How to Find the Right "Diet"

New diets seem to be popping up every day, that claim to be the most perfect diet to end all diets forever. How do you know which one is right for you? Let’s take a look at some fad (and no so fad) diets and see what they’re made of.

Clean eating- good old fashioned meat and vegetables. This one shouldn’t need a lot of explanation. The rationale is that if you eat well and avoid processed foods, your caloric intake won’t be ridiculously high, you won’t binge out on simple carbs, and your body will get all the nutrients and macronutrients it needs and it will run like a well oiled machine. Sounds pretty solid so no one needs to invent anymore diets, right? Wrong.

If It Fits Your Macros- aka “#IIFYM”. You probably see IIFYM-ers hashtagging pictures of their ice cream to death on instagram followed by an unnecessarily long caption about their life shattering journey from clean eating to IIFYM. IIFYM just means that you have a certain allotment of macronutrients you have to eat a day (no more, no less), and you can meet the criteria however you want. That means you can eat donuts and steak all day as long as your macro requirements are met.

Paleo- clean to the extreme. Hypothetically only eating what cavemen ate. Meat, vegetables, fish. No potatoes, sugar, grains, etc.There is some skepticism regarding the science this diet is based on.

Carb back loading- Very low carb the vast majority of the time and then consuming a larger quantity of carbs post-workout.

As you can see, all of these diets take vastly different approaches. However, here are two things every diet has in common- they regulate your caloric intake and macronutrient consumption.

So how do you know which is right for you? Here’s the answer (that is applicable to 1000% of things in life)- there is not ons solution for everyone. The keys to a good “diet” are twofold

1. Something you can commit to

The most important part of a diet is being able to stick with it. Heck, make your own diet or take bits and pieces of some until you find something you can tolerate for the long run. If you follow something for a few weeks, it works, then you binge uncontrollably, that’s not very sustainable.
  

        2. Something that works for your body type
Everyone reacts differently to different foods, eating habits, and macronutrients. If you don’t tolerate sugar and dairy well, avoid them. If you do and they don’t negatively impact your body then go ahead.

As long as you regulate your calories and are not in a large caloric surplus, are regulating your macronutrients based on your individual needs, and can sustain your habits long term, then you will be successful in your “diet”. 

 

-Coach Lily