With all the noise out there from influencers (personal trainers, weight loss drug pushers, dieticians, nutricians etc) on social media, it can be hard to know what are healthy choices and which are fads or paid promotions.
The truth is that there isn’t money to be made off what is truly healthy because it isn’t a created product you can buy off the shelf, some influencers unique formula.
There are no tricks here. The consensus is that a diet low in sugar and low in ultra-processed food is what is best for the human body.
I am a fan of Michael Pollan, who has three simple rules for what and how we should eat:
- Eat food (real food – unprocessed)
- Not too much (overconsumption of quantity and/or calories)
- Mostly plants (all but the most extreme of influencers agree)
These simple rules align with many recommended diets such as the Blue zone diets and Mediterranean diets (highly recommend by doctors for treatment of diabetes, heart disease and many other obesity related illnesses.
Harvard describes a healthy diet as:
There is no single diet that nutritionists have deemed “the healthiest.” However, there are several styles of eating that experts either have designed for optimal health or have observed to be healthy when consumed traditionally by different people around the world. Such styles of eating tend to have a few things in common—they tend to be plant-based diets, they emphasize healthy fats, no simple sugars and low sodium, and they favor natural foods over the highly processed fare typical of much of the Western diet.
The Mayoclinic has a similar recommendation and lists these as:
high in:
- Vegetables.
- Fruits.
- Whole grains.
- Beans.
- Nuts and seeds.
- Olive oil.
- Seasoning with herbs and spices.
The main steps to follow the diet include:
- Each day, eat vegetables, fruits, whole grains and plant-based fats.
- Each week, have fish, poultry, beans, legumes and eggs.
- Enjoy moderate portions of dairy products.
- Limit how much red meat you eat.
- Limit how many foods with added sugar you eat.
Some other elements of the Mediterranean diet are to:
- Share meals with family and friends.
- Get regular exercise.
- Enjoy wine in moderation if you drink alcohol.
CNN Health reported on this years US Best diets and ranked the Mediterannean diet as no. 1 for the 7th year in a row. They highlighted its health benefits but also the ease of adherence.
None of these recommendations tell you to reach for the packet of cereal with a protein claim, or ask you to measure your macros. The key is to make your own food where you can. This provides you with a greater connection to your food.
Ignore the marketing noise
No matter how much that box of chocolate flavoured cereal tells you it is healthy with its star ratings and fibre claims, it has far too much sugar and ingredients only found in a factory to actually be healthy. Ignore it. There are many other examples of this throughout the supermarket. A product that claims high protein, may have less protein than a product that makes no claims. In fact I saw the other day that a brand of barbeque sauce (brown sauce) put out a low sugar and salt option. While indeed less than their own #1 product, it still had more sugar than a competing brand that didn’t make such claims. When caring about macro content (sugar, fats, salt, protein, carbs) you are best to look at the label (ingredients and macros) than to believe the advertised claim on the front of the box.
Losing weight (losing fat)
The above is the recommendation for a healthy diet, but is it also good for fat loss?
Yes! Emphatically yes!
- Because it is health focused it optimises your bodies ability to function well, what this also means is that we reduce many of the metabolic issues that reduce the effectiveness of weight loss attempts. Being healthier makes it easier for your body to lose weight.
- Because the food is generally higher nutrition and lower calorie, you are capable of being fuller sooner for lower calories. when you remove high calorie density food such as fast food, added sugars, fried takeout foods etc, you will find you are eating less calories. There is no need to starve yourself. Binging on the other hand is also never recommended regardless of what your diet is.
- It’s a sustainable long term approach, easy to follow, and becomes a lifestyle choice. The Mediterranean diet is inclusive of ethical choices. You can be plant based, vegan, or ominvorous. It is culturally inclusive. It is not a fad!
Choose healthy diets and your body will be supported to be healthy, be active, and live longer. Weight loss may be your goal, and healthy choices also help you with this.
