"Best" vs "Better": Diet Practices for When Perfection Seems Impossible

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We all have good intentions when it comes to what we eat.  We know we should have a salad full of a variety of organic, farmer’s market veggies on a regular basis, but we don’t actually do it.  Why?  Because it requires effort and time–discipline.

There’s a verse in the Bible (Hebrews 12:11) that sums up this situation: “no discipline seems pleasant at the time, rather painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of good things for those who have been trained by it.”  We all want the harvest, but we don’t like the discipline part.

We live in a world where our attention and time is constantly being pulled at, eroding our discipline.  It’s important to have a few low-discipline tricks up your sleeve to make the best out of a less-than perfect diet.  Here are a few things you can do right away–that don’t take much time–that will help you to stay lean and maintain healthy body weight: 

1. Try to balance your macros during meals or snacks, and include fiber

   • Consuming fat or protein along with carbs, and including fiber rich foods, will help to blunt the spikes in blood sugar that accompany sugary foods or refined carbohydrates.  Less blood sugar spikes mean more consistent energy and less energy being stored for later use (i.e. turned into that “spare tire” around your waist).

2. More veggies is always good

   • Aim for ½ of your plate being veggies at each meal.  Try adding a large handful of greens to meals to increase the nutrient-density.  Top it with a heart-healthy olive oil vinaigrette for an easy way to up your veggie game in no time.

3. Avoid liquid calories

   • A sweetened iced tea drink can easily contain 150 calories directly from added sugar.  Your body doesn’t recognize liquid calories in feeling satiated from eating so you’ll likely overeat throughout the day as a result of drinking your calories.  Drink water instead: ½ of your bodyweight in lbs, in ozs of water per day as an absolute minimum.  For example, if I weigh 160 lbs, I should have 80 oz or more per day.  Tip: make it ice cold to burn “free” calories throughout the day.

4. Keep convenient healthy foods around for emergency snacking

   • I like to keep hummus and fresh salsa around for this purpose; you can dip many tasty things in them, they are both plant-based, and hummus has fiber and protein.

5. Saturday (or a diff day that’s convenient for you) is Prep Day

   • Invest just 1 hr on a day that isn’t super busy and do some simple prep to help the rest of the week go more smoothly.  I like to wash and cut some fresh veggies: bell peppers, carrots, celery, cucumbers–whatever you’re into–and have them ready to dip in my aforementioned hummus at a moment's notice.  Also helps to speed up your cooking if these veggies are ready to saute to accompany your lean protein and whole grains for dinner!  Lastly, try putting trail mix (the kind with nuts and dried fruit, not M&M’s) into easy grab-no-go containers for emergency hunger management.

Please share your favorite tips with the rest of us in the comments below!