultural Revolution. The first mass produced foods were the gains, and milled grains specifically, also more sophisticated preserving techniques emerged. The next significant step in the over production of food was ushered in only 200 years ago as the Industrial Revolution griped the “1st world” cultures. We literally have not had adequate time to evolve to use these foods in a healthy meaningful way in the grand scheme of things. The 1950’s really bumped the bar up again. Most blatantly obvious comment of this BLog; fast food is horrible for you in nearly every conceivable way. Side note: There are more than twice as many people on this planet today than there was when JFK was POTUS in the 60’s. I understand the major challenges in feeding this number of people but “chose wisely”. Many of us are very fortune to be able to make our own food choices, many simply eat what they can afford, or have available. Using available food choices to avoid mass produced foods is probably the single best health choice a person could make. You don’t want your food as over-produced as Nickleback’s music. (Disclaimer: I’m a Nickelback fan, ya I said it).
TRUTH #2...
Eat Nutrient Dense Foods
Nutrient density simply means for any given portion of food there is a high content of vitamins and minerals. Essentially the more good stuff in the smallest possible portion of food the better. Variation is important to keep in mind here as well, particularly due to the limited capability of the human body to store the water soluble vitamins. The “super foods” we constantly hear about are simply nutrient dense foods.
TRUTH #3...
Portion Size Control
When it comes to diet modification for your specific goal, portion size is extremely important to control. If your goal is to lose weight you must decrease your portion sizes. This portion size truth is of particular importance if you have a pension for that processed poison sugar. Portion control is not only important in weight loss, it is generally the rate limiting step when it comes to gains in strength and lean mass. The amount of high quality food which needs to be consumed to facilitate the addition of muscle is substantial. This is because it is not only more muscle which is needed it is also the entire infrastructure which must support the addition of metabolically demanding contractile lean muscle mass. The body’s natural inclination is to reject the addiction of tissue which requires significant resource acquisition and allocation. The resource of particular note here is protein. WAY more protein than you really understand until you have committed a few months, or more, of your life to drastically increasing protein consumption. 50g+ of protein every 2 to 3 hours leaves the body constantly feeling bloated, gassy, grumpy, overfull, and its already time to eat again just when you start feeling comfortable. Certainly not the ideal conditions to be lifting thousands of pounds, but essential for gaining a significant amount of lean mass. Know your desired portions, and learn their macronutrient content (often abbreviated as macros). Macronutrients are simple: protein, fat or carbohydrate. All food is a combination of the 3. Contrary to what you may have heard, the body runs best on a diet consisting of all three. Not one of these macronutrients are the enemy in the nutritional story. Yes, carb haters, I’m looking at you. Thanks to all the great apps these days it’s pretty easy to learn the macronutrient profiles of your favorite commonly eaten foods.
TRUTH #4
Consistency, Consistency, Consistency
Consistency over the identified duration you are willing to commit to changing your nutrition. Consistency over the long haul, not over a bad long weekend. The 80% Rule is a helpful reminder as to the kind of consistency required. Eat 80% of your meals according to the 7 dietary truths. Here is the simplest way to stay consistent: If you eat 5 meals per day (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner) make sure 4 of 5 are on point. Keeping to this 80% consistency rule you will be very successful with almost any specific nutritional strategy you choose. Here’s where I’ll break you the great news, there is no need to entirely give up any food you can’t live without, just stay true to the 80% rule.
TRUTH #5
Eat 5 Fruits or Vegetables Each Day (or increase intake)
The Keto Warriors need to settle down their detest of deliciously sweet fruit. Fruit and vegetables are both very good for you and what we have subsisted on for the vast majority of our existence as a species. If your diet suggests you refrain from eating the majority of delicious fruits available to you, I respectfully disagree with this as an effective dietary strategy. If the only change you make in your diet is to add 5 fruits or vegetables to your food intake each day your health would change drastically and all of your blood work would significantly improve. I am not a vegan by a long shot but to avoid fruits and vegetables in a massive dietary mistake, and advice to the contrary should be met with skepticism.
