The Simple Reasons Your Nutrition and Diet fails you time and time again.
The Simple Reasons Your Nutrition and Diet fails you time and time again.
The world of nutrition is a tricky one to navigate when everyone from friends and family to the 6pm news team is telling you the next best thing or what the new popular fad is.
There is a good chance all of these people telling you what to do are making it harder for you find a good system that fits in your life, is aligned with your goals and does not make you miserable. Here is what you need to do.
1. Stop Starting a PHD Level Diet With Only A Kindergarten Level of Knowledge About Nutrition
How much do you really know about nutrition and food?
If your answer is “I call EAT24, GrubHub or Seamless, it magically arrives, and I eat it” then it’s safe to say you might need some basic introductory information before starting a complex new diet strategy. And no, the latest news story about a new study telling you what food is good, or bad doesn’t count as acquiring basic knowledge…sorry :(
Let me provide an easy example to understand the need for your understanding of the basics.
If you wanted to play the guitar for the first time which option would be the best route to take to acquire those skills needed to play like a pro:
buying an electric guitar, downloading some Eddie Van Halen sheet music, and just start trying to play?
buying a cheap guitar, guitar lessons,and/or downloading beginners guitar lessons?
Approach your nutrition with the same way you would approach learning any new skill. Start with the basics to build a solid foundation.
2. Ignoring the handles on your kitchen cabinets.
Don’t worry about the useless little stuff that only makes a difference if and only if you have a handle on your foundation first.
Let’s say you you are building your dream house for the rest of your life, don’t you think the foundation, studs, roof, and drywall are more important in the beginning than worrying if you want knobs, or handles on the cabinets in your kitchen?
Here is an example list of things you do not need to worry about yet.
Organic vs non organic
How many times a day you eat: eating 3, 4,5, or 6 meals a day
eating every 2 hours
pre, intra, and post workout nutrition
fasting
cleansing
high carbs or low carbs
high fat or low fat
blood type
body type
etc
Sure, your future nutrition might need to look vastly different from what it looks like in its current state but, for long term success it is a good idea to learn some of the basics. Learn the basics before grabbing a new secret diet book off the shelf,or exploring some random website that popped up in your news-feed?
A quality nutrition lifestyle is a skill, and just like any other skill there is going to be some learning that has to be done before success.
3. Trying To Trick The Body With Quick Fixes
I get it, I really do. Seeing quick weight loss or muscle gaining results can be a huge motivator, and that feeling really keeps the heart warm with love for your routine. I know it's not something anyone wants to hear but, a lot of these quick results don’t teach you anything sustainable for long term success, and often lead to some serious plateaus all thanks to your body making some adjustments.
Every time you try and “trick” the body you forget that our bodies are sophisticated structures that are surprisingly awesome at learning how to avoid being tricked into an inefficient states. It doesn’t matter if you start a juice cleanse, a fast, go no carb, or low calorie; your body will learn to make adjustments to become energy efficient again. We all know when you put in hard work without seeing results the frustration meter reaches max capacity, and we fall off the wagon all together thus negating all and any progress seen. Let’s stop trying to outsmart something that is just plain ole better than you think at not being tricked.
BONUS TIP 4. Stop Meal planning & Prepping Like You’re Gordon Ramsay
If you are Gordon Ramsay then Wow, it brings great honor to my family that you are reading this article. Gordon feel free to skip over this section because your level of greatness in the kitchen is well above the level of the audience I am looking to reach.
Since you are not the great Gordon Ramsay, I demand you stop trying to prepare meals as if you were. We are trying to prepare meals that first and foremost are aligned with our goals. Trying to be Like a 5 star chef in the kitchen is above your pay grade on this quest for fitness.
Cooking is way more simple than some people make it out to be. The goals, and top priorities should be to cook food that won't make you sick, or dread eating it. Start by choosing a method of cooking food you know you are relatively good at. If you burn everything you put on the stove then you should probably find another way to heat up your dinner. I might be a genius on the grill, and you might be a boss on the broil and bake; play to your strengths. It doesn’t matter what you are cooking, cook the way you know how and over time you can learn the rest.
Oh, and one more thing. Stop following Recipes that make complete meals. Instead follow recipes that make the components of your meals This way they can be interchangeable with any item you might want to switch out of your meal plan. Pick separate recipes for foods you like then just cook them, and combine them into meals as you eat them. You don’t have to make Restaurant quality dishes where each element works perfectly building on top of each other to create a flavor bursting paradise in your mouth. I know it can be frustrating when you see all your friends posting pictures of the meal they spent 3 hours preparing on a Wednesday (or ordered from a restaurant) but, remember they probably didn’t get a workout in.
The Bonus on top of the BONUS TIP 5. You focus on how and when you “feel” hungry
Remember how I said our bodies are really awesome at not being tricked for too long. Well say hello to Appetite. Appetite is a personal habit based on actions you make in what time you eat, and the quantity of the food eaten. If you tend to eat every 3 hours then our bodies learn this, remember it, and prepare itself every 3 hours to be ready to eat. So, that feeling you have that you are starving when you haven’t eaten at 3.5 hours doesn’t mean you are actually starving.
Appetite is also easily altered with repetition, and it can even be suppressed when your mind is focused on something else. Have you ever been concentrating on something and a few hours went by without realizing it.
So, feeding yourself based on feeling is not the best way to support your goals.
A 3rd BONUS TIP! YEP THATS RIGHT Tip 6. Not having a Contingency Plan
Planning is a huge piece of nutrition success on a fitness journey. Here is a secret about planning you need to know. Life does not care about your plans. A nutrition contingency plan is the “What Do I Do If All Else Fails Plan”. The contingency plan is never going to be perfectly inline with your goals, but it will be more ideal than some other on the go options you may have access to. Maybe keeping some mixed Nuts or some protein powder in your bag will be better for your goals than stopping at the Hot-dog Cart for before hopping on the subway.
Maybe you get pulled into a meeting meaning you can’t eat your planned and prepared lunch sitting in the office fridge, or you have to stay late at work then rush home and drive the kid to Baseball practice immediately and your dinner won't be for another 4 hours now. What do you do?
It might seem pointless to plan for these moments but, trust me when they come around (and they will come around) you will be happy that you did.
Originally published at fitletes.com
Thanks For taking the time out of your day to read.
If you enjoyed it then I hope you follow, It would really mean the world to me.