The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs

 

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs
By Dr. John M Berardi, Ph.D.



Take a look around the nutrition world. Confusing, isn't it?

Conflicting advice is everywhere, and you're stuck in
the middle. You wonder whether anyone out there even knows
what they're talking about, or whether the experts will ever
reach a consensus on anything. You start to wonder whether
you'll need a degree in nutritional biochemistry before you
can lose that stubborn abdominal fat.

So what's the deal? Why so much confusion? Why does one
expert suggest that high protein is best for everyone, while
another expert suggests high carb and yet another expert suggests
high fat? Besides, what exactly do high protein, high carb,
and high fat really mean? And why are other experts telling
us that food choices should be based on our "metabolic
type," our "blood type," or our "ancestry"?

One expert says to eat like a Neanderthal and another says
eat like a Visigoth, or perhaps a Viking. But while
searching for nutritional Valhalla, most people just get
lost and eat like a Modern American - and end up looking
more Sumo than Samurai.

These days, we have a cacophony of expertise: lots of
confusing noise from the experts drowning out the
signal of truth.

On the surface, it appears as if today's nutrition technology
is quite advanced. After all, we have at our disposal
more nutrition information than ever before. More money
is being spent on nutrition research than in any time in
history. Every day, impressive strides are being made in
the field. Dozens of nutrition experts are rising to
prominence. Yet simultaneously we're witnessing a steadily
increasing rate of obesity, an increase in nutrition-related
illness (Diabetes, CVD, and Syndrome X), and an increase
in nutrition-related mortality.

Part of the problem is that much of the information hasn't
reached the people who need it. Part of the problem is that
even when it does reach those people, they often don't use
it. And certainly, the problem is multifactorial - there
are probably many more reasons than I can list here.

How much more information do we need?

But the curious thing is that many people try to solve the
problem by seeking out more information. They know it all
and still want more. If there's one thing of which I am
absolutely convinced, it's that a lack of good nutrition
information isn't what prevents us from reaching our goals.
We already know everything we need to know. Sometimes the
real problem isn't too little information but too much.

All the fundamental principles you need to achieve good
health and optimal body composition are out there already,
and have been for years. Unfortunately, with 500 experts
for every fundamental principle, and very little money to
be made from repeating other people's ideas, experts must
continually emphasize the small (and often relatively
unimportant) differences between their diet/eating plans
and the diet/eating plans of all the other experts out
there.

In the world of advertising and marketing, this is
called "differentiation." By highlighting the small
distinctions and dimming out the large similarities
between their program and all the others, they're
jostling for your next nutritional dollar.

Now, and let me be clear on this, I'm not accusing
nutrition experts of quackery.

Yes, some programs are utter crap. Those are generally
quite easy to pick out and don't merit discussion here.
But most experts do know what they are talking about,
can get results, and wholeheartedly believe in what
they're doing. Many of the differences between them
are theoretical and not practical, and on the
fundamentals they generally agree completely.

It's all good - sorta

In fact, many of the mainstream programs out there, if
not most of them, will work. To what extent they work,
and for how long, varies. As long as a program is
internally consistent, follows a few basic nutritional
tenets, and as long as you adhere to it consistently,
without hesitation, and without mixing principles
haphazardly taken from other programs, you'll get
some results. It's that simple, and that hard (as
you can see, results depend as much on psychology
as on biochemistry).

But if you're like most people, you'll first survey all
the most often discussed programs before deciding which
to follow. And in this appraisal, you'll get confused,
lost, and then do the inevitable. That's right, you'll
revert back to your old, ineffectual nutrition habits.

Instead of parsing out the similarities between all the
successful plans out there, the common principles that
affect positive, long-term change, you get thrown off
the trail by the stench of the steaming piles of detail.

The Atkins program works for all patients under the direct
care of the Atkins team-as long as patients follow it.
The Zone program works for all patients under the direct
care of the Sears team -as long as they follow it.
The Pritkin Diet works for all patients under the
care of the Pritkin team- as long as they follow it.

Yet, not all three plans are identical. How, then, can
they all get impressive improvements in health and body
composition? Well, either each team somehow magically
draws the specific patient subpopulations most in need
of their plan (doubtful) or each system possesses some
basic fundamental principles that are more important
than the ratios of protein to carbs to fats.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs

Here's my take on it. I call these principles,
"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs,"
a shameless and possibly illegal play on Steven Covey's book,
"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People."


These aren't the newest techniques from the latest
cutting-edge plan. Rather, they are simple, time-tested,
no nonsense habits that you need to get into when
designing a good eating program.

1. Eat every 2-3 hours, no matter what. You should eat
between 5-8 meals per day.

2. Eat complete (containing all the essential amino acids),
lean protein with each meal.

3. Eat fruits and/or vegetables with each food meal.

4. Ensure that your carbohydrate intake comes from
fruits and vegetables. Exception: workout and post-workout
drinks and meals.

5. Ensure that 25-35% of your energy intake comes from fat,
with your fat intake split equally between saturates
(e.g. animal fat), monounsaturates (e.g., olive oil),
and polyunsaturates (e.g. flax oil, salmon oil).

6. Drink only non-calorie containing beverages, the best
choices being water and green tea.

7. Eat mostly whole foods
(except workout and post-workout drinks).

So what about calories, or macronutrient ratios, or any
number of other things that I've covered in other articles?
The short answer is that if you aren't already practicing
the above mentioned habits, and by practicing them I mean
putting them to use over 90% of the time (i.e., no more
than 4 meals out of an average 42 meals per week violate
any of those rules), everything else is pretty pointless.

Moreover, many people can achieve the health and the body
composition they desire using the 7 habits alone. No kidding!
In fact, with some of my clients I spend the first few months
just supervising their adherence to these 7 rules - an
effective but costly way to learn them.

Of course, if you have specific needs, or if you've
reached the 90% threshold, you may need a bit more
individualization beyond the 7 habits.

But before assuming you're ready
for individualization; make sure you've truly mastered
the 7 habits. Then, while keeping the 7 habits as
the consistent foundation, tweak away.

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About the Author:
Dr. Berardi is no stranger to the demands of elite athletics,
having been successful in a number of sports including:

- Power lifting (squat 650, deadlift 600, bench 430)
- Track and field (AAU nationals in 100m and 200m)
- Rugby (medaled @ national under 21 championships)
- Bodybuilding (1st place at the 1995 Mr. Jr. USA)

Posted by Georgette Pann of NutriFitness at http://thenutrifitness.com for personal training and nutrition.