Which dietary or nutrition approach is the best?

Low Carb High Fat? Vegetarian? Vegan? Keto? Paleo? Zone? Pescatarian? Mediterranean? Holy smokes, there are a lot of choices...

I get this question frequently from clients, especially as different diet strategies rotate through popularity and enjoy their stint in the spotlight. It’s totally understandable that there would be a lot of confusion and uncertainty, because there is SO much information out there, so many different kinds of approaches, compelling sales pitches, and conflicting strategies producing similar results.

So which one should you choose?

The truth of the matter is that there’s no ONE right answer when it comes to diet.

Sure, there are lots of theories and sound reasons behind each approach, as well as solid anecdotal evidence for the success of each plan. BUT, each person is different, and there are endless combinations of variables making everyone’s life and body unique - so what works well for one person may not be quite right for another.

I know hearing that trial and error is the best way to find what works for you isn’t the most satisfying answer… I wish I could tell you that there’s one be-all and end-all nutrition approach that is best for everyone, but I can’t in good faith tell you that because I don’t believe it’s true.

It’s all about finding what’s best for YOU and YOUR body, based upon YOUR lifestyle, body type, and individual goals. You can make some pretty intelligent guesses that can give you a good place to start, but at the end of the day you’re a special, complex individual and sometimes it takes a few tries to hit on something that produces the results you want.

So where should you start?

First, I would suggest choosing a plan that is thought to have pretty predictable results that parallel your goals. Whether it’s fat loss, muscle gain, or anything in between, take a look at a variety of approaches and decide what seems like something you’d be able to handle and sustain - consistency is key to achieving results when it comes to fitness and health regardless of strategy, so keep that in mind!

Once you’ve chosen your path, learn everything you possibly can before getting started. If you decide on a Sunday night to start looking for a change and have your heart set on beginning Monday morning, know that you may not be able to acquire enough knowledge about how to execute your diet strategy properly in time for your desired start date.

A little over a year ago I was getting tons of questions about keto from clients, so I wanted to learn more about it and give it a shot so that I could discuss it with them from a place of experience… The more research I did, the more intricacies I learned about - things that changed the game for me and had notable effects on my results and my opinion of the process. I had to dig a little to find them, and kept reading everything I could get my hands on during my foray into this nutrition theory. I had a client at the time who essentially read the shortest explanation possible of keto and jumped right in, and was frustrated about lack of results - he was inadvertently making a handful of mistakes that were literally defeating the purpose of keto and negating all of his hard work, all because he wasn’t truly educated about what makes the diet actually effective. Long story short, make sure you’re well informed before making changes!

I’ve always thought that before making dietary tweaks of any kind, that it’s best to know exactly WHY you’re making them. I once worked with a nutrition client who wanted to implement anything she read on the internet with blind faith - apple cider vinegar in the morning, low-carb, vegan, lemons in her water… Literally anything and everything, it didn’t really matter what it was. I loved that she was so willing to try new things, but when I asked her why she wanted to put a technique into practice she never had an answer for me other than “I know it’s supposed to be good for you.” Well, is it really? If so, why? I would suggest to always be able to answer these questions for yourself so that you know you’ve evaluated an approach properly before beginning.

While you’re on your way to finding what works for you, don’t compare yourself or your results to anyone else. You are your own person, and just because your journey doesn’t look the same or progress along the same timeline as someone else’s doesn’t mean you’re any more or less successful than they are. All progress is good progress, and if something isn’t working the way you want it to, you can always pivot! As a coach, I have my own set of ideas about how to best help my clients and direct them toward what I think is likely to be most effective for them, but I’m not always right! Sometimes even my best guess is off base, and changes need to be made - and that’s ok!

That being said, I can’t state enough times how important it is to give each approach a chance, set realistic goals and manage your own expectations. Trying a diet for a week is NOT long enough to see the results that will let you know whether or not it’s “working” for you. Making visible changes to your body takes time, and it’s not always obvious right away that you’re making progress even if you are. Nobody wants to hear that 1-2 pounds of weight loss is healthy, safe, and reasonable - everyone (including me) wishes that you could lose 10lbs a week and get that summer body within 30 days or whatever, but that is not how it usually works.

In most circumstances, it’s not realistic to expect shocking aesthetic changes in the space of several days, no matter what the sales pitch tells you… Anyone hoping that you’ll buy their book, subscribe to their service, or purchase their plan will always show you their most striking client transformations, which are often NOT the norm. Take progress pictures regularly, weigh yourself, take measurements, get your body fat tested, or (preferably) all of the above - the more ways you have to detect changes in your body, the more informed you’ll be about how much progress you’re making and how quickly it’s actually coming along. If you don’t give a plan enough time to take effect before you quit, you’ll never really know if it’s right for you or not - you might miss out on something great!

One thing that I found interesting when I learned it, as it pertains to fat loss specifically, is that bodybuilders and physique competitors begin their “cuts” many, many weeks before they compete. I guess I just hadn’t really considered it, but it came up when I was first starting to learn about nutrition and I’ve thought about it ever since. 12 weeks is a common timeframe for a cut, and most competitors aren’t trying to come back from being overweight. 12 weeks is four months!

These are some of the most educated, informed folks out there, and many of them work with coaches who specialize in helping them cut body fat efficiently and effectively. This should be an indicator that rapid fat loss is not typical, especially if you’re trying to also preserve muscle mass in the process. Slow is good, and if you lose weight consistently and in a healthy manner, the more likely you are to be able to keep it off in the future.

My final piece of advice would be to try lots of things, and don’t be afraid of change. It might take time and a few less than ideal outcomes to get to a place where you’ve found balance and sustainability, but you will arrive there if you keep trying! Even once you’ve gone through the trial and error to find what feels like the right nutritional lifestyle for you, making even small changes as you go can ensure that you keep evolving and making progress toward optimal health and your best physique.

I hope this was helpful, and can at least give you some tools to help you choose a healthy lifestyle path if you’re looking for one.

Lastly, don’t listen to the haters out there. If you want to do keto, do it. If you like being vegan, be vegan! If a nutritional approach is affecting your body the way you want it to, and it is making YOU PERSONALLY a more healthy individual, I don’t see anything wrong with it.

Of course we’re all going to have our opinions, there’s always something we can be doing better, or there are ways we can become more educated and optimize what we’re up to. I just believe that if you’re doing everything you can to live a balanced, healthy life (whatever that means to you) and you’re happy with it, YOU DO YOU.

Let’s all be healthy in the ways that work best for us - you’ve got my blessing!

Need some help? Have a question? Reach out to me anytime!

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