Cut through the noise of nutrition

Why can’t we just eat WHAT we want, WHEN we want and still look great?

We all have family, friends, or someone we know who has spent a few hours on Google, Youtube, and the next social media channel wondering about which newest diet or subtle tweak is going to bring them the change that they seek – to be fitter, faster, stronger, lose weight, gain weight or achieve athletic performance. Should I go low carb or high carb? Low fat or high fat? How much protein should I take? Do I need supplements? How much is too much? What if it’s not enough?

It’s not that complicated. The internet is vast. I get it.

You type your question into Google and you search up the first few articles that appear on the first page. You hope they all say the same thing, but sometimes they might conflict with each other.

Which article is telling the truth? Which professional is right for you? It can all seem so confusing.

80% of the information that I read through on the first page of a search that’s easily available for the vast majority of people to access about nutrition, is information that has been passed down from bodybuilders. And if you’re looking to get into body building and to dedicate your life to eating, to chicken breast and broccoli, to 6 meals a day – then you’ve found your community! But what most people don’t realise is that this information so readily available, is not catered for the individual.

If you followed the advice online, finding the time for that 6th meal would be really hard, especially fitting it between your long work hours, meetings and travelling time, your catch-ups with family and friends, hobbies and sleep. Do you want to add another task to the already countless decisions we have to make in our current lives? I don’t.

Paleo? Keto? Low carb? Low fat? High carb? High FAT? It’s all so confusing

And there’s research to prove that they all work! So which one should you trust?

You’ll hear stories of someone going on the intermittent fasting protocol and losing 12 kgs or going on a ketogenic diet and losing 16 kgs. But whatever happens to these amazing results in 12 months from now? Or 12 years from now? What good is weight loss if you gain it all back because you’ve spent hours toiling over what food to eat, how much it weighs and how to prepare it? What good is that amazing feeling you get from looking in the mirror and being proud of what you’ve accomplished if you’ve missed numerous birthdays, hangouts, and other special occasions with the people that matter because there’s “too many carbs” at the restaurant – and what’s more… In order to keep this body up, you now have to sustain this restricting diet for the rest of your life?

So, what’s the best diet if I want to get stronger, fitter, faster, lose weight, or gain weight?

I remember sitting in a conference room in the Hilton Hotel with other students who were also studying a personal training certification. The presenter, an incredibly intelligent woman, Rowie, asked us to look around and make a snap judgement of each other. The question was whether we thought every other person in the room had a body that they had worked for and whether a few thousand people would love to have our physiques without the hard work. The answer was YES!

As we started sharing our stories of what cuisine we preferred, how many meals we ate, when we ate, what we ate, WHERE we ate, whether we counted calories or not – we landed upon the answer that the guy in the room that ate the unhealthiest food imaginable, didn’t count his calories, had fat dripping from each meal – was also the same person that had rippling abs, great arms, was arguably the fittest, and was also an upcoming national level athlete!

You’re probably wondering how that’s even possible. In his case, he was so active that it didn’t matter what he ate. But for most people, the rules to looking and feeling great are simple. A good diet is one where you make very small, incremental changes for the better and stick to in the long run. And for most, that diet does not restrict itself to ONLY salads, chicken breast, broccoli or any other restrictive formula. It is one that fits into YOUR lifestyle.

I’ve been on the chicken breast and broccoli diet, the counting of calories and the lack of spices.

I was too naïve to realise that you CAN have a great breakfast, lunch and dinner if you just apply some simple rules to your nutrition.

I looked great, but struggled for 2 long years in this restrictive diet. Now I just eat in the same bowl/plate every day (natural calorie counting), but I cook for the week. A good curry with coconut milk, a good mixed vegetable dish (greens and as much variety of colour from seasonal vegetables), some sweet potato and rice. It’s the proportion of these foods in your plate that makes the true difference.

When we work together, I help you setup a lifestyle change to your eating rather than a “diet”. Incremental changes that work WITH your individual lifestyle rather than a cookie cut set of foods or calories. Your life is unique. So why not make your diet too?

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