* I apologise in advance for the magnitude of this….epistle.
As my grade five teacher said, “Craig is easily distracted in class, can be disruptive and has a tendency to be somewhat verbose.
Verbose?
Am not.
You are.
So yesterday we momentarily shifted our focus from the (strictly) head and heart stuff to the body stuff and today we’ll continue the discussion and take a look at the food thing. I know there is much confusion, debate and disagreement about optimal nutrition, so it is always my goal to keep it simple, practical and do-able!
It is my belief that many experts make a simple process (eating well) much harder than it needs to be… and being as I’m kinda simple, I thought we’d keep the discussion that way.
(Simple).
Most of the following is taken from my book ‘Food for Thought’.
Enjoy.
At the start of many diet books the author will make some amazing but predictable claims as to why his or her ‘nutritional model’ is the long-awaited answer to the global obesity problem and why that particular book is remarkably different to any of its predecessors. In the business world this is called having a USP; a Unique Selling Proposition. They want us to believe that their book, in a sea of similar books, is the book we can’t do without. Unless the book’s message and philosophy is different to the other four billion books on offer (has a USP), why would we want to read it? So very early in the piece they will do their best to establish the WOW factor and to impress us with jargon, tech-terms, university studies, research from NASA, their version of weight-loss truth and some amazing testimonies from people who have lost the equivalent of a Hyundai in body-weight in seven weeks.
Invariably, the claims are based on ‘breakthrough’ scientific research by a bloke with four PhD’s and messy hair, and in an attempt to impress (or confuse) us readers they’ll throw in terms like deoxyribonucleic acid, thermogenic, glycemic load, cellular nutrition and independent double-blind study.
Aaaah, the good old double-blind study; where would we be without those?
With books like the CSIRO Diet, the Atkins Diet, the Low GI Diet, the Health Revolution Diet, Protein Power, the Pritikin Diet, the Ultimate Weight Solution, Dieting for Dummies, the South Beach Diet, the Carbohydrate Addicts Diet, The Fat Fallacy, The Zone, Mastering the Zone, Son of the Zone (I made that one up) already selling in the squillions, it might be reasonable to suggest that another diet book ain’t gunna turn the SS Obesity around any time soon.
In fact I’m sure if I went into the lab, put on my white coat (ok, it’s beige) and gave it a good shot, I could find a definite correlation between the increase in the number of diet books on the market and the rising levels of obesity. I know a little about science and I reckon if I try hard enough to interpret the data to suit my hypothesis, I could scientifically conclude that diet books are quite possibly the cause of global obesity. Think about it; we’ve never had more diet books, yet we’ve never been fatter. Maybe I’m on to something? Surely there’s a relationship there?
Ok, I’m talking rubbish, but you get my point.
What if losing weight ain’t that complex?
While I acknowledge that losing weight isn’t always a piece of cake (literally or metaphorically), I also know that it isn’t as difficult as many people make it out to be. After all, if losing weight was simple and straight forward (energy in verses energy out, for example) then maybe we wouldn’t need all those diet books would we?
Mmmm.
Fortunately for you this post is not another tedious diet book, there will be no ridiculous claims, no further reference to double-blind studies and I don’t know many big scientific words, so you shouldn’t get confused.
RULE 1: Eat less.
Aaaah c’mon Harper…. give us something better than that! Thought you were a scientist? Sorry to disappoint you but as long as the biggest problem is overeating (which it is) then the number one solution will always be to eat less. As frustrating, obvious and simple as it may be to reduce our calorie intake… WE STILL DON’T DO IT!
Surely it can’t be so simple, can it?
The single biggest dietary mistake made by most of us is… over-eating.
We confuse what we want, with what our body actually needs (as discussed in the National Geographic Diet post).
It’s estimated that many of us consume thirty to forty percent more food than we need every day. The net result of all that over-eating is fat adults, fat kids and the fastest growing obesity rate in history.
People are almost disappointed with the simplicity of this rule (because they think there must be more to it) but the truth is, if the only thing overweight people did was consistently reduce their calorie intake by up to half, all diet books would be redundant because we’d have virtually zero obesity. So while the experts are debating the high-carb, low-carb, no-carb thing, smart people are simply reducing calories and losing weight! Perhaps a little 1985, but it works. If you’re not sure where to start, reduce the size of your meals by twenty percent and see how you go.
RULE 2: Don’t drink your calories.
While many drinks are cheap, practical, convenient and taste ace… a lot of them are also high in sugar, fat and calories and low in nutritional value. They are also big contributors towards the obesity problem. Some people consistently drink more calories (crap calories) than they eat.
And don’t be fooled by some of the ‘healthier’ options; fruit juices, smoothies, cappuccinos, hot chocolates and protein shakes can be loaded with calories and often contain more sugar than soft drinks (sodas). Some smoothies contain more calories than we might have in a typical lunch or dinner… and people drink these in between meals because they are a healthy option. If you are determined to drink smoothies, use only skim milk, throw in some ice, use fresh fruit (not juice), don’t add ice cream, don’t sweeten it (except with fruit), don’t drink two litres of it… and call it what it is; a meal.
And then of course there’s alcohol….
RULE 3: Eat five to six small meals per day (all about the same size).
