9 Diet Rules Made for Breaking

The Rule: Quit Snacking in Between Meals.

The Friend Your Body Strategy: Many women think they have to stick to the “three-meal-a-day” plan and that eating in between meals is a nutritional sin.  But if you’re eating breakfast at 6:30am and you’re not taking a lunch break until noon, that’s way too long to go without eating!  When you skip meals, your blood sugar levels drop, your stress hormones increase and your body increases its release of fat storing (lypogenic) enzymes, and all of this amounts to a slowed metabolism, weight gain, sickness and disease. 

Do NOT be afraid to eat in between meals!  Ideally, you should eat a balanced snack every three to four hours to keep your blood sugar levels, hormones and enzymes in check.  But be cautious of what you’re eating for a snack and avoid the typical vending machine garbage; your snack should be like a mini meal consisting of healthy carbs like organic fruits, veggies and whole grains, and proteins and fats like nuts, seeds, cheese and meats.

The Rule: Grab a 100-Calorie Snack Pack When You’re on the Go. 

The Friend Your Body Strategy: Reaching for that 100-calorie pack of Oreos or Twinkies is not going to do anything to help you to keep your blood sugar levels balanced, and those bad, ”empty” calories will end of storing in your fat cells. 

Not to mention that these “non-foods” are loaded with toxins like artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, salt, sugar and all kinds of other additives used to change the color, texture and flavor.  Processed snacks overwork your liver and increase your changes of developing food-related allergies.

You’re being fooled if you think that eating these pre-portioned snack packs help you with portion control; they actually have the opposite effect and cause you to eat more!  There’s a reason why you can easily polish off half a bag of the regular Oreo cookies; the additives like salt and sugar, play tricks with the part of your brain that controls satiety and food cravings, so they basically tell your body to keep eating!  Honestly, can you really just eat one small pack of Oreos?  Talk about setting yourself up to fail! 

If you’re on the go a lot, and you like to have something easy to grab, make your own snacks ahead of time.  For healthy snack ideas to replace the vending machine junk check out my post “Top 10 on the Go Snacks.”

The Rule: Count the Calories You Eat.

The Friend Your Body Strategy: Counting calories is not only futile in the long run, but it can be very dangerous to try and stay within a specific calorie range.  Here are a couple points to consider: 

Number one: there’s really no way of determining exactly how many calories you should consume in a given day.  There are many variables that come into play that impact whether or not you need more or less calories from one day to the next like physical, emotional or mental stress; hormonal changes; weather changes, activity levels; sleep; and even habits like fidgeting or twitching.   All of these variables need to be considered when determining your calorie needs, but the reality is they are NOT measurable. 

Keep in mind that if you eat fewer calories than your body actually needs, your body perceives this as a life-threatening situation and this state triggers a series of blood sugar, hormonal and enzyme reactions, thereby slowing your metabolism and increasing your chances of weight gain.

Number two: even if there were an accurate formula for determining your exact calorie needs, taking the time track every calorie you eat is not practical; in fact, it’s maddening!  I used to try to track every calorie I ate, and I’d only be able to do if for a week or so before I gave up! 

You must learn how to eat right for your body’s metabolic needs to determine how much you should be eating, and the best place to start with meal planning is to determine your Metabolic Type, not how many calories you think you should be eating. 

If losing or maintaining a healthy weight were as simple as counting the calories you ate, the number of people struggling with weight issues would be a lot less!

The Rule: Don’t Eat After 6pm.

The Friend Your Body Strategy: I personally break this rule all of the time!  But let me be clear, I’m not eating processed junk or a buffet-style meal or snack late at night. 

While it is best to eat your heavier meals at the beginning of your day, going to bed on an empty stomach could lead to nighttime hypoglycemia; this where your blood sugar levels crash in the middle of the night and trigger a stress response thereby disrupting your sleep.  So eating a little something before you go to sleep may actually help you sleep better.

The best food to eat before bed is something that is heavier in fat or protein like cheese, nuts, seeds, nut butters (no sugar added) or plain yogurt.  My personal favorite bedtime snack is plain yogurt mixed with ground flaxseeds, crushed nuts, a pinch of stevia and cinnamon and a few green apple slices.  When I end my day with this healthy treat, my belly is satisfied, and I sleep like a baby!  

