Ditching Diet Dogma: A Unified Approach to Health 🥙

---

💡 Ditching Diet Dogma

Navigating the world of nutrition and diets can feel like a bit of a maze. You've probably come across all sorts of diet advice—high carb vs. low carb, meat vs. plant-based, seed oils are bad, plants are harmful, sugar is evil, meat causes cancer—the debates can be confusing and overwhelming. But here's the thing: Most diets agree on several key points; they're just hidden behind their quirks.

So much attention is given to their differences, but not enough to what they have in common. Let’s set aside the diet dogma because understanding these commonalities can make your approach to eating simpler and lead to better health outcomes.

Common Ground: What All Diets Agree On

1. Controlling Calorie Intake. At the heart of any diet is the principle of calorie control (sometimes it's just hiding behind the food rules and restrictions). Whether you're eating like a caveman or have gone full plant-based, the outcome is pretty similar —by restricting or completely removing certain food groups you end up eating fewer calories overall. the magic is not so much in what foods you cut out but the reduction itself.
   

2. Aiming for High-Quality Foods. All diets emphasise the importance of high-quality, nutrient-dense foods. They just differ in their preferences. These are foods rich in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that support your body's functions. Whether it's grass-fed beef or fresh kale, the focus is on quality.
   

3. Reducing Highly Processed Foods. Another common thread is avoiding highly processed foods. These foods are often calorie-dense but nutrient-poor, contributing to weight gain and health issues. Minimising your intake of these foods is a universal recommendation, regardless of the diet you follow.
   

4. Mindful Eating. Paying attention to what you eat, how much you eat, and when you eat helps in making better food choices. Being aware of your hunger and fullness cues can prevent overeating and promote healthier eating habits. If you pick a diet that heavily restricts certain food groups, it ramps up your food awareness, minimising mindless eating, albeit through strict “do/don’t” rules.
   

5. Planning Food and Meal Choices. Successful dieting often involves planning. This means thinking ahead about your meals, shopping for the right ingredients, and preparing food in a way that aligns with your dietary goals. Planning helps ensure you have healthy options available and reduces the likelihood of making poor food choices when you're hungry.
   

But here’s the tricky part and, in my opinion, the two reasons why fancy diets will always be popular.

Firstly it's good marketing! Write a cool book, quote some studies, and make a clear and compelling sales pitch as to why you NEED their diet and how all other methods are either terrible or, even better, dangerous. Boom, you get people hooked in - I’ve got no answers on how to fix that one.

Secondly, people respond well to things that are simple and actionable. Saying bread is the cause of all your issues and how if you stop eating it the world becomes a better place - it’s simple and clear: NO BREAD. On the other hand, saying aim for high-quality foods and control your portion size is more ambiguous and certainly less actionable.

The trick then is to find and practice simple actionable skills just like the “no bread rule” but with more flexibility for choice. For example, you might try…

• Practice plating up slightly less food than normal and waiting 15 minutes before going back for more.
  

• Practising eating slowly and stopping when feeling full but not stuffed.
  

• Using hand measurements to track portion control.
  

• Experiment with reading labels and measuring out portions to see how they match up to your normal sizes (peanut butter is often a shocker).
  

All of these aid with controlling calorie intake but are still simple and actionable without being overly restrictive. Win-win.

Embrace the Commonalities

While the specifics of different diets can drive heated debates, the fundamentals stay the same. This approach gives you the flexibility to find what works best for you without being restricted by any one set of rules. Remember, it’s not about passing or failing someone else’s diet; it’s about taking control of your health and making sustainable changes that fit your lifestyle.

---

P.S. If you enjoyed this week's Thursday Three, please share it with a friend.

Thanks,

Jamie