In the pre-covid world, when I used to commute to work, it was nothing short of enlightening to observe how many people we’re passionately downing potato chips or candy on public transport. This happened mostly in the afternoon on their way to what I can only assume was their home.
By downing, I don’t mean having a treat or two or even three. But clearly fisting their hand into a bag of crisps and candy. With the clear objective of elevating blood sugars and erasing the burning hunger.
People get hungry after a long day. I get it.
And undoubtedly there’s some stress releasing emotional eating in play for some. And sometimes you just need to eat something right now. And sometimes it’s nice to have a treat because why not. And I also understand that you now see me as a judgemental creep for checking people’s eating habits on the train.
Oh well. In my defence, it’s less about judging and more about observing how people behave. In case that changes anything for you.
Regardless, the quantities of treats easily fly off the handle when we treat treats like meals. If each time we’re feeling all Starving’ Marvin, we reach out for a pack of crisps or candy to eliminate that hunger, it’s no wonder our collective health is declining.
I mean, it’s not an accident.
But, there’s a relatively simple solution to reducing cravings.
Well, simple, at least on the paper.
It starts by eating a big breakfast and lunch that helps you stay full for the day. I know what you’re thinking now. “I am already eating big meals.” But I want it to be even bigger than what you’re imagining right at this very moment.
Breakfast – If you’re even moderately active, aim no lower than 400 calories. But honestly, 500-600 is better for most. Depending on your size and activity levels, you could go up to 800-900 calories.
If you work a demanding manual labour job (which you don’t. Me neither) you’d be looking for four digits for breakfast.
Lunch – At least 600 calories for most people. As with breakfast, some folks need to go way higher.
And once you’ve got those two meals sorted, aim to get dinner calories somewhere around 400-800. Perhaps more depending on what you’ve been up. But probably not lower.
Eat bigger meals for a week or two and see what happens to your cravings.
If the temptations of candy and whatnot are still keeping you in their evil chokehold, you might have to further increase the portions.
Especially if you’ve been chronically under eating for a while.
And I know you know this already, but here goes: get most of your calories from real food.
Don’t obsess about getting your calories exactly right.
Eyeballing and hand portions go a long way. Unless you have a zero concept of roughly how many calories typical food items in your diet contain. In which case, it’s helpful to track calories for a week or two.
Any longer and it’s easy to get stuck on the obsessive calorie counting hamster wheel. On the miserable-scale, permanently living on a calorie counting wheel exists somewhere between a root canal operation and going to IKEA sober.
At first, it might feel you’re force feeding yourself. It’ll pass.
If you’re used to eating small meals or skipping meals altogether, it’ll take a while for your body and mind to get used to bigger portions.
Yes, all of this takes a bit of planning and effort. But when the result of your effort is regaining the control of your hunger and cravings, it’s well worth.
-J
Also, there’s no denying that this must be the best titled blog I’ve ever written anywhere.
Wait. No.
This is the best blog title ever written anywhere by anyone.
So much of our success with health and fitness comes down to our environment and surroundings.
Whatever you have in your fridge and cupboard, that’s what you’re going to eat. Buy accordingly.
If you want to reduce the amount of ice cream and cookies you eat, only buy a single portion at a time. Instead of hauling a carton load through the door each time you do the shopping.
Keen to drink less? Hide the wine glasses and only buy enough wine to last an evening. And never keep beer in the fridge for “just in case”.
If the goal is to eat more fruits and vegetables, stack them up. Put the fruits where you can see them. To act as a reminder and a cue for you to eat them.
As for training, leave your weights where you can see them. Drill a permanent chin up bar to a door frame. Never buy a piece of equipment with a feature that “easily folds and rolls into storage under your bed”. You will never use it. And it makes vacuuming heaps annoying.
Want to spend less time doom scrolling and more on reading meaningful books? Put your phone in a draw where it’s not constantly yelling “pick me up!”
You get the idea.
What do you need to put out of sight? And what needs to be more prominent?
Why is fat loss so complicated? How can we simplify it for those who struggle with it?
I’ve been thinking this a lot.
