The info in this blog is knowledge I've acquired over the years from various sources like books, podcasts & blogs. I'm constantly adding to this knowledge in my mission to become the 1st super healthy 100-year-old who can do backflips. As I learn more, I will update this blog as necessary to reflect any new findings.
MY FUSSY PHASE
I've always been a fussy eater. This resulted in me having the most basic diet known to man for most of my life. I'm not even exaggerating when I say my diet consisted mainly of meat, rice & instant noodles. I somehow always looked relatively healthy, so no one ever questioned my trash nutrient-deficient diet. If anyone was judging what was on people's plate, it was me. Not only that, but I would do it with an added serving of stank face & side of condescending tone. & to make matters even more embarrassing, I was judging people for eating salads & vegetables or as I liked to call them, "green shit". My levels of ignorance when it came to diet & nutrition must have been unrivalled. As Oprah would say though, "if you don't know better, you can't do better". This was my predicament, I didn't know any better & I didn't have any significant reason to do better. Afterall humans rarely change their habits or behaviour unless they have to.
MY VEGAN PHASE
It wasn't until veganism started trending that I began to have minor doubts about my meat, rice & pot noodle diet. This movement was fueled by documentaries such as "Cowspiracy" & "What the health" & it wasn't long before I finally took the plunge & watched one. As someone who thought that meat was the pinnacle of cuisine & nutrition, it wasn't comfortable viewing. It challenged my whole perspective on food & lead me to question everything I believed. I went from idolising meat to declaring I was never going to eat it again. I had that same energy for eggs, milk & all things animal-related. At the moment of that declaration, I didn't know it meant having to learn an entirely new way of eating overnight, which is a huge ask. This is the problem with diets. Whether it's low-carb, low-fat, low calories or low whatever else. They come with a bunch of new rules & regulations. Do's & don'ts. They're high maintenance & anything high maintenance is often not sustainable long term.
MY MEAT RELAPSE
After a few meat relapses & slow 3 month transition into following a strict vegan diet, it was 8 months before I was back in a KFC. The fact that the KFC made me feel ill immediately after wasn't enough to subdue my carnivorous instincts. A month or 2 later I was back on the meat, but only at weekends which I feel is an acceptable compromise.
MY KETO/FASTING PHASE
I then went on to try Keto, mainly because it facilitated my obsession with fasting at the time. It was only 3 months before my unsustainable 20-hour intermittent fasting keto diet experiment was over. Not only did I have to spend 20 hours each day diligently distracting myself from food cravings, but eating out with friends was also a pain. Keto diets are so restrictive that I'd often have to be that guy that asked for special amendments to menu items that I ordered (that guy sucks).
MY HIGH CARB/LOW CARB PHASE
Then came my high carb bulking phase, which was unsustainable because my increased carb consumption wreaked havoc on my energy levels. & this lead me to the low carb high-fat diet I'm on currently, which has massively stabilised my energy & hunger levels. I've stuck with it for 6 months so far & the important thing is it doesn't even feel like a diet. It's just become a routine. I've created a bunch of default nutrient-dense meals & these make up the majority of my weekly calories.
As you can see, I've dabbled with diets, partly out of curiosity but probably mostly as a symptom of living in a diet-obsessed society.
OUR DIET OBSESSION
It won't come as a surprise that our fixation on restricting what we eat via creative means dates back to the second century. During this time a Roman senator was advocating eating copious amounts of cabbage which is perfectly reasonable. He makes it weird by also suggesting bathing in the urine of those who also ate copious amounts of cabbage. His justification for this was that he believed this cabbage & urine combo would enrich peoples lives with vim & vigour.
Today miracle diets making bold claims are more prevalent than ever but usually don't involve urine, so that's progress I guess. But the diets themselves are still more problematic than ever. We're now inundated with so-called celeb doctors advertising innovative fat burning products on TV. So-called celebrities & influencers are also promoting products like "flat tummy shakes" & "weight loss tea." What a time to be alive.
