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Kali

(56,922 posts)
16. actually no, they don't
Wed Jan 24, 2018, 02:37 PM
Jan 2018

the approach is very individualized. Here is a snipped up promotional article that discusses diets:

But wait ... how can all these different diets actually work?
You’re probably wondering: How can such wildly different nutrition
programs all lead to positive results?
My response:
They’re not as different as you might think.
Most effective nutrition programs are more similar than different. (Yes,
even Paleo and plant-based eating.)
When done properly, Paleo diets, plant-based diets, high carb diets,
low carb diets, eating small meals frequently, eating larger meals
infrequently, etc. all accomplish the following:

1. They raise nutrition awareness and attention.

I know, everyone wants to talk about the food itself — the proteins,
carbs, and fats. What to eat more of and what to avoid.
But research is now showing that simply paying better attention to
what you eat is a key factor in whether you’ll lose fat, get lean, and
improve your health.

Whether your attention is trained on avoiding carbs, eating more
vegetables, seeking out organic / free-range food, avoiding animal
foods, or avoiding “non Paleo” food, it’s all good.
Because what you focus on may not matter as much as simply
caring more about what you’re eating in the first place.

2. They focus on food quality.

Paleo and low carb advocates want you to eat more natural, free-
range animal-based foods that are higher in protein, higher in fat, and
are minimally processed.
Vegan and high carb advocates want you to eat more natural, plant-
based foods that are higher in fiber, antioxidants, and are minimally
processed.
Recognize what’s common here?
Indeed, very few nutrition camps recommend you eat more
processed, chemical-laden “junk” food. (Thank goodness.) Instead,
pretty much every camp recommends eating whole,
minimally processed, nutrient-rich foods.

And that may be one of the most important nutrition interventions of all,
regardless of the protein, carb, and fat breakdowns.

3. They help eliminate nutrient deficiencies.

In keeping with the last point, the best nutritional advocates help
us shift away from highly processed foods, which are often low in
nutrients because they’ve been stripped out during processing, and
toward more whole, minimally processed foods, which often have their
nutrients intact.
Thus, a properly designed diet of any kind eliminates some of the
most common nutrient deficiencies (water, certain vitamins and
minerals, proteins, and essential fatty acids).

This is huge. We often look, feel, and perform terribly when we’re
deficient in important nutrients. But within a few weeks of correcting
these deficiencies, we feel totally rejuvenated. (And because the
transformation is so dramatic, that’s often when we become diet
zealots.)

4. They help control appetite and food intake.

When we’re more aware of what we’re eating, choose more satisfying,
higher quality foods, and eliminate nutrient deficiencies, we almost
always end up eating less total food. We feel more satisfied. We lose
fat, gain lean muscle, and perform better.
Notice that you don’t need calorie counting here. Focusing on food
awareness and food quality is usually enough for people to tune into
their own hunger and appetite. And that means calorie control without the annoying calorie math.
It also means more sustainability since counting calories has a shelf-
life. No one does it forever.

5. They promote regular exercise.

When people start paying attention to their eating, they usually start
thinking about physical activity too.
In fact, many of the diet camps
recommend regular exercise. (Which is a good idea, since focusing
on diet alone may actually interfere with establishing a consistent
exercise routine.)
When a person exercises regularly, with a mix of high and low intensity
activity, they dramatically improve their ability to turn the food they eat
– whatever food that is – into functional tissue (instead of extra fat).
You can now understand how different well-designed dietary
philosophies – even when they seem oppositional and antagonistic
on the surface – can all promote good health, body composition, and
longevity.

Long-term nutrition habits trump diet plans and “rules”. Always.
We prefer a nutritional progression model (which builds habits
intelligently and sustainably over time) versus asking people to “follow
a diet” (which means doing a full lifestyle overhaul on Day One).

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