What if we’d strict away all the excess and only focus on what really moves the needle and the digits on the scale. While still making it achievable for almost everyone.
Now, I assume that you’re already physically active at least three or four days a week. This doesn’t all have to be strength training. But can (and probably should) include walking, gardening, recreational sport (if you’re into that). Anything that gets the heart rate up and turns you into a moderately sweaty mess.
Those four days of movement are not there to burn calories. Yes, it happens. But the reason for movement is to help you regulate hunger. And to maintain muscle mass while the fat is dropping.
That out of the way, here’s what I’d focus on when it comes diet.
Eat around 80 to 120 grams of protein a day
That’s around five to eight heaped cupped handfuls of beans, legumes, soft tofu and the like. Hard tofu tends to be higher in protein so adjust accordingly. Pays to read the label.
Don’t worry about spacing the protein out evenly throughout the day. Yes, it helps. But let’s try to not add any layers of complexity to this.
Do whatever works with your eating schedule. Although you might struggle getting it all in if only eating two meals a day.
If you can get all that protein in without adding protein powder, the better. But supplementing with a scoop of protein powder can sometimes help if you’re pinched for time. Especially if you can make it into a combo with the number 2 on this list.
Eat at least 6 serves of non-starchy vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
Fist size makes for a serve.
On days when you’re super active, you could pump the fruit to 3, even 4 serves. Fresh or frozen. Whatever works for you. I’d keep dried fruit to minimum because it’s easy to overeat.
As for non-starchy vegetables, you really can’t have too much. Well, at least once you learn to appreciate your newly found bowel movements.
Fresh, frozen, tin, smoked, skewered, stir fried… They’re all good. Do whatever works with the meals you already eat.
The more colours you can include each day the better.
Drink only water, tea or coffee
A simple way to reduce calories. Nothing more to it, really. That, and coffee is the drink of gods.
Get at least 7 hours of good quality sleep each night
Ok, not a diet habit. But it’s here for a reason.
Proper rest helps you manage stress, recovery and therefore, hormones.
Fat loss is hard as it is. You don’t need to throw another obstacle on your way by skimping on sleep.
Bonus! We also tend to make better eating decision when well rested.
Wait. Has Joonas become a keto zealot? A low-carb dogmatist? Is he now an anti-vaxxer? IS HE DRINKING DECAF?!
Nope. Never. I will die on that coffee soaked carbohydrate hill.
I didn’t say “do only these four things”. Rather, make those four points your main focus.
Marvellous things happen when you eat 80-120g of protein a day with at least 6 serves of non-starchy vegetables, and 2-4 serves of fruit.
You’re feeling fuller. You’re likely to snack less as your cravings go down. Whatever hunger you have left can be filled with carbs, fats, an occasional Oreo, a glass of pinot…
Focus on those big rocks and fill the gaps with the rest. And since you’re mostly sticking with water, tea and coffee, there’s even more room for whatever else you might desire.
As for sleep, 7+ hours makes anyone a nicer person. The body is more likely to partner up with you on this fat loss dance. Both physically and mentally.
Set some parameters to keep you on track. Then do whatever works for you within those parameters.
Don’t eat based on what you’ve been told in the past, if it no longer works for you. And especially if it’s never worked for you. Don’t eat based on what’s trendy. Trends come and go. And they’re mostly based on what gets clicks.
Don’t believe anyone who says their way is the only way to eat. Especially if it goes against everything with a scientific backing. And double especially if the person tooting their diet solution doesn’t have the credentials to stand and yell on. Regardless of how convincing they might sound. And even if they have a long list of testimonials.
Instead, eat based on what works for you. You don’t have to justify it to anyone.
This is all common sense. But we rarely base our eating habits on rational thinking. We’re influenced by the culture we live in. The people we hang out with. The things we see on the tv and on the billboards around the internet. Well-intended, or not.
It’s good to keep reminding ourselves about the forces that move us. So we’ll have the awareness to deal with them.
“I don’t even care how many sticks I have to fetch to burn off this one.” Photo by Camylla Battani on Unsplash
The first domino falls. Maybe you swore to quit sugar (nooooo), carbs (say it isn’t so) or coconut ice cream (I can’t even). And now the initial burning motivation and excitement have worn off.
