Whatever your fitness goals are – be it to lose weight, put on muscle mass, or simply live more healthily, diet is probably the biggest part of your consideration, and perhaps one that causes the most stress as well.
Why? For a start, there is the paralysis of too many options, where figuring out which type of diet to adopt can be so overwhelming, it leads to inaction. For example, should you fast or go on a low-carb diet? Should you count your calories and macronutrients? What about a keto diet or paleo diet? Are cheat meals permitted? The list goes on and on.
With so much information (or misinformation) on various diets out there, it’s no wonder many people feel stressed over this matter. Fortunately, a correct answer exists!
Here goes: Which diet are you most likely to persist with, while enjoying it the most? There’s your answer.
Simple, right?
Well, there is a caveat to this of course. Some basic rules in your diet regarding what is healthy eating and what isn’t, should be clear. In general, we know fruits and vegetables for instance are considered good, and processed food like bacon or chips are unhealthy in any diet.
What is left for you to focus on then is to find out which diet works best for you in terms of your commitment, discipline and most importantly, enjoyment, which is the biggest factor in you sticking to your diet. So if enjoyment means having a little “cheat meal” now and then, the key is moderation, ensuring that your diet is relatively healthy for the most part of it.
Which diet out there is effective? Probably almost every one of them, as long as it is nutritious and supported by science. Diets that typically revolve around whole food, animal proteins and plant-based options, with the added flexibility for customization to suit the individual, are a good place to begin. Other than that, it all comes down to the diet’s sustainability and the individual’s compliance to it.
To conclude, find out what kinds of food you enjoy that are within the parameters of healthy eating, and abide by a diet that includes these! A diet is only a broad framework to guide you on what you should eat and what to avoid. If you treat it like a prison sentence, chances are the diet will end up making you miserable, and you will most likely give it up before you see the results.
