Diets vs Nutritional Culture
It’s the time of year when everyone is trying to get their bodies ‘Summer ready’. For many people, that means dieting. But what if there was another way? What if you could ditch the diets and still achieve your goals?
I’m not talking about some crazy fad diet or unscientific ‘hack’. I’m talking about developing a nutritional culture.
Nutritional culture is all about making healthy eating habits part of your everyday life without deprivation or calorie counting.
Sound impossible? It’s not! Here are four tips to help get you started.
What Is A Diet? (And Why It Usually Sucks)
A diet is a plan that people use to lose or control their weight. Many diets are unsustainable for most people because they are too restrictive and cannot be maintained for a long period.
More often than not, diets are restrictive and bound to a set time frame. The existence of a start of the diet implies that of an end, and after that, it would only feel natural to get ‘back to normal eating.’ That normal eating is based on the multitude of bad food choices available to us all. Those, in turn, lead to overeating and ruined nutrition for the day!
What Is Culture (And How It Applies To Eating)
Culture has a significant impact on the way we eat.
Our culture tells us what is considered to be good food and bad food, what is appropriate to eat and what is not. It also dictates how we should behave around food and what foods are associated with celebration or sadness
Our nutritional culture is also heavily influenced by our cultural values. In some cultures, it is considered important to have large meals that include many different types of food. In other cultures, people prefer smaller meals that focus on one kind of food. And in still others, fasting or avoiding certain foods altogether is seen as a sign of strength or piety.
However, nowadays, the global nutritional culture is warped beyond belief. We tend to be busy, so eating fast food is often the new normal.
But as we said, nutritional culture is all about making the right food choices without strict diets or calorie counting. It’s about shifting your eating habits and maintaining them for a lifetime!
Here are our best tips to help you do just that.
#1 Choose Whole Foods
Modern-day fast-food diets don’t work because they usually lack sufficient, high-quality nutrients! The best way to ensure that you’re getting the nutrients you need is to rely on whole food products.
This means that you should try to eat foods that have been minimally processed and are as close to their natural state as possible.
Eating whole food products has many benefits, but most importantly, they will keep you satiated, which means you won’t need an unhealthy snack every hour! Choose foods like grass-fed beef meat, organs, fruits, vegetables, eggs, and dairy products! These products will provide the body with enough nutrients for healthy functioning.
#2 Cheat More Frequently
Wait, did I just say, “Eat cheat foods more frequently?”! Is this a horrible mistake I made before publishing this? Not really. I advise you to eat those same bad foods more frequently but in lesser amounts.
I believe that if people eat cheat foods more frequently, they will become less special, and their desire for them will decrease. The same goes for anything we do frequently—the more often we do it, the less special it becomes. This is because our brain gets used to the stimulus and stops releasing as much dopamine (the “pleasure” hormone).
So listen up—as long as the balance is in favour of nutrient-dense, whole food products, everything is alright!
#3 Exercise!
Establishing better food habits is intended to boost health, well-being, and, last but not least, looks!
So you see, the nutrients from your newly established eating habits can actually be put to work, if you exercise! The quality protein will help recover your muscles, the carbohydrates will fuel them, and the fat will help all nutrients get absorbed better, as well as improve your hormonal health!
So, pairing good eating habits with exercise is a no-brainer! It has too many benefits to miss.
Final Thoughts
While labelling someone as lazy or undisciplined might be easy, it’s probably more accurate (and helpful) to think about them as misinformed.
The good news is that with a bit of education – and maybe some gentle encouragement – even the most dedicated junk-food addict can become a nutritional culture expert.
Are you up for the challenge?