Amazing Wellness January/February 2019

Cons: It’s a labor-intensive
process requiring label reading
(remember, no honey in your
jerky), lots of meal planning,
and more creativity in the
kitchen to sidestep food
boredom when faced with
fewer cooking options. (Yes,
you can get fed up with
avocado.) Access to only
Whole30-compliant foods
when traveling or eating out
can be a challenge. Vegetarians
will struggle to eat enough
protein. After any slip-up,
even if it’s just a piece of
bread getting in the way,
you’re encouraged to start
over—grrr. Expect some side
effects such as fatigue and
cravings that come with
reducing calories and carbs.
There can be a tendency to
gorge on “forbidden” foods post-
Whole30, which can quickly
undo any benefits gained
from the previous month.
And any diets that preach
restriction risk leading to certain
nutritional deficiencies and
disordered eating patterns.
Make it Better: Whole30-focused
cookbooks can help keep you
on track by providing cooking
inspiration with allowed
foods. Seeking the advice of
a dietitian is a smart move to
make sure you’re getting all
the nutrients such as calcium
your body needs in absence of
certain food groups. When the
clock strikes midnight, slowly
add in the healthier foods
you’ve been steering clear of
such as whole grains, lentils,
and yogurt so you get a better
sense of how you respond to
them. Despite what the diet
may lead you to believe, most
people should be eating more
of items like beans and whole
grains, not less.
Research suggests that following the benefits
of following a Mediterranean-style eating
pattern are far-reaching: better heart health,
weight loss, and lower cognitive decline.
MEDITERRANEAN
Nuts and Bolts: Among the
plethora of diet regimens,
the Mediterranean diet has
garnered the most widespread
praise among health
professionals. Essentially, the
diet is about implementing
the components characterizing
the traditional cooking style
of countries bordering the
Mediterranean Sea. Namely,
eating plenty of fruits, vegetables,
herbs, whole grains, olive oil,
fish, poultry, nuts, and legumes,
while reigning in your intake
of red meat, refined grains,
and highly processed packaged
foods that are typical of the
standard American diet.
There is little focus placed on
counting calories—diet quality
matters most.
Pros: Research suggests that
the benefits of following a
Mediterranean-style eating
pattern are far-reaching:
better heart health, less risk
of depression, improved vision
and bone health, weight loss,
and lower rates of cognitive
decline, to name just a few.
The nutrient-dense whole food
focus of the Mediterranean
diet is why it can do a body good.
And because it doesn’t call for
any serious diet restrictions
(yes, you can eat bread, especially
if dipped in olive oil), the
flexible diet is one of the most
sustainable long-term.
Cons: Because you’re for the
most part on your own to
decide what to eat and how
much to eat, dieters who
benefit from more structure
or require more immediate
results may stumble with the
Mediterranean diet. And it
may trim your wallet as well
as your waistline. A study
concluded that subjects who
adhered most closely to the
Mediterranean diet spent
more on food each day than
those who ate mostly a
“Western” diet.
Make it Better: Strive for i
ncluding one to two servings
of veggies at every meal,
replace refined grains in your
diet with their whole version,
snack on fruits and nuts, and
try to nosh on fish at least
twice a week, with a focus on
omega-3 rich varieties such as
salmon, trout, and sardines. To
reduce the pain at the checkout,
scoop up Mediterranean
staples, including beans, nuts,
and whole-grains from bulk
bins. Local, in-season fruits
and vegetables from farmers’
markets can often be had for
bargain prices. Though made
up mostly of healthy fats, items
like nuts and olive oil still pack
a calorie punch, so portion
control is a must—another
thing people in Mediterranean
countries are noted for. And
try to embrace the social
component of eating as they
do in the Mediterranean by
sharing meals with family
and friends more often.
CARB CYCLING
Nuts and Bolts: The gist of this
diet is that you alter your
carbohydrate intake throughout
the week, month, or year.
There are usually high-carb,
medium-carb, and low-carb
days cycled throughout a
period of time. The rationale
behind carb cycling is that when
your body receives limited
carbs, it relies on fat as its
primary fuel source, which can
be helpful for weight management,
and also helps your body
to become more sensitive to
insulin to better utilize carbs
AMAZING WELLNESS | WINTER 2019 37