This attempt at a diet is becoming yet another prematurely ended diet in the mausoleum of failed diets. You might find yourself in despair. Questioning how you could better stick to a diet plan.
It requires a change of perspective
What if you would move away from trying to stick to a strict diet? By committing to a non-diet-diet. By resisting the urge to follow the template that everyone else does: setting on fire all that is delicious before the ultimate willpower stretching, and eventually breaking, attempt at an intense body transformation based on deprivation.
No. You can succeed by embracing the opposite. By being reasonable. Let the others focus on what they can achieve in a month or two. Only to fail yet again. You can play the long game. Focus on what results you can achieve in a year. And to keep them for another twenty years.
Commit to showing up for foundational changes
Give your willpower a break and ban nothing. You can eat whatever you want, within reasonable quantities of course. And sometimes less so. Because occasionally there are days when it’s impossible to choose between chocolate and vanilla ice cream. So you’ll end up having both.
And reasonable isn’t just easier on willpower. It’s also better for your health. A recent study from The University of Helsinki1 suggests that people (even those with normal weight) with a history of failed diet attempts (“I gotta get heaps shredded for Barcelona”) have a higher chance of developing type II diabetes compared to the non-diet folks.
We also know that failed dieting may also lead to repeated weight loss attempts and therefore weight cycling. It’s a vicious cycle once it gets going.
Implementing small changes that eventually topple over
What if you’d commit to making changes that almost feel too easy? Like you’re cheating the gods of diet (Atkins?) by making up your own rules that require only a little willpower.
Changes that are small enough not to even valid a social media update. Because they don’t sound diehard. Because they’re not. In the world of diets, being reasonable and focusing on small changes is lame and boring. Unless of course you like sustainable, long-lasting results.
But a reasonable diet isn’t all pretty butterflies made of sparkling fairy floss
Following simple, reasonable eating habits requires resilience. If you choose to follow “I will duct tape my mouth shut for a month so please text if you want to communicate” – diet you can just muster through hell for a month. It won’t be easy. But most of us can deal with that sort of tribulation for 30 days.
Reasonable approach in contrast requires persistence, even blind faith. It’s about repeating unsexy habits for a long time. It’s trusting the process that eventually there will be progress. Perhaps without seeing initial results for weeks.
Maybe you’ll end up stacking small habits on top of another for a while with no noticeable physical changes. Until one day that old friend compliments how you now somehow look better in the wind.
Being reasonable requires stubborn resistance to boredom
Trying to eat slowly until 80% full is not as arousing and concrete as damning sugar, eliminating biscuits that look like the 80s sitcom star Alf, or literally working out a donut on a rower. Eventually things get boring.
The challenge of boredom seven folds if you’re still starting out and haven’t seen substantial results from your efforts. Your mind naturally questions if the methods deserve your attention.
But instead of quitting when the boredom kicks in, you’ll double down on what you started. You re-focus on the small daily actions over the fluctuating excitement and motivation rollercoaster.
Because the internet is trying to convince you to stop being reasonable
Your news feed is filled with the excitement of new, more intense, fast diets. The ones that promise excellent results in only a few funny weeks. But you can counteract them by acknowledging what’s happening in your head:
While being stuck at doing the challenging work of your current diet, you are seeing the possibility of a different diet. Something that perhaps sounds better than what you are currently doing. The comparison in your head is far from fair.
You are comparing the hard parts of the current diet to the upsides and promises of something new. The new thing will always look better. Because you are not in it right now doing the work.
Notice when this is happening, and it makes it easier to refocus on what you are currently doing. And to keep showing up.
Yeah, the grass is heaps greener on this side. What of it? Photo by Adam King on Unsplash
The thing that makes a reasonable diet so powerful for a sustainable fat loss
It requires frequent self-reflection. You need to keep looking back at what you did, why you did it, and what were the results based on those decisions.
