What Diet is Best?

What diet do you follow?  What do you think of this diet?  Is this diet healthy?  These are all common questions that we get at CPC, all of which are good legitimate questions.  Contained in what follows, I hope, are the answers to these questions, in my humbled opinion.  Since I've been somewhat labeled the "Food Guy" (just to put it out there, in writing, I'm not a chef) around here I figured I would speak on the topic after I got asked one of these very questions just the other day.  No, I'm not telling you who asked me the question so don't ask.

To start lets look at the definition(s) of Diet.

1.  the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.

2.  a special course of food to which one restricts oneself, either to lose weight or for medical reasons.

The definition that I like the most is #1.  A diet by all intents and purposes is boiled down to simply, the food that we eat.  There is no name attached to said diet, it's food, that you cook/prepare, and then consume, that's it.  In the "true" diet world there is no Paleo, Atkins, South Beach, Mediterranean, etc. With that being said, what I think your diet should consist of is a diverse group of wholesome, natural, unprocessed, and unrefined foods.  Know where your food comes from!  Buy locally if you can. Stick with organic and non-GMO when possible.  Cook at home, eat out less.  Stay away from gluten if you want or need to.  This is what your diet should reflect and consist of.  If you want to eat something then eat it! If you have a craving don't ignore it -odds are you actually need what you are craving.  More often than not our bodies are smarter than we are, or than we think it is.  Listen To It!  All your diet should be is you paying attention to, being conscious of, and being consistent with what you are eating.  

Diets in the socially accepted sense and definition are really only meant to be short term quick fixes for vain aesthetic hang-ups that we have about our bodies.  "I want to lose 15lbs" sure the South Beach Diet may work.  "I want to get rid of my muffin top" - yes, Atkins may be able to help that.  "I want six-pack abs" Paleo might be able to help you get them, but did cave men have six-packs?  I don't know, I would think not, even if they did you couldn't see it under all that hair.  Anyway, all these diets do is make you change your eating habits for a short time until you see the results that you want.  Once this happens odds are you forget about the "diet" and go back to your normal eating habits, and guess what you put weight back on, you sprout the muffin top again, you trade in the six-pack for a keg again, and in most cases it's even worse then when you went on the "diet" to begin with.  We were not meant to eat this way (yo-yo effect), and it's not healthy to eat this way either.  

Diets also restrict calories or whole food groups a lot of the time. "Carbs are the enemy". Well yes, refined sugars and crap like that is, but our body needs them (from good sources), they're a fuel source.  Ever try driving your car without gas?  It doesn't work very well. If you don't trust me then try it, just don't call me when you need a ride.  "Fats are so bad for you, they'll clog your arteries" true to some extent.  If we eat a diet high in fats and cholesterol we do increase our risks for heart disease, but we also need fat.  Our brains use fat for normal mental function. It's true look it up.  I can go on and on but you get the picture that I'm trying to paint, you need to eat everything. Our bodies need this stuff to work and function properly!

Another tip: We are all different, and what works for one person might not work for the next.  One way of eating isn't going to affect each person in the same way.  What you need to do is try things and see what works for you. Pay attention to what you are eating and how it makes you feel.  Half of the battle is just establishing a healthy relationship with your food, by that I mean, what you are eating, when, what combinations, how much, where, why you're eating (hungry, bored, craving) etc.  Trial and error it up, see what works. It's not going to happen over night so don't get discouraged - it's a process.  

That's pretty much my take on dieting. I could go on but I'm not a nutrition expert so don't hold me accountable for any dieting disasters. I'm just giving you some tips that I think are helpful and useful. Moral of the story eat GOOD food, stay away from the crap. If you have a big butt, so what, don't look to a diet to try to fix it. Embrace the butt (figuratively....or literally - your call) and be happy with who you are. Unless the butt is causing serious health issues then yes, get rid of it.  Stay away from the stereotypical diet trends and just work on your overall relationship with food.  

Any questions, comments, problems? Let me know. You know where to find me.