Which diet is best?

The truth? No diet. Diets are what make us yo-yo and unable to stick to a plan therefore fall off the wagon. Don't look at this as a diet, but instead a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. Now that that's out of the way, what is the best way to eat? IIFYM? Clean eating? Paleo? Vegan? There are so many options! Which one is the BEST?

I know you've heard about these but they are just ideas floating around that you may not really understand. Let's start with a (very short) discription of each of the above.

About food in general: The foods we eat are made up of macronutrients and micronutrients. Micronutrients are the vitamins and minerals in the food, the stuff our organs and body functions have to have in order to perform. Macronutrients, aka macros, are the things that make up the caloric content of a food. Fat, protein, and carbohydrates are your three macros. Each gram of fat has 9 calories, protein has 4, and carbs have 4. So you can calculate where you're getting that calorie total by looking at those totals. For example, if you look at the label and see it has 9 grams of fat, 4 grams of protein, and 14 grams of carbs, you can calculate that the total calories for that food is 153 per serving.

IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros): Counting your macros. This style of eating is COMPLETELY focused on those three macros. You get a certain gram total for fat, number for protein, and number for carbs and you have to hit those totals each day. This is a great style of eating if you can stay consistent. That's the key. You have to track and count every single thing you consume each and every day so if you are really busy or new to the lifestyle, it is very difficult to stay consistent with the time commitment it takes. It is great in that you can eat whatever you want and get the same physical results. Now what's happening to your insides may be a different story since you're ignoring the micronutrients you are giving your body. (I know, it's confusing. If you want to learn more about it, just email me.)

Clean eating: This is totally focus on fueling your body with unprocessed, whole foods. You stay away from chemicals, additives, and preservatives that make up the majority of mainstream foods these days. That means fast foods, most boxed foods, and pretty much anything with a really long ingredient list. The two shortcuts to following this one: stay out of the aisles at the grocery store and don't buy anything with an ingredient you can't pronounce. This is what I choose for many reasons, but one of my favorites is how it keeps your insides healthy and happy, therefore the outside- what you see in the mirror- takes care of itself!

Paleo: This one focuses on eating similar to how cavemen did. Seriously! If it was something that could be hunted and gathered, it's fair game. I am not an expert on this one, and I know it would not work for me so if you want to learn more about it, visit thepaleodiet.com

Vegan: Vegans do not eat meant, fish, poultry (including eggs), dairy, or use other animal products and by-products like honey, leather, fur, silk, wool, cosmetics, and soaps derived from animal products. Many vegans I know choose this not only because of how they wish to feed their body, but because they want to take a stance against animal cruelty.

So what do you choose?


To be honest, it's totally up to you. There are so many other options out there as well! I did clean eating for a while, then tried IIFYM for a while and realized it wasn't the best way for me to stay consistent, so I am back on the clean eating train. But I definitely learned a lot while following IIFYM- mainly that I need way more protein in order to hit my goals! So I don't look at my time doing IIFYM as a failure, I look at it as a learning process! The most important thing when choosing your nutrition plan is that you give your body the healthy nutrients it needs while keeping yourself SANE and staying consistent. Remember, you are choosing a lifestylechange, not a way to drop weight quickly then go back to your old ways. Your old ways are what got you to where you are in the first place! Choose to end the cycle. And it is TOTALLY 110% absolutely perfectly fine and dandy to do a little trial and error here because, like I said, it's a learning process! Commit to one style for a month and see how you feel and if it's something that you can stick with or if it's leading you to binge eat on foods outside of your plan. You have to constantly be learning and being totally honest with yourself. Don't blame the nutrition plan if you just don't want to put in the work to see if it could actually be an option for you.

You have to decide you want this life change. You have to commit to it. That is when you will succeed.