One diet fits all

Myth: One diet fits all

‘One size fits all’ – I used to see this all the time on clothes, well I call bullshit. Your one size fits all approach to clothes is discriminatory and out right silly. What fits my friend who 5’4’ is not going to fit me at 6’3’. There are no ifs or buts about it!

So why do we take this approach to dieting?

We want to find a magic pill or potion that will make us healthy and if someone finds what works for them, well it must work for me as well right?

There is one major reason that all of these diets that we see on the internet simply don’t work. Okay, a few more than one reasons, but this is a big one.

Everybody is different. Everyone does different levels of exercise. Everyone requires different amounts of energy and likes different types of food. No one diet is going to work for everyone.

What I eat, doesn’t work for my sister. While we both go the gym, she will predominately does weight training, while I add in a bit of cardio as well. I am 6 inches taller than her and weigh more than her. We have very different body types. She loves all things sweet and I love all things savoury.

So while we grew with the same lifestyle, and still follow very similar lifestyle choices etc what she eats is still different to me.

FACT: You need to figure out what you like and what works for YOU

So why is it that we think what works for one person will work for us.

Let’s take the new ‘no dairy’ fad for example. I get it, dairy reacts badly with some people, in some cases it can increase hormonal acne or you can be allergic to it causing serious bowel discomfort. However, that doesn’t mean that dairy is bad and should be avoided by everyone. It means for some people they don’t have the enzymes required to break it down in the body.

The same goes with gluten. Gluten reacts badly with some people, and dangerously if you have celiac disease, I am not denying that. But cutting out gluten just because you think it is ‘unhealthy’ or ‘bad’ is more harmful for you than actually eating it.

I have used these examples in this article, because so many people cut out things, restrict certain foods or follow insane diets because someone once said it made them feel ‘yukky’. But you are different, you are going to enjoy different foods and feel good on different amount and types of foods.

There are a lot more issues with fad diets/’ways of eating’, that I will go into on a different #mythbustermonday. But I think this is one that is forgotten or neglected the most.

There is no use in comparing yourself to your friends or family – when you live different lives, in different bodies following different schedules, exercise, work lives etc.

So how do I suggest you get on the journey to finding what works for you:

• Focus first on your relationship with food – questions what you read, what you hear and see in the media.
• Don’t compare your lifestyle or food choices to your friends or family – if you do more cardio or exercise in general, you are going to need more food, simple.
• If you feel best eating vegan and do it for ethical reasons go for it, but never choose a diet purely because you feel the need to ‘restrict’ things for health reasons.

The biggest thing to do, is question everything. Don’t just follow along because something worked for one or 1000 people. There is no magic pill. You need to find what works for you, and still allows you to enjoy food!

If you liked this #mythbustermonday post you may like these

      – Drinking can’t be part of a healthy lifestyle

      – How to not stick to a diet