Nutrition can be a frustrating thing to try to keep current on — it seems like every day some new research emerges telling us some long-held health belief is now completely wrong. It can leave a person feeling completely frustrated and not sure what to believe.
But you know what? I think the basics of healthy eating are pretty straightforward and not that hard to understand — and no, they really don’t change much. There’s not really a trick, per say (though I think we often want there to be). Just some guiding principles. Here’s a few that have worked pretty well for me:
Eat lots of vegetables, fruit and lean meats: These should be the core of your diet. One thing I’ve noticed among successful athletes, fitness models, figure champions, you name it, is that with some variation this is a the core of all their diets. A favorite of mine? Steamed broccoli and chicken. It’s easy to make and packs a powerful punch. Weight lifters love this because it helps them add muscle (a former Ms. Fitness competitor told me it was her secret weapon). And since muscle burns more calories than fat, it pays to have more muscle. And if you’re eating a lot of fruits and veggies, that helps you…
Avoid processed food: Here’s where it gets tricky, because that’s a lot easier said than done. Processed food is everywhere. Avoiding it can seem an impossible task. But I don’t think you need to avoid processed food 100 percent. Just make it a very small part of your diet. A good principle to go by is to buy nearly all your food from the outside of the grocery store. The middle is where the processed food is generally kept. So if most of your food is bought in the interior aisles, then you might want to make some grocery changes. But to do this…
Make small changes over time: Let me ask if this sounds familiar. You decide you want to be healthy one day, you go out and buy all the healthiest food you can think of, almost completely change your diet. You do great at first, until you start to miss all those foods you used to eat and then you jump right back into old habits. My advice? Make small changes. Always substitute. Here’s an example. I used to buy ice cream to have at night. It was my end of the day treat. But ice cream is loaded with fat and sugar, so I switched to frozen yogurt. Then it occurred to be that, too, is loaded with sugar, so I switched to Greek yogurt, adding almonds and a few dark chocolate chips. This has been my staple ever since.
Keep an eye on your portions: I don’t count calories. I know people who do, and I’ve tried it, and I hate it. Why? For one, it’s a difficult science. Even with a formula, it’s tough to know exactly how many calories your body needs, taking into account all the variables. Let’s say I decide my daily caloric needs are 1,800. Do you think it will be 1,800 every day? What if I’m particularly active that day? Now it’s different. I add exercise. Different. I get a different amount of sleep. Different. I also think calorie counting is dangerous. If you put yourself in too much of a calorie deficit, your body will start storing fat because it believes it’s starving. So what do I do instead? Follow the 80/20 rule. Eat until you start to feel just a little below satisfied. If you’re stuffed, you’ve eaten too much. If you’re hungry, not enough.
(Note: I do think calorie counting can be good to get a rough estimate of how much food should be consumed in a particular day. It’s a good reminder every once in a while. I don’t use it on a regular basis because I don’t want to spend my life calculating every meal.)
Do what works for you: The biggest difficulty in all this is that every body type is different. Some people have never had to worry about their weight. Others do. This is why I suggest small changes. Make a change, see what happens. If it works, keep doing it. If it doesn’t, try something else. I consider my diet a constant work in progress, something I’m always working on. The above has worked for me, so I stick with them. Give em a try, and don’t be afraid to dump them if they don’t work for you.
The Briathlete 