TRUTH #6
Eat More Quality Protein
Sorry vegans, I empathize with the ethical argument about the overall farming industries failings when it comes to the unbelievable cruelty endured by the animals we eat as well as the environmental impact of factory farms, however, the nutrient density of animal protein is unmatched. Not only have we relied on meat as a powerful source of nutrients throughout evolution it promotes the acquisition and maintenance of lean muscle mass. The challenges in getting adequate protein from strictly vegan sources are so numerous that the vast majority of vegans are protein deficient, which leads to numerous health issues. Improving the amount of lean mass of the body is not only an effective way to live a vibrant and strong existence it is also a fantastic way to develop a super powered reserve for building blocks of your immune system, for when illness strikes, and it will. No one gets out of this game alive and more strength you have the more independent and healthy you will be able to live out the years you get on this planet. The better you feel and function while here is well worth the effort it takes to remain strong and vibrant. You will also find after about 21 days of improving your nutritional intake that the increased effort required turns into enthusiasm, energy and enjoyment. Momentum builds motivation.
TRUTH #7
Learn to Calorie Count and the Macronutrient Contents of Food
Calorie counting is a practice which is essential to get portion sizes correct while following these simple truths. The actual portion sizes of many commonly consumed foods, particularly “super foods”, is often surprising. It has never been easier to learn calorie counts and macronutrient contents with all the high quality apps available. This practice not only falls under the umbrella of “what you measure you manage”, you will also soon commit to memory the caloric content and macronutrient composition of the foods you most commonly eat. Once again, there are only 3 macronutrients: Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat. Keeping track of these macros, along with your calorie count, adds specificity to your nutritional framework and makes potential issues easier to identify. When you know these details the 80% Rule is much easier to follow.
Side Note on Sugar: Don’t eat refined sugar, it’s that simple. Sugar is highly processed and highly addictive. Sugar is also the cause of all the metabolic diseases (heart attack, stroke, diabetes, cancer). That’s right THE CAUSE of these diseases. Sugary drinks are also a very common area people fail to recognize the amount of extra calories they are consuming. Keep in mind you can cheat with 20% of your calorie consumption. These rules do not require you to stop eating any single food, but getting away from our cultural addiction to sugar is the key to winning the fight against the metabolic diseases which have crippled our healthcare system, and the health of our aging population.
These dietary truths are simple.
- Minimize your processed food consumption. PRO TIP: Generally speaking, the less packaging the less processing.
- Keep your nutrient density as high as possible. PRO TIP: The more variety in colour of the foods you eat the more diversity in vitamins and minerals
- Keep your portion size in check. PRO TIP: Use a deck of cards as a portion size for your meat consumption.
- Be consistent with the 80% Rule. PRO TIP: Pick a time period like 8 weeks and stick to this and watch your body and health change.
- Increase your fruit and vegetable intake. Fruits and veg fill you up and will keep you from reaching for other poor quality food choices as well. PRO TIP: Try blending, or even V8, to help get your serving numbers up at first.
- Increase protein intake. PRO TIP: Find a protein powder you enjoy the taste of and treat yourself to delicious protein and fruit smoothies.
- Learn calorie and macronutrient content of the food you eat. PRO TIP: “My Net Diary” is a great app to explore.
There it is, you can stop searching for the next trendy miracle diet and follow these 7 simple dietary truths to learn how to eat properly. Follow these simple rules and you will feel, look and be better than you have with any of the fad diets you have ever tried. Why don’t we hear these truths more often? Possibly because there is nothing to sell you here.
FINAL NOTE: If you have glazed over this Blog, or find 7 rules to live by when it comes to diet complicated, remember this one fact: If you simply eat unprocessed foods 80% of the time you are well on your way to significant diet improvement. This one simple dietary change would drastically improve the health, energy and life of greater than 99% of the population. A specific diet for specific goals is important when maximizing results, however, it is not as complicated as some will have you believe.