Then there are the continuous adjustments that go with it. You have guidelines, not strict templates to follow. It’s not plug and play. It’s reflect-plug-adjust-play-reflect-plug-adjust-play repeat, repeat, repeat. You learn as you go.
This need for self-reflection stops some from sticking with a reasonable diet for long enough to see results. Especially in the beginning, when it’s all new and you are still trying to figure things out. But sticking with it really pays off.
Bringing it all together
The beauty of learning reasonable eating habits is that nothing is completely off limits. Being reasonable has it’s challenges, but it doesn’t require an intense amount of willpower. Especially when compared to the more strict duck tape diets.
It’s about learning mindful eating, performing frequent self-reflection, and discovering what foods work the best, foryou. Then building your eating habits around them.
It’s not about being perfect. But about doing it well enough to get the results you want. And then keeping them for life.
Even if it takes longer than the typical 30 days that the internet wants you to believe.
A detailed guide to a sustainable fat loss and healthier eating.
You guys go ahead and get started. I’ll just measure how much this minestrone soup weighs so I can log it into a calorie counting app.
When trying to lose fat (get toned, lean out and all the other sexy marketing terms), the default action for most of us is to count calories. Spending multiple moons deep in the dietary math to figure out how many calories each food item has.
Did that pink lady apple weigh 100 grams? Or perhaps it was closer to 95 grams? Then painstakingly entering it into a calorie counting app. Repeat ad nauseam.
Some eventually take it a step further. They’ll investigate if it’s the combination of different macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, fats) that’s holding back their fat loss. Playing the next level scientist with their food to unearth the intricacies of their individual thermodynamics.
Yawn. Please excuse me while my boredom makes me jump out of a third-floor window. I don’t know about you, but I rather spend my time doing something else.
Counting calories is as enjoyable as trying to open a can of chickpeas with your eyelids
Obsessive calorie counting sounds like a path to a lifetime of distorted relationship with food. By obsessing over the minutiae that’s unnecessary for most us. I should know. I’ve been there. And it’s not a place worth going.
Yes, calories determine whether you’ll lose weight. That’s an inescapable fact of science. But counting them as a sustainable way to wellbeing for an average person (that’s both you and me)?
The one who wants to enjoy our food instead of downgrading into an exercise in math? The one who doesn’t have the urge to prance on stage in underwear trying to win the Miss Bikini Fitness Pennant Hills competition? No thank you.
Counting calories is just another invention that moves us away from intuitive eating. It reduces the whole exercise of meal times into a robot-like nutrient orgy where feelings, thoughts and mindful eating gets replaced by computerised actions. So yeah, no. I am not a fan of calorie counting.
If you already know what is generally considered healthy and what is not, you can do all the problem solving yourself without ever counting a single calorie. Here’s how.
Start keeping a diet diary (or journal, for those with an aversion to the word ‘diary’)
It’s also acceptable to keep a diet diary without a felt pen and a bottle of ink. Like, I don’t know, ballpoint and A4.
This is exactly what it says on the tin. A diet diary. You know how in the traditional diary you would write how you saw three seagulls, went jogging while holding hands with Robo (how awkward does it look when people do this?), and bought a banjo.
Straightforward, right? Well, in the simplest form of a diet diary you write how you ate porridge with blueberries, shared a caramel latte with Robo (one straw, cute!), and drank a Mojito while playing the banjo.
A detailed diet diary is a goldmine of information
We often eat without really thinking about what we’re doing. Especially when sharing a meal with friends, eating in a rush or while watching tv. Eating is part of the event, but it’s rare we’re fully present.
Then we get to the end of the week wondering why the weight is not coming off. Or why we suddenly have man-boobs. And connecting nipple piercings.
Anyhow. Our memory has the tendency to make our eating more glorious and healthy than what it really is. We like happy and positive memories to cloud our head like a rainbow in a spray bottle.
The only piece of information we need to get unstuck is woven in the pages of the diary. No need to buy into trendy diets, or even hiring a coach (initial accountability is another story).
Keeping a diet diary eliminates the end of the week confusion of why we’re not seeing results. The answers are beaming you in the eyeballs. Written by you.
“Wow. I was not aware that I did that.”
