When it comes to improving our health and fitness, we have many diets to choose from.
Whether your goals include muscle growth, fat loss, or simply improving your health, you can go on a dozen different diets.
The question is, are diets the best way to tackle our nutrition, or might there be a better strategy?
The Inherent Problem With Diets
There are many problems when it comes to diets – that’s clear. But perhaps the biggest issue is that people who put together these diets miss one crucial truth:
We are humans, not robots.
Sure, almost everyone can feel motivated enough to follow a diet for, say, a month. But, we need dietary freedom because we should enjoy some of our favorite foods, partake in social events, and be able to enjoy some pancakes with our loved ones on a Sunday morning.
Diets are rigid, they come with numerous restrictions, and are unsustainable. Before long, most people find themselves feeling tired, hungry, and unmotivated. In most cases, that leads to binge eating, rapid weight gain, and self-loathing.
What’s more, diets, by definition, end at some point. Almost every diet out there is designed to be followed for a given time. The question is, what should we do once the diet is over?
We can go back to our old ways of eating, or we can jump on another diet. As you can imagine, both scenarios are not ideal.
If Diets Are Not The Answer, Then What Is?
The short answer: habits and building a healthier lifestyle.
You see, diets sound exciting and promise us fantastic results. But if they can’t work for us in the long run, then what use do we have from them, apart from some temporary weight loss?
Habits, on the other hand, are the driving force of our lives. According to some research, around 40 percent of our daily actions stem from habits. So, if we want to improve our nutrition and get fit and healthy, we need to focus on lifestyle changes.
Some good examples include:
- Drink more water each day
- Have at least five servings of fruits and veggies
- Reduce your intake of processed foods
- Consume more protein – meats, eggs, seafood, dairy, protein powders, and such
- Get enough heart-healthy fats – natural oils, avocado, eggs, nuts, and seeds
Sure, this doesn’t sound nearly as exciting as, “Follow this simple diet for 30 days and shed 20 pounds of fat!” But these are the improvements that will help you better your nutrition sustainably. Once you get this right, then you can look at tracking your macronutrients and calories via flexible eating techniques. And once you build this into your daily habits it becomes second nature.
