Close the Gap | Finding What Works for You | Nutrition | Nutrition Science | The Value of Good Nutrition
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What we are up against - Part 1
Let’s start today with a grounding idea: we are fortunate enough to live in an age in which we can actually think about how to optimize our personal nutrition. When I was growing up, everyday I saw people in the streets who did not have enough food--I don’t mean they didn’t have high quality food, they didn’t have any kind of food. Luckily things have changed in most parts of the world. And to be sure, if you are reading this you are just trying to improve your health by tweaking your nutrition. This is a privilege of our times: the great access we have to food, to nutritional information, and to sophisticated metrics.
Study yourself
This story made me realize that when it comes to nutrition it’s not that we cannot see reality, it is that we have NO IDEA. We were never taught how to evaluate whether our eating habits are actually good or not. We have beliefs about nutrition, but we have no way to test those beliefs and, to be honest, most don’t even feel the need to test them. To make things worse, the internet is full of the next best shiny diet: ketogenic, veganism, vegetarianism, low carb, high carb, carnivore diet, paleo diet, whole 30, weight watchers, organic free-range home-schooled turduckens, etc. Combine genuine ignorance with media telling us that there is such a thing as Good Eating that is independent of our genetics, our socio-economic context, our cultural background, and our present state, that there exists a one-size-fits-all nutritional approach that will guarantee you results, and you are clusterfucked, my friend.
Refreshing or weary? Diet sodas, ditch them, or drink them?
To diet soda or regular soda ... or not soda? I get the question regarding non-caloric sweetened drinks a lot. It is a good showcase of the standard nutritional problem we face nowadays. It has all the elements that make this kind of discussion entrenched and complicated: cultural beliefs of what we should or not consume, product marketing, incomplete science, and the fact that Coke is delicious. Like everything else, there is not one straightforward answer. However, in this video, I give you my view on the topic. You should come out of it with some ideas on how to decide for yourself.
CICO Explained
You probably have a friend who has told you that "a calorie is not a calorie". Most likely, you also have another friend informing you that calories are the only thing that matters. Maybe you think your emotional well-being is ultimately dependant on being in a caloric deficit because that is the only way you will feel amazing like you did when you were 25, and you were twenty pounds lighter. Maybe calories in a label is that magic number that makes you feel either guilty or guilt-free after eating food. Yup, calories, what a unit measure! Kilometers, Celsius Degrees, Yards, Newtons, Watts, Nanoseconds, none of the other unit measures have this emotional and manipulative power over us. Well, watch the video today to get some clarity on the topic. Nerd alert! There is some heavy math in it! No, not really. Enjoy!
Nutrition, Sex, and Priorities
Don’t get me wrong, you can still buy pre-made food, order food, whatever you like, just be intentional about it and don’t let convenience and value be your first priorities. Put nutritional value first and then pick the most convenient cheapest option you can find. Don’t let advertisement victimize you and save you at the same time. Gain control of your shit! Set your priorities right and find yourself a high-quality lover for lunch time.
