NO SUCH THING AS THE BEST DIET

When it comes to diets, people are always looking for the “perfect” solution. And when health coaches or nutrition coaches are asked “What is the best diet to be on?”, it’s difficult to answer that question correctly.

Why? 

Because there are too many variables. People thrive on and have had great success with different styles of eating – vegan or vegetarian, Keto, Paleo, Atkins, an Omnivorous approach – the list goes on and on.

The fact that so many people have had success on different diets shows that there is no ONE best diet. So why do they all seem to work?

Because they are underlined by specific nutrition principles.

These principles include: focusing on and being aware/mindful of food intake; emphasizing protein and vegetables, even if there is a disagreement about carbs and fats; and emphasizing food quality and eating more nutritious, whole foods.

In addition, generally all diets or eating styles promote regular exercise.

According to Precision Nutrition, there are 5 underlying principles of good nutrition that can be applied to any diet.

1.    Protein is the most important macronutrient to get right – it helps you feel full, keeps metabolism revving, and maintains muscle mass when you’re trying to lose fat, or when you’re trying to gain/build muscle.

2.    Whole, minimally-processed foods means more nutrition – the more processed a food is, the more nutrients are lost. Whole foods provide more vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients.

3.    Fruits and Vegetables reduce the risk of disease (and help with weight loss) – they provide an abundance of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients (which are just beginning to be studied for their nutritional value and ability to fight off diseases).

4.    Get plenty of sleep – sleep affects appetite, energy levels, hormone regulation and overall health. Sleep deprivation can increase ghrelin, a hormone that increases appetite and causes you to seek out more food, and it also decreases leptin, which is the main satiety hormone that helps you feel fuller, faster.

5.    Most important, weight gain and weight loss come down to ENERGY BALANCE – the amount of calories that you take in versus the amount of calories you burn off.

An additional BONUS principle is this – Eating mindfully or intuitively makes you more self-aware of what and how much you are eating. This leads to self-regulation where you no longer need to track your foods (tracking macros or counting calories or weighing out your foods). Tracking can be necessary at first, but eventually you can get to a point where you are mindful of what you eat and no longer need to track everything.

These are the universal principles that underlie successful diets.

Another thing to think about when it comes to choosing the right diet or eating style for you is this: Be open minded and willing to test new things to see what works best for you. Even science doesn’t always have an answer for why one way of eating (diet) works for some people but not others.

The real “best diet” is the one that you can follow the best even on your worst day. It needs to take into account all your life factors and fit into those parameters. Examples of life factors include: budget, family preferences, cultural preferences, personal tastes, time constraints, mood and stress levels, etc.

And it needs to take into account your eating preferences, too. For example, if low-carb is what a certain diet promotes (ex. Atkins), but you love high-carb foods, then that may not be the right choice for you to be able to sustain long term.

If you are willing to be open-minded, experiment with what works for you and what doesn’t, and follow the underlying principles of good nutrition, you can find the “best” diet for you to lose weight and maintain a healthy eating style.