Just the Tips: Diet
Growing up, “diet” was a bad word. Since then, it’s become much more of a buzzword. I’m the type of ridiculous academic that feels bad for words, and “diet” is perhaps one of the most abused words I can think of from the last three decades.
“Diet” has a notion of restriction, denial, sacrifice, and joylessness. “Diet” feels severe, and perhaps draconic. “Diet” seems to be some sort of “punishment” for indulgence, or even just loving yourself.
The primary definition of diet is actually just “the food a creature eats regularly.”
What have we done to this poor word. We’ve built it into one of our worst specters, haunting us in our attempts to love and be loved.
The bad news is that I can’t fix the connotation for you. I’ve done a lot on my own end to disentangle my understanding of “diet” with the weight of the word as others use it. I do want to talk about “diet” in a more objective, perhaps healthier way. I want to talk about “diet” as it pertains to autonomy and ownership; hopefully reclaiming “diet” allows us to feel more in control of our bodies.
The Science
The key to building a healthier outlook on a diet is recognizing how your current patterns affect your current health. I’ve talked before about how eating so many carbs doesn’t serve a more modern sedentary life style and the detriments of overly processed food. The short summary here is
Carbs are great for quick energy, and any excess is stored as fat.
Processed foods are industrially efficient, which means they do not provide the complex nourishment your body wants, needs, and deserves.
With those in mind, the only “science” I want to indulge in here is a reminder that a healthy diet (based on current understandings) looks like a 40–30–30% split between carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. This is a bit harder to grasp, because it’s a caloric breakdown, and we’re much more inclined to think in portions. But an equivalent portion of carbs and fats are not calorically equal; fats have a bit more than twice the calories of carbohydrates. It’s important than to consider the caloric density of our food as well.
I like to think of this as roughly equal portions of carbs and fatty protein — seriously, stop removing the fat from your protein you weirdos — with an intentional side of fruits or veggies. Produce, and veggies especially, is calorically rather sparse but is full of vitamins, minerals, AND fiber to help aid in healthy digestion and bodily function. As far as fats go, stick with fats that don’t have to “be added”; fatty proteins, yogurt, and cooking with butter or plant-based oils is preferred to slopping on ranch dressing, “cheese” sauce, or mayonnaise.
The Strategy
Eating has always had a ritual nature to it, and today is no different. I want to consider that everyone approaches the ritual differently and provide a few ways to approach diet-crafting.
Three big meals a day has been the go-to in the States for as long as I’ve lived (a tradition which is apparently mostly tied to an 8-hour workday). The hardest component of crafting a healthier diet around three meals a day is that we are used to thinking of “dinner” being the big huzzah. Energetically, that doesn’t make any sense — we need energy during our workday, not a few hours before we intend to go to sleep. Based on energetic needs and the physiology involved in digestion, consider crafting three meals that look more like:
- Breakfast: Eggs, yogurt, a bagel or a cup of oatmeal/grits, and bacon or some sort of protein supplement
- Lunch: Medium-sized sandwich (anywhere from hotdogs to tacos to hamburgers), a piece of fruit, a handful of nuts, and some slices of cheese or some sort of protein supplement
- Dinner: Small portions of “meat and potatoes” (whatever that means to your specific culture and culinary preferences), generous vegetables, and something fatty for dessert.
The key here is inverting our thinking so that breakfast becomes our biggest meal with lunch being slightly smaller, and dinner being minimal. The other nuance here is noticing that we want breakfast to be the most carb-heavy to kick start our day and that lunch is just a small boost of carbs. While it may be tempting, or even just familiar, one of the harder changes here will be opting for fruit and nuts rather than potato chips with your lunch sandwich. Truthfully, the potato chips are in excess of your energetic needs and are likely contributing to that afternoon slump you hate.
Snacking throughout the day is a great approach to crafting a diet, though it does require discipline and preparation to make sure you’re getting a nourishing variety of food. Snacks can be anything from super small meals to something more typically “snack-like” including the following:
- Nuts (e.g. peanuts, cashews, walnuts, pecans, macadamia, etc.)
- Cheese
- Yogurt (avoid low-fat or no-fat yogurts)
- Fresh fruit or veggies (fresh or roasted)
- Hummus or Avocado dip (for your fresh veggies)
- Popcorn
- Meat jerky
- Toasted bagel with cream cheese (or some equivalent)
I’ve listed in order, based on how they serve a snacking diet. Nuts, cheese, and yogurt are high in fat and therefore calorie-dense so they will provide a more full feeling with less actual food. Fruits and veggies are a great source of carbohydrates for snackers that provide small boosts of energy throughout the day (I imagine this is how actual grazing animals and early nomadic humans did it). Hummus and avocado are both great alternatives to processed dips like ranch or “cheese” dip in that they provide healthy fats and proteins. And lastly, popcorn is just a very satisfying large snack that’s remarkably low in calories (as long as you’re not coating it in butter or cheese).
Some folks eat only when they remember to eat, and I don’t want to count them out. For this approach, it’s all about making sure you maintain the balance of macronutrients in your diet while, at best, being kind to your energetic needs. I think the most common pitfall for this method is the same that plagues the three-meals-a-day approach in that it leans very heavily on carbs. If you’re going to eat only when you remember to eat, consider swapping the amount of carbs and the amount of fats that you eat. Fats will fill you up quickly, and provide fuel for a longer burn than carbs which will give you fast energy and then cause a crash. If this is how you live your best life, you could even consider looking into a “keto” diet (which I won’t cover in detail here).
I mentioned protein supplements a few times, but I haven’t given them a lot of space because I do think they should be a last resort for most people. Protein bars are okay meal replacements, but most times they are essentially candy bars with scientifically isolated protein injected into them. Even those that don’t have a ton of added sugar often have a lot of sugar alcohols to make them palatable, and we are still learning how our body processes large quantities of those. Bottom line, if you’re going to use protein supplements aim to do so minimally.
Parting Thoughts
The last piece of advice I want to give is, as you begin to become more mindful about your food intake remember that it’s not ALL about carbs, fats, and proteins. I haven’t explicitly considered physical activity into any of these strategies, and if you’re not particularly active you should also be mindful of your salt and cholesterol intake. Either can be unhealthy in the long term, including hypertension and heart disease.
Stay tuned, and eat up!
Sincerely Not Hungry,
August
