How much more information do we need?
But the curious thing is that many people try to solve the problem by seeking out more information. They know it all and still want more. If there’s one thing of which I am absolutely convinced, it’s that a lack of good nutrition information isn’t what prevents us from reaching our goals. We already know everything we need to know. Sometimes the real problem isn’t too little information but too much.
All the fundamental principles you need to achieve good health and optimal body composition are out there already, and have been for years. Unfortunately, with 500 experts for every fundamental principle, and very little money to be made from repeating other people’s ideas, experts must continually emphasize the small (and often relatively unimportant) differences between their diet/eating plans and the diet/eating plans of all the other experts out there.
In the world of advertising and marketing, this is called "differentiation." By highlighting the small distinctions and dimming out the large similarities between their program and all the others, they’re jostling for your next nutritional dollar.
Now, and let me be clear on this, I’m not accusing nutrition experts of quackery.
Yes, some
programs are
utter crap.
Those are
generally quite
easy to pick out
and don’t merit
discussion here.
But most experts
do know what
they are talking
about, can get
results, and
wholeheartedly
believe in what
they’re doing.
Many of the
differences
between them are
theoretical and
not practical,
and on the
fundamentals
they generally
agree
completely.
It’s all good — sorta
In fact, many of the mainstream programs out there, if not most of them, will work. To what extent they work, and for how long, varies. As long as a program is internally consistent, follows a few basic nutritional tenets, and as long as you adhere to it consistently, without hesitation, and without mixing principles haphazardly taken from other programs, you’ll get some results. It’s that simple, and that hard (as you can see, results depend as much on psychology as on biochemistry).
But if you’re like most people, you’ll first survey all the most often discussed programs before deciding which to follow. And in this appraisal, you’ll get confused, lost, and then do the inevitable. That’s right, you’ll revert back to your old, ineffectual nutrition habits.
Instead of parsing out the similarities between all the successful plans out there, the common principles that affect positive, long-term change, you get thrown off the trail by the stench of the steaming piles of detail.
The Atkins program works for all patients under the direct care of the Atkins team—as long as patients follow it. The Zone program works for all patients under the direct care of the Sears team —as long as they follow it. The Pritkin Diet works for all patients under the care of the Pritkin team— as long as they follow it.
Yet, not all
three plans are
identical. How,
then, can they
all get
impressive
improvements in
health and body
composition?
Well, either
each team
somehow
magically draws
the specific
patient
subpopulations
most in need of
their plan
(doubtful) or
each system
possesses some
basic
fundamental
principles that
are more
important than
the ratios of
protein to carbs
to fats.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs
Here’s my take on it. I call these principles, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs," a shameless and possibly illegal play on Steven Covey’s book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." (Great book, by the way—you should read it sometime.)
These aren’t the newest techniques from the latest cutting-edge plan. Rather, they are simple, time-tested, no nonsense habits that you need to get into when designing a good eating program.
1. Eat every 2-3 hours, no matter what. You should eat between 5-8 meals per day.
2. Eat complete (containing all the essential amino acids), lean protein with each meal.
3. Eat fruits and/or vegetables with each food meal.
4. Ensure that your carbohydrate intake comes from fruits and vegetables. Exception: workout and post-workout drinks and meals.
5. Ensure that 25-35% of your energy intake comes from fat, with your fat intake split equally between saturates (e.g. animal fat), monounsaturates (e.g., olive oil), and polyunsaturates (e.g. flax oil, salmon oil).
6. Drink only non-calorie containing beverages, the best choices being water and green tea.
7. Eat mostly whole
foods (except
workout and
post-workout
drinks).
So what about
calories, or
macronutrient
ratios, or any
number of other
things that I’ve
covered in other
articles? The
short answer is
that if you
aren’t already
practicing the
above-mentioned
habits, and by
practicing them
I mean putting
them to use over
90% of the time
(i.e., no more
than 4 meals out
of an average 42
meals per week
violate any of
those rules),
everything else
is pretty
pointless.
Moreover, many people can achieve the health and the body composition they desire using the 7 habits alone. No kidding! In fact, with some of my clients I spend the first few months just supervising their adherence to these 7 rules—an effective but costly way to learn them.
If you’ve reached the 90% threshold, you may need a bit more individualization beyond the 7 habits. If so, search around on this site. Many of these little tricks can be found in my many articles published right here. But before looking for them, before assuming you’re ready for individualization; make sure you’ve truly mastered the 7 habits. Then, while keeping the 7 habits as the consistent foundation, tweak away.
Dr. Berardi
received his
doctoral degree
in Kinesiology
from the
University of
Western Ontario,
with a
specialization
in the areas of
exercise biology
and nutrient
biochemistry. He
is currently an
adjunct
assistant
professor of
Exercise Science
at the
University of
Texas.