Most Aussies are ‘three square meals a day’ people. Research tells us (I hate that expression, but it’s true) that our bodies actually function better on more frequent smaller meals, rather than less frequent, bigger meals. Our body isn’t built to run on a sporadic mix of whopping meals, tiny meals and ‘normal-size’ meals. When we eat small, similar-sized meals more often we are less likely to get fat, more likely to keep our blood sugar levels in a healthier range, more likely to keep our metabolism elevated, less likely to overload our digestive system, less likely to have cravings (and do stupid things), less likely to have energy peaks and troughs and more likely to stay mentally sharp. To my knowledge there is no scientific evidence that indicates that a mix of bigger and smaller meals is optimum for a human body, yet that’s how most of us eat; four corn flakes for breakfast and a deep-fried buffalo for lunch… followed by an afternoon nap.
By the way, a meal doesn’t have to be as big as a caravan and served up on a plate to qualify as a meal. A meal might be an apple and a yoghurt or a hundred grams of chicken (not a kilo) and a salad. If you want a rough guide as to how much food is ideal at each meal, look at the size of your fist and that is about the volume of food you can aim for (if you exercise a lot you may want to increase it by fifty percent). Of course the fist thing is not a scientific standard but it can give you a starting point (I know right now you’re wishing you had bigger hands).
RULE 4: Read nutritional information labels and know exactly what you’re putting in your mouth.
Don’t believe what’s written in big words on the front… that’s called advertising, not information. Look for the little box on the back with all the numbers in it and discover what you’re really eating. Recently one of my clients told me she had discovered low-fat peanut butter. She was excited to inform me that it was twenty-five percent less fat than normal (that’s what the label on the front told her). When she read the nutritional information box she discovered that her low-fat peanut butter was about forty percent fat… so instead of being extremely high in fat (like normal peanut butter), it was ‘only’ very high in fat. Rather than going for the atrocious option, she simply went for the terrible one. Nutella is a spread which is marketed towards kids and is advertised as being low Glycemic Index. They’re not lying; it is low G.I. What they don’t advertise is that it’s also high in fat, high in sugar and high in calories… just what our fat kids need.
Also be aware that many low-fat products are loaded with sugar to compensate for the lack of fat and flavour. Don’t assume that low-fat foods won’t make you fat. You might be interested (or depressed) to learn that some brands of barbeque sauce are over fifty percent sugar… sorry for ruining your summer barbeque fun.
A few years ago one of my clients informed me that she had decided to substitute her evening meal for a low-fat meal replacement shake. Being the sceptical, boring and predictable type that I am, I asked her to bring me an empty sachet so that I could investigate exactly what was in her little weight-loss miracle. With sixteen different vitamins and minerals, less than one percent fat and the personal endorsement of an Olympian, how could she go wrong?
If only it wasn’t fifty seven percent sugar (no, that’s not a misprint) perhaps she might have lost some weight.
Beware the weight-loss sachet.
RULE 5: Avoid (most) cereals.
What? Isn’t cereal meant to be the healthy breakfast? These days the term ‘healthy cereal’ is almost an oxymoron. Most cereals are sugary, processed, expensive crap but if you really want to go down that road then opt for the ones with the shorter ingredient lists. Usually the longer the ingredient list (for any food product, not just cereal), the worse the product is for you. That will leave you with options like oats (my daily breakfast), unprocessed bran, weet-bix (or similar), some natural mueslis and a few others. Read the nutritional information on the pack carefully and choose wisely. If it has more than ten grams of sugar per hundred, avoid it.
RULE 6: Don’t eat within four hours of bedtime.
This is one of those rules that might not sit well with the ‘nutritional gurus’ but… I don’t really care. They can have their own set of rules! While it’s not always possible, practical or appropriate for everyone to stop eating four hours before bedtime (shift workers, diabetics, kids), for many of us this is a great rule for a few reasons: 1.People sleep better because their digestive system isn’t working overtime while they try and sleep. 2. They won’t indulge in senseless late-night, pantry-raiding type eating. 3. They might actually wake up hungry (a good thing) and 4. They won’t overload their body with calories when they are moving in to their least active phase of the day (and a time when they won’t be burning a great deal of calories). Bottom line: for many people their biggest weight-loss challenge is controlling their night-time eating… Follow this rule and you’ll have no problems.
(I didn’t say it was easy; I just said it works).
RULE 7: Keep a food diary.
It’s amazing what a difference a food diary can make.
The simple process of recording our food intake can be one which greatly increases our chances of achieving fantastic results. My experience is that people who keep an accurate food diary are more likely to lose weight, more likely to create new habits, more likely to get into reality and stay there (as opposed to the food fibbers and the delusional I-hardly-eat-anything people), more likely to stay focused and more likely to create ‘forever’ change.
Yes, it may seem childish to have to record everything and no, it might not always be convenient for you, but I’ve used diaries with everyone from obese kids, to doctors, to elite athletes… and they work. You’ll learn a bit about yourself, you’ll gain some self control and you’ll lose weight. So don’t be precious or too important… and start that diary.
RULE 8: Clean out your pantry and fridge. Remove the temptations.
I know and you know how amazing your will power is…but why don’t you get rid of those temptations anyway! Removing the junk from your pantry and fridge is always cathartic and ain’t gonna hurt your weight loss endeavours any. Instead of having the chocolates, the biscuits and those special treats for when the… er, visitors drop over, why don’t you do your visitors a favour and replace those unhealthier treats with some healthier options.
* Tomorrow we’ll wrap up the worlds longest post and finish the food rules.
Er, suggestions.
