How to fix a broken diet: 3 ways to get your eating on track

Step 1: Identify and remove nutritional deficiencies

Most people think they need a complete overhaul at first.

“I have to cut out sugar… and dairy… and carbs… and saturated fat. Plus I have to eat more protein… more healthy fats… and more vegetables. Not a lot of fruit, though. I have to start drinking lots of water too. And exercise… maybe a 6 am boot camp… yeah.”

I don’t know about you, but I get exhausted just thinking about changing all this, all at once. Let’s call it the “Mission Impossible” approach.

After coaching many ladies in the last few years, I’ve come to realise that the Mission Impossible approach isn’t just difficult; it’s misguided BIG TIME!!

Because a complete overhaul rarely addresses what’s making most people feel bad in the first place. Often, people struggle with how they look and feel because their physiology doesn’t work the way it should. This can be hormonal imbalances, but it’s more often dietary deficiency: not getting the right nutrients, in the right amounts, to get the best results. Dietary deficiencies, therefore, are the first red flag that something’s wrong. (And these dietary deficiencies can even contribute to hormonal imbalances.) Ladies you hearing me. . . I am going through this right now and I am sure many of you are too. Hormones are a serious issue but so is the food we eat!

Just how common are dietary deficiencies?

The research in this area is pretty telling. A study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition showed that it’s really hard to get all the essential vitamins and minerals from food alone.

This study analysed 70 athlete diets. Every single diet was deficient in at least three nutrients. Some diets were missing up to fifteen nutrients! AHHHHH!!! And the most common deficiencies. .

• iodine

• vitamin D

• zinc

• vitamin E

• calcium

Bottom line: Dietary deficiencies are very common. Chances are, you’ve got one, no matter how good you think your diet is. That’s a problem because when you’re deficient in key nutrients, your physiology doesn’t work properly. And when your body doesn’t work as it should, you feel rotten.

Just how important is this first step?

Energy levels, appetite, strength, endurance, and mood all rely on getting enough of these essential nutrients. When you don’t get them, things break down. That’s why you can eat “clean”, go Paleo, avoid meat, lower your carbs, or count calories you can do “everything right” nutritionally and still feel lousy. You need to identify your red flags from the very beginning and start eliminating them, one by one.

Here are the most common deficiencies that a lot of new clients have when starting out:

• water (low-level dehydration);

• vitamins and minerals (especially from vegetables and fruits);

• protein (particularly in women with low appetites);

• fiber (95% of the population is deficient here); and

• essential fatty acids (especially omega-3’s).

To find out where you stand, you could get your diet analysed by a dietitian (this typically costs between $100 and $150 or more, depends who you see).

Step 2: Adjust food amount and food type

Once we’re getting all the raw materials necessary for proper functioning (essential nutrients) we can move on to bigger issues. These include:

• food amount (what some call calorie intake); and

• food composition (which includes macronutrient breakdown).

Food amount and calorie counting (my honest truth as a coach sorry, not sorry). .

You see, while we know that total food (calorie) intake matters, I am just not a fan of counting calories. To begin with, calorie counting does nothing to help us tune into our own powerful hunger and appetite cues. By learning how to listen to our own bodies, we have better long-term success in healthy eating. (Of course, not everyone knows how to do this from the start. It takes a little coaching and some practice.) Nor does calorie counting help us balance our health goals with our natural human enjoyment of food. In the short term, anyone can turn eating into a numerical and robotic exercise. But, in the long run, this strategy falls apart. (Just ask anyone who “used to” count calories. You shouldn’t have a hard time finding them.)

There’s another problem with calorie counting: It’s just not all that accurate.

Because of incorrect labeling, laboratory errors, and differences in food quality and preparation, calorie counts recorded on food labels and websites even those within the nutrient databases can be off by as much as 25%. Bottom line: even if you’re the world’s best calorie counter (and you don’t mind the soul-sucking boredom that comes along with it) the math just doesn’t add up.

Calorie control without counting

I want all my clients to leave with a different approach to calorie control, using their own hand as the ultimate, portable measurement tool. 5 years from now, you'll thank me because you will still be living a healthy sustainable lifestyle.

