What is the best diet?
I constantly get asked about what is the best diet or foods to start doing or eating to improve a person’s body. In fact, it’s probably the second most common question I get emailed, DM’ed or asked in person (the old fashioned way) behind “whats the best workout routine for “x”?” … So, I thought I would share my opinion, experience, and beliefs here with you all.
Firstly, I would like to make it clear that I have pretty much tried every “diet” or way of eating that is out there and the “next best thing” from paleo to the warrior diet, to vegetarian, to the 5:2 protocol to high fat keto diets and everything in between! I am definitely no stranger to trying different ways of eating and seeing the effects they have had on my body and mind. So, based on my previous experiences of eating, and watching what (if anything) it does to my body I wanted to give you my thoughts on what will lead to you achieving a great body. The most common chatter, new or old always seems to come back to the debate between high-fat diets (low carb) vs high carb diets (low fat). Carbohydrates cop a lot of shit when it comes to fat loss with many out there advocating high fat, lower carb diets.
High Fat:
The simple, short version (So I don’t bore you) of eating high fat relates to the belief that your body is primed to work off fat and by starving your body of carbs, your body will switch over to using fat for fuel, and hence, you’ll burn off the stubborn (belly) fat easier. When doing this way of eating, you need to be a super low carb and moderate protein with the majority of your calories coming from fats for the entire day. These fats should be good fats, from avocado, nuts, salmon etc. This doesn’t mean you can eat a big mac to get your fats in! With that in mind and the fact the carb intake should be quite minimal, especially those following a strict keto diet where eating slightly too many carbs can throw your body out of ketosis and take you days to get back in it, I personally found this wasn’t the best way for me, and the only thing that changed was my shitty mood swings, my hungry stomach, and my lacklustre energy levels. Now, I’m not saying this way of eating doesn’t work, for some it sure does, but I believe that any “diet” that requires you to drastically restrict a WHOLE FOOD GROUP is unsustainable and frankly, boring. My food options were limited, and for the results I achieved (nothing positive) I found it useless!
High Carb:
Eating high carb would involve dropping your calories coming from fats to a low level so the majority are coming from carbs- while keeping your protein moderate. As with eating high fats, getting the particular macronutrient from sugar drinks, or processed foods isn’t going to serve you too well. Sugar is a carb, yes, but I found the carbs that benefited me the most were those from brown rice, quinoa, sweet potatoes and especially- my favorite, the holy grail, a giant bowl of warm porridge (oatmeal) with a teaspoon of honey! With this way of eating, it’s important not to rush to the “low fat” products that get replaced with harmful sweeteners and crazy chemicals we can’t pronounce, it just means you need to eat as natural as you can. I also find more joy in carbohydrate-rich foods and when you think about it, you can eat twice as much food if you eat carbs over fats… how?? Well, fat contains 9 calories per gram while carbohydrates contain only 4 calories per gram, so effectively you can eat just over 2 times more food in gram weight for the same amount of calories, so those of you who love food and are always hungry like me, this proves to be an extra reason to lean this way.
The winner:
For me personally, the best results came from eating from all three macronutrient groups in relation to my body and daily activity levels. I don’t deprive myself of any food groups, but I do watch the numbers of what I am eating. I found this to be an easy way of life that can be adjusted day to day and because of the fact your not restricted in eating anything, it’s 100% sustainable. No cravings, no binges, no cancelling social plans because you can’t enjoy a pizza at the amazing Italian restaurant, you get my point. I also found that my energy levels, my mood and my muscle gains and fat loss had never been better than when I knew what my daily macronutrient targets were and I stick to them. If I had to put them in a category my macros would lean towards the moderate to high carb intake daily. Why?Because for me it works the best, it gives me the best variety of foods and my general mood and energy levels work best this way.
In concluding, as long as your macros are coming from healthy food sources and your not making up your fat content from big mac’s or your carbs from those muffins at 7/11 then it’s whatever fits best into your daily life. As mentioned, when you know your macros, you can change the foods on any given day due to circumstances or availability and still end up with the same over calorie intake number, no need to avoid food groups or hate on carbs, you can definitely eat carbs (and lots of them) and still show off a lean, defined and muscular body!
So, don’t be afraid to eat carbs and in my humble opinion, scrap your high-fat diet and eat from all food groups, enjoy everything you can within your calorie range to help achieve success. Of course, eating is only one piece of the puzzle, the correct training program is key, the main reason my body changed was when I changed the way I train. So, if you want help with knowing how much you should be eating to achieve your goals as well as the correct training to be doing then check out my Custom Built 1 on 1 program by CLICKING HERE.
Now I’m off to smash a huge bowl of porridge! Until next time,
Matt
PS. I have just launched my YouTube channel and I’ll be doing workout routines and eating tips on there too, so don’t forget to subscribe by clicking here > SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL
PPS: Here is my first video: