Kickstart: Nutrition Methods and Tools

A plan is where desires meet reality.

Tony Robbins describes an elegant framework for success. It goes like this:

What is it that prevents people from getting and staying in shape?

Usually we fall back into bad habits: eating too much and choosing the wrong foods. 

Somewhere down the line, we stop the flow of success, as per Tony’s framework. And instead of changing the plan to find ways forward - we quit.

A plan that isn’t working is a sign you’re on the right track. Because you haven’t quit.

The next step is to adapt the plan, act, and notice if that plan gets results.

Why is this important?

Because adapting the plan is a feature and not a bug.

It isn’t something to shy away from or become disheartened by, but something to welcome when it inevitably arises. Imagine for a moment what the natural consequences are from facing challenges and adapting your plan to fit the situation. 

Do you think you’re more likely or less likely to win?

The key is to have more and better tools in your toolbox to face, overcome, and eliminate the problems. 

Here are some of the best tools and rules you can use to make better nutritional decisions.

Low food density

Food density just means how many calories are in a certain food for its size.

For example, frozen low fat yogurt is less energy-dense than ice cream. Which means you can eat more of it for the same calorie value. Alternatively, eat fewer calories at the same satiety level.

Typically, you'll feel better, fuller and healthier eating low sugar fruits, soups, vegetables, leaner meats and whole food grains compared to starches, sugars, processed grains and high fat meat.

Compressed feeding window

Eating within a shorter window of time is a simple rule that can reduce your overall calorie intake, minimise night time snacking, and is easy to follow.

Many people who stop eating earlier in the evening (say 6 or 7pm) report sleeping better and maintaining weight loss.

Restricting your feeding window is not essential, but it can be a robust method to increase fat loss or maintain body weight, and anecdotal and scientific evidence widely supports it.

For me, improving my sleep quality alone was worth the price of admission.

Removing food triggers

Knowing your personal food triggers can keep you on track.

People are following their plan for 98% of the day, then eat 500 calories following a food trigger or craving.

And then comes the "F&ck it" moment.

I know which foods I can eat without being compelled to overeat, and I also know the foods I find hard to stop eating and compel me to eat more than I want to.

This is an awareness thing that comes with time. The first step is to identify the foods that trigger a craving, then take further steps to eliminate the craving. That could involve conditioning your response and eating a smaller portion, but you also might want to try eliminating the food completely, or changing it for a low-density alternative.

99% is a BITCH – 100% is EASY

This quote appears to stem from Jack Canfield.

In that last one percent is where you find all the hesitancy and the decision fatigue that make the habit difficult.

Make it clearer, eliminate, or make it compulsory.

At 99% or less is where you have to make choices - and choices require mental energy. Preserve your willpower by removing the option entirely. Don't even bother to go through the process of simulating the outcome.

At 100% there is no option, only action. What a relief!

Strangely, full and total commitment to an action or routine requires less effort and willpower than not. You probably use this technique naturally because it’s how the brain filters out stimuli to focus on what’s important. Where can you use the 100% rule?

• “I don’t snack”
• A 2 drink maximum at social events
• Eat protein at every meal
• “I start every dinner with a salad”
• “I don’t eat dessert at home / restaurants”
• “I track everything I eat and drink”

These are just some examples of bright lines others have used to to achieve their goals with less effort.

3 Nutritional levers

Dr Peter Attia has a "diet agnostic" nutritional framework, which I like. Because what matters more than having the best tool is having the right tools for the job.

"Nutrition is such a loaded topic—almost a religious or political one—so I’m always looking for ways to explain it that are as free from that baggage as possible" - Dr Peter Attia.

For both health and weight management, use this rubric:

Always restrict one, sometimes two, occasionally all three.

• Time restrict - when you eat. E.g. between 11-7pm
• Consumption restrict - how much you eat E.g. half portions of starchy carbs, 3 square meals
• Type restrict - what you eat E.g. sugar and processed oil free, low fat

Methods and tools: Summary

We've discussed some practical methods to help you reduce overeating and improve the health of your diet. Many of these methods work in tandem, and most are "diet agnostic".

To achieve a weight loss goal, you have to burn more calories than you consume, eat sufficient protein and essential fatty acids to preserve lean tissue and healthy biological processes (in that order). The challenge will be how you do that. So, get creative with your mental tactics, and nutritional methods and tools!