That’s a statement I often hear from clients when they read back on what they’ve eaten throughout the week. In fact, it’s not uncommon that I say it to myself when I occasionally reflect on my own diet diary.
One of my clients, an avid camper, noticed how she eats well when at the campsite, but the food choices she makes when getting there and back don’t align with her goals. And so she started packing healthier options for herself to take on the road. It’s actions like this done with consistency that shape into measurable results.
How to keep a diet diary
So, what the hell are you supposed to write in your diet diary? Yes, food. But wait! There’s more.
I recommend starting at a note keeping level that you find easy. As in, a level you feel 90-100% confident you can do every single day. Don’t feel you have to be the Patti Smith of diet diaries from the start (or ever, if you don’t want to).
If you currently keep no diet diary, start with an absolute barebones version. Then milk it for all the results you can get. If you get stuck and can’t see results for a few weeks, it’s probably time to add some additional details. Let’s cover these one by one.
And yes, these are in the descending order of importance.
What did I have?
Write what you had. Include everything that passes your lips. I mean, you could write “I saw an airplane” instead of “a muesli bar”. But as entertaining as that diet diary would be to read, it doesn’t always carry its weight when it comes time to adjusting your diet to see results.
How much did I eat?
Another one that falls into the important, although not essential, category. The more specific you can be, the better. And no, you don’t have to pull out a portable scale while having your lunch. Instead, I like the Precision Nutrition method of using hands for eyeballing serving sizes.
If you find the thought of writing your food more daunting than running into a pack of bazooka carrying zombie elephants driving a tractor who somehow look like Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, don’t dwell on this for now. Just stick with the food items and grow from there.
Was I hungry?
This is a simple “yes” or “no”. It helps to build the awareness on whether you ate because of an actual hunger. Or whether you just felt thirsty (same signal in the brain).
We also often eat not because we are hungry, or even thirsty, needing food and water to survive and to live another moment. But because of our psychological state. This is especially true with snacking, as you’ll find out below.
How did I feel before eating?
This builds on to the hunger question above. Perhaps you were in the depths of boredom, stress, or anxiety for having that banjo sit on your credit card gaining interest.
Let’s talk about snacking again. That afternoon snack we crave is often just a signal of something else. It can be a habit triggered by the smell of freshly brewed coffee. That’s the case for me. Reflecting and getting in touch with our feelings (yikes) helps to dissect why we eat.
How eating this food made me feel?
This is an advanced level of detail when you’re at a point of wanting to figure out which foods suit you better than others. Not just for fat loss (it’s still about calories), but for fullness, energy levels, alertness, the glow of your skin, and the tenderness of your fingertips.
Whether it’s adjusting your carbohydrate to fat ratio, meal sizes, the types of food you eat and whether you do better with foods that grow, or not grow on dry sand.
You will have discovered a lot about yourself once you get to a point of having a few weeks or a month’s worth of all the details listed above. Some of which will take you by surprise.
Analog or digital? (Some) options for where to log in your diet diary
The general rule in here is, well, general. I’d love to say that using a specific app leads to 99% success. An app that would ideally give me a kickback for each referral I send their way. But it isn’t so. Instead, whatever works for you is the right answer.
For the sake of stationery inspiration, here are some ways my clients have kept a diet diary:
Digital notes on the phone (Google Keep is good and free, but anything works)
A folded A4 and a pen in the pocket for a quick access
Part of the traditional daily journal (as in, “Today I saw a plane. And then I ate a taco.”)
Dedicated physical notebook
MyFitnessPal app (the downside being that writing notes in can be a pain. And it’s too easy to get distracted by the calorie numbers)
iPad with a digital pen (whatever fancy and sexy and marketable Apple calls it)
A photo of each food or drink you have (great for those who feel repulsive aversion to writing)
The medium in which you do this is irrelevant. Pick a one that has the path of least resistance. Whatever that may be for you. Ideally something that allows you to scribble detailed notes as you progress in your diet diary career.
Here’s an example of one of my client’s diet diary
Super simple. And yet a deep well of information when stringing a week’s worth of days together.