For example, you might begin by eating:

• 1 palms of protein dense foods at each meal;

• 1-2 fists of vegetables at each meal;

• 1 cupped handfuls of carb dense foods at most meals; and

• 1-2 thumbs of fat dense foods at most meals.

There is a great "what to eat on my plate example" in a picture form.

Then, we as time goes on we adjust actual number of portions up or down, especially carbs and fats, depending on your unique body and goals. So starting with the google sheets, and perhaps getting your own personalised plan after as some of you may already have, BUT use the hand method don't become so obsessed with the total daily calories to start off with please. You can’t know exactly how your body will respond in advance. So stay flexible and “steer dynamically”. Adjust your portions based on your hunger, fullness, overall activity level, and progress towards your goals.

Food and macronutrient composition

Most people can simply eliminate nutrient deficiencies and get food portions and quality right, and stop there. Small adjustments in those two areas and nothing more will make a huge difference in how 90% of folks look and feel. Simple. Easy. However, for those who want to go further because they have more advanced goals or because they’re already doing the first two and still struggling let’s talk about food composition.

If you’re anything more than a casual observer of human beings, you might have noticed that much like breeds of dogs they come in different shapes and sizes. You’ll see everything from the giant wolfhound to the Chihuahua; everything from the slim and wiry whippet to the muscular bulldog to the rotund little Corgi. Dog breeds also vary in their body composition, energy levels and metabolic rates… just like humans. Some people seem to be always fidgeting, always in motion; other people tend naturally to be more sedentary. Different body type groups aka “somatotypes” typically include a few general characteristics:

• morphology and skeletal structure

• hormonal environment

• metabolism (including metabolic rate and how nutrients are processed)

If you specialise in a particular sport, especially at an elite level, you’ll often see that certain body types gravitate towards certain activities, or specific positions within sports. I will be sharing an "eat right for your body type blog post soon so keep your eyes open for that".

Body types are not “carved in stone”. They are not the basis for “nutritional rules”, nor are they any specific system. (In other words, not all ectomorphs will be exactly the same, and being an ectomorph doesn’t necessarily causeanything to happen.)

Body types are simply a starting point.

Body types are a proxy for thinking about possible differences in metabolism, activity types, and nutritional needs. As a coach, you can create some working hypotheses using body types, which you can then test.

Nutrition for “I types”

Elite endurance athletes, climbers, and dancers are typically light and lean; sparsely muscled and light-framed, with delicate bones. They may be tall and long-limbed (which is helpful in sports that need both height/reach and low body weight), or they may be smaller (which is helpful in sports where low absolute body weight is important, such as cheerleading or horse racing).

I types (ectomorphs) tend to prefer endurance activities, and/or sports where a good strength-to-mass ratio is important.

• Their engine speed is set to “high revving”. They tend to be thyroid- and sympathetic nervous system-dominant with either a higher output or higher sensitivity to catecholamines like epinephrine and norepinephrine. They typically have a fast metabolic rate.

• They’re high-energy. They’re often fidgeters and pacers. They tend to burn off excess calories with near-constant movement throughout the day.

• They tolerate carbs well and usually have higher carb needs. These are the rare folks who can seem to eat cookies with impunity.

I types therefore generally do best with more carbohydrates in the diet, along with a moderate protein and lower fat intake. So that’s what we recommend: more healthy carbs and less fat with a moderate amount of protein. A nutrient distribution for this body type might be around 55% carbs, 25% protein, and 20% fat. (But don’t drive yourself crazy with the math. Just think “higher carbs and lower fat.”)

I type women begin by eating:

• 1 palm of protein dense foods at each meal;

• 1 fist of vegetables at each meal;

• 2 cupped handfuls of carb dense foods at each meal;

• 0.5 thumb of fat dense foods at each meal.

Nutrition for “V types”

Football running backs and safeties, soccer players, hockey players, wrestlers/MMA fighters, rugby backs and flankers, and other sports that combine all-around athleticism with speed, strength and power are typically mesomorphs: solid, strong-framed bodies that easily put on muscle. If they’re taller, you might find them in sports like rowing, rugby, hockey, or basketball. If they’re shorter, you might find them in weightlifting or gymnastics.

