Before you make fun of someone's diet...Read this.

A little all over the place, but I wanted to talk about the large movement of people bashing on diets especially in relation to fat loss.

Time Stamps:

0:48 – Counting calories is sustainable eating approach in the long run if you’re willing to put the work in.

1:14 – Lifestyle habits should be the long-term goal.

1:23 – “Healthy Foods” make the decision process easier at the start of your diet

1:52 – If you’re having trouble with hyper palatable foods, then sticking to a range of whole foods can be helpful.

2:10 – The problem with dieting is that some people don’t know when to stop dieting.

2:46 – Dieting isn’t magical in the foods that you eat, but in the motivation you find from starting something.

What Diet Should I Follow?

Which diet is meant for you?

It would be a safe answer for me to tell you that the diet you choose is simply the diet that you’re most compliant with, but that answer is only part of a bigger answer and it’s not a sexy way to end a blog post. The nutrition scene has really become a war of tribes. Lately the landscape seems to be predominantly owned by the Paleo, Keto, Vegan and IIFYM tribes. With that being said, where do you fit in? I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t jump on the bandwagon of each of these tribes at some point. After all, finding a diet and testing it out is the only way you’ll know if you get jacked on it or not. The thing I learned when going through these diets is that there are gems to takeaway from each diet. For example…

The Paleo tribe taught me about the effects of inflammatory foods.

The Keto tribe taught me about the benefits of quality dietary fat sources.

The Vegan tribe opened my eyes to a variety of micronutrient rich carbohydrate sources.

The IIFYM macro crew taught me about donuts, I mean balance.

***Oh and the Carb-backloading crew taught me that if you don’t track your food and blindly eat copious amounts of pad thai and cake before bed, you might wake up in a sweaty daze.

As a Nutritionist, I’m biased in that I believe although food may not fix all the world’s problems, it can definitely make a huge impact on someone’s health when the right dietary changes are made. So here’s where I hit you with the message… I believe there’s a difference between habit-based eating and diet based eating (credit to the OG's Precision Nutrition who came up with this term). Habit based eating is sustainable and should be the long-term goal. Diet based eating serves a therapeutic purpose. By therapeutic purpose, I mean a short-term goal, which is meant to get you back on to your long-term goal. Have some gut dysfunction? Go on the Paleo/Anti-inflammatory diet. Having insulin sensitivity issues? Maybe a little Keto could serve you well. That’s up to you and a specialist to decide. What I will suggest is that you don’t start a diet because you feel you need to be part of a crew or follow a specific diet because you’ll be forever lost. Eating patterns are meant to change and adapt to our current health status, training frequency, body composition goals and genetic background. So what exactly are my absolutes when it comes to nutrition? Here’s what I would base the universal diet around…

1.     Micronutrients matter just as much as macronutrients.

2.     Carbohydrate intake is dependant on activity level.

3.     Gut health matters.

4.     Meal timing can be the missing link when it comes to performance.

5.     Sleep is anabolic.

 

I don’t think there’s anything on this list that someone would argue incorrect no matter what eating philosophy they follow. With that being said, I’ll finish off here by letting you know that the diet you do decide to follow shouldn’t hurt or suck, but instead fit your lifestyle. Follow these rules, make some changes where you see fit, and you’re on your way to the universal diet.

Are You Getting Enough Fibre in Your Diet?

I’ve been playing around with my most ideal way of conveying my message through this blog, and I’ve come to the conclusion that my style is “simple and digestible information”. So just like the topic of this blog post, I’m going to keep my information “simple and digestible” (see what I did there?).

In its most basic explanation, fibre is dietary material that’s not broken down by digestive enzymes. This allows fibre to pass through the entire digestive system without being broken down until it reaches the large intestine. This makes it important for our stools as it serves as a bulking agent, it eliminates excess cholesterol by binding to it and can even aid in the elimination of excess hormones. To add to this, the good bacteria in our gut ferment fibre. That fermentation produces certain nutrients like b-vitamins, vitamin k, and short chained fatty acids (SCFA’s). In a blood sugar context, fibre can lower the insulin spiking effect of foods by slowing the rate at which sugar enters the blood.

