“Eating should be a pleasure”….and that is why Canada has come up with a new food guide. They have shifted away from food groups and towards how and when to eat. Instead of portion guidelines, they focus on lifestyle recommendations. It is now a qualitative approach, not quantitative.
Fad Free loves these new guidelines (for the most part). They get rid of the old confusing guidelines which are based on serving sizes by age and gender. How many people understand what a “serving” is or looks like? They focus more on “lifestyle recommendations.” Cooking for yourself, label reading, eating less processed foods and being more self-sufficient. We love that meat is no longer in its own category (which reflects the change in times to a society that has more vegetarians) and has been replaced with the term “protein foods.” “Protein foods,” include plant-based alternatives like legumes and yogurt.
Our one concern is the move towards low fat dairy. “Current and emerging scientific evidence does not support a continued focus on lower fat milk products as it reveals that milk products that contain more fat are not associated with harmful health effects and could even provide benefits.”
By contrast, the latest diet trend in the US is intuitive eating which encourages people to eat whatever they want. Followers are encouraged to work on their relationship with food without worrying about their weight. No foods are off limits, and there is no such thing as a “good” or “bad” food.
The thought is if you can have pizza whenever you want, you are less likely to overeat the pizza or to feel the need to have to find the opportunity to eat it at all. “When you have permission to eat, the food still tastes good, but you remove the urgency.”
Fad Free is not super excited about intuitive eating. Although binges are usually caused by restriction, intuitive eating is not for everyone. We were all born intuitive eaters…just look at most kids, they typically know when they want to stop eating. Research shows, intuitive eating is less effective for short term weight loss than restrictive diets. Research has shown that intuitive eating can improve body image in young women as does mindfulness practices such as meditation. We understand the lifelong pressure to diet, but for most of the population eating whatever you want, whenever you want doesn’t end up very positive in terms of health or weight. With all of the social media influences and out there, we are a society that needs “some” guidelines. To find the best individualized lifestyle plan contact Fad Free.