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| Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
During the past few weeks I met several interesting people in/around the gym. Discussions sparked when someone saw me pull out a protein shaker (branded by a well-know supplement company). "Is that the meal replacement shake?" they asked me. "No", I said, "it's protein isolate." And so the gates of diet and nutrition were opened. In the end we all came to the decision that meal replacement shakes were no good - were you meant to take them for the rest of your life? What happens when you stop taking them?
Then yesterday a friend proudly posted on Facebook that she had lost a considerable amount of weight in a week. When I asked her how, she shared the link to a crazy diet which involved consuming mainly liquids for seven days. How long will those lost kilos stay at bay? Setting your body in starvation mode can do more harm in the long run than good.
The above mentioned paths to weight loss, i.e. extreme dieting and replacement shakes, are what I would call unsustainable diets. Why? Firstly, those are difficult to sustain over a lifetime. Remember that the term 'diet' does not only refer to short term changes in the food we eat, but more broadly to the way people feed themselves. Therefore, diet should not be viewed as a short term health craze, but as a permanent lifestyle choice.
Secondly, both act against our most basic human need - to eat. Replacement shakes are liquids and some may not contain the same nutrients as fresh foods but all contain a high amount of calories. Diets that force you to go without any or very little food cause your body to think that it is starving and anything that you eat after that diet would be immediately stored as fat so the body can survive longer should such starvation occur again.
So what is a sustainable diet? It is one where you make commitment for life. It is one where you control your portions, but eat regularly and avoid excessive hunger/starvation. Eating often keeps your metabolism strong. A sustainable diet is one where you try to eat mainly natural, single-ingredient foods. Think veggies, meat, fruits, yoghurt, eggs, and nuts. It shouldn't leave you hungry and tired - it should energize you. How? By providing your body with regular doses of protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and a bit of carbs. And let's not forget to drink plenty of water!
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| Image courtesy of nongpimmy / FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
Does this mean that all supplements and shakes should be avoided? No, but it does mean you have to be very careful what and how much of those you take based on your needs and goals. Some people prefer to supplement their diets with pure protein, others take fat burners and third natural supplements derived from superfoods such as chia and macca. I would say start clean (no supps), then see what you lack (best to let a pro assess your needs) and add the necessary supplements.
I am no nutrition expert or bodybuilder. But I do like to keep myself aware and informed of how the food I eat affects my body. And by no means am I saying that following a sustainable diet is easy - today being Easter I probably ate more bad foods than permissible.
But it is important to educate yourself, to motivate yourself and to find help and support. It may take you two weeks to withdraw from all the sugar and empty calories from carbohydrates. Psychologists say it takes over 300 times for something to become a habit. But if you eat 6 healthy and small meals a day that means in 50-60 days you will be completely used to your new way of life. See? It's not that bad :)