So sorry. I’m going to admit up front that that’s a click-bait-y title.
Here’s the backstory…
I’ve been working on my own nutrition since 2008, and although I haven’t tried everything, I’ve tried a lot.
First, I kept a food journal. This gave me a sense of what I was eating, but I paid no attention to quantities, so it didn’t really help me lose weight or gain muscle (both were goals at the time).
Then I counted calories. Super helpful for fat loss, but didn’t do much for muscle gain for me, which was still a goal.
Then I tried the Zone Diet. This was great (though super outdated at this point), but the weighing and measuring got tedious.
I switched to the Paleo diet. Then did the Primal diet. Then I tracked macros. Then did intuitive eating. Then intermittent fasting. Then the Whole30. Then Keto. Then the 800g Challenge. Then tracking hunger cues. Then the Plate Method. All of those approaches had pros. All of them had cons. And I don’t exclusively stick with any of them anymore.
Now, none of that experimentation was wasted. Because I learned from all of it. And now I’m more flexible with my eating than I’ve ever been. I eat ice cream almost every night. I eat pasta 3-5 times per week. I like beer and wine and good whiskey sours. I also eat lots of lean meat, lots of vegetables, lots of fruit, and get lots of fiber. I almost never feel deprived and I almost never feel like anything I eat is forced. I enjoy nearly every meal and my stress around food is very low.
I’m leaner and have more muscle mass at 41 years old than ever in my adult life. And my blood chemistry is the best it’s ever been since I started measuring.
The details of my precise plan are kind of besides the point.
The point is that it is my precise plan. It took 15 years of tinkering and not a small amount of coaching from our nutrition coaches. And the thing that works for me is a combination of at least 4 different approaches with a whole bunch of my own unique likes and lifestyle quirks thrown in the mix.
Because I, like you, am a unique snowflake.
And just like there’s not one single plan out there on the internet that works perfectly for me, there’s probably not one plan on the internet that works perfectly for you. They all have their pros and cons.
The best plan is the one that makes you look the way you want to look and feel the way you want to feel. It’s the one that makes your doctor happy. It’s the one that lets you perform how you want to. And, critically, it’s the one that you can do for the rest of your life. Even on vacation. Even during the holidays. Even when you’re busy.
The very best nutrition plan is the one that works for you, in all your unique, snowflaky glory.
A great way to find that plan is to try a bunch of stuff and experiment with all of it.
But a much faster (and happier) way to find it is through individualized nutrition coaching. Luckily, that’s something we can easily help with!