Good food vs bad food

With New Year in full swing most people have dedicated the next 30 days to get on a health kick. This usually translates as not drinking a single drop of alcohol and not consuming anything that could remotely be classed as ‘unhealthy’. Good food vs bad food, which will win? This blog post is going to give you the ins and outs of diets, scams and the media. Buckle up, it’s going to get ranty.

I feel sorry for the general public in trying to find out what is right and wrong. I know it’s hypocritical for me to add my opinion into the mix but I will try to back it up with logic, reason and science. I just googled unhealthy foods and it is almost laughable at what appears. I’m going to break a few examples down and show you there really is no good or bad food. There I said it….the spoiler…..there is no good or bad food. Everything has a trade-off and a reason to be in the diet, even chicken and broccoli is has a trade-off for being boring and tasteless (in my opinion).

The very top search for unhealthy foods enrages me so much I’m going to need a new keyboard after smashing this blog post out! Apologies for the spelling mistakes and swear words in advance. So the title of the top search is “50 unhealthiest foods on the planet”, a click bait title to grab the attention of the unassuming dieter. Here a few examples:

Fruit Juice – It was ranked number 5! Out of all the foods in the world that one ranked 5?! I agree some fruit juices can be high in sugar, but there is nothing wrong with sugar in controlled amounts. It all comes down to calories. Fruit juice contains lots of vitamins and minerals from whichever fruit is juiced. This is like saying don’t eat fruit because it’s high in sugar. There are many benefits to eating fruit and should not be feared because of the sugar content.

Salmon – It ranked number 25! Fucking salmon! At this point I am smashing my head against the keyboard. Salmon contains high levels of omega 3, protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D and much more. If you are avoiding salmon in an attempt to be healthy I would hate to think what you are replacing it with. No wonder people are confused.

Bottled Water – Okay now this has to be a piss take! According to this article even water will kill you within minutes of consumption. I would hate to go for round dinner at this author’s house. For anyone that is confused, please don’t avoid water (it will literally kill you).

They are just a few examples from the number one post when searched for “unhealthy foods”. I’ll stop reading now before my neighbours come round and complain about me shouting at my PC. I genuinely feel sorry for people that must read this and believe it. After all it is the top ranking post on google. If you want to have a laugh at the other foods that could kill you in minutes, take a browse at this joke of an article: http://www.eatthis.com/unhealthiest-foods-on-the-planet

Let me clarify. There is no such thing as a bad food. NONE! Almost every food can be justified to be included in a diet. Even if it is to maintain and adherence and keep you on the straight and narrow. For example if you want to have pizza once a week to stop you binging out on pizza, then crack on. As long as it’s controlled within your calorie guidelines, you will not gain fat. It is not the food itself that makes someone gain or lose body fat, it is the amount of calories. You could eat a sack of broccoli and still be over your calories, and you could still gain fat.

So the next time you see an article saying “top foods to lose belly fat”, just tut quietly in a very British way and carry on scrolling. There are no magical foods that burn fat at a ridiculous rate, if there was the world would be cured of obesity and doctors would be prescribing it as medication. The only way to lose fat is to be in a calorie deficit (burn more calories than you consume).

The diet should be made up of mostly what you would consider ‘good foods’. This would include lean meats, wholegrains, fruit, veg, nuts and oils. I usually go for an 80:20 rule. 80% of what I call real food (see previous list) and 20% a bit more relaxed (but still within my calorie guidelines). The 20% can be whatever I feel like eating, this includes chocolate, alcohol, burgers, pizza and if I’m feeling especially wild I may even have salmon.

Take home: There is no good or bad food. It’s just food! Don’t be fooled by advertising and the media.

If you need any help with setting up a diet or training plan that doesn’t starve you on dust and cardio, request a free consultation today!

Dack Attack

The brains, brawn and beauty of Dackattack (basically it’s just me). A personal trainer with a private gym in Norwich, dedicated to giving out simple, actionable advice that will give you outstanding results.