Nutrition and Diet Course Summary and Thoughts

There is no "perfect dietary formula" that suits everyone. A truly effective healthy nutrition plan can only match an individual's metabolic state, life rhythm, and be adhered to without pain for a long time.

To be honest, I signed up for the class just to find the standard answer. I have been through too many pitfalls before: last year, I followed the ketogenic trend and gave up all staple foods. I ate avocados and drank bulletproof coffee every day. I lost 6 pounds in two weeks and was still complacent. As a result, my aunt postponed it for 22 days. I went to the hospital to check the estrogen level. The drop was ridiculous, and the doctor urged me to quickly add staple foods back. Later, I tried the 16+8 light fast. I had to wait until 10 o'clock to eat breakfast. I could handle it the previous week, but in the second week I started to feel dizzy at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. I could miss half a page when typing code. Then I realized why all the methods that were so popular on the Internet failed me now.

As a result, the teacher put an end to my idea of ​​taking shortcuts in the first class, and directly used data to say that the food schools that are so noisy on the Internet now actually have suitable groups of people, and there is no right or wrong at all. For example, those who advocate abstaining from sugar and controlling carbohydrates. Tracking data from the "Journal of Obesity Medicine" in 2023 shows that for simply obese people with a BMI ≥ 28, the weight loss efficiency of adopting a very low-carbohydrate diet in the first 3 months is 32% higher than that of the low-fat omnivorous group. However, in the follow-up data after 12 months, the persistence rate of the very low-carb group is only 21%. Many people eat carbohydrates in retaliation and are even fatter than before weight loss. ； The low-fat pie, which advocates grain-based diet and less oil and salt, although the initial weight loss is slow, the long-term compliance performance reaches 47%, which is more suitable for ordinary people who do not need to lose weight quickly. There is also the Mediterranean diet, which has been so popular in recent years. Its cardiovascular-friendly conclusion has been confirmed by multiple studies. However, if you have gout or high uric acid, copying the Mediterranean diet's requirements of eating a lot of deep-sea fish and beans will induce gout attacks, which is not healthy at all.

There was a small dispute in class at that time. A classmate who runs a fitness studio criticized him on the spot, saying that his members all ate 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, and the muscle-building effect was very good, and there were no problems. Another aunt who studied traditional Chinese medicine and nutrition also disagreed, saying that many middle-aged and elderly people she treated just listened to the advice on the Internet and ate protein powder and protein bars every day. Instead, they had bloating and acid reflux, and their spleen and stomach became worse and worse. The teacher did not comment on who was right or wrong at that time, but pulled two sets of comparative data: for fitness people who train no less than 4 times a week and have a body fat rate of less than 18%, a daily protein intake of 1.6-2.2g/kg is indeed supported by clinical research and can effectively promote muscle synthesis. ； However, if you are middle-aged and elderly people who exercise less than 1 hour a week and have weak digestive function, 0.8-1g/kg of protein per day is completely sufficient. On the contrary, forcing them will increase the burden on the gastrointestinal and kidneys, which is not worth the gain.

My most intuitive change actually has no threshold. I don’t need to get up half an hour in advance to make a fat-reducing meal. In the past, when I was catching the subway in the morning, I would just buy a vegetable bun with sugar-sweetened soy milk from the bun shop downstairs. Now I buy an extra tea egg and replace the soy milk with sugar-free. I won’t be hungry all morning, and I don’t have to fish for snacks at 10 o’clock. My mother had type 2 diabetes before, and I always forced her to eat all brown rice and multigrain rice. She always complained of acid reflux and became hungry soon after eating. Instead, she secretly hid biscuits to eat. In class, the teacher said that she didn’t need to completely give up on polished rice, just mix it with whole grains at a ratio of 1:1. My mother tried it for half a month, and her blood sugar after meals was more stable than when she ate all whole grains, and she never secretly ate biscuits again.

Before, I always thought that eating healthily meant being an ascetic and not eating this or that. The last time my friend invited me to eat Chongqing hot pot, I would have refused outright, fearing that I would gain weight if I ate too much. Now I eat half a corn mat at home half an hour in advance. When I go to the hot pot restaurant, I cook more lean beef and green leafy vegetables. I take half a spoon less sesame sauce and add some minced garlic to relieve the greasiness. I weigh myself the next day and don’t gain weight. I don’t have to feel guilty for breaking the so-called “diet plan”. Oh, yes, I used to follow the trend and buy organic lettuce and organic tomatoes worth tens of yuan per pound. In class, the teacher said that ordinary vegetables only need to be washed with running water for more than 30 seconds, and the pesticide residue content is within the national safety standards. The difference in vitamins and dietary fiber from organic vegetables is less than 5%. There is no need for ordinary salarymen to increase unnecessary expenses for this difference. After hearing this, I felt that I had spent a lot of money.

Now I don’t give myself any meal plan that is accurate to the gram, and I don’t worry about whether I didn’t eat enough 300 grams of vegetables today. I just stick to a few general principles: have staple food, protein, and vegetables in every meal, drink less sweet drinks with fructose syrup, and eat milk tea cakes once a week if you want. You don’t have to feel guilty - after all, eating happily is also a part of nutrition.