Nutrition Tuition
Today's post is on the concept of "Eating Healthy" or "eating clean."
It's something I hear all the time;
"Whats your diet like?"
Response;"Oh it's excellent, I eat really healthy........ I have "X" for breakfast "Y" for lunch........etc. I don't know where I'm going wrong, I've been really GOOD" 😞
The need to “eat healthy”is arguably the most common fallacy when it comes to nutrition!
It's an unattainable, unsustainable concept that causes people to fall off the wagon time and time again.
Although we naturally encourage people to make better choices daily andeat more nutrient-dense food vs consume processed foods, nobody should feel the need to cut out specific food groups to achieve the results they desire, especially not the ones they enjoy!
The reality is that you don't actually "HAVE" to eat clean at all and this is because CLEAN FOOD is not the KEY mechanism that promotes fat loss.
A great example of this is the youtube video titled
"Results of 100 days of ice cream."
Go and watch it if you like but I will save you time by listing key take home points:
Starting weight was 198 lbs
Finish weight: 166 lbs
That's a net loss of 32lbs or an average of 2.2lbs a week !!!
His starting calories were 3000 of which it consisted of 2500 calories from ice cream and a further 500 calories from various protein sources.
In reality that is a daily consumption of
1 & 3/4 tubs of Ben & Jerrys
1 protein shake
and 3 small chicken fillets
He maintained a steady rate of fat loss by slowly reducing his calories over time!
He even went as far as to get his blood work taken and the results of eating like this showed far better resting glucose levels (precursor to diabetes) & his cholesterol was down also.
WIN WIN Really !!!!
This guy is no special snowflake; there are literally thousands of examples on youtube I could have used to display the same message.
What’s common among all of them however is one thing, they understand the concept of calories in vs calories out and can manipulate their
"spending" so that even when eating "unhealthy food" they lose weight.
Calories are what matters, and sometimes people want to believe otherwise, eating clean until they eventually give way to the need for whatever food they have been abstaining from.
This unhealthy mindset and obsession with blaming certain foods plays a huge part in why people are perpetually on and off diets. #yoyo
Restriction of such foods is not the answer long-term. If you want to break the cycle and maintain a stress-free happy wight you have to play the game.
IT'S NOT SEXY BUT MODERATION IS KEY!
The picture above shows a mirrored image of foods, some you may brand healthy some you may not. Regardless, the message here is that we should change our belief from clean VS dirty foods to a healthier understanding of the caloric cost of food.
I am not telling you to go out and eat ice cream, wine beer crips to lose weight. What I am saying is that you don't have to be either on or off a diet, you just eat MINDFULLY and enjoy some of the foods you like with no guilt and no remorse.
Eating mindlessly will be your downfall.
Eating clean will be your downfall.
Not understanding the caloric cost of food as it relates to your body’s caloric requirements will be your downfall.
Energy In vs Energy Out People - Play The Game and Play To Win!
