This article was originally posted on Neeks93.com.
I often like to use the following nutrition analogy: building a strong house is a lot like building a strong or healthy self.
Imagine a scenario where you were given the task of building a house. For this task, you were presented a large number of tools or materials ranging from lego bricks to power tools. The quality level of your house would depend on your skill level and the efficiency of the tools and materials you chose, correct?
When it comes to diet and nutrition, building a strong/lean healthy self is very similar. Every day, we are presented with a large variety of tools or materials we can use to improve our bodies…ultimately, it’s our choices and skill level behind those decisions that determine how efficient we are toward meeting our goals.
Compare the tools/materials needed with their level of efficiency below:
These “tools” provide a greater return on their “caloric investment” with more vitamins, fiber, and visual “this-will-register-as-food-in-my-brain” factor.
Low Return on their “caloric investment” with less vitamins, fiber, and visual “this will register as food in my brain” factor
But Neeks, they back backed us studies to prove these “products really work” #KeepReading
In the end, yes, you can build a house with poor tools and materials but don’t be frustrated when it breaks down often, looks horrible, and costs you a ton of money to attempt to fix after the fact!
Alternately, you can look at this “home building” exercise as you building the only home you forever have to live in…your body! If you want a home with a strong foundation that is going to last you YEARS, start focusing on building your dream house using those “more effective tools.”
-The Deception of “Dream Products”
Most of the health claims being made for these “dream products” have studies that are funded by the companies that are trying to make a profit off of your lack of knowledge and or interest in EVER opening and reading one of these “studies.”
-Tricky Label Loopholes
Legally speaking, a company is not lying when they say their product will help you lose weight if the trial group lost even ½ a pound over the course of 10 weeks
Example: Hydroxucut Gummies “People using the key ingredient in Hydroxycut® Gummies (C. canephora robusta) in a 60-day study lost an average of 10.95 lbs. with a low-calorie diet, and 3.7 lbs. in a separate 8-week study with a calorie-reduced diet and moderate exercise. View full study here.”
-Avoid Foods with Marketing Teams
If the food item you’re contemplating buying has a marketing team, has a commercial, or claims to be something superior than other products, I would avoid or limit them as often as possible.
Examples: Quaker Plain Old Fashioned Oats don’t have advertisements on TV, but the prepackaged flavored apple cinnamon ones do. Chicken breast doesn’t have a marketing team but McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets or Tyson Crispy Chicken strips do. Health energy bars and protein treats claim to be a whole lot of this yet a banana and a handful of raw nuts for a quick source of energy have zero hype.
It’s not that you can’t succeed using less effective tools…I just personally don’t like to be that inefficient.
If you had to dig 10 feet down to get to some fragile rare dinosaur bones… I want you to think of the tools you would start using and their order…
Starting to worry or focus on ANYTHING other than those (highly effective tools explained above) prior to getting the bulk of the work done is like starting your journey with a brush trying to get 10 feet down to those dinosaur bones.
It’s not that there are no supplements out there with good research to enhance all of your good work… I’m just saying don’t look silly using a brush to start all your digging at the beginning of your journey…. There’s a time and a place for different tools!
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I’ve been a trainer for 7 years, and that means I’ve heard my fair share of excuses. There are INFINITE problems that will keep you from reaching your fitness goals, but there are also infinite solutions. You have to decide if you’re going to let the business of life compromise your health, or if you’re going to find a way to incorporate healthy habits into your life despite those things.