This article is full of juicy tips so you stop wasting time and finally get the energy and health you seek. It is not a cheap, quick weight loss guide. Read this if you want the TRUTH about the weight loss industry and to learn what WORKS.
NOTE: Before any lifestyle change, please work with your healthcare providers.
Comparing Different Methods
Most folks know what a diet is, but only some understand how it can be used outside of temporary weight loss. Diets can be used to gain weight, to bulk for bodybuilding, to improve a health factor like lowering cholesterol, and to improve your cardiovascular system; diets can be used in many ways.
When it comes to losing weight, no one diet or lifestyle change keeps the weight off forever. All humans who go on a weight loss diet will gain that weight back in the span of 5 years. Why? Folks naturally gain weight as they age, because of stress, responsibilities, loss of muscle mass and with crash dieting because they are damaging their metabolism and natural hunger/satiety signals.
But don't despair there are scientifically and culturally found ways that do actually help in health, fat-loss and longevity.
For health, there are a lot of disagreements from scientists, anthropologists, and nonprofessional opinions; Fashion and health magazines are the worst culprits (spreading misinformation and fad ideas). Health and how it looks is not just biological but also cultural.
Therefore, no one-size-fits-all approach to diet for health exists.
The Following List I compiled are the aspects of diets that most nutritional scientists globally can agree on
Eat as much fresh produce as possible, more vegetables than fruit
Balance your macros with one of the following ratios
*70% carbohydrates, 30 proteins, 20% fats or
*60% carbohydrates, 20 proteins, 20 fats
*or 65% carbohydrates, 25% proteins, 35% fats
Ratios of high fat or protein are not sustainable in the long term and often lead to health problems.
*When done right, Keto diets can lead to fat loss, but in a long time, can cause significant health problems like scurvy, heart issues, and more.
Eat locally grown and hunted foods (Whenever possible)
Eat Pre and probiotic foods such as fermented foods like
*Kiefer, sauerkraut, natto or kimchi
Pay attention to food mixing, such as avoiding eating fruit and nuts together
The mood you're in when you eat affects your digestion
Feeling happiness or a sense of community and connection when eating is correlated with significant positive health outcomes
Restrictive diets can lead to disordered eating
Eating under 1200 calories a day can lead to unhealthy outcomes for adults
Pay attention to the quality and amount of water that you drink a day
§ Make sure your water intake has salt and minerals for better absorption
Read until the end to learn about new cutting edge research on even better tips for not just health but weight loss.
Now I could add a whole lot more to this list but that is not the only goal of this blog post.
I have tried countless diets and anti diets, and none by themselves worked for health or fat loss. What does work is learning from each approach and adapting it to work with our needs.
Lets talk about Anti Diet Culture First
Anti-Diet Culture is a byproduct of the Fat Acceptance or Body Acceptance Movement.
The movement started to address fatphobia and the real economic and social consequences larger bodies people feel, specially in countries like the United States and Asian countries like South Korea and Japan.
The current wave of the movement also addresses the gender, race, and ethnic prejudices larger-bodied people experience; which is well explained in the book: Reclaiming Body Trust. They witness the social benefits of being thin, white, etc. Those curves of various ethnic groups are then appropriated and glued onto a stick, white (anglo-european facial featured), person. Beauty, represented in dominant cultural media, has always been connected to whichever social group is in power.
Your body will never be good enough because major corporations would lose billions of dollars if it was. "Global Weight Loss and Weight Management Market Size/Share Worth USD 405.4 Billion by 2030 at a 6.84% CAGR" (Global News Wire)
Thus, body acceptance is radical! It's anti-white supremacy and anti-capitalistic.
So, what lifestyle changes impact your health and waistline?
1. Flattening your GLUCOSE curve
2. Using Intermittent Fasting
3. Using the MATADOR Method
4. Living Your life like those who live in Blue Zones
Glucose? I thought that only mattered if you had diabetes? Nope! Everyone should pay attention to their glucose and if they are spiking multiple times a day. Which turns out most people do!
Besides wearing a glucose monitor, how do you know you might need to watch your glucose levels? Pay attention to the following
Does your energy dip throughout the day?
Do you get hangry often
Do you have skin issues
Aging earlier than expected, like more wrinkles
You have intense sugar cravings
Your mood is unstable
When you flatten your glucose curve, your mood improves, multiple health issues have been linked to improvement, and it gives your body a chance to actually use up your own fat reserves.
I was sick and tired of counting calories. So I tried the Glucose Goddess method, and I will never go back.
I have a more stable mood,
reduced my ADHD medication,
Within a month, went down 1 pant size
Intermittent Fasting
To do IF, you don't need to count calories or weight your food.
Eat what you want in an allotted time frame.
Easiest or beginner method: Fast for 12 hours. Stop eating 3 hours before going to sleep, and eat breakfast as usual or wait an extra 1-3 hours after waking to eat.
The 16/8 method: wait to eat until around lunch time, restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours, for example 12-8 p.m.
Eat-Stop-Eat: Fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week
The 5:2 diet: With this method, you consume only 500–600 calories on two nonconsecutive days of the week, but eat normally the other 5 days. This method is the most difficult and may be unsuitable for folks with chronic or complex health needs, always discuss with a doctor before starting Intermittent fasting.
3. IF is more effective for Men than Womxn
On the Chronic Fatigue Reddit a user who found IF helpful for their health and energy recommended reading the book: Fast. Feast. Repeat by Gin Stephens
For X,Y Chromosone folks (Womxn AFAB) I also recommend
The MATADOR Study
No it's not about bull fighters. This study compared two groups of adults trying to louse weight. One did constant weight loss where the other group on off weeks: calorie deficit for 2-3 weeks, switched to maintenance calories for 1-2 weeks, repeat; doing this kept their metabolism stable. The group who did this on off method not only LOST MORE WEIGHT, but they kept it off much longer.
Blue Zones are places where most humans in an area are older than a hundred years old. In many of these zones, these centenarians also have good physical and cognitive health.
I recommend watching the Netflix's series with the researcher Dan Buettner, about what makes these folks live longer, healthier and happier lives.
To not give it all away, here are some of the tips Dan found
Eating mostly whole foods and plant-based
Living in a close nit community
Daily exercise
Reduced Stress
Strong spiritual or religious ties
In Conclusion
Eating healthy and being beautiful are not the same thing.
Beauty has nothing to do with health but society's expectations
Excess fat gain is usually because of stress, disease, socioeconomic status, environmental and social instability, or being marginalized without proper support.
You can have excess body fat and still be healthy
You can be skinny and sick
What matters most is, do YOU feel good? Can you do the activities you want? Is your lifestyle preventing joy, community, and connection?
I hope my article help shed some light on the misleading and lie filled world of diet culture.