What type of dieter are you?

May 28

It is mid baseball season. It has been months of life on the road, every week in a new city, and every meal pre selected. With life starting to feel like groundhog’s day it is no wonder some of my coworkers are looking to change things up and wanting to improve their fitness. So naturally they are starting various diets in an effort to take back some control over their lives. While it would make sense to ask the nutrition expert sitting to their right for help on this adventure, that is rarely how this goes. So today I am going to tell you about 4 neat boxes people typically fall in when they start a new diet. Which one sounds like you?

The boring salad guy.

We have all seen this person at the office. It is leading up to beach season and they want to shed 10 pounds so they can feel good on their upcoming cruise, so they bring the world’s most boring salads to work. Every. Day. Usually they don’t love vegetables so they will eat the few that they like, repeatedly. You see the sad tupperware of romaine lettuce, a few slices of cucumber, and a side of baby carrots sitting in the office fridge. Tomorrow is the exact same salad, except maybe they added 3 cherry tomatoes to it. Every day is the same dressing, usually ranch, caesar, or vinaigrette. And every day you watch them eat lunch they look totally miserable trying to convince themselves they enjoy the flavorless plate of crunch in front of them.

While this person means well on their diet journey, they are lacking any substance in the foods they choose. There usually isn’t protein on this salad, and if there is, it is the same bland grilled chicken breast day after day. Talk about doubling down on the feeling of groundhog’s day! They are left feeling unfulfilled, hungry, and look longingly at the tray of donuts in the break room because at least they have flavor.

The all or nothing guy.

While it is difficult for me to watch any of these dieters, this one might be the most frustrating for me. This dieter feels a complete lack of control, so they HAVE to be all or nothing. There is no budging on their diet plans or the whole thing goes out the window. This one shows up in many forms. Sometimes they fall into a boring salad category, sometimes they are staunch keto, maybe they are the intermittent faster. But whatever it is, they are convinced that for their diet to work they have to be ALL IN. Inevitably they start to get bored, hungry, or life happens (ya know, like a birthday party, a back yard BBQ, or a staff dinner). Since they have already given themselves the narrative that they lack willpower, that is exactly what crumbles in these life events. They finally cave at the sunday BBQ and have a beer and a bratwurst. Since they already had one beer they might as well just throw the whole day out and have 7. And since they already had carbs, they might as well hit the bottom of the bag of doritos while they are at it. They promise themselves to start strong again on Monday, and thus the all or nothing cycle continues….

The “health guru.”

This dieter is so close, and yet still so far away. I love this person’s intent, but they are still missing the mark for weight loss. This person is really trying to diet in a sustainable way. They don’t take the all or nothing approach and continue to include all foods in moderation. They know enough about nutrition to understand that they still need adequate protein and fiber to feel full while trying to lose weight. They also want to be conscious of replacing high fat foods and sweets with healthier alternatives. Yay! I love this thought!

When it comes time to build their plate, they choose the grilled chicken, the brown rice, and a side salad. But then they add dried fruit, walnuts, avocado, crumbled feta, hummus, and drown it in Italian dressing. To get extra greens they add a smoothie instead of having water. And instead of a cookie for dessert they make a nice big bowl of fresh fruit covered in vanilla yogurt, shredded coconut, granola, and just a few chocolate chips.

While all of these food choices are healthy, they end up piling on the calories with every snack pack of almonds and green juice they choose. By making healthier substitutions, this person ends up adding calories to their day instead of removing them because they seem to keep finding the most calorically dense additions and snacks.

The supplement guy.

Ahhh my personal favorite. This guy really hates vegetables and doesn’t like to cook. So instead of meal prepping or adding some fruits and veggie to his day, he kickstarts his diet with a new routine of pills and powders.

He starts his morning with a multivitamin, B12, greens powder, vitamin C, some beef liver enzymes, and enough caffeine to wire an elephant. Lunch is some form of powdered meal replacement or a pre-packaged meal prep with some bland ground beef and rice. His workout routine isn’t complete without a dry scoop of pre-workout, BCAAs, post workout shake, and some creatine. For dinner he has the same boring pre-packaged meal prep followed by magnesium, zinc, fruit and vegetable pills, and a testosterone booster. This guy will stick with it until he can’t stand the flavor of his disgusting chocolate meal replacement powder and will finally take a drive to the closest burger chain where he will order 3 double cheese burgers, a large fry, and a shake. He will lose approximately 5 pounds and $300 in supplements, only to gain that 5 pounds back in his first weekend off the diet.

Which one are you?

There are many different variations of these four dieters I just described, but they all have one thing in common. Their tactics aren’t sustainable and they inevitably give up and revert back to old habits. Instead, I would love if my coworkers became the guy who takes a totally different approach to health and dieting. My wish is that they would be the guy who seeks advice. The guy who asks the nutrition professional for help with building a sustainable plan. One that fits their lifestyle and includes some of. their favorite foods. A plan that makes space for both health and happiness, which ultimately makes it sustainable in the long term. I wish that they could each be the guy who can maintain his fitness year after year instead of falling into the age old yo-yo pattern of dieting. One who finds joy in the foods he eats and doesn’t have to skip life events just to stay on track with his health goals.

I am curious, which one of these guys describes you, and which one would you like to be?