Nutrition mix and match?

I've written before about the importance of sticking to a training plan and giving it time to see results. We know at this point that physical progress happens over time via adaptations to specific demands. You want to get stronger? Make a strength-oriented plan, and see it through its entirety before judging the results. Want to drop time from your 5k? Use a logical progression plan over a number of weeks/months and reap the benefits of the adaptations you've made. Bigger arms are your goal? Pick a hypertropjy plan, train the hell out of it for a few months, and then stretch the tape measure. Simple logic, right?

Well, it applies to nutrition every bit as much as training protocols! Any nutrition plan worth following is going to require time to allow your body to adapt. (The 7 day cleanse miracle drop 36 lbs and 4 dress sizes without leaving the couch plan does not count as one worth trying...in fact, almost anything with a specific time stamp on it should be regarded with a lot of skepticism)

Even if you're not following a precise meal plan or structure, there needs to at least be a solid core principle to a nutrition plan if it is going to prove beneficial. What I mean by that is that one's strategy should be coherent and consistent. I've seen people try to take individual pieces of plans or theories that are good in and of themselves, and then bastardize the whole theory trying to make puzzle pieces fit into the wrong puzzle entirely. The pieces aren't wrong, they just don't all fit together.

For example, if an athlete takes a bit of advise from a low-carb plan, a bit of advise from a low-fat plan, dabbles with intermittent fasting, and then sees an element of a keto diet, they may very well wind up with next to no calories for days on end and then binge eat everything in sight, all the while thinking it's the best of all the plans put together. Honest mistake, but it'll wreak havoc on their body! A unified plan resting on a core principal will be safe and effective, and can be adjusted in small increments in order to see continued progress, rather than having to wipe the whole slate clean after every profile.

Find a scientifically backed nutritional approach, execute the plan for a long enough time to see physical adaptations, and stay the course! The path to success doesn't need to be fancy or glamorous so long as it's sustainable and effective!

Steve Decker