When to check your diet diary
I like the idea of checking the diary on a day of the week you gauge your physical/mental progress. It might be a step on the scale, taking the waist measurement, looking in the mirror, trying on clothes that previously felt tight. Or simply sitting down and reflecting how you’re feeling compared to a week or two ago.
Again, our memory is not always something we should rely on, so it helps to have something physical to compare to. For those not keen on any physical measurements, it helps to scribble your feels each week.
The questions to answer when doing your weekly diet diary reflection
Start by answering these two questions each week:
What went well this week?
What did I learn?
You could just stop at this and see how far it takes you. Like with any other skill, building better eating habits is a gradual process. Every week you’ll learn something new about yourself and your food related behaviour.
Sideshow Box
Sometimes fat loss struggles don’t really have anything to do with food. As in, the relationship with food is just a symptom of whatever else is going on in your life.
If you after a few weekly reflections you realise you’re an emotional eater, it’s worth stopping here and digging in what drives that behaviour. That will do more for your results and wellbeing than knowing the nuts and bolts of what you eat.
It might also be worth considering working together with a professional who specialises in complicated food related behaviour. That’s not me, but I am happy to recommend others if you reach out.
When comparing your results to the previous week, they’re likely one of the three:
You’re progressing towards your goal → Whatever you do is working. Do more of the same.
No change → What could you change to progress? What could you do more of?
You’re moving away from your goal → What could you change to progress?
And tadaa. All the answers will be in the diet diary. Say you do your weekly measurement (whatever that may be) and are not happy with the results. It’s time to take a mental deep dive into what’s holding back your progress.
Here are the fundamental things to keep an eye out for when reading your diet diary.
Calorie-dense foods
The things that contain a lot of calories in a little portion of food. Stuff like:
Dried fruits
Drinks other than straight up teas, black coffee, water
Muesli bars (and let’s be honest, most muesli), protein bars (aka candy bars with clever, misleading marketing)
Nuts and nut butters
Chips, lollies, cakes, pastries, ice cream (the sweet stuff that lives in the ‘occasionally’ column).
Fast-food, pizza, creamy cheeses, meat with a lot of fat (the salty stuff that also lives in the ‘occasionally’ column). Also, how delicious are hot chips?
Any combination of the above that you’d buy blended in a cup from the Starbucks
Oil you might cook with or use on salads*. But don’t worry about this until all the above is in the ‘occasionally’ column.
*I only bring this up because of a guy I used to coach who’s only reason for not getting results was generous pours of olive oil on everything. Yes, it’s good for your health. But also super dense in calories.
Sideshow Box
We, the people, like to get real emotional about the things we eat. Here’s an idea. Let’s learn to move away from it.
Reflecting on the foods we ate is not about judging whether it’s good or bad. Rather, it’s about gathering information on our eating habits. That’s all it is. Information without feelings. As hard as that may be to do with food.
Found a lot of the above? Getting anxious about the pending “cut them all out” statement I am about to write next? Chill. You don’t have to cut them all out. In fact, I recommend against it to keep a sanity in your life. What can I say? I’m nice like that.
Instead, reduce some items for a few weeks, re-measure, revisit your diet diary, and revisit this exercise.
Nutrient dense food
You know, the real food section. Things like:
Fruit and vegetables (fresh or frozen, it’s all the same)
Beans and legumes
High-fibre whole grains
Lean proteins
Eggs
Seeing a lot of these? Do more of them. Not seeing a lot? Start adding them in. Doesn’t have to be any more complicated than that.
Snacking
For those of you just tuning in, I am really hammering home this snacking point. For those who’ve so far read every word of this article, I apologise. Onwards, because this is important. Reducing, or stopping snacking, has to be one of the easiest ways to lose fat.
As I mentioned earlier, often snacks are just things we eat because of boredom or some other emotional inconvenience we might experience. One can easily skip snacking when eating nutrient-dense foods during proper meal times.
Here’s where I stand. If snacking is a daily fixture in your diary, cutting it out might be the only thing you’ll need to do to change how your body feels and looks.