The importance of fibre is seen right from birth as our first exposure to fibre is in the form of indigestible carbohydrates, which has fibre like effects. You might be asking, “Why does breast milk contain carbohydrate that’s not even digested by the baby?” This is due to its prebiotic content that feeds the gut bacteria of the baby and produces short chain fatty acids that build a healthy colon. Short chain fatty acids can also convert to ketones (for all my Keto friends out there). Ok, now that we're all up to speed on fibre and its benefits, let’s get into the fun stuff. How do we get more fibre in our diet?

A friend posed the question to me, and I wanted to shed some light on some sources that we could consume to get overall fibre intake up. To be clear, there is no magical bean (just regular beans and legumes. HA). Ok, I’ll stop with the bad jokes. What I’m trying to say is that dietary fibre intake should be something that adds up throughout the day rather than something you hit in one or two sittings. This could mean cruciferous veggies at every meal, going heavy on the herbs and spices (which contain fibre), eating some fruit as a snack throughout the day, choosing brown rice over white and even eating the shells of your shrimp (if your digestive system can tolerate it)! I’ll say right off the bat that beans and legumes are some of the best sources of fibre, but I also understand that some people don’t react well to beans. If you’re still willing to give beans another shot, try soaking your beans. This lowers the phytic acid content of the bean, which can inhibit the absorption of some minerals such as zinc.

My dietary fibre intake at this time is set at 40g. Recommended daily fibre for women is usually anywhere from 20-25g while men are in between 35-40g. Here are my favourite food sources that are surprisingly high in fibre…

Tips to sneak in some fibre without thinking about it include sprinkling hemp seed on your food where applicable, put some flax into your shakes and yogurt, use frozen berries and spinach in your smoothies. If you choose to enlist the help of a fibre supplement, then be weary of fibre supplements that contain added flavours and preservatives. Psyllium husk can potentially be an option as a fibre supplement, but it can cause irritation for people dealing with existing Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Don't forget your fibre!

Start Achieving Your Goals With This One Trick.

This is one fitness tip that requires no gym membership to start.

“I used to be skinny before the baby”. “I used to bench more when I was younger”. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard someone talk about how they used to be healthier, slimmer, stronger and sexier back in the day.

Unfortunately, life can push you in different directions and for whatever reason, you’ve gained some weight or lost some strength. So, you’re in this position trying to lose weight and get back to what you used to be and the task of losing weight or putting on muscle has been so hard to do. You’ve done it before, so why can’t you do it again?

Here’s what I’ve learned over the last bit. You will never be what you used to be. You can’t re-create the conditions that you had in the past. Since then, you’ve become wiser, older, and the conditions around you have changed. Start creating the conditions that will improve who you are today moving forward. Don’t strive to be what you used to be, but instead be a better version of what you are today.

1.     Love who you are. It seems cliché, but when have we ever achieved success while hating ourselves?

2.     Surround yourself around people who share the same goals as you and who will support you. Do you know that guy that makes fun of you for ordering the salad or rice instead of the fries and beer? He just doesn’t want to be alone.

3.     Start now. The “I’ll start Monday” excuse is played out. If you’re reading this, and you want to start your fitness journey, then start now. Walk, run, yoga, dance…Just start something and start now. Often people will not start because of the fear of not “doing it right”. Some traditionalists will hate that I say this, but you can start anywhere and you can correct whatever that needs to be corrected along the way.

4.     Have fun doing it. If you’re trying to get stronger, screw the numbers and just start lifting. If you feel good after doing it, then you’re doing it right. Too intimidated? Are you finding it hard to start somewhere or share your progress because you’re self-conscious of others making fun of you? Then let’s work out together. Seriously, email me.

I’ll have some exciting news coming up so stay tuned!