Is there an optimal diet for human health?
The quick answer … No! Want to know why? Read on …… Don’t give a fuck? Scroll on
Do you sometimes wish you were like buzz lightyear in Toy story 3 where he had his settings reset and all of a sudden he’s speaking Spanish? A bit like when we think of our diet, do you wish that you could press your reset button and ta dah, you eat healthy and it comes naturally to you like you have always lived that way? FYI we don’t have it that easy, we don’t have reset button that can be switched and miraculously we are the weight we want, or we choose the healthy option first over the calorific one, we are never hungry. This way of thinking needs a bit of work and a little bit of brain re wiring, if you’re going to read a book following this post pick ‘The hungry Brain’ by Stephan Guyenet.
Firstly what is your goal, what is it that you are trying to achieve with your diet/fitness/health/life. I do this is in work, I get asked all the time what to do with a complex wounds, one of the first things I ask is what are you trying to achieve to which I get that look, the look of “well of course I am trying to heal it” that might not be the case, you could be trying to achieve wound closure, or getting the wound ready for a skin graft or there is no way this wound is going to heal you are you just trying to maintain quality of life for the patient.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” did you read that? Let me repeat PHYSICAL, MENTAL, SOCIAL!! Not you must run five hours a day that makes you healthy ….. simple terms, be happy, eat what you can burn off, energy in, energy out!
What is YOUR GOAL? Not what the girls in spin want, not what your bestie wants, what is it that you are trying to achieve. It could be weight loss, weight maintenance, a bigger bum, to meet like-minded people, I feel this quote sums it up quite nicely …. Thanks Martin J “there are many ways up the mountain but each of us must choose a practice that feels true to his own heart. It is not necessary for you to evaluate the practices chosen by others” (source unknown).
Next question is it achievable? We are all built differently and sometimes genetics get involved, also we’ve been hard wired in a way that may need some retraining. Basically our ancestors were hunter gatherers they worked for their meals that they ate and lived a more rigorous lifestyle, WE ARE NOT. We live in a world of convenience and luxurious choices. We don’t need to think or work for our food if we don’t want to, everything is available to us at the click of a button and delivered to our door. Apparently we have been over eating calories for years, do you want to do that for another ten years? I’m guessing no! Can you live comfortably with this chosen diet for the rest of your life? and when we do make that choice is it sustainable? You may need some will power, but we can’t live on will power alone and we don’t want to say no to ourselves.
So a few things to look at amongst the many that are out there;
1. What is your realistic goal … shedding a stone in a week is unrealistic and by no means necessary. Don’t set yourself up to fail, start small and progress from there. Go veggie one night, have a few nights of alcohol free whatever the goal make it yours, make peace with it and be patient. Consume the calories that you know you can realistically burn off. Talk to someone who knows their stuff, like actual research, science and shit! Don’t listen to that celeb who had an injection and made herself thin, that shit ain’t real! Be happy with what you have chosen.
2. Fewer processed foods – because we live in a world of convenience, always on the go sometimes we don’t always make the most appropriate choices. Make the choices you know you will be able to maintain an energy balance. Again, with the realistic goals if you live a life where this is your only option, just swap a night out start there and see how it goes.
3. Stress and sleep – disturbances of sleep and circadian rhythms have adverse impact on our food choices, hunger and appetite. This is evident if you are a shift work, your sleep pattern is all out of whack, and you eat at weird times. Sometimes you are so tired you don’t even know what to do, sleep eat or even cry, I’m pretty sure I have done all of those at the same time and probably whilst on shift!! Also I know what it is like you shovel anything in your mouth to keep awake and you even have wine for breakfast, don’t judge yes that did happen after a night shift so technically it was my evening.
4. Breakfast – get this if you’re not a breakfast person that is ok!! We are all wired differently it’s about figuring out what works best for you, it really is about energy balance and if you are forcing in a meal because you have been told it is the most important one of the day.
5. Control your food environment – take temptation out of the way. It’s not about denying yourself of the stuff you love or ever having a dessert again, it’s about making yourself work for it and then you may have a moment where you think do I really need/want this. Jog to the shop to go and get the chocolate bar (I repeat ENERGY IN ENERGY OUT it’s that simple). By not having the cupboards full of the tempting foods removing the convenience may lessen the amount you eat it. Fill your cupboards with satisfying and filling produce. This isn’t a process that will happen overnight but will soon become so naturally to you.
This list could go on but to follow my own advice, start small, be realistic and be patient. Look at one of these choices, choose your words, maybe don’t use the word diet, say lifestyle pattern, pick your own word, make one up. I always find the word ‘diet’ has a massive association with dieting and weight loss so I don’t use it that often. So back to the elephant in the room, the answer is …. No, there is no one size that fits all, there is no one diet that can fix everyone! Much like the notes of a song, you can mix them all up and to someone that may sound like a beautiful song but to someone else it’s the sound of a cat being strangled. You may have to go on a little journey to find what best suits you. Be kind to yourselves and have fun along the way .