This fixation we have around dieting to lose weight, by any means stems from the stigma around being fat. & the main reason people are overweight in the first place is because we live in an environment that is designed to make us fat. It's a vicious cycle. Succumb to all the trash processed food we're surrounded by. Get fat. Lose social status. Try to regain social status by any diet necessary. This is just the most common trend that I've spotted in my social circle, I know there're many reasons for people to gain & lose weight.
At the end of the day, it's common knowledge that most calorie reducing diets will result in weight loss if followed strictly as long as they are maintained. How you choose to reduce your calorie intake to acceptable proportions isn't vital. How you maintain it is. & this lack of maintenance is why people who lose weight often gain it back.
WHY LONG TERM WEIGHT LOSS IS HARD
Firstly, our bodies aren't wired to make weight loss effortless. After weight loss, several physiological adaptations occur which reduce the number of calories the body burns. This results in the need to cut even more calories to keep losing weight. The issue with this strategy is that the brain doesn't tend to adapt well to weight loss & calorie restriction. The brains response tends to be to ramp up cravings for trash foods. You know, the delicious stuff that's a combo of sweet, fatty, & super salty. The brain does this while also reducing our perception of feeling full (the brain is a real piece of work).
Long story short, our body & our brain conspire against us to keep us fat. It's another vicious cycle. It's not our bodies fault though. The body developed these adaptations over millions of years to defend against starvation. A diet isn't enough to bypass these adaptations, especially diets that are structured with short-term, unsustainable goals in mind.
DIET GOALS
For diets to work, they shouldn't have an endpoint & they need to promote real lifestyle change. The focus should be on variety, moderation, & proportionality in the context of a healthy lifestyle, rather than targeting specific nutrients or foods. Cultivating a lifestyle that promotes a healthy weight & metabolism should be the aim & is often a lifelong journey.
The odds are stacked against us in this battle. We have too much access to hyper-palatable foods that are high in calories & low in nutrients. These foods are literally manufactured to be ridiculously satisfying & consequently, overeaten. Then there are the large portion sizes; all the enticing slow-mo food ads & all the chocolate. Seriously why is chocolate so delicious?
Our environment is a defining factor in making us fat, but it's just 1 of many factors we need to master to sustain our health & weight long-term. Other factors include regular physical activity, being mindful of your craving cues (cravings & hunger are 2 different things), & managing psychological stressors without relying on food. Overly prescriptive, overhyped promises of our dieting culture only act as a temporary bandage on a much greater issue.
THE MOST COMMON DIETS
For many, many people, weight loss diets will fail. The critical thing to remember is that it's not only you, it's also the diets. Different diets suit different people & some diets suit no people. To find a diet that works for you, you essentially need to think of them as a life long commitment. Until death do you part. Ok, this is a bit extreme, but you need to think of them as a long term solution. If you can't commit long term, then it's not the one. I've listed a summary of the most popular diets below (most of which I've tried).
- Keto
- Macros: 5% carbs, 25% protein, 70% fat
- Pros: Good for weight loss, fat burning, & managing hunger levels. Puts you in a metabolic state of ketosis, which causes hunger suppression & forces your body to burn fat (rather than carbs) by default. Balances out blood sugar & insulin
- Cons: The "keto flu" is real & you may feel the effects of this for the first week or two on the diet.
- Best for: Most individuals pursuing a low carb lifestyle for weight loss, health, or medical reasons.
- Low Carb High Fat
- Macros: 12% carbs, 25% protein, 63% fat
- Pros: Produces most of the same pros as Keto but without the keto flu.
- Cons: Doesn't put you into ketosis, which can lead to hunger, carb cravings, and less effective weight loss.
- Best for: Those who require a slower transition to Keto, are sensitive to a high-fat diet, or can't enter ketosis for medical reasons.
- Low Carb Moderate Fat
- Macros: 20% carbs, 40% protein, 40% fat
- Pros: Only some benefits of low carb high fat, basically a diluted version of it.
- Cons: Similar to low carb high fat but worse. No ketosis, hunger, & carb cravings & less efficient weight loss.
