When working with clients to improve their nutrition, I will look at what they are doing through two different lens.
- The actual nutrition and nutrients of what they are eating
- Their food logistics setup.
We talked about food logistics in the last edition of Macros on Monday (if you want a quick recap click here). But before we even get into those details, I have them step back and look at their diet and eating habits from a 20,000 foot level and ask the question “Do my current eating habits support me getting to my goal?”
Your body and your health is in large part a reflection of what you eat. One of the mental programs that I run with clients has them look at their current eating habits and compare them to the eating habits of their future-self. The future-self that has the body/health characteristics in which they desire.
Is it reasonable to believe that how you currently eat will allow you to maintain the body/health that you desire? If the answer is no, then we have a problem that we can solve.
While this may seem overly simplistic in nature, it is a natural law of the body. This past week while in Portland Maine, I was looking through the Health/Fitness section at Sherman’s Bookstore (the oldest bookstore in Maine) and came across a book called Why We Run by Bernd Heinrich. It is a very enjoyable read that is a combination of autobiography and scientific exploration of human physiology.
In the book, Bernd writes…
”To become a runner, I ran.”
This is a dead-on analogy for what we are exploring today. If you want to be a runner, you need to consistently run. Over time that practice will turn you into a runner. If you want to be Strong, Fit, & Healthy, you need to consistently follow the 6 Pillars of Nutrition. Over time, following the 6 Pillars will morph your body into being Strong, Fit, & Healthy.
Looking through your daily diet through this lens is uncomfortably simplifying but it will always align you to the right course of eating (pun optional). This isn’t…
eat for the body you want
as much as it
I eat this way because I am Strong, Fit, & Healthy.
To be a runner, you need to run. To be Strong, Fit, & Healthy here are 3 things I recommend that you do each day:
- Eat Breakfast that Contains 30g of Protein and 10g of Fiber - When you start your day eating a meal containing 30g of protein and 10g of fiber you put yourself at a significant nutritional advantage. This isn’t just about grams of protein and fiber - it is about the kinds of foods that you need to eat to hit those benchmarks. It is also about the quality of nutrients that those foods bring to the bowl as well. If you are looking for ideas this overnight oats recipe will get you started. I also have a cookbook with 30 different recipes in order to make this a no-brainer for you.
- Eat a Little Less Than You Need - Maintaining a slight calorie deficit will help keep you lean and metabolically primed for optimal health and physical performance. A simple approach to achieving this is to follow the Japanese principle of Hara hachi bu - eating until you are 80% full. This has the side benefit of requiring that you eat a little slower which in and of itself helps control your calorie intake.
- Eat mainly Minimally Processed Foods - I use the phrase Minimally Processed Foods to include two of the five categories of the NOVA food processing classification - unprocessed (e.g. an apple) and minimally processed. We are talking about these kinds of foods: Fresh, chilled, frozen, vacuum-packed vegetables and fruits, grains (cereals), beans and other pulses, roots, fungi, unsalted nuts and seeds, corn or wheat flours and fresh or dried pasta, fresh, chilled, frozen meats, poultry, fish, seafood, fresh, pasteurized or milk, yogurt (with no added sugar or other substance), eggs, tea, coffee, drinking water. Focus on these foods.
If you need help, let me know.
Fats - Forget the Ratios
The omega-3:omega-6 ratio is one of the most misunderstood, yet largely touted nutritional concepts that you will find. Here’s the concept at a high level:
- Omega-3 fats are anti-inflammatory
- Omega-6 fats are pro-inflammatory
- If you consume largely more omega-6 fats than omega-3 fats, this creates an imbalance of pro/anti-inflammatory fats in your body leading to greater levels of inflammation and disease.
Good story. Unfortunately, science has revealed this story to be more historical fiction than fact. It is impossible to unpack the entire 3:6 ratio concept in two paragraphs (a topic for a future, longer newsletter) but consider these points.
- Not all omega-3 or omega-6 fats are the same. There are longer and shorter versions of each. The length of a fat impacts how it behaves.
- Shorter omega-6 fats can act in an anti-inflammatory fashion.
- The ratio of omega-3:6 fats doesn’t matter as much as the total amount of omega-3 fats in your diet.
The last point is important as trying to manage a ratio of fats in your diet will make you go mad but eating more omega-3s, fish and flax, is more than doable.
Protein - Stack for Satiety
We’ve talked previously about the satiety (or feeling of fullness after eating) difference between liquid protein (e.g. protein shakes) and solid protein (e.g. steak). Liquid protein doesn’t keep you nearly as full at eating/chewing solid protein. There is one more potential wrinkle to this story. Several years ago, when chatting with a nationally renowned protein researcher at the back of a conference hall (usually where all the good conversations are had at a scientific conference) - the topic of satiety and protein came up.
This researcher asserted that in their lab they noticed that mixing proteins at breakfast, their meal of focus, leads to longer periods of fullness after a meal.
Instead of having eggs for breakfast (30g protein). Have eggs (12g protein) and a piece of smoked salmon (12g protein) and whole wheat toast (5g of protein). Similar amounts of protein, but the mixed protein breakfast will keep you fuller a little longer.
Carbs - Glycemic Index…Interesting but Not Informative
There are two ways that people talk about carbs which are essentially useless when it comes to you, your health, and your goals. Glycemic Index and Complex/Simple Carbs.
Let’s look at the first one briefly today. Glycemic Index is a laboratory measurement of blood sugar levels after 50g of carbs of a food is eaten.
Glycemic Index sounds very useful but there are two key factors in your next meal that make the Glycemic Index not so useful.
- You don’t eat 50g of carbs of all carb foods. Yes, 50g of carbs from cooked carrots may cause a higher and fast rise in blood sugar compared to that of an apple but when was the last time you ate 8 carrots in one sitting? The amount of something that you eat matters a lot.
- Protein and fat muddle digestion. In nutrition research they call it a mixed meal. In real life they call it a meal. Glycemic Index measurements are done in isolation. We rarely eat foods in this same isolation. Instead foods are eaten as part of a meal. The inclusion of fat and protein to high glycemic foods has consistently been shown to overpower the impact of the Glycemic Index rating of the food. High glycemic foods become moderate to low when a chicken breast and olive oil are added to the mix.
Don’t worry too much about the glycemic index of the carbs that you are eating. Focus on fruit, vegetables, and grains that have a lot of fiber in them.
Talk soon,
Dr. Mike
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Mike Roussell, PhD
Nutrition Strategist
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