Every so often, I read an article, or see a post somewhere with information that is either wrong, misleading, or entirely dependent on your goals. Alissa and I constantly have to preface statements and new ideas with “For my goals,” because all of us want to achieve something different. I’m looking to get to a certain level of muscularity, and plan to maintain 7 – 8% body fat. In stark contrast, Alissa is also looking for a level of muscularity (significantly less than mine, which makes good sense), and is looking to maintain 18% body fat. So, because of this, even though we workout together, and cook together, almost everything about our programs is different. This is important, because a lot of the time, you will read “tips” or “guides,” they usually don’t define who the tips are for. So, here’s a breakdown, and my thoughts, on an article I read called “10 Rules of Good Nutrition.”
Rule #1: Never Skip Breakfast. We actually firmly believed in this idea until we discovered carbohydrate backloading. In the plan, John Kiefer recommends either a late breakfast, or skipping it all together. (Mostly relevant if you eat carbs for breakfast) He’s not just throwing that out there for the sake of saying so, though. . . Based on what your body is doing hormonally (Specifically in regard to Cortisol), your body is actually primed to burn body fat for fuel in the morning, and eating will reverse this. The alternative: Eat a breakfast with no carbs– Carbs will reverse the fat burning state, protein and fats won’t; Also, carbs will likely produce an insulin response, which will prime your body for fat storage all day.
Rule #2: Eat Every 3 to 4 Hours! Yeah, we eat every two, and I fully support this. Not only does it keep you full throughout the day, but it does keep your metabolism chugging along– Just be careful. If every 2 – 3 hours you’re having high GI carbs, you will be priming your body for fat storage all day, giving your body no choice but to eat muscle for fuel. Choose low GI carbs, nuts, proteins, etc.
Rule #3: Always Eat a Carbohydrate with a Protein! I agree with this– I never recommend eating carbs alone. If you group carbs with fats or proteins, it lessens the effects, if any, the meal will have on blood sugar, thus preventing an insulin response. Here is a part I don’t agree with, though: They point out that the RDA for woman under 140 lbs. is 50g of protein. Our current macro nutrient RDAs are severely messed up, and are not optimal for healthy, fit bodies. I recommend everyone eat at least one gram of protein per pound of lean body mass, as this is an accepted standard in bodybuilding. (For the record, there are numerous studies that have been done regarding protein intake, and we plan on doing an entire post on the subject. For now, I would point you to a very credible 2011 study that says .82g / lb. body weight)
Rule #4: Double Your Fiber! Do it! Fiber is great for your digestive system, and because of how your body digests fiber, it doesn’t count toward your net carbs for the day. Plus, fiber comes from great sources, like Almonds / Nuts, Vegetables, Whole Grains, etc. For the record, the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance / Intake) is between 25g and 35g of fiber a day, and I highly recommend having at least 20g.
Rule #5: Trim the Fat From Your Diet! This, I don’t agree with. Fat, as a macro nutrient, has a bad reputation for no reason. A lot of people think, “A low fat diet means I won’t gain fat!” Well, that’s 100% wrong. Carbohydrates are the macro nutrient most responsible for fat storage; And on top of that, low fat alternatives to typically have high fat foods often have an insane amount of added sugar. A great example? Look at low fat peanut butter.
What’s supposed to be a decent protein source that keeps you full and has a glycemic load of zero can now affect your blood sugar and make you hungrier. Great job! (For those who don’t have the nutrition facts memorized, sugar free peanut butter has half of the calories, twice as many carbs, and half the protein. The fat content is lower, though.
That stuff is terrible for you, and at the end of the day, the increase in sugar consumption will lead to fat gain over consumption of dietary fat. Plus, because fat takes a while for your body to digest, you can effectively make something that’s High GI have less of an impact on blood sugar. . . On top of all of that, if your Carb Backloading, Carb Cycling, or doing Carb Nite, you’re converting your body’s energy source to dietary and body fat.
Just limit your trans fat and saturated fat intake– Unsaturated fats are good, while saturated fat needs to be limited. (As a side note, though, higher fat foods typically have more calories, so you do need to be careful with fat consumption.)
Rule #6: Eat Your Vegetables! Seriously. Eat as many as you can. Most cruciferous vegetables (Broccoli, Cauliflower, Kale, etc.) have great cortisol blocking properties, too. (Cortisol, a stress hormone, can promote fat storage and prevent your body from oxidizing fat for fuel.)
Rule #7: Get Your Vitamins and Minerals from Food, not Pills! No way. This is something I can’t agree with at all. I wish I still had the source, but I once read that only 10% of the world population gets all of their micro nutrients from food sources. Here’s my stance: A good multivitamin is a supplement; A supplement is meant to supplement a healthy diet with the micro nutrients that may be lacking. Of course you should try and eat as healthy as possible, consume as many micro nutrients through food as possible, but you should always take a good multi too. (I do realize that the author of the article admits to using a multi, and even recommends one, but I can’t agree with the way the “Rule” is stated.)
Rule #8: Drink 8 – 10 Glasses of Water a Day! Yes. Drink more, even.
Rule #9: Consume Minimum Amounts of Sugar, Salt, Caffeine, and Alcohol! I agree with all three of this, except for the Caffeine, and I’ll be honest, this is purely subjective. Every month, another study comes out either for, or against coffee consumption; At the end of the day, I love coffee, and you will have to make up your own mind about it. Caffeine, as a stimulant, is also a great metabolism booster, and can be found in many other sources outside of coffee, like green tea, a popular “Weight loss” supplement. As far as limiting Sugar and Alcohol, these are topics we’ve definitely discussed here before; Salt is something else to watch, as high sodium intake with a sedentary lifestyle can lead to high blood pressure. (It’s worth noting that a lot of different factors go into this, though.)
Rule #10: Never go on a Fad Diet! I 100% agree, and I agree with the reason listed: Fad diets give you a finish line, when health and nutrition are, and should always remain lifelong lifestyle choices. We even wrote a post about it.