- Best for: Same as low carb high fat.
- Zone
- Macros: 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat
- Pros: Apparently reduces inflammation in your body. This diet was specifically designed for inflammation reduction. Also produces some weight loss & fat-burning benefits.
- Cons: Hunger, carb cravings, & less efficient loss of weight
- Best for: Those whose primary health goal is to reduce inflammation in their body. Disclaimer: I haven't tried this diet, so I can't confirm whether it does reduce inflammation.
- Bodybuilding
- Macros: 25% carbs, 40% protein, 35% fat
- Pros: Best for building muscle & body mass while also reducing body fat
- Cons: Only for those who lift regularly. Please note doing this diet without the lifting of heavy weights may result in fat gain.
- Best for: Those trying to get swole
- High Carb Low Fat
- Macros: 50% carbs, 15% protein, 35% fat
- Pros: Helpful for some medical conditions relating to types of thyroid or adrenal issues. You can eat lots of bread & pasta if that's what you're into.
- Cons: Weight loss is harder to achieve because you're relying entirely on your ability to restrict calories for the weight benefits which can lead to extreme hunger & cravings.
- Best for: Those with specific medical conditions that can benefit from a high carb diet. Consult a medical person for advice on this.
I had to try most of the above diets in some form until I stumbled onto a system I was able to stick to. This also involved creating my own rules which allowed me some degree of flexibility. & also finding out through trial & error which foods & meals my body responded best to. This process takes time & patience (which is long), but it's necessary. You can either choose the pain of patience & discipline now or have your body choose your pain for you at a later date after years of abuse.
HEALTHY EATING ISNT LIMITED TO NUTRITION
It's important to remember that food is also a source of happiness. This is something that I lost sight of in my quest to develop a healthy lifestyle. The primary role food plays in celebrating occasions or milestones shouldn't be underestimated. It has the power to connect you with friends, loved ones & even strangers. It's the centrepiece of many cultural traditions. What is football without pints, a happy hour minus cocktails, a hot summers day without ice cream, or a cinema date without popcorn? I was so disciplined that I sat out of many moments to socialise around food if it didn't fit with whatever diet I was following at the time. From the cakes to celebrate birthdays to the brownies to celebrate a new addition to the family to doughnuts to celebrate a new job. I'd refuse to indulge & fully take part in the moment if it meant straying from my diet.
I came to realise food isn't something to be restricted & controlled to lose weight or "be healthy". This mindset lead me to feel deprived, which only lead me to binge at some point later on anyway. Rather than trying to be good 100% of the time, I just aim to be good 90%, which still yields similar results. This means I make sure 90% of my calories come from natural wholefood sources that contain 1 ingredient. The other 10% can be as trashy & chocolatey as I wish. They normally aren't but the option is there. The healths & wellness life shouldn't be a chore.
Many of these diets, like the ketogenic diet & intermittent fasting promise weight loss & better health, but there's little evidence that this is indeed the case. It's also common for people to find these diets socially & psychologically challenging. If that's the case with you, it probably isn't going to do much for your health or weight loss efforts as you won't be able to sustain it.
If you only take one point from this blog, it should be that healthy eating is flexible & that all foods can fit into a healthy diet. It doesn't need to be complicated. When it comes to creating nourishing & satisfying meals, just eat the foods our bodies spent centuries adapting to consume. The "My Plate Method" is a good starting point if you need some guidance. The method suggests making half your plate non-starchy vegetables, one-quarter protein, & one-quarter carbohydrates. & remember not to turn this method into the gospel, be flexible & experiment to find a system that works for you long term.
Final Note: There is no such thing as the best diet for everyone. Results will differ from person to person. & If weight loss is the goal, just know that your weight is determined by various factors beyond what you eat. Sleep, exercise, hormones, genetics are just a few of many others, some which are out of your control. Weight is not the only measure of health, listen to your body. Once you're fuelling it with the right foods, it will let you know. Those right foods won't be found in the junk food aisle though
Disclaimer: LOLA does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.