6 steps to a better diet
Nutrition expert reveals why your diet isn’t working. By Lauryn Lax
Having a better diet is often at the forefront of many people’s minds. However, with so many different types of diets, it can be overwhelming to know the right way to achieve your nutrition goals. Here, nutrition expert Lauryn Lax at BreakingMuscle.com outlines the main reasons why your diet may not be working and how to fix them.
1 - You're not eating enough fat
Diets that exclude or severely limit fat tend to replace all those calories with carbohydrates, which sets you up to ride the blood sugar roller coaster. Your body is constantly chasing balance between blood sugar and insulin levels, which can in turn impact your cortisol (stress hormone) production. Cortisol signals your body to store body fat, rather than burn it, and can also lead to increased intake of high carbohydrate foods.
Dietary fat can help keep energy levels more even, and hunger at bay. Reach for healthy fats with each meal, and in place of carbohydrate-based snacks, reach for a snack with healthy fat or protein as the base. Look for things like raw nuts and seeds, olive oil, coconut oil, coconut butter, avocado, olives, ghee, grass-fed butter, full-fat fermented yogurt, pastured eggs, or avocado oil.
2 - You're not including carbsÂ
Just because you should eat fats doesn’t mean that carbs are the enemy, either. When we go too low on carbs, particularly from veggies, we risk also eliminating fibre, which is essential to digestion, your gut biome, and metabolic balance. Extreme diets at either end of the fat versus carbs spectrum can negatively impact your metabolism.
Researchers and dieters everywhere are asking, which is better, low fat or low carb? But there isn’t a single correct answer. Some people do better with more carbs, and some do better with more fat. Every body is different. For example, some women who have issues with their blood sugar or insulin resistance have found ketogenic diets beneficial as a short-term dietary approach. However, women who have their blood sugar under control, but have some adrenal fatigue or hormone imbalances, have found a ketogenic diet more harmful in the long run.
3 - You're counting numbers when you should be counting coloursÂ
Our bodies don’t see food in terms of macros and calories. They see nutrients and need lots of nutrient-dense foods to thrive. The problem many people run into with macro or calorie-based plans is that they fixate on numbers, scales and measurements, without acknowledging the nutrient density in foods, and how your metabolism responds to that.
For instance, a half cup of gummy bears may supply your body with a punch of ‘quick digesting carbs’ after a workout, but the nutrient composition and health benefit it provides is completely different than a half cup of berries or a small, sweet potato. Your body responds to the real food with increased satiety and a better metabolic result.
Diet staples like rice and olive oil do give your body some protein, fat, and carbs, but what about their nutrient density and variety? Put another way, how many colours are in that meal? Generally speaking, less colour means fewer nutrients, and less satisfaction from eating them. You might have hit your macro goals, but your body is still craving the rest of the many nutrients it needs to function at its best.
When we consume lots of colourful veggies, body-boosting healthy fats, and essential proteins, our metabolism comes alive, extracting various vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to keep your body revving.
My top picks include:
- Dark leafy greens
- Colourful veggies (aim for 2-3 different
veggie colours at each meal) - Berries
- Citrus (lemon, orange, lime, grapefruit)
- Organic herbs (parsley, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, sage)
- Fermented foods like sauerkraut
- Pastured eggs
- Coconut oil, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, ghee, and grass-fed butter
- Avocado
- Raw brazil nuts, walnuts, and macadamia nuts
While you’re at it, make sure you are eating enough. Under-eating is just as detrimental as overeating.
4 - You're too stressed about your dietÂ
Stress is the number one driver of all disease, including stubborn body fat. Stress is inevitable in our society, but it is often overlooked in areas beyond mental health. Even if you don’t think you’re stressed out, minor daily stressors can threaten metabolic balance.
Biologically, your cortisol level needs to be in a state of balance in order to shed body fat. If your body constantly feels threatened, cortisol levels become chronically high. The last thing your body wants to do when it thinks it’s fighting for survival is comply with your fat loss protocol.
You can’t improve your body when your mind is freaked out. Stress reduction has been shown to help alleviate an otherwise broken metabolism. Incorporating a practice of deep breathing, meditation, meditative movement (stretching, yoga, dance), and reading or listening to positive truth (podcasts, books, speakers, etc.) are all tactics for mindfully reducing stress.
5 - You're not paying attention to your mealsÂ
Speaking of mindfulness, research tells us that practicing it during meals can also help reduce cortisol and abdominal fat.
Incorporate these techniques into your own mealtimes:
- Chew your food (fully).
- De-screen: turn off the TV, phone, computer and even books.
- Assess your level of hunger and fullness. You don’t have to always finish your plate, and sometimes, you may need seconds.
- Be aware of how food makes you feel.
- Are you bloated, constipated, breaking out, anxious, have an allergic reaction? Something may be in your food that is not sitting well with you.
- Don’t eat the same things every day. Incorporate a variety of nutrients from real foods.
6. You haven't fixed your mindsetÂ
These essential strategies could be the game changers you’ve been looking for to get your fat loss efforts on track. But the biggest of all comes from a gut-check of a different kind: not making your goal solely about fat loss.
Fat loss is only the means to get something else you really want. Identify that feeling that you think your fat loss will bring you and begin feeding into goals and pursuits outside fat measurements or the scale itself to attain what it is you truly want.
The biggest game changer in getting the body you want will come when you stop focusing so much on scale and size and instead make goals and set intentions around other more important things in your life. It’s not bad to want to improve your body composition, but when our sole drive and focus is aimed at body fat loss alone, that dangling carrot will never be fully attained. There will always be someone better, fitter, prettier, or leaner than us. Instead, set primary goals for personal development, peace with yourself and food, healing your gut or hormones, stressing less, improving relationships.
Lauryn Lax is a nutrition expert at BreakingMuscle.com
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