Keto, paleo, and vegan diet, oh my!
So many diet out there… So much confusion! What do they mean? Which one is the best?
We broke it down for out members and now we are sharing it with all. Here is our 3 part email series all in 1.
Paleo: The caveman diet. Paleo focuses on eating whole food sources. One ingredient foods. Chicken in chicken. Apple is an apple. Broccoli is a broccoli. Nothing added to these food. That means getting rid of all processed foods and definitely sugar!
Pros: Many people who have been eating a standard American Diet see great body composition progress as well is feel better just by merely getting rid of process foods.
Cons: Those who take on the paleo diet end up fearing many foods like rice, bread, and more. These foods should not be labeled as “bad” as they do have many nutrients in them. Paleo can also lead someone into a low calorie and low carb diet leaving them depleted over time.
Whole 30: This diets focus is to get rid of processed foods, sugar, alcohol, grains, dairy, and legumes (just like the paleo diet) for 30 days. After the 30 days are over, the Whole 30er slowly reintroduced each food that was previously eliminated to see if that particular food causes unwanted symptoms like bloating, irritated skin, brain fog, etc.
Pros: If done right, this diet really allows the person to know what works best for their personal body.
Cons: Many people have a hard time committing fully to the 30 days and treating it like a personal experimentation. This diet was not made to say all the foods eliminated are “bed”, but to find out what works best for them.
Keto: A moderate protein (.8g per BW or lower), 15g or less of carbs, and high fat. Because carbs are slow low, the body is forced to produce ketones as a source as energy as well as used stored body fat and fuel.
Pros: Keto is great for who are extremely over weight, as it teaches the body to burn fat as fuel. It can also help reduces inflammation in the body if done correctly. This is because high omega-3 (a type of fat) food are anti-inflammatory foods. This diet works best on those who live a sedentary life or do long endurance workouts.
Cons: Given the nature of being low carb, this diet can leave many feeling low on energy. This is also a diet that someone doing high intensity workouts (CF, F45, Peloton) should partake in. High intensity workouts require carbs as energy. If there is no carbs in the system, the body will use broken down muscle as fuel. Not fat. AKA no gains. Females should also give this diet a hard pass. Females need 125g or more for proper thyroid and hormone function.
Vegetarian/Vegan: Abstaining from animal proteins or animal products all together. Many chose this diet for environment or moral reasons.
Pros: Bring on the veggies! This diet is a high veggie diet, which gives the dieter plenty of micronutrients.
Cons: Eliminating a whole food group (protein) can lead to many deficiencies. Someone using this diet will need to find other high protein food. Unfortunately those foods (Quinoa and beans) contain a ton of carbs which can lead to high insulin spikes and in the long term cause insulin resistance.
Drum roll…. The best diet is…
The one that works for you and focuses on more Whole Foods while limiting process foods.
When you look keto, vegan, paleo, whole 30, meditarrean, you see that they all share this common belief. But it is true, what works for one person will not work for another.
Why?
We have different experiences, lifestyles, jobs, human anatomy (male vs female), workout regimens, and more.
So how do you figure out what is best for you?
SURPRISE! We are finally relaunching our nutrition programming to help you answer this question.
If you are ready to figure out how to make nutrition work for you and not shove yourself into a “diet box” that will not work for your lifestyle, we are here to help you figure this all out.
Our Nutrition Kickstart start March 1st.
Sign up here!!!
Got questions: Email us here
