We often tend to follow someone else’s nutritional regime without taking our body type or health in to consideration. We read a blog or an article that talks about weight-loss and blindly follow the tips that are suggested; without caring whether they are fat-free diet or high-protein diet or fad diet or vegan diet. The truth, however, is that every body type is different. There is no one size that fits for all kind of eating.
Therefore, an ideal diet would depend on your body type, your goals, your activity level and several other parameters. Before you opt for a diet regime, consult your doctor or your dietitian and discuss the options that would suit you.
Forget the word ‘dieting’
Studies reveal that dieting and depriving yourself of certain foods are likely to increase your stress hormones. Thereafter, you will try and compensate by eating junk food.
What’s the point in staying away from certain foods or dieting if you are going back and eating junk? You should instead focus on eating nutritious foods and increase your activity level.
Learn from various nutrition plans
Going through the various nutrition plans will make you realise that all the popular diet plans – Atkins, Paleo, Mediterranean, Vegan – share a few similar values. Each plan discourages you from eating junk. The nutrition plans also create awareness on the food you ingest. Anyone looking for a viable plan can learn from them; the benefits, deficiencies, drawbacks etc.
Eventually, the attention you pay to your diet will help you maintain your body, health and mind. When you are strict about what you consume, you will automatically have better health and body.
Follow your own diet and succeed
Some diets do not conform to the norms, yet are very effective. For instance, vegans can still build their muscles by eating vegetarian diet. Some people have desirable physiques just by eating two meals a day. Some people survive on high-fat diets. So, all the nutrition strategies may differ from each other, yet produce results.
Neither is better than the other and only you know your body and your stomach better. So, you need to listen to your body and act accordingly. If you are hungry, go grab some food. If you are not, don’t force yourself. Whether you eat five meals a day or eat every three hours, tune-in to your body’s needs to succeed in the long run.
Spot the weaknesses
When you know how you feel exactly, you can take corrective measures. Staying away from junk or certain types of food will not make you feel better. Nutrition deficiency can also make your energy levels low. Study reveals that people on Atkins diet are likely to have Vitamin D, E, iodine and chromium deficiencies. This is testimony enough that each diet may have some pitfalls. Therefore, do not stick to a particular diet, but learn from the deficiencies and try and crush them.
You can take professional help by getting your week’s diet plan assessed.
Eat according to your body type
The plan that suits your friend might not suit you because everybody has a different body type. Depending on your body type, your diet plans will also vary. The three different categories of body type include ectomorphs or underweight, endomorphs or overweight, mesomorphs or muscular. So, adjust your macronutrient intake according to your body type.
Rarely do people fit exactly into one of the three categories. In fact, people often display a mix of the characteristics.
Take your biofeedback seriously
When you are on a particular diet, apart from counting on pointers like body composition and weight loss, check your appetite, energy levels, mood, normal body functions, such as, your sleep, bowel movements etc. Based on how your body reacts, you will know whether a particular diet is working out or not.
Whether you are feeling fine or uncomfortable, maintain a diary for a week to notice any abnormalities. You may need to adapt your diet if it disagrees with you.
Take small steps
Once you spot the abnormalities and you feel a particular diet is not suiting you, make small changes instead of big ones. If you make drastic changes at one go, the entire process will be messy and you won’t be able to figure out what’s working and what’s not.
Re-examine constantly
Your life is not always the same for years on end. For example, your lifestyle changes after marriage or after having a baby or even after a job change. All these instances constantly prompt you to re-evaluate your regular nutrition plan. You should ask yourself whether your current plan will work for you in the current scenario. For long-term success, you need to take your entire lifestyle into account when you plan your nutrition strategy. It’s up to you to choose what suits you and go ahead with it.
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