In this week's edition of Macros on Monday I'm going to give you a nutrition challenge for the week, share with you my top 2 most versatile protein choices, give you a proven playbook for dominating food cravings, and the 4 foods that I get most of the fat in my diet from (and why you should too).

The Big Idea - Emotion vs. Logic

So much of our daily nutrition is the daily battles. In 2011 German behavioral scientist Georg Förster spearheaded a study to explore how much of our day was spent fighting internal daily battles. His findings (still very early in the cell phone era - the study used pagers) were astounding…
​

So, most of the time that you are awake, you are wanting something and half of that time the thing that you are wanting runs counter to your goals (case in point…the ham & cheese croissant from the Village Bakery that I woke up thinking about this morning).

When we feel an urge that runs counter to our goals, the first step is resistance. When it comes to nutritional urges, one of the most effective tools for deploying resistance is logic.

Logic is the antidote to emotion. It is the key to stopping your mind from successfully persuading you to eat/cheat/wander off your dietary path/plan.

You know this scenario.

A cookie catches your eye and your mind starts to run through all the reasons why you should eat it…

• You deserve it.
• You’ve made such good progress with your diet, one cookie won’t matter.
• You’ve made such good progress with your diet, one cookie will keep you motivated and you’ll make better progress.
• You’re stressed and the cookie will make you feel happier.
• Diets can’t be all about restriction, you need moderation, this will help you be more moderate.

You get the idea. You’ve heard all of these (and more!).

Now, mount your resistance…Logic.

Remember your goals. Remember your motivations. Will eating these 142 calories actually help move you closer to your goals? What happens if you eat it? What will happen if you don’t eat it? Think about how much stronger you are making your willpower muscle if you don’t eat it. Will it actually make you happier if it isn’t moving you closer to your goal? What could you do instead that will make you happier AND move you closer to your goal?

Logic helps break the emotional mind spiral that goes along with cravings. Logic is a superpower. Use it often.

​

Fats - What Else Can You Get From Them

I’m not a huge fan of coconut oil. A big reason is that I don’t want everything that I eat to taste like coconut. But one of the other reasons is that coconut oil doesn’t give me anything else.

• Extra virgin olive oil - Powerful antioxidants and a track record of helping hearts beat for decades.
• Pistachios - More antioxidants, but also fiber and protein.
• Eggs - Literally the gold standard of amino acids, and vitamins A, D, E, K, B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, and B1.
• Avocado - The antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin. Plus fiber, potassium and magnesium.

These are the primary sources of fats in my diet. Sometimes we can get too macronutrient focused. It isn’t just about fat (or carbs or protein). We eat food. Nutrition research in its entirety consistently shows that the kinds of foods that you consistently eat (or what researchers call your dietary pattern) is one of the biggest drivers of long term health.

Fat-containing foods are generally calorically dense, this means that we can’t eat a lot of them. Make them count so that you can get the most out of those calories.

​

Protein - 2 Versatile Proteins

I’m a fan of versatile foods that make modular meals easy. A versatile food is one that you can use in a variety of different ways, pairing them with other foods easily. The most versatile class of foods are what I call single macro foods.

My favorite 2 single macro proteins are chicken breasts and 90% lean ground beef.

Cook loose ground beef (not in a ball or patty or loaf) in a pan, drain out the excess fat and you have a low fat, no carb protein that can go in just about anything.

Chicken breasts are ultra lean by definition. Roast them. Dice & saute them. Poach and shred them. These 3 simple cooking methods will give you the versatility to have so many meal options.

Versatile proteins set you up for better consistency. Better consistency leads to better results.
​

Carbs - Make Fiber Your Focus

You can quickly demystify carbs by focusing on fiber. It is estimated that 5% of people meet the daily recommendations for fiber (25g for women; 38g for men).

When you start focusing on fiber, the quality of the carbs that you are eating improves. The level of fullness that you feel when you eat a meal will increase. All of the bad things that you hear about carbs all of a sudden don’t afflict you.

Your challenge for the week…hit your fiber goal every single day.

​
​
​

Talk soon,

Dr. Mike
​

Mike Roussell, PhD Nutrition Strategist