Lets talk about diet. Or maybe lets not talk about diet. Thats becoming my general approach as food stress seems to be increase in a bad way. Every time I eat at a restaurant I cant help but be asked about every menu on the item. Will this carb source raise my insulin? Will eating now break my fasting window? Is this too much protein for my body to process? I dont mention this condescendingly. I say it as a general awareness that people are freaking out about food because we (the media, diet books, experts) are adding levels of complexity to eating in an attempt to solve fat loss. And as I receive more daily questions about things like... What are the best fat burning foods? How many super foods do I need to stay lean? Waxy Maize starch, Whey protein hydrolysate..what else should I buy? Will this carb make me fatter than that carb? ...I realize that we have a problem. Not the questions themselves, but eating has become an overcomplicated mess. Do yourself a favor and go back and watch Pumping Iron (and if you havent seen it, just watch). You want to know what is missing from that? Anything significant about diet, eating, and nutrition. Is that to say nutrition wasnt important to the bodybuilders of yesteryear? Of course not. And this isnt to say that we should all be eating like bodybuilders. I know I dont. The point is that as we have gained more knowledge about food and supplements weve overcomplicated the simple process of What should I eat? The funny thing about diets--whether its Paleo or Zone, Atkins or Intermittent fasting, Mediterranean or IIFYM--is that for all the arguing about which is best all of these diets agree on about 90% of the recommended foods. And that 90 percent is pretty easy to learn. The rules of eating are fairly simple. If you eat whole food sources the majority of the time (think fruits, vegetables, gains, dairy, animal protein sources, seeds, and nuts), youre going to get all the nutrition you need. And yes, some of you might have allergies and need to avoid these foods. And our psychological dependencies and social factors go beyond what to eat. Thats a different conversation. This is about food selection. Its that 10% that drives everyone crazy and leads to worthless fighting. Its also where all the complication occurs. Many diets can work. Arguing over who is the best is like trying to decide which generational athlete is the best of all time. All the greats were great in their time. So why must there be a best? The 10% makes you stress about what to eat, when to eat, and if one food or eating decision might completely crash your diet. (Dont worry, it wont.) Your diet is very important to how you look and feel, but making it something that controls your life is a guaranteed recipe for failure. We need to stop fighting over the 10% and start helping everyone find easier ways to master the 90 percent. When that happens, I think I lot more people will have fewer issues with the word diet and eating will once again become a more enjoyable experience.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 15:05:00 +0000
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