Stop demonizing foods

There doesn’t exist a bad food, only a bad diet. 

You don’t get fat because of one specific food, it’s overconsumption and not burning the excess energy that leads to gaining weight.

The foods we eat are made up of minimum 1 of the 3 macronutrients, protein, carbs and fats, or a combination.

Some of these foods are more nutritious than others but that doesn’t mean the foods that aren’t nutritious are “bad” foods

Not one food on it’s own leads to fat gain. It’s so important to understand that. 

For so many years foods have been demonised and got a bad name because of lack of education.

We HAVE to stop assuming foods are bad.

NOTHING has to be removed from your diet unless you suffer with a condition where your body can’t process the foods correctly.

We gain weight when we consistently consume more energy over a period of time than we burn physically 

You can get fat eating McDonalds just like you could get fat eating chicken and steamed brocolli if the amounts of calories consumed were consistently over your daily needs.

A bowl of pasta that has 500 calories isn’t going to get you fat. That’s just one of your meals in the day. It’s everything else on top you are consuming that’s causing fat gain, not the bowl of pasta.

Let me give you an example

I need 2600 calories to MAINTAIN my weight 

If I eat 3000 calories daily of “healthy foods” chicken, vegetables, fish etc, over time I will GAIN weight because there’s excess energy I’m not burning that has to go somewhere. It’s not just going to disappear so it will get stored as fat

Now, if I was to eat 2200 calories daily eating just “junk” food, let’s say McDonalds, over time I will start to LOSE weight because I’m in a calorie deficit meaning my body is forced to start to burn stored fat for fuel

Obviously, with the above example eating only McDonalds, eventually I’d become deficient in essential nutrition, my energy levels would suffer too, it’s just an example about energy balance and how we lose or gain weight

So now you know “bad” foods don’t exist, what should you do?

Start to understand that you can eat anything and still reach your target weight as part of a flexible diet

Ideally aim to consume 80-85% of your daily calories from sources that have lots of nutritional benefits and allocate 15-20% of your daily calories to “fun foods” that help you adhere to your diet for the long term.

Yes, some foods are more nutritional than others, but if you are eating a diet with good quality fruits, vegetables, fats and protein, you’ll be getting sufficient nutrition and can allow yourself to eat some of your favourite processed foods.

Summary:

• There is no such thing as a bad food, only a bad diet
• Weight loss and gain comes down to energy balance, not one specific piece of food
• Stop demonising foods, some are more nutritious than others, but that doesn’t mean you can’t eat them
• The only foods you should omit from your diet are foods your body can’t physically process
• A flexible approach to dieting is more sustainable long term than “not eating any junk or processed foods”