When it’s up to the nutrition plan I’m sure most of you hear at least once a week that one of your friends became vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian, go on a keto diet Etc. For me, it’s funny. Because of my job I heard it 10 times a day or more: Hey, I’m on keto, what do you think?

I’m telling it here once again, straight and clear: I think that you are wasting your time. Here’s the deal: You’ve got 4 calories for a gram of Carbs, 4 calories for a gram of Protein and 9 calories for a gram of Fat. Mix it all and mix it right. Nothing more, nothing less.

Being on a Restrictive Diet is a product of the system called the “fitness industry”. It has never been something aiming to help you out. Even worse, it could be harmful. A big part of fashion nowadays are diets like the keto diet, low-carb diet, no meat diet, eat only raw products diet. Some of these could actually harm your health.

So what to do in order to get fit and keep a healthy lifestyle?

You should follow a nutrition plan, not a restrictive diet. Yes, it’s not easy but it’s not too difficult at all.

Virtue is the golden mean between two vices, one of excess and the other of deficiency.

Aristotle

I’ll tell you it is ridiculed how simple it all could be for you. Your body needs the holy trinity of these three fundamental macros – protein, carbohydrates, and fats. You should add also vitamins, fibers, and minerals. Obviously, you need to add water, because we, people, are more than 70% water. Start now by using our fitness calculators! It’s totally free and it always will be.

How to recognize a “Diet” (in the bad sense):

Opposite of the Nutrition Plan, It Lacks one or more of the Macros (and that is #1 of Restrictive Diet deadly sins)

Once you meet “don’t eat…” regarding any of the Macros in the diet you are considering, run away as far as you can. It is one thing to say you should eat fewer carbs in the evening, it is quite another to appeal that carbs are the worst of all evil.

For example, the brain of an adult needs at least 130 grams of Carbs/day to function normally.

Yes, I can hear the defenders of a Keto now saying: it could be fueled up to 70% by ketones and the rest by glucose, produced in the liver. Should it happen? No! Is it making your neurons slower? Is it leading to increased cholesterol, risk of kidney stones, constipation? Yes and yes. Do you still want to try? Ok, but I recommend the following. Do it for an optimal period of 2 months with 2 weeks preparation and 2 weeks of food supply after.

It’s Restrictive diet and hence difficult to stick to

If you don’t have any functional disorder or illness I don’t see any reason for you to stay hungry for hours, eat once a day, skip meals or drinking tones of water or any magical liquids to fill up your hunger. Don’t believe the hype of getting pills before your meats, which will reduce your appetite or digest your fats instead of you. Because once you stop any of these you’ll find your metabolism slower and lazier. This will bring you to the vicious circle where you yo-yo different kinds of restrictions that will not make you any healthier or fitter or happier.

It’s Monotonous hence difficult to follow

Sticking to a diet of any kind, you’ll miss the chance to taste this colorful world around you. It belongs to those who follow a nutrition plan. You’ll not only get bored sooner or later but you’ll lose the adaptation process of your body or at least make it weaker.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not against a vegan way of life (because in effect veganism is a type of “diet”, where one of the Macros and that is Protein – is substitute by food that can’t fully do this and even worse could be drastically reduced )

Be and do what you believe in, it is totally cool. I’m just against the propaganda that says it will make the whole world an amazing place and will raise humanity on another spiritual level. Nope, It won’t. As you’ll see in an article coming soon there are physiological, dental and hormonal reasons for this.

Something a side of the physiology point of view is the psychological

It’s Temporary (or rather it should be)

As I’ll say in the next chapter all diets should be temporary and should lead you to a balanced meal plan. Never mind if it is a detox diet after some cycle of medical treatment, an increased veggies intake after winter or decreased carbs intake meant to regulate your body weight – it all should end up with a nutrition plan that is healthy and sustainable lifelong

It’s Harmful in the long run (but rather it should NOT be)

Most of the diets are dangerous for your health if you stick to any of them for long. Feeding your body without some of the Macros it needs is not recommended. Especially if we are talking about long periods of time. And even less so if you need to fuel your workouts and feed your muscles too (and by the way, the more muscles you have, the more calories you burn). 

Outtake:

Do consider once again your nutrition habits first and don’t just jump into the next super diet that will burn all the calories produced in all the fast-food joints of the whole wide world. Don’t follow the next trend in diets! Here’s what to do instead. Read in Part 2 of the article.