Diet. I really dislike this word.
Actually, I really dislike
the misinterpreted meaning of it. In recent history the word diet has been completely
taken out of context. The definition of diet is “the customary amount and kind of food and
drink taken by a person from day to day; more narrowly, a diet planned to meet
specific requirements of the individual.” So really a diet is all about what you eat and
drink every day.
However in this day and age diet is typically
about a low fat, low carb, low sugar and low calorie approach to food in order
to manipulate ones weight or shape. The word diet strikes fear in to almost anyone’s heart as it generally means
eating some exotic food, drinking only some scary slush, working out until you
can’t move and being uncomfortably hungry all the time.
So what we’re
going to do today is get that word diet,
throw it away and just not use it ever again. Instead we are going to talk
about your nutrition. Nutrition by definition is “The process of nourishing or being
nourished, especially the process by which a living organism assimilates food
and uses it for growth and for replacement of tissues.” This is exactly why we
eat and drink, for growth and repair. Our bodies need to have enough good fuel to
go about its daily physical duties and keep us healthy and active.
Focusing on nutrition,
I am going to provide you with my key points about maintaining a healthy
balanced approach to eating and drinking based on my own knowledge and
experience.
- Don’t eat bad processed food. I don’t mean steak, tinned fish, frozen vegetables or milk products. I mean white bread, pastries, white pasta, pies, cookies, twisties, cakes, lollies, chocolate bars... Foods which are refined to be so far away from their natural state that all their nutrition is stripped away and manufactures have to replace nutrition with nasty additives, like sugars and fats to make them taste good.Instead opt for fresh fruit and veg (organic is even better), meat, fish and poultry. Pick full fat yoghurts or milks, or opt for Almond, oat or rice varieties (unsweetened!). There is so much information around, a simple Google search will help you find many whole foods and some great recipes to go along with them. I found WH Foods to be a really helpful website, providing a list of the world’s healthiest foods, their uses, nutritional breakdown and a whole host of other information, check it out for yourself http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php
- If the producs mentions “diet” “light” “lite” or “% fat free” be wary of it. If they are taking out the fats or natural sugars from a food, what are they adding in to make it taste good? Normally they are adding bad sugars or artificial sweeteners.
- Learn to read your labels. This will help you identify any nasty preservatives or additives and also give you an understanding of the nutritional value of the food you’re eating. The general rule is; if the product has more than 6 or 7 ingredients listed, it has numbers listed or you don’t understand any of the words on the label, put it back. If it has more than 15 grams of sugar per 100 grams put it back (there are exceptions where a product is made of fruit or is a sugar e.g. honey and agave syrup). Look at the total carbohydrates on a package. If sugar makes up more than half of those grams, put it back.
- Think about how we ate in the “olden days”. You might ask why, when science and food production has seen so many advancements, must we return to the “olden days”? Well whilst our brain might know we’re living in a modern world our body certainly does not. In the 1950s only 10% of people were obese. Now 1 in 5 Australians are obese. So let’s get back to our roots - eating good unprocessed fresh produce.
- Move a bit more. Looking back at the good ol’ 50’s again to compare. We used to move a lot more then, cars were more expensive, people lived further away from cities, we didn’t have TVs or the internet and we didn’t have the vast amount of gyms or fitness centres. Back then we just incidentally moved more, so it’s not about sweating it out for hours and hours in the gym. It’s about having enough time in the morning to walk to the bus stop, taking the stairs instead of the lift, walking the dog in the evening, mowing the lawn instead of paying someone to do it. An extra hour a day can do all the difference,
- Stay away from sugary (and caffeinated) drinks. Yes this includes juice. Unless it’s a certified organic no added sugar juice, stay away from it. Drink plenty of water and herbal teas throughout the day. If you like the fizz, buy soda water and add a twist of fresh lime or a squeeze of mango . Make your own natural drinks in a jug each day; chop up fresh kiwi fruit, some mint and lemon for a refreshing drink. Remember even a drink counts towards your daily calorie limit, so be wary!
- Don’t be afraid of good carbs. They help with satiety and are a great source of dietary fibre and will keep you feeling fuller for longer. A good measure is around ½ - 1 cup for a nice serve of good carbs. Good carbs are sweet potatoes, carrot, pumpkin, beans and lentils, brown rice, quinoa, amaranth, oats and wholegrain pasta. If you’re looking for what constitutes as good carbs this website gives you a great guide http://www.goodcarbs.org/#what_are_good_carbs I use it when I am looking for different things to be my carb portion of my meals.
- Everything in moderation. Everything. It’s about having a balance. Yes you can enjoy a glass of wine on the weekend and continue to have a healthy balanced nutrition. No, you can’t finish off the whole bottle. Yes, you can have a treat day where you indulge in a dinner out and a desert - no you can’t carry it on into the next few days or weeks. Have balance.
- Sorry to break it to you but there aren't any diet or weight loss secrets out there. No supplement, vitamin, powder or magical herb is going to make you lose weight. It’s about a whole life style change, a shift away from unhealthy habits to a good balanced diet. Long term sustainable weight loss will take a long time, .5 – 1kg a week. So if you have 30kg to loose it’ll take you almost 8 months. There is no substitute for moving more, eating better and having good portion control. If you want to be a healthier person then you have to commit to the journey no one can sell you that.
If you’d like
more detail or advice on any of the above mentioned points I provide group or
one on one session such as Learning Label Lingo, Fast Fit Fresh Food or Power
Workouts (15min interval workouts). Touch base with me via my OH! facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/OH.ObjectiveHealth
if you’d like more information.
References
Donner E. 2011. The whole foods weight loss eating plan. http://www.livestrong.com/article/294064-the-whole-foods-weight-loss-eating-plan/
Eilat-Adar, U. Goldbourt, Nutritional recommendations for
preventing coronary heart disease in women: Evidence concerning whole foods and
supplements, Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0939475310000207
Gellespie D.2012. Big Fat Lies – Why the diet industry is
making you sick, fat and poor. Penguin Australia.
Johnson J and Szabo M. 2011. Reflexivity and the Whole Foods
Market consumer: the lived experience of shopping for change. Agriculture and Human Values.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/47578188t4l9026v/
Obesity Facts - WHO. 2012. http://www.who.int/topics/obesity/en/
Prevalence of Obesity – WHO. 2011. https://apps.who.int/infobase/?id=1
Taubes G. 2007. Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the
conventional wisdom on diet, weight control and disease.
Texas Tech University: Health Sciences Centre School of
Medicine. The Whole Foods Diet. http://www.ttuhsc.edu/som/fammed/wholefoods.aspx
The Worlds Healthiest Foods – WHO. 2012. http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php
Weiss J. N.d. Why we eat … and why we keep eating. http://www.insulitelabs.com/articles/Why-We-Eat.html