Portion size
Most of us eat way past the feeling of fullness. Usually because we simply eat too fast. I know I am as guilty of this as anyone.
Sounds familiar? Put less food on your plate, slow down, chew your food, cut the distractions, lock the toddler in the bathroom with a Rubik’s cube and a trampoline if you have to.
Wait for five minutes before going in for the second serve. If you’re still hungry, have at it. Otherwise, it’s time to stop and move away from the table.
Ok Joonas, keeping a diet diary sounds cute. But isn’t counting calories more accurate?
Sure, sort of. But the calorie amounts in foods are estimates. Ballpark figures with up to 20% wiggle1. And there are similar problems when estimating our individual calorie burning abilities2.
But the real downfall of counting calories is that it’s way too much work for most people. Most of us don’t want to carry Tupperware containers and a scale with us whenever we leave the house. Or to add food items in an app during, or after each meal.
Now, there is an upside to calorie counting
Doing it for a little while helps you to build an awareness of how many calories (roughly!) each food item contains. Because of the unappealing orthorexic eating adventures in my wild youth, you can put almost anything in front of me and I can give you a close estimate of how many calories it has.
And I still sometimes check calories in certain foods when I eat them. Just out of pure curiosity. I like to know stuff. Sad? Probably. Either way, I wouldn’t recommend calorie counting for average punters (you and me) as the go-to long-term solution.
The exception might be those who are already extremely lean and need to get leaner for a competition and stand on a stage in their underwear. Or something. I don’t know. That’s not really something I am into. Because, life.
Conclusion
Counting calories to lose weight sucks, hard. It restricts the enjoyment we should have when sitting down for a meal. It also runs the risk of leading into a lifetime of tangled and distorted relationship with food.
I also looks kind of dorky when one has to carry their microwave containers everywhere. You know, when everyone else is just trying to have a good time.
Enter the diet diary. The better fat loss solution for most people who are not into food related maths. It’s flexible, easy to do, and helps to develop a greater awareness with eating habits.
While at the same time building a better, more intuitive relationship with food.
A strong charismatic leader with a powerful, us versus them message. A narcissistic fake saviour willing to twist the facts, fabricate lies and sow the seeds of doubt.r
According to the diet guru, the other experts in the field are misinformed fools or even corrupt. He wants us to believe that the solution to losing fat and keeping it off (in most cases) is far more complicated than decreasing lamingtons and increasing the daily activity.
And it definitely isn’t about doing both of them persistently for a long term. Hell no. The words gradual, sustainable and reasonable are a poor bedrock for a sexy, sensational marketing campaign that rallies people together.
Rather, it’s about that one rogue hormone, a demon macronutrient or the deep bloodlines of our ancestors. And he wants us to join him on this crusade to expose the truth.
To move the masses (and their wallets) one needs catchy words and ballooned promises. One needs captivating stories, perhaps a tribe hidden in the jungle, and a sprinkle of that special supplement made of a rare alpine flower that can capsulate it all for the modern audience.
All of this of course fits it into his narrative and the solutions he has created to help us. We can sign up for his ninjitsu training and drink the anti-venom potion his team has cooked for us. Either literally or figuratively.
The struggle to differentiate between familiarity and the truth
The guru is trying to discredit the institutions and their information. He doesn’t want us to believe what we see. He encourages us to do our own research. Starting by reading his. And so people with zero expertise in the field get pulled into these rabbit holes, trying to solve the mysteries of fat loss.
It’s easy for us to fall for these false narratives as they fill our newsfeeds. As the social media algorithms are built to keep us engaged, they feed us the information we’ve been searching and browsing. Only to strengthen our beliefs. The more we see, the more we believe.
The diet cult becomes the tinted lens through which we view our world and the way we eat, even behave. The manufactured stories become real. The more we get drawn into the vacuum of what the guru and his devotees are saying, the more we believe their gospel.
The echo of the diet cult’s message, however absurd to an outsider, sounds like the only explainable truth for those who listen. And so more and more people join the guru’s orbit.
Our beliefs amplify when we come across the true believers of the guru’s message.
