Everything you need to know about various diet plans and which one will work the best for you – Times Now

Everything you need to know about diet and which one will work the best for you! | &nbspPhoto Credit:&nbspGetty Images

Key Highlights

Everyone has a unique body and a different requirement for the body in terms of nutrition
One should follow a diet plan which takes into consideration their body type, illnesses, mental health and other parameters into consideration

Remember nutritional intakes in the right quantity is essential for the efficient working of body metabolism, brain, and muscles. While fat or being overweight is bad, stopping complete fat intake especially good fat may trigger another kind of complications like depression, mood swings etc (after all our brain is made mostly of fat). Similarly, a person with undiagnosed high uric acid level, if replaces carbohydrate with protein without consulting an expert may end up having extreme joint pains or even kidney stone.

Hence, never blindly follow someone else’s nutrition protocol, or follow a diet written on magazines or newspaper. They all seem magical, but everyone ignores a simple and profound truth: every human is genetically, psychologically and physically unique.

Actually, there is no one-size-fits-all way of eating. Ideally, for a customised diet, everyone, especially adults should first identify their complete biomass indexing, conduct essential physiological tests and consider lifestyle and food culture. Hence here some of the points to consider before starting a diet.

Discard the popular definition of diet

Nowadays people are smitten with diets, but you need to know that before the media coined the word diet to more generally mean restricted eating for the purpose of weight reduction, a diet was entirely each and every food eaten by a person. Before you make your own nutrition philosophy, it’s vital to first disassociate the word from a negative frame of mind. The perception of depriving yourself of certain foods stresses you out at the molecular level. Negative links like making specific foods off-limits can really backfire. Develop new positive associations by joining eating nourishing foods to increased performance in the gym or on the sports arena.

Learn from different diet plans even if you do not follow them

It is important when you look deeply into the details of each “one-true” diet plan, they’re not as different as you think, except for extreme ones. Several popular diets—paleo, low carb, high fat, and plant-based share a certain worthwhile common values that anyone looking for a sustainable nutrition plan can live by:

They raise understanding of whole nutrient-dense foods. The very act of selecting these wholesome foods forces out processed junk.
Each plan makes you actually aware of what you put into your body and trains you to seek out a particular level of quality foods. Eventually, it is this attention to your diet that marches ahead to long-term maintenance of a strong body and mind.
They assist control satiety levels and food intake. Good quality foods usually lead to better overall satiety levels, often because they contain fibre.

Identify deficiencies

When you can identify what makes you feel vulnerable, you have a far more solid, actionable solution than telling yourself to “reduce the sugars”. Rejecting junk foods alone is not sufficient to kick your body into high gear. At times a major nutrient deficiency can be behind low motivation and energy levels. Rather than identifying yourself with a certain plan like paleo or low-carb, you might benefit more by checking out deficiencies and crushing them.

Eat as per your body type

As said earlier, everybody is unique. Your body type is not just the way you appear. It is the physical response to how your body deals with certain food groups.

Usually, people can be classified into 3 categories: ectomorphs, mesomorphs, and endomorphs. Depending on your body type, your diet setup will vary quite a bit from someone else. These are just normal guidelines to help give you an idea of what your body expects.

Ectomorphs: High metabolism and higher resilience to carbohydrates. In general, ectomorphs look to do better on high carbohydrates, moderate protein, and fat. Commonly, ectomorphs resemble the build of lean and tall long-distance runners.
Mesomorphs: The most balanced amongst the three, mesomorphs can build muscle and manage low-fat levels. Their body prefers a balance of carbs, fat, and protein.
Endomorphs: Endomorphs are similar to powerlifters who have a slower metabolism and tend to hang on to both muscle mass and fat. They do quite well on high fat and lower carbohydrate intake.

Rarely you will find people fit exactly into one of the three categories. In fact, people mostly display a mix of characteristics. Use your body type test to check out where you stand, then improve your macronutrient intake to your body type.

Listen to your body feedback

When you eat something which your body disagrees with, it hits back with unsavoury symptoms, at times, immediately.

Also, while relying on indicators such as weight loss and body composition, be careful of essential markers like the energy level, mood, appetite, normal bodily functions (regular bowel movements and sleep), and so on to observe whether a particular diet is working for you. For example, if you feel uncomfortable after eating dairy product you know now that you need to limit your dairy intake.

(Disclaimer: The author, Ms Avni Kaul, Nutritionist & Wellness Coach, is a guest contributor and a part of our medical expert panel. Views expressed are personal)