The Rule:  Choose Low-Fat or No-Fat Substitutes.

The Friend Your Body Strategy:  The words “dietary fat” have become associated with obesity and heart disease, and the words “low-fat” and “fat-free” are attributed to weight loss and heart health.  But I’m here to tell you, this is completely BOGUS, and there’s actually no scientific evidence to support these claims, despite the food industry’s advertising campaigns to convince us otherwise. 

I personally found that when I ate low-fat and fat-free foods I not only felt awful, but I actually gained weight!  It wasn’t until I switched to organic, whole-fat foods that I naturally achieved a lean body. 

Not to mention when you look at the ingredients in these so-called “healthy” foods, you’ll find all kinds of stuff you can't even pronounce!  To maintain optimal health and your ideal body weight, go for the organic, full-fat foods; your body will thank you!

The Rule:  Avoid the “Artery-Clogging” Saturated Fats.

The Friend Your Body Strategy: Despite what many nutritionists and dietitians would have you believe, there is plenty of evidence to support that saturated fats are NOT responsible for clogging your arteries.  Contrary to popular belief, they are in fact beneficial to your health; they give your cells their necessary stiffness, they help your bones effectively absorb calcium and they enhance your immune health (Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon.)  Good sources of saturated fats come from organic, free-range animals (dairy and meats) and organic, tropical (palm and coconut oil.) 

What are the artery-clogging fats you do want to avoid?  Those would be the trans fats used to make butter substitutes like margarine and Crisco and the polyunsaturated fats used to make canola and vegetables oil (the very oils that most cooking recipes call for!) 

The Rule:  Carbs are the Enemy.

The Friend Your Body Strategy:  Not all carbs are bad for you.  When most people think of carbs they think of breads, pastas, crackers and cereals, but fruits, veggies and whole grains are also carbs, and these are the “good carbs.” 

When planning your meals, it is important that you consume carbohydrates in the right proportions for your body’s needs.  Even if you’re eating all of healthy carbs, eating too many for your body type may lead to adrenal fatigue, insulin resistance, weight gain and other related health problems.  Knowing your Metabolic Type is very beneficial in helping you determine how many carbs you should ideally be taking in every day. 

The Rule: Too Many Eggs are Bad for you.

The Friend Your Body Strategy: Eggs are one of the best sources of protein and dietary fats found in nature.  But they’re only as good as their source; the best kinds of eggs to eat come from chickens that are able to roam freely and are fed organic feed. 

Free-range eggs have an optimal ratio of omega-3: omega-6 fatty acids that ranges between 1:1 and 1:4, where a commercially raised chicken egg could be as high as 1:16-30. These are the kinds of eggs you want to avoid, as too much omega-6 fatty acid in your diet triggers inflammation in your body, and is associated with a host of health problems (How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy, by Paul Chek.)

The Rule:  Learn to Control Your Sweet Tooth.

The Friend Your Body Strategy: Learning to “control” your food cravings is not really an issue of “mind over matter;” it’s not that you’re weak and have no self-control when you reach for that pint of ice-cream or bag of potato chips.  Food cravings are simply a sign that you’re not eating the right foods in the right combinations for your body’s needs. 

For example, eating too much fat or protein often triggers cravings for sweets or caffeine.  Eating processed foods also trigger serious cravings for sugar and salt.  Why? Because there’s no nutritional value in them and food processing companies add all kinds of goodies to play tricks with your brain to make you want to eat more. 

The most effective way to battle your cravings is to learn to eat balanced meals for your Metabolic Type.  

I am a former chocoholic; I used to eat chocolate on a daily basis right after lunch.  I was literally addicted to it!  As someone who has learned to eat properly balanced meals for my metabolic needs, I almost never get cravings for chocolate.  Instead of trying to just cut chocolate from my diet, (which never works because you always want what you think you can't have), I tackled my cravings head on by learning how to eat right for my body’s needs.  By actually feeding my body the right foods, in the right combinations, I’ve learned how to give my body nutrition and naturally eliminate those sabotaging sugar cravings!

Please share these tips with your friends and family by clicking the “like” button.

If you would like a complimentary consultation to learn more about Metabolic Typing, please email me at Melissa@FriendYourBody.com.

To breaking the diet rules,