Why is eating healthy, and how to lose fat so confusing?
Think about how many polar-opposite dieting facts you’ve heard of in your lifetime. Here are a few that come to my mind…
- Eat eggs. No, don’t eat eggs. Never mind, you can now eat them. We think.
- Eat fat. No, wait… fat is bad! Hold up, eat healthy fat and not bad fat.
- Eat meat. Hold on, only eat lean meat. Actually eat any meat you want but make sure it’s pasture raised.
- Eat fish. Don’t eat fish because of mercury. Eat wild fish… or maybe farmed.
- Sugar is fine. Wait, no it’s not… try one of these sugar alternatives instead (like aspartame). Oh wait… maybe not aspartame!
It’s confusing for me, and I work in this industry every single day.
A long time ago I realized that like most of our clients, you want to feel better, look better, lose fat, and in some ways be informed about how food affects your goals. I started out by trying to inform clients of every single statistical fact, but I could see their eyes glaze over in boredom as I bestowed my gift of reciting dietary studies.
You only have to realize you are losing so many people’s interest before you decide to change the way you approach a problem. Then, It finally hit me…
People just want a few simple guidelines to live by when it comes to food.
Yes, some people want a detailed menu or require an intense nutrition program, but for most of us a few good principles that we can understand and follow is exactly what we need. Principles that allow you to go to a restaurant, have a drink, and even eat dessert. Principles you can remember easily, and understand when you choose to break or bend them.
As with almost everything, when it comes to fat loss, it’s about priorities.We have clients who are concerned about whether their apples were organic or not, but consistently overate and consumed too much alcohol and sugar.
Now, this isn’t a dig at them, but it dawned on me that their fat loss problem wasn’t actually a nutrition problem, as much as a priority problem – they were putting the cart before the horse. I needed to simplify things in a way that allowed them to take things one step at a time, and with each step, they got a bit better results.
Do organic apples matter?
Sure, probably, it’s definitely something worth discussing. But not until you do these other things first.
So, here is a nice little infographic on the top 7 priorities to lose fat (and to be honest, a lot of them apply to just general health).
They are listed in order of importance, with explanations for each a bit further down.
The good news is you don’t have to do all 7 things. You can do the first few, and if you like the results, don’t worry about the rest. It’s 100% up to you how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.
Further down finds better results, but it’s also more work and sacrifice.
