Which diet is the best?

In the world of paleo, vegan, intermittent fasting, low carb, keto, FOMAP etc etc etc who would be king?

Simple. The one that works consistently for you. If you find one of these structures works for you, go for your life.

But recognise that, excepting the philosophical reasons for not eating animals or wanting to reduce your carbon footprint, all these ‘diets’ are trying to achieve the same thing. They are trying to manipulate your energy intake vs your energy expenditure to achieve a goal. And nothing can beat the law of thermodynamics – protein has 4 kcal per gram, carbs 4 per gram and fat 9 per gram (and alcohol 7 per gram!). However, you make up your calorie intake, if it adds up to more than you burn off you will put on weight and vice versa.

'Diets' give you a structure to help you manage your calorie intake to achieve your goal - whatever that is - in the ‘easiest’ way. And if you are lucky, they consider your nutritional need for vitamins and minerals along the way – but that’s not a given (I’m looking at you detox industry).

If we agree that all diets are designed to manage our calorie intake, why are they so different? Key differences centre around two aspects. The food you are ‘allowed’ to eat manages the appetite in some way so as to induce you to reduce your calorie intake, or it is low in calories. This has always been the case – think back to the F Plan diet of the 80s…. fibre slows the digestion of food significantly making you feel fuller for longer (and allows full of absorption of nutrients). These days we are all about protein, because it’s the last macro nutrient that our bodies digest and it delays stomach emptying, which makes us feel…. fuller for longer! Weight Watchers, shakes etc go at it from the lower calorie stand point either by giving us a fool proof counting system that is so much easier than calories, or packaging up a low calorie diet in a go to no brainer packaging system. Meal delivery services do the same things, but for more money. Though, to be fair, they are likely more nutritious too, and they do teach you something along the way (what healthy food and sensible potions sizes look like).

But the second thing that all of this has in common is much of it is complicated. And part of the reason we have got ourselves as a species into such a mess with our health and weight is that modern life is very complicated. So, what do we do, we look to make life less complicated by outsourcing our cooking and/or making it faster. And bam, high calorie food, nasties that fool or harm our bodies, huge portion sizes, fat and sugar combos that hack our satiation feelings, salt levels that hurt our hearts, sugar levels that do the same and take out our pancreas with it….So do we really think that two complicated ‘wrongs’ will make a right?

Truth is, that for some people it does. And that’s fine. But for the rest of us, maybe its time to step back and think again. Eating healthy, nutritious food does not have to be the purview of the rich that can afford delivery, or staff, or a stay at home ‘wife’. If we look at the nations on the planet that have the longest life expectancies, they have a small set of ‘rules’ in common. They eat varied, largely unprocessed food, heavy on the veggies, heavy on the rainbow! And they get off their bums to move everyday (but that is a separate rant).

The best ‘diet’ majors in broad-based, whole food food that meets your nutritional needs on a consistent basis. That holds whether you are trying to lose weight, gain weight, maintain weight, build muscle, whatever.

So, how do we do this is our crazy worlds if we can’t afford a live in chef? Make life less complicated. Get a wok, get a slow cooker, get a rice cooker, get a food processor that chops veggies, spend a Saturday learning how to chop veggies (or send your partner and children on a course and you enjoy a face pack!), get a spice cupboard. In short, hack the time it takes to cook meals and hack the flavour without adding calories or nasties. This is in fact what Jamie Oliver has been trying to teach us with his books for years, right from The Naked Chef.

I know its not as simple as it sounds. But its not really that difficult either.

The final key to all of this is PLANNING (again!). Invest time in the short term and get it back in spades by getting ahead on the shopping/cooking/prep. So as a last note…

Ideally, buy some Tupperware and batch cook meals – a 500g pack of animal protein (beef, lean mince, chicken or fish) will do one adult five lunches. A woman needs about half a cup of cooked rice with that and a man 1-2 cups. Throw in as many veggies as you can (frozen and/or canned is fine) minimum of 2 cups per meal. A big can of beans of some description doesn’t go a miss either – they add just a few calories for a lot of nutients and fibre. And batch make snacks such as protein balls or flapjacks – there are a million recipes, most are dead easy and made from pantry staples you can buy cheaply, just be careful to stick to portion sizes. All this need only take an hour or so on a weekend once you are in the habit, or just make bigger meals some nights. Its worth it.

We live in a complicated world where convenience is king. That has taken us down a dark path nutritionally in most of the developed world. However, getting back on track doesn't have to be fundamentally difficult and time consuming, with a few simple hacks, and some planning. I won't promise you all of this is 'excitement++', or that lunches will be Ottolenghi-worthy, but it does work for your body - and the 80/20 rule is the way forward for 'foodies'.

(I am certified NASM personal trainer and Precision Nutrition coach.)