I'm always asked to critique people's diets and come up with changes which I would make, sometimes some of the changes I make are more significant than others. However, one thing I often find is that there are similar mistakes being made which ultimately means that I see the same changes needing to be made on a continues basis.
I've highlighted below the 3 most common changes which I feel are needed within your diet, based on the diets I see on a day to day basis.
Fibre balance
The emphasis is always on macros and calories which often means that fibre is forgotten about. I've said this before in my Udo's blog, but the gut is the gateway to your body and this is where the nutrients you eat are processed and assimilated. If you're not doing everything right to support your gut properly your results will suffer.
It's one thing eating the right macros and calories, but it's a completely different story enabling your body to absorb the nutrients correctly. Without enough fibre you can also find that your gut becomes too acidic which isn't good for health or digestion either.
You need to be getting anywhere between 20-40g of fibre per day (obviously this is weight dependant) from fibrous vegetables such as your greens. Ideally you want a blend of soluble and insoluble fibre in order to ensure you've got enough of everything. Just by making this change alone you will be able to see a difference in terms of bloating and energy because your body is now using the nutrients properly.
This is why I always advocate Udo's Choice Beyond Greens to my clients.
Protein intake
This is a very popular topic of discussion because everybody wants to try and work out what the optimal level of protein is. The truth is that this number will change from one individual to the next, however I do find that there's often 2 extremes when it comes to assessing protein intake.
Some people under eat massively when it comes to protein, failing to even hit 100g a day. And then you have people who are over eating on protein and under eating on fats and carbs as a result.
The reality is for the majority of males you need at least 1g of protein per pound of lean body weight in my experience to build muscle, if you're below this then it's easily addressed.
In the other extreme, where protein is being over consumed it sometimes makes sense to drop your protein slightly and increase carbohydrates for instance. Remember, carbohydrates are "protein sparing" which means they help protect muscle, along with your protein intake.
With that said, if you're consuming over 2g of protein per pound of body weight for instance it could make sense to reduce that to around 1.5g and then increase your carbs marginally. This will often lead to extra fullness, improve digestion, better energy levels and more enjoyment on your diet.
Food variation
This is something else I've discussed at length on my daily emails (go to Y3TDisciple.com to receive them) because I'm so passionate about the fact that you MUST have enough variety in your diet.
Here's why... Besides the obvious benefits of enjoying your diet more due to the variety, if you're one dimensional with your food choices you will be missing out on vital nutrients/minerals/enzymes and you will run the risk of developing sensitivities to the very food you're eating too much of.
To help avoid this you should maintain constant variety within your diet.
Hopefully that has explained to you 3 simple ways to enhance your diet, instantly.
Written by: Neil Hill
