Low-Fat, Low-Carb, Vegan, Carnivore — The Unnecessary Extremes of Dieting
Why not keep things simple with a balanced diet of nutrient-dense whole foods?
We sure have a strange relationship with food. The world spends as much money on weight-loss products as it would cost to end world hunger. And yet, obesity trends look like this:
In the Western world, being at a healthy weight now puts you in a shrinking minority group. Extrapolated trends from this source show that only 1 in 4 American adults are not overweight or obese.
We’ve become desperate to find quick fixes to this fundamental problem. And in our desperation, we do the typical human thing: turn to extremes.
Let’s look at three examples of this diet extremism, contrasted with the simple, balanced approach I use to maintain my ideal Smart BMI of 35/70 and never get sick.
Low-Carb or Low-Fat
We get almost all our calories from three macronutrients: carbs, fats, and protein. It’s hard to get more than 20% from protein, so the bulk of our calorie consumption must come from carbs and fats.
Major reductions in either carbs or fats (and the associated major increase in the other one) is a common theme in dieting. Low-fat diets recommend high consumption of many foods that low-carb diets avoid and vice versa.
This is all quite silly. Things that are forbidden in one type of diet become the staple of the other. Such restrictive diets severely cut down on the number of whole foods at our disposal, making it difficult to achieve healthy dietary variety in a practical, affordable, and enjoyable manner.
No, carbs are not the enemy, and neither are fats. The villains in this story are empty-calorie carbs and empty-calorie fats — all those nutrient-free treats purpose-built for addiction. Cutting these slow poisons from your life is the single best way to maintain a healthy weight. Do this, and you can freely enjoy a wide range of delicious whole-food carbs and fats.Animal Products
Here, we also encounter a wide range of options, all the way from no animal products whatsoever to a totally carnivorous diet. It can also be a little less extreme, like vegetarian diets allowing eggs and milk and low-carb diets that recommend high meat consumption.
When talking about animal products, though, health is far from the only important consideration. We should also think long and hard about environmental impacts and animal welfare. In fact, it’s simply impossible for most world citizens to enjoy diets rich in animal products without serious environmental damage and the cruelty of factory farming.
These considerations tilt me towards low animal product consumption (especially meat). A little bit of meat can make your vegetable dishes truly delicious while providing high-quality proteins and B-vitamins, but it should be restricted to the bare minimum.
That’s why meat represents only 5% of my calorie intake, with another 10% coming from fish, eggs, and dairy. Aside from the valuable nutritional variety this provides, intelligent use of animal products in plant-rich dishes makes high vegetable consumption deeply enjoyable, securing long-term health.Intermittent Fasting
Arguably the most popular dieting trend of recent years, intermittent fasting also attracts plenty of extremist views. Some plans impose severe restrictions on eating patterns, and some pundits even claim that when you eat is more important than what you eat.
This is complete nonsense. Obviously, binging on empty calories strictly within an 8-hour window is much unhealthier than eating a healthy, whole-food diet with no regard for fasting.
Herein lies my main gripe with all the intermittent fasting hype: The overwhelming importance given to meal timing diverts precious focus from much more important dietary considerations, such as nutrient density, variety, and moderation.
Yes, there is good evidence of the benefits of intermittent fasting, but it’s no magic bullet. That’s why I focus on nutritional quality and diversity first, adding a convenient 10–12-hour eating window as an afterthought. If I experience genuine hunger outside my eating window, I will eat something healthy, saving my limited willpower reserves for more important things.The Real Reason Behind Our Obesity Epidemic
Ready? Here it is in two parts:
- We’re equipped with powerful food cravings that evolved to keep us alive over 200 millennia of extreme scarcity (before we had access to unlimited food conveniently dispensed in supermarkets).
- Food companies quickly learned to send these cravings into overdrive with addictive empty-calorie treats to maximize profits. Product ranges designed for the latest dieting fad grow profits even more.
This is the fundamental problem each of us must overcome to maintain a healthy diet and a healthy body weight in our affluent modern society.
So, how do we do this? Simple: Make sure you spend your time in environments that are completely free of empty calories and ultra-processed foods. Most important: Never allow these purpose-built, ultra-addictive, nutrient-free, empty-calorie-bombs into your home.
Carving out such healthy environments among all the temptations in our modern world is no easy task, but it’s the only solution that attacks the very root of the problem. So, if you’ve tried the extreme solutions mentioned earlier without much success, maybe it’s time to permanently change your environment and uproot this problem once and for all.