Wellness Wednesday – The one diet that beats everything!

This diet is the most amazing thing. It’s got all the nutrition that anyone of any gender, size or age can eat and it tastes out of this world. It is so good that it’s only used by a very select group of people. There’s only one thing about it though and no its not the price tag. It’s completely imaginary.

There’s no such thing as a perfect one diet fits all. There are massive debates over which diet is better than the other and people always think that they are right because that’s what makes them feel better but that may not work for everyone.

A person could live a fairly healthy life eating nothing but spaghetti Bolognese. You can pack it full of meat, beans, veggies, tomatoes and pile it on top of a lovely wholegrain wheat pasta.

What happens if you were to be a celiac though? You’re body would be damaged by the gluten in the wheat which will prevent you from absorbing nutrients. It also causes a massive array of other symptoms that are unpleasant and make life miserable.

I personally don’t feel great when I eat beef products and red meat but that doesn’t mean that all meat is bad for me (or at least I don’t think it is).

Studies do show that different fats and proteins are absorbed differently and different types are worse or better than others.

I’m not trying to make any point as to what diet anyone should or shouldn’t eat here. It’s not about eating meat or being vegan. I support both sides because different diets suit people differently.

The one thing about diet that I do want to make is you have to enjoy what you eat. This doesn’t mean you should eat only chocolate cake for the rest of your life but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat it at all.

We need to be open minded about food. Be adventurous. Instead of sneering at vegans, because you can’t imagine never eating bacon again, try being vegan one day each week for a year and see what it’s like. Look for the meat substitutes and try the different types. If you don’t like them then at least you tried them.

If you trying to go semi-vegan is too much then maybe try pescatarian, and try out different types of fish, or maybe just quit red meat. Either way the way to finding a healthy diet that you will stick to is by trying different things until you find what you like and keeping some form of balance.

It also doesn’t have to be about not eating stuff. Go out and try new foods. Make friends with someone from a different country and find out what types of foods they eat in their country. Go to the foreign food stores and have a look around. Pick up something small and give it a try. Don’t expect to like all new things either because your palate isn’t used to these new flavors and you’re trying to figure out is it gonna poison you or not. The more adventurous you are the more you’ll like new things but it’s a part of yourself you need to develop.

It’s not all about what you eat!

A big part of a balances diet isn’t what you actually put in your body, but what I’ve found to be a massive part of a healthy diet and lifestyle is about when you eat or drink something.

Many of us don’t eat the right foods at the right time. I’m extremely guilty of the bad habit of skipping breakfast or entire series of meals in the past. This was in hindsight a massive error. Our brains need glucose to function. Many times I’d say I don’t have time or can’t be bothered making something proper so I’d have a coffee and maybe a biscuit with it.

To start with, “I don’t have time” is never a valid excuse not to eat in this day and age. Having a coffee and not eating properly increases our stress levels. The caffeine hinders the actions of the adenosine, which dampens brain activity. This is why we feel alert. The problem is we are in a stress mode because our body is saying it needs nutrition and therefore is making you stressed to try and find a food source and the caffeine is making us alert so we can perform other tasks and forget about eating. This leads us to be anxious and stressed and acting out of emotions rather than rational thinking.

Caffeine is not a bad substance, it has a large number of health benefits, but when you are taking it as a substitute for a healthy meal you are doing yourself harm.

Another mistake that a lot of us make, in relation when we eat food, is having high carb and energy related foods later in the day where our activity levels are dropping off. It’s a fairly rational and self explanatory idea that we should eat out highest energy meals before the activities that we will use the calories in.

Which of these make the most sense?

1. Drink a cup of coffee and have an apple – Go to the gym – Eat a dinner of potatoes, broccoli and chicken.
2. Have a bowl of soup and a sandwich, finish it of with a slice of chocolate cake – Go to the gym – Have a yogurt

The second one is much higher in calories overall but is still the better option because it allows the body to be high in energy before the workout. This allows the body to work harder and push harder and further during the workout and will therefore burn more calories during the work out and more importantly after the workout. While the body is low in calories after the workout all we need to feed it is protein so it can recover correctly. During the afterburn stage of the workout where the body is burning calories in the repair we don’t need to put in as much effort so if we keep the blood sugar lower and protein high we can burn fat.

Some people recommend fasted cardio which is also effective for burning fat due to the same principles but this is negated if you follow up a fasted run with a massive plate of pancakes and syrup. If you want the high calorie, quick digestion foods then eat then directly before you plan to use them. This way you use the fuel you are putting in your body effectively and you become happier and less anxious due to large spikes and drops in blood sugar levels.

The principle of when also applies to when we should drink water. We should drink water at a consistent rate throughout the day but what happens for the eight hours that we are lying in bed exhaling and sweating out all that precious water we were putting in our bodies all day. We wake up in the morning and our hydration levels are lower than they should be, this is especially true if you are training your muscles as the acids and toxins in your muscles are being filtered out during the repair phase and this uses up the water in your system. This is why we should drink a larger amount of water as soon as we wake up. Literally the first thing that we should do is drink water.

Summary

Here we looked at diet in the general sense. There is no, “one diet fits all”, so why are we looking for it. Experiment with your diet and find out what you do and don’t like. Look up some superfoods and see which ones you can incorporate into a tasty and healthy meal (superfoods like everything should be taken in appropriate portions). Talk to people about the different foods that they eat. Try and organize a get-together where people bring their favorite dishes and try a little bit of each.

When is as important than what. What we eat is very much important but when we eat it is just as important. If we want to have treats and luxury foods try and eat them at a time that your body will use it rather than store it.

Oh and one last thing.

Stop skipping breakfast!!!!