I’m willing to bet that if you’ve read any of our articles or been an athlete or client of ours you already know the answer… but no, there is no one diet that works best for everyone. We know you’ll get a different answer if search that same question in Google, but hear us out first before you go use that search bar.
We talked before about how people become zealots about their specific diet that has worked for them, in their research, or for their athletes. We LOVE seeing other people succeed and as a staff we certainly read as much research on every diet as we possibly can in case there are things we can use from their information. The problem comes when these other diets are put into the real world situations and trying to force EVERY person to do them. It doesn’t matter what the goal, type of person or situation, these coaches and supporters think it’s always the answer.
Here at PP we believe that there are very few things that apply to everyone. However the things we DO promote are:
Eating healthy, nutrient dense foods
Following / honoring your personal values with your food
Minimizing / correcting any food deficiencies
Eating foods that will help YOU reach your goal is important BUT…
There is no such things a bad food, just ones you should eat in more moderation
This usually ends up with healthy meals that are created with the following components;
High quality protein (plant or animal based)
High quality carbohydrates
Vegetables
Healthy Fats
With those criteria above already being noted, we’ve already eliminated a few fad diets, so let’s walk through them and why we think they have their own merits and times to use, but why they’re not something we put ALL of our athletes and clients on.
What is a fad diet? A fad diet is a diet with specific rules and steps set in place in order to reduce weight for people. They are often marketed as a “secret” or provide “magical results.” Often times it will provide some immediate weight loss but can potentially lead to a larger weight gain after the short time period ends and also can lead to deficiencies in specific micronutrients and potentially hazardous results if done poorly or incorrectly. The faster results are often a result of the extreme nature of the diet and the huge change from what the person was doing previously.
The cons listed above are the reason we recommend staying away from crash diets, specifically the concerns over the weight swings and creating a poor relationship with food. Often times when a person sees great results and then they quickly slip back when they can no longer follow the crash diet, they start to see food as an enemy and specific foods that were vilified by the diet become taboo for them to eat. At PP we have had this conversation with many athletes or clients who previously have done the ketogenic diet (Keto). They often have a hard time believing that high quality carbs can help them reach their goals. We have seen Keto work for some people and have used it in very specific instances for some athletes and clients, but we have also seen people stop eating keto, work with us on a more balanced nutrition approach, and then continue to improve their health and performance.
The point is that a specific diet which prevents you from eating specific foods and telling you they are evil, is unlikely to last long term and the negative results can last a long time in many ways. Our goal is to empower people to understand that if they make good food choices that honor their lifestyle, culture, and religion while also being nutrient dense and minimally processed, we can create a long-term relationship with food that can lead to great health and performance.
No matter what diet you want to learn more about or have used in the past, we want to help you take the positive parts of it and expand it even further to reach your goals. If you want to learn more and have a great guide and someone who has been there before, Click Here to get started