DIET

The ketogenic diet, vegan diet, paleo diet, low-carb diet, low-fat diet, raw food diet, there are simply way too many options to choose from. There is a diet out there for all kinds of fitness goals however, out of all of these, which diet is the right diet for you? That is something that you will need to decide for yourself by reading up on what a particular diet helps with. However, in this article, we will be laying down certain thumb rules that we recommend following, which should form the base of any diet you choose to follow.

It is quite tempting to follow a rigorous diet when it promises you guaranteed weight loss or muscle gain in a short amount of time. In most cases, people fail to follow such diets consistently and give up halfway through. The reason for this is because the nutritional requirements of different people will be different. There are a lot of factors that come into play such as your genetics, body type, activity level, and so on. Hence, a good diet will make sure that you are able to commit to it in the long run by adjusting to YOUR personal needs and lifestyle.

What is a ‘diet’?

Nowadays the word ‘diet’ has reduced down to simply eating less for the purpose of weight loss. It has started to have a negative connotation to it as if you are restricting yourself or depriving yourself of a way of eating and living. However, this is completely untrue.

Instead of creating negative reinforcements such as completely depriving yourself of everything that contains sugar, create positive associations between eating healthier foods and having a fitter looking and performing body.

Flexibility

No matter what diet you choose to follow, it must fulfil your specific needs and requirements. You cannot follow a template you found online as it may not be made for you. A good diet is flexible. In fact, you don’t even have to follow a certain kind of diet that has a specific name. Instead of adhering to labels, you can learn a little from different kinds of diets and build your own diet that fulfils your personal requirements.

Do you like your diet?

If the answer is no, then you are likely to give up on your diet at some point. It is completely normal to hate your diet when it involves something extremely like completely cutting down on carbs or sugar. If the food in your diet plan is extremely restrictive or boring, you are more likely to get frustrated by it and eventually give up at some point. Hence, do treat yourself with food that you like as long as it is in a controlled manner and fits within your macros

Consider your activity level and body type

There are mainly three kinds of body-types; ectomorphs, mesomorphs, and endomorphs. The same diet plan will have different proportions for an ectomorph as compared to an endomorph. What might be considered as a low-carb diet for one body type may not be applicable to another. Another factor that comes into play here is your activity level. A less active person will need fewer calories as compared to a person who is more active. Hence, the proportions of a diet must consider these parameters as well.

In conclusion, the best diet for you is the one that you can stick to. No matter how promising the goals of a certain kind of diet looks, if you are unable to follow it consistently, it will not lead to results. You can follow these thumb rules in order to fine-tune a diet according to your needs. You don’t need to necessarily restrict yourself to one category of diet. Hit your macros, include your favourite food items occasionally, eat according to YOUR body’s requirements, and most importantly, don’t stress out over a diet! Remind yourself, that you are not depriving yourself of something, but instead, enhancing your lifestyle in order to make it much more fulfilling.