What does being fit mean to you? Does being healthy have a definition for you? What is the best diet ever (is there such a thing?). I hope you have started to develop a sense of those terms and have worked them into your life in a way that makes sense for your self. There is no secret equation to balancing the two nor is there a definitive correct answer. The closest thing to being correct is doing what you truly believe in. Not only that but with the full awareness of how one decision is affecting the other. For example, in order to be fit enough to have every muscle in your body bulge out you may be sacrificing your health by spending to much time in the gym and not enough time enjoying life. Be aware of the disconnect between health and fitness. At the same time be fully confident and educated on what you are doing. If you bring a passion and awareness towards your physical goals, then happiness will add to your health.
Eating Habits
To go along with that idea, I wanted to touch on different eating habits. I am a believer that high levels of fitness does not always correlate with being healthy. The same goes for a individual following a said “healthy” diet. Eating a popular heathy diet does not automatically make you healthy. For example, you might blindly go into a gluten free diet because it is “healthy” but don’t know why it is called healthy. Gluten free labeled items can actually contain more harmful substances such as sugar and fillers. In my eyes, yes gluten free can be very healthy but it can also be deadly. Eliminating processed grain products is healthy but if you think gluten free is healthy and still eat gluten free junk foods, is that healthy? If you are following a PALEO diet but eating commercial grain fed beef (filled with hormones) are you healthy?
Fad Diets
The same goes for all the other hot new “best diet ever” out there; primal, vegetarian, bullet prof, KETO, and the list goes on. Don’t just look at the scope of a diet and dive in. Instead look at the details and the specifics of why a diet is beneficial. If you follow a diet with out further knowledge of why it works, well then you may be missing out on the entire point of the diet. For instance, the paleo diet doesn’t include any dairy. This is because many people are lactose intolerant (on a side not you may be casein sensitive but think you are lactose intolerant). However what if YOU can tolerate dairy and have a connection to wonderfully sourced dairy? What about eating aged cheese or goats cheese that contain very little to no lactose? Are you going to miss out on all the benefits good sourced dairy can provide you just because the diet you are following says you can not have it?
Best Diet Ever
Just because a diet is healthy and people have seen results from it does not mean it is healthy for every individual. If you want to follow one of these diets I would suggest finding out why that diet has worked for other people. The best diet ever is not a thing, its all individual. Get to the root cause and specifics of the diet and then figure out what your body is capable of tolerating. Honestly though, my best advice when it comes to diets and your health is to Eat Real Food.
- buy organic, buy local, forage in the wild
- eliminate intolerances (if any)
- eat good sourced meat
- replace sugar (especially fructose) calories with fat calories(coconut, avocado, butter, olive oil, macadamia nuts, lard)
- consume more veggies
- eat when you are hungry and ……..
if you are craving a sweet treat that is fine you can have. Just try to consider two things; moderation and/or homemade.
Now go out and start to take bits of pieces of all the diets out there and make your own “ME” diet. Pick and choose and find the “Best Diet Ever” for yourself. Be aware of how certain foods you consume just to follow a diet or to get through a workout may not be all that healthy.
If you would like to know more about eating well and dive deeper into topics such as; what oils to use and what oils oxidize easily, get in touch with our nutritionists TESS or ALEX . The more you start taking control of how you eat the more you will begin to realize how many lies we have been told.