2658: 5 Eating Goals That Aren't Fad Diets by Rachel Trotta on Sustainable Healthy Changes

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Finance Daily, Episode 2658. 5 Eating Goals That Aren't Fat Diets by

[00:00:07] Rachel Trata of RachelTrata.com and on your host and personal finance enthusiast, Diania

[00:00:14] Merriam. This is where I read to you every day covering all things money but on Sundays

[00:00:19] I share an article with you from a different podcast in our network. Today's episode comes

[00:00:25] from Optimal Health Daily. You can find that show wherever you're listening to this.

[00:00:30] So at that, here's Dr. Neal with the Post in Commentary as we optimize your life.

[00:00:40] 5 Eating Goals That Aren't Fat Diets by Rachel Trata of RachelTrata.com

[00:00:47] Right now I'm seeing Facebook posts swirl around with questions like, what about Keto?

[00:00:52] What about the HCG diet? What about Whole 30? It's natural that as beach season is upon

[00:00:59] us we want to turn over a new leaf. However, a new leaf or even a minor overhaul of eating

[00:01:06] habits doesn't have to mean going on a restrictive fat diet. But before I get into the 5 eating

[00:01:12] goals that I would suggest as alternatives, I want to quickly acknowledge the strengths

[00:01:17] of a formal diet because there are advantages. Advantage 1, there are clear rules. Advantage

[00:01:25] 2, you know when you're doing it right and you know when you're doing it wrong. Advantage

[00:01:30] 3, you have a sense of accomplishment when you follow it well. In Advantage 4, you

[00:01:36] probably get quick results because the diet cuts out so many calories by cutting out a food

[00:01:40] group or forcing it to eat at certain times of the day. You can see from this short list

[00:01:46] that there are reasons why diets are popular. Even difficult diets can be considered easy

[00:01:52] to follow and if you're strict enough they will yield the results that you want, at least

[00:01:57] temporarily. However, as many of my clients know from years of yo-yo dieting, these kinds

[00:02:03] of restrictive plans often don't work long term. Once the diet goes from on mode to off

[00:02:10] mode, it's easy to slip back into the old normal and there's no new normal to support a healthier

[00:02:17] way of life. Instead of starting a diet unless a doctor has told you to do so, here are 5

[00:02:23] new habits meaning new eating goals that I would suggest.

[00:02:29] Goal 1, cooking more of your meals. By far, the most consistent problem that I see in my clients

[00:02:36] overall diets is a lack of food preparation. Each week it is extremely helpful to take

[00:02:42] even 10 minutes to outline what you would like to eat the next week and to go grocery shopping

[00:02:48] with that list in mind. While good cooking does take practice, decent cooking is extremely

[00:02:54] accessible right away and I promise the more you cook the faster and better you will get

[00:03:00] at it. Make sure you have the basic essentials, like a few good pots and pans and knives

[00:03:06] and start by imitating restaurant meals that you like with healthy or lighter twists. Some

[00:03:12] recipes are flexible and easy to repeat over and over with variety like, Keenwaw, Bean

[00:03:18] Salads, Soups, Meat and Veggie Combinations and Raps. Remember, you don't have to be a gourmet

[00:03:24] chef. Simple meals will be lifesavers when you need them.

[00:03:29] Goal 2, Changing your snacking habits. Snacking is often not a response to hunger. It's

[00:03:36] usually filling up space or time or occupying some attention or distracting boredom. One

[00:03:43] of my bridal clients who trim down significantly for her wedding and maintain the leanness afterwards

[00:03:49] simply stopped keeping granola at her desk. While there were many changes that she made,

[00:03:55] this was an important one. I have had other clients who kept economy-sized bags of nuts

[00:04:00] at their desks and slashed hundreds or possibly more than a thousand calories per day from

[00:04:06] their diets simply by getting rid of this one habit of mindless eating. Instead of snacking

[00:04:12] throughout the day, plan one or two strategic snacks that are high in fiber, high in protein

[00:04:18] and low in sugar, and plan these snacks for the times of day when you get the most hungry.

[00:04:24] 4pm is a common time.

[00:04:26] Goal 3, Eating More Protein Eating more protein is an underlying

[00:04:31] tenet of most popular weight-loss diets – atkins, paleo, whole-thirty, and so on. There's

[00:04:39] a reason that eating more protein is a common denominator in so many diets. Protein

[00:04:44] is incredibly satisfying, especially when you combine it with fiber. This means that

[00:04:49] your stomach fills up faster and stays full longer as your body slowly breaks down the

[00:04:54] hearty protein source. This translates into fewer cravings and less preoccupation with food,

[00:05:00] which often happens when you're hungry. For some reason, many struggle psychologically

[00:05:05] with eating more protein. I think some folks are afraid of bulking up, and there are new

[00:05:10] concerns about the environmental consequences of eating a meat-heavy diet. However, there are

[00:05:16] lots of ways to satisfy your protein requirements without turning a blind eye to the planet's

