In the world of fitness there’s a lot of information on what to eat and when to eat it-in order to lose weight and meet fitness goals. There’s lots of information on the distribution of micronutrients: carbs, protein, and fats in your diet. This is interspersed with suggestions for cheat meals and cheat days, meal timing, carb loading, or carb cycling.
This can be overwhelming and confusing, especially for those new to fitness, and want to improve their diet.
Let me make it very simple. There are only 2 basic food groups you need to think about. These are “Everyday Foods” and “Occasional Foods.”
If you eat “everyday foods” everyday you will stay healthy and maintain or lose weight
If you eat “occasional foods” everyday you will will be sabotaging your fitness objectives.
And it’s not rocket science, it’s fairly simple and we all know what occasional foods are. These are the foods full of sugar, empty nutrients, highly processed, not found anywhere in nature, and wreck havoc on your body.
Everyday foods are grown, not processed – fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean protein sources, etc. They are single ingredient, natural foods. These are foods you don’t binge on. I’ve never heard anyone say, “I can’t believe I ate the whole bag of apples.” With that in mind, if you have an everyday food you are likely to binge on (grapes, nuts, cherries, etc.) Then add these to your occasional food list.
What about white rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes? Are they everyday or occasional foods? Basically, that depends on your goals. If you are starting out and want to lose weight and get into better shape these are occasional foods. If you do include them in your diet everyday – do so in small portions.
It’s all about moderation.
So focus your daily eating on everyday foods, and limit those occasional foods. You do know the difference. Simple, but effective.
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