As we inch deeper in the hole, the cult draws us into the forums, social media groups and passionate online meetings devoted to the guru’s message. Here is where we find the true believers, the highest priests of the diet cult.
People who are walking testimonies that what the guru is saying is the truth. People who were unfit, overweight, unhappy and down on their luck. And their stories move us. We see ourselves in them. These people had tried everything and were at a point of giving up.
Then one day they stumbled on the guru’s YouTube video or Twitter feed. Exactly like we did today. The one where the Fat Blaster Grandmaster Wiz raged about the injustice of the world. Spraying convincing “facts” about how the organisations in charge have lost their way. How the clues are right in front of our eyes.
And it felt like this man was talking directly to them. He understood what the people were going through. He explained how the system and science had failed to help them. He said that they were not alone.
Then came the promise of something much more valuable than just fat loss or a better health. Something that no one else could offer. Hope.
That they’re even in this point is a failure of our system. The failure of the coaches, trainers, nutritionist, doctors and dietitians whose role was to support and guide them.
Then, along with this hope, came some results. What the guru said did indeed work for some. It made sense. It fit into the narrative the listeners wanted to hear. But the reason we think something works isn’t always why it works.
It’s hard to think things happen at random.
If there is a connection, however faint, our minds will find it. In our head, significant events are supposed to have consequences. And we need a cause to explain them. Knowledge, even if wrong, makes us feel safe and in control.
The promise of a simple, black and white solution is appealing. We hate the feeling of leaving something unsolved. We want a clear-cut answer. An honest scientist running on integrity and data can never sooth most souls the way a guru can. She can only reflect on what the science tells her.
And so we rather believe the guru with a pin sharp focus, the inspiring black and white answer. Something to label as the wicked vehicle of fat. We want to believe in the promises of a six-pack in thirty days.
A cult without a moral compass can give us all of it. While scientists are too busy to do science, the guru with a set narrative and a marketable offer can devote his time and money to build up hype. To create an appealing case for his solution.
He can cook the facts, tell us lies (intentional or not) that make us feel comforted. To make promises that the science can’t. It is comforting to have a definite answer, instead of “it depends”.
The illusion of knowledge
As non-experts of a topic, we think we know more than we do.
We can’t see and feel the Donning-Kruger getting a neck hold on us. We don’t understand the limits of our knowledge. We believe in our own biased research. We think we know more than the top scientists do. “Haven’t these experts seen this YouTube clip of Fat Blaster Grandmaster Wiz?!”
We are all guilty of it. We think we can reason our way through scientific literature. But most of us don’t have the skills to think statistically. It’s too easy to believe the conclusions and arguments that seem to support our current beliefs. No matter how little sense they make.
Neither are we rational. Once we have accepted a theory or a narrative, it is extremely difficult to notice its flaws. It’s difficult to look objectively at anything that contradicts what we believe. Holding a paradox is not what most of us can do without some deliberate training.
Of course, some don’t even go that far. Instead, they just become parrots that copy, paste and share information from others without fully understanding what it means. And then it becomes a ratchet of status and tension leading us all astray.
All of this might not be what our irrational minds want to hear. Especially when it goes against what Fat Blaster Grandmaster Wiz says on YouTube.
How to know someone’s a vegan? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you!
Now, on that note.
In 2015 I was eating four meat meals a day and went through vivid fantasies on how great would it be if I could reduce it to one a day, focusing on plant based with the others. I had started to feel strongly about the environmental causes and stuff and I figured that if I drop down on meat it would help to reduce my footprint on the planet. (more…)
I got the idea for this week’s post after scrolling through Dan John’s online forum. Someone posted their five game changers that have given them the biggest boost towards a better health.
As I’ve written in the past I don’t always see health and fitness part of the same goal. You can be very fit but in poor health. On the other hand, you can’t be healthy without being at least somewhat fit.
Here are five game changers I’ve done that have made me a healthier human.(more…)
As is with most great blog post ideas (even if I say it myself), this too came while having a chat with one of my clients last week. He’s been trying to find ways to curb down his sugar consumption and was able to do so with a very simple shift in mindset.(more…)
