SALT LAKE CITY – We’ve all heard them before: diet rules you have to follow if you’re on a diet or want to eat healthy.
Does approaching these rules deceive your diet or prevent you from living the healthiest life?
Not necessarily. In fact, there are some dietary and dietary rules dietitians say it’s OK – and might even encourage you – to break.
Here are seven dietary “rules” that you don’t have to go through to lead a healthy life, and you may just find relief when you know these rules can be better broken.
Eat only “good” foods
All diets have a list of good and bad foods. Prohibited foods are usually labeled “bad for you.” So what happens when you eat foods labeled bad? Are all your efforts in vain? Are you a bad person because you eat that food?
“Labeling food as good / bad or healthy / unhealthy makes us feel guilty when we eat so-called ‘bad’ food,” said Maria Adams, a registered dietitian and associate professor at Endicott College.
Adams went on to explain that food is neither good nor bad. Food has no moral value. It’s just food and “all foods have a place in the diet,” she said. When you realize that all foods are neither inherently good nor bad, the doors to a more flexible and realistic food model begin to open.
Do not eat after 19:00
Discontinuation of consumption at a certain time is a common rule of the diet; however, it is not a registered dietitian, Anne Mauney, who suggests you follow.
“Ignoring your body’s directions will simply leave you starving in the middle of the night,” Mauney said. “What time you should stop eating depends a lot on what works for your body and your lifestyle.
If you’re really hungry in the evening, go ahead and eat. Don’t let a clock tell you when you’re hungry – let your body tell you that.
That being said, if you’re often late at night, Mauney recommends exploring why.
“For example, are your meals during the day too small, unsatisfactory or unbalanced in terms of macronutrients?” she asks.
Don’t eat carbs
Carbohydrates have been the latest macronutrients demonized by popular fad diets that testify that staying away from carbohydrates will lead you to a healthier and happier life. However, whole grains and starchy vegetables such as sweet potatoes, oats, quinoa and brown rice can be included in a healthy diet, according to registered dietitian nutritionist Lisa Young, author of “Finally Full, Finally Thin ”.
“As with other foods, (carbohydrates) will not cause weight gain unless you eat too much,” Young said.
Our body works best when it is fed a variety of foods, including those that contain carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are our brain’s favorite source of energy. In addition, whole grains, fruits and many starchy vegetables provide key nutrients for our body – such as fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients – and benefit our gut health.
Eat 6 small meals a day
There is no set amount of meals that you need to eat every day for optimal health. As with any type of food, what works best for one person may not work for another. If you do not have time to take six short breaks throughout the day to eat, then maybe it would be better to eat three meals a day. If you feel better consuming smaller amounts of food more often, then do so.
You can eat just as healthy by eating three meals a day, as you can with six meals a day. Consuming three meals with 600 calories a day will cause the same thermal effect as consuming six meals of 300 calories a day. There is no difference in your metabolism whether you eat more often or not, as long as you consume the same amount of calories.
What really matters is that each person uses their individual circumstances to determine how often they should eat. Whatever you choose, be consistent, because your body will respond best and feel better with regularly spaced meals – whatever it may be for you.
Don’t eat anything white
White bread, white rice, white pasta, white potatoes and even bananas are often some of the first things rejected when people go on a diet.
Registered dietitian nutritionist KeyVion Miller said he usually hears patients who are told not to eat these foods. She suggests that a better idea is to encourage people to pair these foods with lots of vegetables or to add a high-fiber food, such as beans, peas or lentils, to increase the nutritional value of the whole meal.
For example, if you serve a chicken over white rice, throw extra vegetables in the chicken to increase color and nutrients. Or if you like white potatoes, chop them and cut them in the oven with a variety of vegetables for a delicious garnish.
“Even a so-called ‘perfect’ diet – which doesn’t exist – can make room for these foods,” Miller said.
Buy only the perimeter of the grocery store
This premise of this rule is that by buying only the perimeter of the store, you will buy the freshest and healthiest foods while staying away from processed, prepackaged foods.
“The truth is, by just buying the perimeter of the grocery store, you’re losing tons of nutrient-rich foods, such as grains, beans, canned vegetables and oils,” said Kristen Smith, a registered dietitian nutritionist.
Smith explained that foods such as cereals and grains provide plenty of B vitamins and high-fiber ingredients to help you feel full. She also recommends venturing out on the color so you don’t miss foods high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as nuts, canned fish, flax seeds, and olive and canola oils, that can help with your health. brain and heart.
Never eat processed foods
There are a lot of processed foods that can still be healthy for you. In fact, most of the food we buy from the store has been processed to some degree. For example, canned tuna, yogurt, frozen vegetables, string cheese, canned beans, hummus and ground flax seeds have all been processed from their original state to be what you see on store shelves.
Registered dietitian nutritionist Sarah Schlichter assures customers that it is OK to eat some processed foods.
“Although we know that a diet rich in whole foods can have many benefits, processed foods can still bring nutrients to the table. However, more than that, they can be a source of comfort and pleasure for those crowded periods of snacks or meals (e.g. small rice, frozen pizza, chicken sausages, vegetable mixes, etc.), ”she said.
Schlichter recommends examining processed foods simply as foods made up of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. She says include them when needed or needed to help reduce stress, support a consistent eating pattern, feed the family, and save money.
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