Food. What we all really need.
How to eat without a nutrition degree. Or calories.
I’m browsing through my Instagram/Twitter feed of diet gurus, MDs and PhDs of nutrition science, of fitness models, of food/health researchers, scientists, authors, of keto/paleo/low carb/whatever diet fans and followers at times getting overwhelmed with all the scientific facts everyone seems to be throwing at each other, plain or with graphics, videos, audios… Who knows the most?! Who has the most cutting-edge information? Who has the most exotic and extravagant lifestyle and diet, that promise superhuman health, performance and longevity? Plus, of course, no lack of “everything in moderation” and “if it fits your macros” kind of advice is everywhere, all the debates about “calories in calories out” and “a calorie is not a calorie but energy balance still matters”…
BUT.
As one of my favorite sayings goes,
“If [more] information was the answer, then we’d all be billionaires with perfect abs.”
At the same time, obesity rates keep growing.
Food companies are trying to outsell each other.
Child obesity is growing.
We have more than ever to eat, we are wasting more than ever food, worrying at the same time, more than ever, about our growing population and inadequate food supply.
A lot of things are kind of upside-down.
Most people do not need any fancy knowledge to be fit and healthy — most people need to know:
What to eat simply and daily, without having to get a nutrition degree.
Most of the food companies need to stop working on product development, product marketing, trying to make people eat more and more, advertising products as good and healthy, having no idea what that “healthy” actually means. Most food companies need to start caring about people, their customers, eaters, working on promoting healthy eating behaviors and healthy food choices of people, regular people, moms and dads, kids, students and busy professionals, business owners , NOT nutritionists or fitness models, — people, who don’t want to study nutrition, know all about calories and macros, or about the latest diet or sweetener, people who just want to get the food, eat it, feel great while and after eating it, and get on with their life.
“Most food companies need to start caring about people, their customers, eaters, working on promoting healthy eating behaviors and healthy food choices of people, regular people, moms and dads, kids, students and busy professionals, business owners , NOT nutritionists or fitness models, — people, who don’t want to study nutrition, know all about calories and macros, or about the latest diet or sweetener, people who just want to get the food, eat it, feel great while and after eating it, and get on with their life.”
We don’t need to worry about the amount of food we produce (just the amount of sick and fat people LOL), not yet, just the quality of food would be plenty, we need to learn to distribute our food properly, with the least amount of waste.
I went to this amazing “healthy food” place in Russia, Siberia. And yes, I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of great foods and food products, but also I knew right away, that all of it, was far from being different and truly health and life-changing, not all of it was all that healthy, for our healthy metabolism and longevity, promoting healthy eating behavior, and most importantly, unless you are deep into nutrition, food science and dieting, and actually understand, why stevia or erythritol might be better for you than honey or fructose, unless you know all of that, you still can break your neck, trying to figure out what to eat daily and how to design your meal today.
Maybe, some universally accepted grading system for food and meals would be better than all these smart ingredients lists?
Like,
GREEN — eat freely at every meal
YELLOW — eat sparingly, proceed with caution, following a portion guide
RED — eat rarely, if ever, for special occasions, not good for people with metabolic syndrome, or someone, trying to lose weight
or something like that?
More of a human grading system along with some portion guide.
So even kids could understand and make proper food choices.
If everyone, for the majority of their meals, just stuck with foods, suited for daily consumption of a healthy human being, WHOLE FOODS cooked in a healthy way, if everyone ate a variety of veggies, protein-rich foods and some starchy stuff, some seasonal fresh fruit, when and if desired, if each store and restaurant promoted THAT along with healthy portions — how different the world would be!
When each food supplier, food company, an eating place would honestly position foods, as truly healthy or not so, and would honestly, with people’s best interests in mind, guide people through portions, foods, amounts of foods, instead of trying to upsell, investing the least in quality — if we did that, we could “install” food literacy, food education and smart food choices without even trying.
And athletes, fitness models etc., who need special results, special diets, macros etc. — they could work on their special menus with all their rich nutrition knowledge. And people with special food requirements, health conditions etc.
But the majority of normal people, families, moms and dads, teenagers, busy professionals, business owners — anyone, we do not need all of that! We HONESTLY DO NOT NEED more food products! We need more good quality food, available easy and simple, guiding us, by default, to good food choices, that help us live healthy, full of energy, live a happy long life.
“We HONESTLY DO NOT NEED more food products! We need more good quality food, available easy and simple, guiding us, by default, to good food choices, that help us live healthy, full of energy, live a happy long life.”
It’s not even that difficult, if THAT was our common goal, not to increase sales, no matter what it takes.
Food products are everywhere.
People, who can buy these products, do not need more of them.
People, who can’t buy these products, need them even less.
New business models, better education of eaters, increasing availability and quality of food, working on sustainable food practices, on the convenience of healthy foods — work on that, not some new fancy product, that in all honesty, NOBODY really needs.
People need more choices?
Really? That’s why we, as a planet, are on the verge of becoming obese?
Really? More choices? More food?
How about fixing the system that is obviously not working instead?
Now, something practical, for you dear reader, as a thank you for paying attention and reading this far.
Are YOU confused about healthy diet, daily food buying/cooking/eating choices? Want your food to support your health, healthy weight, mental and physical performance for many years ahead?
Start here.
- 3 meals a day before 7 PM.
- At least 12 hours without ANY food or calories between your last and your first meals — drink water, tea, black coffee.
- Build each meal according to the following formula.
4 fists of fresh or cooked good veggies
2 palms of protein rich food
A handful of potatoes or rice, or other starchy foods, if desired, or a piece of fruit, or some nuts, an avocado, a piece of 100% whole wheat, naturally made with yeast and time, bread.
1–2 tbsp of healthy fats: olive and coconut oils, grass-fed butter or ghee, some duck fat or lard (Stay away from factory-made fats, known as vegetable oils, soybean, peanut, canola, sunflower etc.)
Do it every meal.
Eat whole foods.
The fresher — the better.
The better quality — the better nutrition — the healthier you.
Eat a variety of foods for better nutrition, health and performance.
If hungry — add veggies or/and protein.
If weight is an issue, skip the starch/fruit and limit added fats.
Eat real food. Not food-like products.
Food products? Fancy snack foods? Convenience foods?
WHY?!
And on special occasions and celebrations.
Bored?
Eat to live — live life — stop living for food, from one meal to the next!
You’ll save time, money, treadmill time, headaches and worries about weight.
BONUSES:
Energy, vitality, increased productivity, sexiness and joy of seeing and living in your beach body 365/a year.
