Most healthy eating plans work under perfect conditions. You just follow the guidelines, and then a trimmer, healthier you!
- Paleo
The Paleolithic diet, caveman diet, consists of vegetables, fruits, eggs, nuts, meat and fish. No refined or processed foods, no sugars, no grains, no legumes, and no dairy.
- Mediterranean
The Mediterranean diet is based on the traditional eating habits found in southern Italy and Greece in the early 1960s. It focuses on plant-based foods, heavy on vegetables, fruits, legumes, fish, olive oil and some nuts.
- Intermittent Fasting
We have looked at intermittent fasting in 3 previous posts (May 2, 2019, June 9, 2019 and November 24, 2019). Please review them to refresh your memory.
My recommendation is 16 hours fasting and 8 hours eating.
Two studies of real-world eaters shed light on which healthy eating strategies actually work in the real world.
- Skip Paleo. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition followed 250 people for a year with minimal professional support, allowing them to opt into a Mediterranean food plan, intermittent fasting (2 days a week eating 500-600 calories), or a Paleo plan with a bit of dairy, legumes and grains. At the end of a year, the Paleo plan had by far the lowest adherence, with just a third sticking to it, and the lowest weight loss, at 4.6 ponds. The Paleo eaters also showed no improvements in blood pressure or blood sugar levels.
- Intermittent fasting works best. It seems very maintainable: 54 % of people were still fasting twice a week after a whole year, losing an average of 11.2 pounds, and showing lowered blood pressure.
- Mediterranean is also a smart choice. Take note: The Mediterranean eaters had the highest adherence rate, at 57 %, and lost an average of 10.1 pounds, with improvements in both blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
- You will not eat healthfully at a restaurant. A study in the Journal of Nutrition of 35,000 people over a 13-year period found that if you walk into a restaurant, your chances of adhering to your healthy eating plan is zero. Specifically, just 0.1 % of restaurant meals were of ideal nutritional and dietary quality – and the 1 in 1,000 is probably not going to be you. On average, Americans get over 20 % of their calories from eating out. Pretty scary, don’t you think?
I want to end with a short note on my diet. My diet is over 90 % paleo; I’ll have a slice of cheese once in a while or some lentils and the only dairy I consume is home made yogurt. I also practice intermittent fasting; fast for 16 hours and eat for 8 hours. I’m very healthy, and my immune system functions admirably (I hardly ever get sick); THAT ISN’T BAD FOR AN 80-YEAR-OLD.
That’s it for now my friends; see you all the next time.