[00:05:21] needs, and you can rest assured that you will likely not bulk up. For example, making a legume

[00:05:28] like lentils, a centerpiece of your diet, can increase both your protein and fiber intake

[00:05:33] significantly. You can also get protein from plant sources like tofu, soy, tempeh, and

[00:05:40] nutritional yeast. If you want to adopt a more vegetarian lifestyle, dairy and eggs offer

[00:05:46] a powerful protein punch. Obviously, meat will be the most concentrated source of protein,

[00:05:52] but even with my meat-light lifestyle, I easily hit my goal of 100 or more grams of protein

[00:05:59] per day. When it comes to protein goals, aim for at least half of your body weight in

[00:06:05] grams if possible. So, if you weigh 150 pounds, try to eat about 75 grams of protein or

[00:06:13] more per day. If you weigh 200 pounds, try to eat at least 100 grams. You get the idea.

[00:06:20] Goal number 4. Drinking more water. Drinking more water is another fantastic strategy

[00:06:25] for short-circating cravings and feeling fuller longer. Plus, it's good for just maintaining

[00:06:31] your daily health. You're going to have more energy, and your digestion might be more

[00:06:36] robust. A great tip for drinking more water is to use one of two strategies. One, drink

[00:06:42] from a huge bottle. I have had more than one client do this as a habit. And while it looks

[00:06:47] slightly comical, it does encourage you to drink more. Or two, keep a reusable water bottle

[00:06:53] around with 4-6 rubber bands on it. Every time you completely drink the bottle, take

[00:07:00] a rubber band off, or move it to the top if you don't want to lose it. Your goal each

[00:07:04] day is to move all of the rubber bands every day. And finally, goal number 5. Tracking

[00:07:11] or journaling your food. The least sexy but possibly most impactful thing that you could

[00:07:17] do to create some new food habits is to track your food for a period of time. This will help

[00:07:22] assist in your planning. Many people refer to the phrase calorie counting as if it's

[00:07:28] a bad word. But the reality is that calorie counting can be unrestrictive, not obsessive,

[00:07:35] and not limiting. Instead, when used wisely, calorie counting can be liberating, educational,

[00:07:42] and flexible. Build precision by using measuring cups and spoons for your cooking, and doing

[00:07:47] basic math to add, subtract, divide, and multiply to create serving sizes. You don't have

[00:07:54] to track forever, and I don't recommend doing that. But if you're a numbers geek like

[00:07:58] me, you may enjoy intermittently tracking every once in a while. It helps to keep me on

[00:08:03] target with my sports nutrition needs, and makes holes in my diet extremely obvious, like

[00:08:10] not enough protein or not getting enough vegetables or getting too much saturated fat.

[00:08:15] The bottom line? You can change your eating without going on a fat diet with strict rules.

[00:08:20] You will find that these small shifts are approachable, easier to maintain over time,

[00:08:25] and will add up to big results.

[00:08:32] You just listen to the post titled Five Eating Goals That Aren't Fat Diet by Rachel

[00:08:37] Trata of RachelTrata.com

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[00:09:50] for your extended 30-day free trial. Dr. Neal here for my commentary. Do you remember

[00:09:57] me talking about my days before I got into all of this health and wellness stuff? Like,

[00:10:02] how fast food and restaurant foods were basically a daily thing for me? Cooking foods at home

[00:10:07] wasn't always something that I valued or cared about. Even though I have turned over a new leaf,

[00:10:13] using Rachel's words and have changed my lifestyle, I still find myself craving restaurant foods

[00:10:18] every now and then. But when I need motivation to cook more of my meals at home, I actually use

[00:10:24] something that Rachel mentioned. I try and imitate restaurant meals that I like or that I'm craving.

[00:10:30] Before I order takeout, I ask myself, couldn't I just make the same thing at home? Usually the answer

[00:10:37] is yes. Craving a burger? I can make a better one, one that's better for me and exactly the way I

[00:10:44] want it. Craving Asian-style noodles? Same thing. I have dry pasta and veggies at home. Why can't I

[00:10:51] just make it myself? Which actually brings me to my next point. I like keeping certain things on hand.

[00:10:58] For example, when I go grocery shopping, I like buying packs of frozen veggies so that when I

[00:11:04] have a craving for a certain dish, I don't have to worry about not having those ingredients handy.

[00:11:10] So I always like to have a pack of frozen stir-fry veggies on hand. So if I'm craving those

[00:11:16] Asian-style noodles, I can quickly whip up this dish in no time. I always have organic ground chicken

[00:11:21] or turkey in my freezer too so when I'm craving a burger, I can make one. The ultimate goal is

[00:11:28] to try and make the nutritious choice, the easier choice. Alright that's it for today. I hope you're

[00:11:34] having a wonderful Tuesday. Thank you so much for listening and I'll be back here tomorrow

[00:11:38] as usual. So I'll see you there where you're optimal life awaits.