V types (mesomorphs) have a medium sized bone structure and athletic body, and if they’re active, they usually have a considerable amount of lean mass.

• Their bodies are designed to be powerful machines. Excess calories often go to lean mass and dense bones.

• They tend to be testosterone and growth hormone dominant.

• Thus, they can usually gain muscle and stay lean easily.

V types therefore generally do best on a mixed diet, with balanced carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. And they often gravitate to activities that require this kind of metabolic flexibility. So that’s what we recommend. A nutrient distribution for this body type might be around 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein, and 30% fat. (Again, don’t drive yourself crazy with the math. Just envision a roughly balanced mix of all three macronutrients.)

Here’s what that might look like using our portion control guide.

V type women begin by eating:

• 1 palm of protein dense foods at each meal;

• 1 fist of vegetables at each meal;

• 1 cupped handfuls of carb dense foods at each meal;

• 1 thumb of fat dense foods at each meal.

Nutrition for “O types”

O types (endomorphs) have a larger bone structure with higher amounts of total body mass and fat mass. Football linemen, powerlifters, and throwers are typically endomorphs.

• Their engine speed is set to “idle”. They tend to be parasympathetic nervous system dominant. Unlike ectomorphs, endomorphs are built for solid comfort, not speed.

• They’re naturally less active. Where the ectomorphs tend to burn off excess calories with near constant movement, excess calories in endomorphs do not seem to cause that same increase in expenditure. This means that excess calories are more likely to be stored as fat.

• They typically have a slower metabolic rate and generally don’t tolerate carbohydrates as well, particularly if they are sedentary.

O types therefore generally do best on a higher fat and protein intake with carbohydrate intake being lower. And they often gravitate to activities with lower carb demands. So that’s what we recommend: more fat and protein, less carbohydrate. A nutrient distribution for this body type might be around 25% carbs, 35% protein, and 40% fat. Again, no math gymnastics. Just think higher fats and protein, lower carbs.

Here’s what that might look like using our portion control guide

O type women begin by eating:

• 1 palm of protein dense foods at each meal;

• 1 fist of vegetables at each meal;

• 0.5 cupped handful of carb dense foods at each meal;

• 2 thumbs of fat dense foods at each meal.

Step 3: Fine tune the details

So far we’ve covered the following steps:

• Remove red flags and nutrient deficiencies.

• Control your calorie intake without counting calories.

• Adjust your food composition based on your body type and activity.

What’s left?

In the grand scheme of things, everything else meal frequency, calorie/carb cycling, workout nutrition is just a minor tweak. A very minor tweak. But let’s address them anyway. I will touch into meal frequency now, workout nutrition I have spoken about in a previous post.

Meal frequency

For years dietitians and nutritionists thought that the best approach to splitting up your daily food intake was to eat small meals frequently throughout the day. From early research we assumed that this would speed up the metabolism, help control the hormones insulin and cortisol, and help better manage the appetite. However, a recent review in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition suggests otherwise.

What this means is that as long as we eat the right foods in the right amounts, meal frequency is a matter of personal preference. You can eat lots of small meals each day (i.e. every few hours). Or you can eat a few big meals each day (i.e. with bigger time gaps between them). Now, my advice is: Listen to your own body and apply the “how’s that workin’ for ya?” test. If you’re covering all your other bases and your current meal frequency isn’t “workin’ for ya”, try switching it up. Experiment with fewer meals if you eat more frequently. And more meals if you eat less frequently. Because either approach is valid, you’re free to find the approach that works best for you.

Summary

If you feel like your nutrition’s off track but aren’t sure what to do about it hopefully this article has given you something new to consider and try.

Remember:

• First, remove red flags and nutrient deficiencies.

• Control your calorie intake without counting calories.

• Consider your body type and activity level.

• Observe your progress carefully. Adjust your intake as needed.

• Do all of this consistently and long-term first, before adding any new strategies.

Remember, whether you’re a beginner and trying to get started in the right direction, or you’re experienced but still spinning your wheels, these steps when applied in sequence can make all the difference.